Bowden resigns from GM

Nats Gene-- FORMER general manager Jim Bowden resigned today, after 5 seasons of messing up with the Nats, highlighted by signings of Felipe Lopez, Austin Kearns, Johnny Estrada, Paul LoDuca, Wily Mo Pena, Daniel Cabrera, Corey Patterson, and Jason Simontacci. Also by the non-signings of Torri Hunter, Aaron Rowand, Orlando Hudson, Aaron Crow, and Mark Texeiria. Bowden was a terrible GM, mostly by relying a little too much on the Nat's farm system and young players. I like the idea of having young and promising players, but Bowden took it way too far, and decided to not get any proven player who has done it in the big leagues, like Milledge, Nieves, Alberto Gonzalez. And he uses this as a excuse in the press conferences. "Listen, we're young, so just shut up, go away, and let these un-established players build our championship club. Bye."

Bowden's statement included: "I am today resigning my position as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Washington Nationals. It is an emotional decision that saddens me, but one that I feel is in the best interests of two of the things I love most - baseball and the Washington Nationals." also: "At the same time, while I have done nothing wrong, I place a greater value on the love, respect, and best interests of my family, friends, the game of baseball -- that I've served lovingly and faithfully for close to 25 years -- and, the reputation and future of the Washington Nationals, which I'm proud to have been a part of since its inception in 2004." and lastly: "Like anyone else, I have made mistakes in all areas of my personal and professional life, but I leave here with the true belief that I have done nothing intentionally to harm the Washington Nationals or Major League Baseball. The team, the fans and media can now turn all of their attention from the distractions off-the-field to where it belongs, on the baseball field for the Washington Nationals and their upcoming 2009 championship season." Even though it is tough to resign from GM and probably not have a job again, at least you could tell the truth. He said he did nothing wrong as GM, he has to realize that Felipe Lopez wasn't that good, and Austin Kearns didn't hit .280 with 80 RBI's and 25 homers. He also said: "for the Washington Nationals and their upcoming 2009 championship season." I like how he's being optimistic, but championship season?

The Nats are not sure who will be the new GM, but Mike Rizzo, the former vice GM will be a candidate. Even though Rizzo will be better than Bowden was, I would like to get a former player who has GM/Manager experience rather than Rizzo. That's why I didn't like the equations of Bullpen coach Randy Knorr (I would have kept Rick Aponte) or hitting coach Rick Eckstein (Although it looks like he has proven himself, so far). Team president Stan Kasten, who will serve as General Manager until a replacement is found, said the team would have made its decision for new GM soon..

Adam Dunn has finally made his decision, he will play in the World Baseball Classic for team USA. I would like to see him hit in a Nat's uniform and get to know his teammates and coaches, but that gives Nick Johnson a chance to start at first base while there is an outfield of Willingham in left, Milledge in center, and Dukes in right, and see who plays the best. If all of the above stay, either Johnson, Milledge (probably not), or Willingham will be a backup, Nick Johnson the most likely.

Joel Hanrahan also said he will play in the World Baseball Classic, for team USA. He said he was considering it for a long time. He will join the team in Clearwater, Fla., and work out on Tuesday. Rick Eckstein recommended to USA that Hanrahan sould be on the team. A spot on the roster opened up when Blue Jays closer B.J. Ryan pulled himself out due to concerns about the current state of his mechanics. "When Manny and St. Claire gave me the approval, I decided to do it," Hanrahan said. "I only have a year in the big leagues. I still have some work to do. I'm trying to develop my changeup this year. There is still work to do to get ready for the season. You are still committed to the Nationals -- you have to be 100 percent for them when April 6 comes around." Last year, he was 6-3 with a 3.95 ERA and nine saves.

The nats have started the season 2-3 in Spring Training play. The starters have looked really good so far, the bullpen has looked really shaky, and it looks like hitting from back when, well... 2008. The nats have averaged just 2.8 runs a game, in the last two losing to the Cardinals 2-9 and Orioles 7-5. In the Card's game, the Nats just had only four hits, and Daniel Cabrera made his Nats debut, going two innings and gave up two runs (one earned), while walking none and striking out none. Ross Detwiler had his first outing of the spring, and it was the worst I have ever seen, walking 4 and giving up a hit, so in total giving up 3 runs and retiring none. Justin Maxwell was the player of the game for the nats, going 1-2 with two walks, and robbing Chris Duncan of a grand slam, leaping over the wall. (above)

The nats finally got their first home run of the spring, Nick Johnson solo shot in their 7-5 loss to the O's. Scott Olsen made his Nats debut, throwing two scoreless innings, while walking none and striking out two, but then comes the bullpen. Tyler Clippard throws an inning, giving up 3 runs. Also Garret Mock (ERA: 13.50) threw an inning, giving up two. The nats have an off day, and then on Tuesday play the Italian World Baseball Classic team, John Lannan will start.

Acta: '08 is history

Today the Nats had their first workout session for the pitchers and catchers who reported friday. All of them showed up except for Daniel Cabrera, who will stay in the Dominican Republic for about another week because he is having his first child, Jorge Sosa, who the Nats signed as a non-roster invitee, and Odalis Perez, who signed a minor league deal with them. Sosa and Perez have until sunday until they are considered late. Early today, before their first workout session, the nats had a team meeting. It was addressed by Acta and Bowdon, and Acta told them to forget about 2008, and he expects them to play .500 baseball. Acta is excited to get the '09 season to a start, and he says this years Nats are the best team he's seen since he joined in 2007 as manager (Getting Dunn means it's going to be the best if your record as manager is 132-191). "This is the first time we have a legitimate cleanup, power guy in our lineup," Acta said referring to Dunn. "This is the best team we have had in the three years I've been here. ... I try to win with what I have. I'm not going in here thinking abut 2010. This is a good bunch of guys. Baseball has shown you the last few years that if you do things right, you never know what might happen."Acta still think one of the Nats only weakness is the bullpen. The nats must get one more really good relief pitcher other than Saul Rivera.

The nats will also add a bullpen member, 26 year old right hander Jason Bergmann. Last year he really stunk as a starter, going 2-11 with a ERA of 5.11. Even though he struggled last year, he showed glimpses of brilliance, and he still has very good movement on his pitches, especially his slider. Today he came up to Manny Acta, and asked him what his job will be during the 2009 season, and Manny said he will be a middle reliever. Bergmann was not available for comment at the time.

Along with the first workout, the nats had their first bullpen sessions, with Randy St. Clare watching each and every pitch carefully, and he was impressed with all of them. "I was pleased with everybody," St Claire said. "Everybody threw the ball very well. The deliveries look very solid out of this first group that threw today. I was impressed with a lot of the guys." Although all of them were pretty good, the one who shined today was 22-year old Jordan Zimmermannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn. "I love his arm stroke," St. Claire said. "He has that really quick arm action. It's out of the glove and it's short and it's on top of the ball. He is a strong kid, he has a good body. His lines are very good. His delivery is very solid for a young kid." I wasn't really a fan of Zimmermannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn before, because I thought anyone who hasn't pitched above AA is unproven. Although after hearing about how much everyone has been raving about him, I have big expectations for him.

Dunn Deal... REALLY!!!

Finally! Jim Bowdon finalized the deal to sign 1b/LF/RF Adam Dunn earlier today.He would be great for our lineup. If nobody gets injured or gets traded, this is what they should do: Dunn starting RF, Dukes starting CF, Willingham starting LF, Johnson starting 1B, Milledge #1 backup for outfield. When Johnson gets hurt, move Dunn to first and move Willingham to LF. The lineup: 1.2B Anderson Hernandez, 2.SS Cristian Guzman, 3.3B Ryan Zimmerman, 4.LF Adam Dunn, 5.RF Elijah Dukes, 6.1B Nick Johnson, 7.C Jesus Flores, 8.CF Lastings Milledge, 9.P, top pinch hitter: Josh Willingham. In that lineup there is tons of power. I could also see three people hitting 30 bombs with Zimm, 'Lijah, and Adam Dunn (this guy needs a good nickname). I could also see Lastings, Johnson, and Flores hitting 20.
Dunn has been a monster in his career, bombing at least 40 gone-bombs each of the last 5 seasons. He can also have a great on-base percentage, last year's was .381. This guy is huge, as he stands at 6-6, 267 LBS, and just that alone is enough to strike fear into opposing pitchers. Even though he has bombed at least 40 in the past 5 seasons, that should be over-looked, consitering he has hit exactly 40 in the last 4 seasons and he is playing in the arguably-most hitter friend park in the majors at The Great American Ballpark. Sadly, leaving that park might be bad news for Dunn. After going to Arizona for a short stint, he struggled. Just look at what Kearns and Lopez were going to be before they got traded. Also look at what happened all the other players Bowden got from Cinnci. Also you can't be sure he can even stay heathy. You can tell that Dunn wanted to go to a contender, as he waited this long to sign. He figured the Nats were about the only team left running for him after th Angles signed Mark Texeiria. There is Dunn (on the right) relaxing the offseason, thinking about which contender will sign him.
Pitchers and Catchers report in two days. Nothing much to say here, other than some good news that Jesus Flores has already caught three games from Daniel Cabrera.

NatsFest

Yesterday, I went to the 1st annual NatsFest, held at Nationals Park. Overall, it was pretty good. I got a chance to get autographs from players, including Willie Harris, Garret Mock, Elijah Dukes, John Lannan, Terrel Young, Mike O'Conner, and Steven Shell. I also got a photograph with Ryan Zimmerman, and another one with Scotty Olsen and Hammer (Josh Willingham). It was cool to see the players, though the line was way too long. So, anyway, here was our day. So we arrive at Nats Park pretty early, and there is already a problem to be seen. They only have 2 check-in places, which means there were monstrous lines. So we (me, son, and friend) get in, and go immediatly to a talk by political writer George Will. This lady tells us the room is at full compacity, and we can't come in. I look inside. Maybe about 30 people, tops. So then at about 1:40 we go in line to have a autograph from Manny Acta, Scotty Olsen, and Josh Willingham. We waited forever, and eventually the Acta, Olsen, and Hammer session was over, at 2:30. Then Steven Shell, Willie Harris, Mike O'Conner, and John Lannan walked by us to take their place. All of the other nats fans couldn't care less, thinking it was some normal nats fans with jerseys on. Knowing Willie Harris is a really cool guy, as he goes by, I say "Hey Willie,". He turns around, gives me a sincere look, and says, " Hey, whats up, man." I get the autograph at about 3:10 ( an hour and a half of waiting) and go to a picture with Scotty Olsen and Hammer. We then went in the clubhouse, where everyone's locker and stuff is. It was very cool-looking, and right across the hall (but was blocked) was the conference room, which is where Acta spends his countless hours seeing if Dukes can calm down (never) and having a conversation with Kearns to see if he can actually hit a major league pitch.
Acta: "Austin, your 0-28, can you start hitting?" Kearnsy: " Sure. I will try my hardest every day. Notice how I'm not complaining and working hard?" Bowdon: "Well...Just because you were a Cincinnati Red and you didn't complain, I will sign you to a 6 year, 260 million dollar contract!" So Bowdon.
Then we went to a pic with Ryan Zimmerman, and I got a chance to shake his hand, his is about 3 times stronger than mine and his wrist was huge. I didn't say anything to him other than "Hey Ryan" and "Thanks". Now I think I should have told him about me calling his walk-off. Than I went to see and get a autograph from Garret Mock, Terrel Young, and Elijah Dukes. Dukes' arm muscle is huge. I didn't shake his hand, but now I wish I did. What I did do was ask him what outfield spot he prefers, and he replied a good attitude. " I don't even care where I play as long as I even can play," he said. So after that we left. Overall, there was a lot more nat's fans there than I expected. I proudly thought my son would be wearing the most Nationals, with a nats hat, a nats coat, and a Zimmerman jersey under the coat, but there were a lot of nats fans with gear on. This could mean a lot more nats fans in '09. I think a lot more players should come than just seven, but, overall, this is a great experience for fans to meet the players.

Bowden Screws up again, Patterson retires

Again.
A few days ago, he said the Nationals are no longer running for major free-agents, including second basemen Orlando Hudson and left fielder Adam Dunn. This means another year of Nick Johnson getting injured and Ronnie Belliard, or even Dmitri Young playing their pathetic first base. Dunn or Hudson would've been great fit for Washington, lacking a power hitter or a true leadoff hitter. After Johnson gets injured, maybe what would not be so bad is Willingham move to first, Dukes move to left, Milledge in center, and Austin Kearns or Wily Mo Pena in right. Even though Bowden said this, he could've only said it to lower the price of Dunn and Hudson, and then possibly sign either one to a longterm deal. Although it may seem like that would happen, don't forget how close they were to getting Texeiria, when Texeiria said he was favoring the Yankees the whole time. Also it looks like the Cubs, who were once the lead runners, are no longer running for Dunn after signing Milton Bradley, another left-handed hitting outfielder, but you can't be sure after the Red Sox, Angles, and Orioles said they officialy dropped out of Texeiria but then came back in the race. I am really mad at Bowdon if they don't get anyone, considering they said they would get someone good.
Also, John Patterson, a former starting pitcher for the Nats, retired from baseball the other day. His career came to an end when he started to throw in early January, and his arm started to hurt again. He was a great pitcher when healthy, his best season in 2005 when he went 9-7 with a ERA of 3.13 and 185 strikeouts. In 2006 was when the injuries got in the way, going 1-4 with a 4.51 ERA. He struggled more in '07, and the Nats released him in '08 after a arm injure.
" I don't know what went wrong. I wish I had a chance to have a few more healthy seasons," He said recently. What I would have done is just take 2 or 3 years off, then spend the next year in the minor leagues, and then return to the majors and see what happens. In other news............

• Tim Redding signed a 1 year, 2.25 million deal with the Mets.
• The Nationals said they are willing to give Jordan Zimmermannnnnnnnnnnn a shot at starting next year.