Washington Fans Welcome Savaughn Brown

In perhaps the biggest deadline deal in Washington National history, and certainly the biggest deadline move since 2035 when Washington sent 3 future all stars in Mario Tallenchio, Billy Monnington and Ken Williams for Royce Martin in what many fans call the worst trade in franchise history. Washington fans are hoping that their hometown teams ends up on the other side of that coin by adding of the the top aces in the league in Savaughn Brown. Washington gives up top prospects in hometown kid, Randy Lansing and the recently acquired pitching prospect Ed Patrick. The Nationals are also rumored to have received some cash considerations in the deal to help the team cope with the rather large salary of Savaughn Brown.

The Nationals currently find themselves as the 2nd best in runs allowed in the National league, only trailing Pittsburgh. Adding Brown will only further the title hopes of the team this year and for years to come. In another move made by Washington, the team sent three minor leaguers to the surging Oakland (formerly Philadelphia) Athletics for cash considerations to soften the blow of adding Savaughn's money to the books.

Time still remains before the official trading deadline; more news from around the league is sure to follow.

2043 Washington Draft Night Review

The big news out of Washington this morning, is that late last night, San Diego GM Mav3rek and the Washington Nationals agreed to a trade that sent star third baseman Rolando Cozigon to the Nats in exchange for the Nationals first round pick and a late round draft pick. MLB insider Dolphin suggested that this trade may have been sparked by the selection of pitcher George Marks 15th overall by the Minnesota Twins. Rolando Cozigon will fit nicely into the middle of the lineup and provide an offensive spark to a team that has been struggling to this point in the season. Expect Carlo Sarlinas to see time at second base as he did in his rookie campaign.

CF Aaron Powell sent to San Fran

The other big news on the night that was young prospect Aaron Powell who was showing great strides in center for the Skychiefs was sent to San Francisco in a draft night deal in which the Nationals received all of the Giants draft picks excluding their first round selection. Powell was an all around solid player with good contact, plus power for a center fielder and also solid speed. Powell was internally blocked by the offseason addition of CF Aaron Middlemiss who the team has obviously committed themselves to as evidence by this trade. This trade will hopefully result in added confidence for the young Middlemiss through the organization showing a commitment to him.

Breaking Down the Washington Draft Selections:

OF Ricky Bebb (44th Overall Selection) 17 YO, Pawtucket RI-- Ricky spent his high school career mainly in left field but has some experience on the left side of the infield. Ricky possesses a very projectable bat and already has a major league arm in the outfield. Bebb was projected as a late 1st round pick or sandwich round selection so falling to Washington in the middle of the 2nd round was good value for them.

3B Jesse Tiller (49th Overall Selection) 17 YO, Minneapolis MN-- Another high school selection for the Nationals in the 2nd round of this years draft and another very projectable bat in the system. Tiller has a plus eye but struggles to physically handle advanced pitching at this point in time. An average glove at third base and has the size to move to first base in the future if his talent doesn't work out at third.

P Charles Ciepley (79th Overall Selection) 21 YO, Tulane University-- First college selection of the Nats in this years draft; definition of a workhorse power pitcher. He has outstanding pitching endurance as noted by his time at Tulane and projects to be among the top power pitchers in the game. The question is if he can harness his control and improve his secondary pitches to compete in the major leagues. A true project player.

RF Matt Ellis (84th Overall Selection) 21 YO, Long Beach State-- The Irishman came stateside to attend college in California to hone his game from the growing European baseball leagues. The righty does not have anything jump off the page in term of skills; struggles with contact and is considered to be a power bat. Decent in the field but only projects as a corner outfielder.

P Terry Wilton (109th Overall Selection) 19 YO, Norfolk MA-- Another New England high schooler selected by the Nationals here; Wilton and Bebb competed in many high school tournaments. Unfortunately for Wilton, Bebb got the better of these matchups as Wilton struggled against him. Wilton projects as a ground ball pitcher, possesses good control for his age and his future is reliant on how well he can develop his subpar fastball.

3B Eduardo Amezcua (139th Overall Selection) 21 YO, Stanford University-- The young man out of DR was awarded a scholarship to Stanford out of high school where he truly struggled against advanced college competition. A truly powerful player at 6' 5" and 240 yet very nimble at third base; has the potential for gobs of power and a great eye but this reliant if he can shorten his swing to hit major league quality pitching. This is a big if.

P Bob Morris (144th Overall Selection) 20 YO, Texas Tech-- A decent pitcher in high school and college where nothing quite jumps off the page; decent power and decent control. His weakness has undoubtedly been the long ball as he allowed 18 homers in his only season at Texas Tech. The Chicago native has a lot of work ahead to be considered a legitimate major league prospect.

1B Rich Angwin (164th Overall Selection) 16 YO, Denver CO-- Yes, that is right sixteen years old! This academic wiz kid skipped the 4th grade and then worked hard in high school to finish his diploma early. All this while working to hone his raw baseball skills, key word raw. He never put up flashy or even particularly good numbers as an amateur but scouts really were impressed by his tools for such a young age; including his plus plus glovework at 1st base. Certainly worth a 6th round selection as a project player.

C James Lyons (167th Overall Selection) 20 YO, Pepperdine University-- This is the James Lyons that was all over SportsCenter as the catcher that stole home in the college world series after a fantastic sophomore season. Perhaps the most unusual player in this draft with his quick feet from behind the dish; scouts have serious questions with his bat and small frame at 5' 6" and 130 pounds soaking wet. This selection is a shot in the dark that his hustle and determination will someday result in James being a major league player.

P David Lampert (169th Overall Selection) 20 YO, Southern Mississippi University-- A groundball bullpen pitcher that shows good control for his age but not much else. His fastball and sinker need a lot of work and David struggles to top 90 mph on his fastball. A wildly average pitcher in his collegiate career but hers to hoping the final selection of the Nationals in this years draft has something to him.

Nationals 2041-42 Offseason In Review

Following the first 100+ win season in Nationals history and ending with a rather disappointing one game exit in the National League wild card play in game; the Nationals prepare for another season hopefully ending late in October. A combination of rather surprising deals wraps up an otherwise quiet offseason for the Washington Nationals.

The Nationals began their offseason by shipping once promising prospect SP Cory June to the Red Sox in exchange for long time Boston centerfielder, Josh Drinkard and cash considerations. Cory June ended up as the odd man out as the Nationals prepare for the 2042 season and on paper have a very crowded rotation with a mixture of experienced vets and young top prospects, Brian Duffield and Chris Bonnett. This was a rather puzzling move at the time because of the crowded situation in the Washington outfield but the purpose became evident quickly in a later move.



The Nats decided to ship fan favorite Antonio Candelalia to St. Louis for prospects P Mickey Fewell and IF Joel Blackshear. Candelalia remained one of the top center fielders in all of baseball to spite his 37 year old body; Washington must have felt more comfortable getting a little younger at the position with recently turned 33 year old Josh Drinkard. Youngster Mickey Fewell further adds to one of the best farm systems in all of baseball and hopefully pays off as a long term beneficial move for the organization.

In other offseason news, reports from Florida suggest that 2B Guillermo Azapinto is progressing from his torn ankle ligament that tragically cut his season short last year and expects to be healthy and participate in a normal Spring Training routine. Also highly regarded prospect, IF Carlo Sarlinas who broke his left wrist in spring training last year on an ugly play at third base, plans on being healthy in time for Spring Training this year as well and looks to compete for a position with the major league club at some point this season.

Nationals Looking for Change

Washington, DC -- A franchise once thought to be on the rise is just a few short years ago is now looking to rebuild yet again. Faces of the franchise Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman are now ejoying careers elsewhere, while the Nationals struggle to replace them. Certainly having 3 general managers in the last 4 years has not helped. Several questionable trades, and some questionable contract signings later, new GM Mav3rek is charged with the tough task of giving the Nationals their first taste of success since they moved from Montreal. "There is some talent on this team and in the minors", new GM Mav3rek said, "but there is also some dead weight around here too." The Nationals had a quiet offseason, not making a single free agent signing, and only making a couple minor trades. Washington seems content to head in to the 2015 season with the majority of their roster in tact from a team that finished dead last in the NL East. "In order for us to be successful, we are going to have to get the most out of our players and probably have a little luck." Mav3rek said. "We will need our rotation and bullpen to step up big time. Our offense will be able to score runs, but our pitching will make or break us." Washington lacks a true leadoff hitter, an Ace pitcher and a true closer. It seems they will have to make due with the cards they have been dealt though as they lack the budget flexibility to make any big trades. Only time will tell if the Nationals will see any improvement from last season. Our prediction? 75 wins and 87 losses with a 4th place division finish.

Nationals Change GM, Much Work Necessary to Rebuild

The Washington Nationals were headed into a promising future before the 2010 season.

That's when a new GM took the reigns on a club that had pieces to hold onto in their quest to build a playoff contender.  Looking back, that's not exactly what happened in Washington.  After two abysmal seasons in which the club went 64-98 and a pitiful 48-114 in 2011 the team fired their general manager.  The ultimate blunder, rather descent into baseball hell, was when the former GM traded a once in a lifetime talent in Stephen Strasburg (he's enjoying some southern California sun at the moment!).  It's no wonder fans who don Nationals jerseys with "Strasburg 37" on the back choose to duct tape out the front side where it says "Nationals" instead of the traditional duct taping of the players side of the jersey.  And by the end of 2011, fans were showing up with bags on their heads.

That's all over.  The Nationals have hired an experienced GM in Dan Treccia.  It's not going to be an easy task or a fast turnover, but it's the best they can do to try and restore this team.

"I'm not going to talk about Stephen Strasburg, or 48 wins, or not making the playoffs in 2012," said Treccia, "I will talk about player movement and the direction I see this club going.  If I don't want a player here, he will be packing his bags the day I feel that way about him.  If I get a star talent, I'm not going to be jumping out of my skin to trade him because I'm not clinically insane.  The fact of the matter is that I am going to put the best possible team on the field at the beginning of every season without compromising our future."

Treccia, for the most part, seems to be practicing patience with his ball club.  How could he not?  His best prospect is Manuel Varqas, a 16 year old outfielder that is currently playing in single-A (and doing quite well).    Don't expect to see Varqas in the majors for at the very least 3 seasons.  However; don't expect him to make his rookie debut with anyone but the Nationals.

"Varqas is a special talent," said Treccia, "He's got a chance to come up young and break all kinds of records."

Then there's Brian Colley.  Like Varqas (last year's #1 pick), Colley is a top five draft pick (going at #4 in 2010).  Colley has dominated rookie ball for the Nationals and will be fast-tracked from A to AA by August of 2013.

"We see Brian coming up around the same time as Varqas," commented Treccia, "He's a future ace of our staff.  We've communicated to Brian that we're not planning on trading him either.  He has a fastball that touches 97 and four nice pitches.  You can't let that kind of talent go."

So how will Treccia mold the Nationals into a better team without trading top prospects?

"I'm going to hold onto everything I deem valueable to this organization," explains Treccia, "It's not easy to wait, but sometimes it's for the best of the club.  In the meantime I'm going to cut the payroll before free agency and try adding some crucial pieces to our 2013 club.  If I feel I can deal a talented player by the end of free agency, I'll do it.  The Washington Nationals are open for business."

Everyone expects the Nationals to be moving a catcher this off-season to gain some depth in other areas.  A source had indicated preliminary interest has been shown in catcher Travis d'Arnaud.  d'Arnaud has been playing first base as a September call-up, but his true calling is to be a Major League catcher.  Brian Peacock stands in his way as the team's best hitter.  Peacock has hit .307-17-68 in his rookie season.  He's a pretty good defensive catcher too.  A tough decision may come this off-season to benefit other areas of the team.

"There's a lot of decisions I'll need to make in a short amount of time this off-season," said the new GM, "I'm just going to make the right ones and move forward with this operation."

Three Released


The first moves of Dan Treccia's career were to release some big contracts.  OF Chris Duncan, SP Dustin McGowan, and RP Doug Slaten.  The moves allowed the Nationals to shed about $12 million in payroll.  The team has at least another $10 million coming off the payroll at the end of the season in Marlon Byrd, Aubrey Huff, and Roger Bernadina.

In the Haren Hunt?


When asked about the possibility of chasing after Dan Haren this off-season:


"I'm not going to name names," said Treccia, "but if we see a player we'd like to add and we have the money to do it we're going to try and get that player."

The team currently has three starting pitchers the organization feels highly about in Jack McGreary, Josh Smoker, and Paul Demny.

Strasburg = Ace Material?

Last season, Stephen Strasburg pitched in 20 starts and earned a 5-9 record, maintaining a 4.01 ERA but our scouts have showed that Strasburg had greatly improved over the off-season. After getting shut out by the Marlins, we were disappointed but I was excited because Strasburg would make his first start of the 2011 season. Strasburg pitched better than a number two starter, he pitched like an ACE! Reminded me of a young Roger Clemens. 11 strikeouts, 1 base on ball, 3 hits, 9 innings, and no runs. Strasburg's first game was a shutout and he was darn proud as was I. Not only was it a shutout it was an 11 strikeout performance. Strasburg outdid himself this time and the 22 year old is starting what looks to be a beautiful season for him and us. The sad thing is that after the game, poor Strasburg bruised his knee and was put on the 15-day DL. Brian Bruney, a relief pitcher actually started for us and led us to victory. Strasburg was just taken off of the 15-day DL today, so his next start will either be April 16th or April 17th against the Phillies. Can he outdo himself once more or will the Phillies crush him? Also, Strasburg has been promoted to team ace, sticking McGowan as a strong number 2 guy.