Nats320 -- A Washington Nationals Blog

The Ballpark District

2009-11-22T12:00:00.015-05:00

Since the recession hit The United States a few years ago, both Lehman Brothers and Corus Bank have fallen. It just so happens both were also major investors in The Ballpark District surrounding Nationals Park. The Huffington Post released this past Friday a well produced story describing The Ballpark District's languishing re-development prospects. Specifically, the story looks at The Half Street Project of Monument Realty--their 55 M Street, S.E. building now erected above the West Entrance to the Navy Yard Metro Station and the accompanying open pit that exists on the east of Half Street, S.E. as one exits the Metro Station and walks toward Center Field Gate at the ballpark.

Remember this snazzy video produced by Monument Realty to promote Half Street? (Use this link if the video below is cut off on your screen--blogger seems to have a problem with the placement)

Bottom line?

Don't expect a whole lot more anytime soon, sadly. The economy is still lagging, commercial real estate is taking a big hit, and banks are nowhere close to lending out dollars as they were five years ago. A few more years are going to pass before The Ballpark District success can be reached. It took 10 years for the Chinatown area surrounding Verizon Center (originally called MCI) to totally take shape. Eight more years for South Capitol Street, Half Street, Potomac Avenue, 1st Street, M Street and N Street--all in S.E.--to catch up with Nationals Park--probably not out of the question either.

Fortunate

2009-11-21T09:15:00.012-05:00

The Washington Redskins Jason Campbell, The New York Jets Mark Sanchez (although his injury occurred his senior year at USC), The Los Angeles Lakers Andrew Bynum and The Arizona Diamondbacks Chad Qualls--fortunate all to be professional athletes. All of whom not so fortunate to share another experience with Our Washington Nationals Stephen Strasburg.

A Dislocated Kneecap.

The moving, or sliding, of the triangle shaped bone covering the knee (patella) out of place. This injury occurs frequently in sports when an athlete makes a sharp turn or move on the field of play in an opposite direction. If no bone is broken or cartilage damaged--no surgery is required. Immobilization for three to six weeks in a brace follows, which allows the body to mend naturally. Physical Therapy after that.

That is the diagnosis for Stephen Strasburg announced yesterday by Our Washington Nationals.

Good News.

The same treatment received by Campbell, Sanchez and Bynum for their dislocated kneecaps. All three followed a similar course back to recovery now recommended to Strasburg. Today, all three of those players are fully healthy and back playing, and starting, for their respective teams. Qualls' injury, on the other hand, was more serious and required surgery. The Snakes Closer took a line drive off his left knee in an August 31st game. Test showed ligaments were damaged. Three to four months recovery required to get back into the game--after being placed on the operating table.

What is unclear is whether Chad Qualls will be 100% ready come Spring Training--2010? Qualls needs to heal, rebuild his strength, flexibility--and his confidence that he can pitch again without pain. Heavy therapy with the mind games thrown-in. Worry that Strasburg has dodged for now.

No injury is ever good, but as Our General Manager Mike Rizzo stated last night: "It was the best result that we could have hoped for," when Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles gave Washington his expert opinion on Strasburg's dislocated knee.

Rizzo's comment was right on target, because ligament damage would have been far, far worse. If surgery had been the case, everyone would begin wondering whether Stephen Strasburg's surgically repaired left kneecap would affect his plant foot, his delivery and, ultimately, his 100 MPH Fastball?

No one wanted to see that. Especially any injury that might change his pitching mechanics--and hinder some of that God-Given special talent Stephen naturally possesses.

Just look at the history of Hall Of Fame Pitcher Dizzy Dean and how a freak injury turned his career around--for the worse.

You never want to minimize any damage. And you never want to take chances with top talent.

Yes, Stephen Strasburg and Our Washington Nationals received some fortunate news yesterday. But everyone is still going to have to proceed slowly and watch Strasburg closely. Remember, to this day, Mark Sanchez stills wears a protective brace on his right kneecap--as a precaution.

Strasburg Photo Credit--Getty Images

Welcome Back

2009-11-20T13:20:00.004-05:00

Coming through Immigration & Customs at Dulles International Airport overnight, the I.C.E Agent notices my Red Curly "W" Cap on top of my head.

"You a Nats Fan?" he asked.

"Yeah, Big Time," I respond.

"Just read during my break that Stephen Strasburg hurt his knee in Arizona shagging flies during batting practice," the agent continues.

Me: "Great, not the best thing to hear returning home."

AGENT: "No, but Welcome Back to the United States though."

"Thanks--I guess."

The Ballpark Tour

2009-11-14T12:33:00.000-05:00

Walking around Nationals Park yesterday with virtually no one in sight was quite fun. Sohna and I took The Ballpark Tour, with Les as our guide, beginning at 10:30AM Friday Morning. There were just two other fans along for the ride. Each Season Ticket Holder was given "X" number of free passes from the just completed 2009 season. We hadn't used ours yet, so yesterday was our day.

Damp and rainy weather during the entire 90-plus minutes inside Nationals Park didn't damper the spirits. In fact, it enhanced the outing and gave the entire experience that personal feel. Throughout the entire time walking around, we only ran into four other employees at Nationals Park. Meeting at Center Field Plaza, Les started everything off by talking about the three statues of Washington Baseball Greats, then we proceeded clockwise around the main concourse, The Exxon Kids Zone, The Painted Columns of Historical Players, The Kravitz "The Ball Game" Mobile, and then on to The PNC Diamond Club where Les told the story of how The Washington Senators scored the game winning run in Game 7 of the 1924 World Series at Old Griffith Stadium. The Line Score to D.C.'s only World Series Winning Game, the backdrop to the bar inside Diamond Club. Everybody enjoyed looking at one of the electronic modules used in the HDTV Scoreboard which was presented by Les. The Presidential Suites behind home plate were also on the agenda.

Then, upstairs we all headed to The Stars & Stripes Club. Our Home Away from home during the baseball season as we sit in Section 218 there. Sure enough, part of the tour headed toward our section and the Homestead Grays Bar. From there, up three more levels to the sixth floor and the Shirley Povich Media Center. A nice view from the Press Box, despite the pouring rain. And a good look at the wonderful Shirley Povich artifacts displayed in the elevator lobby there. Some really nice historical items in that display case.

Les then took all four of us downstairs to The Lexus Presidents Club--where it was raining so hard--there no way any of us were heading out onto the veranda for the view. So instead of spending a lot of time there, we headed over to Our Washington Nationals Clubhouse to peek inside. And then walked down the stairs to the home dugout. At this point, the downpour was so thick, the field was hidden behind this gray mist. A little eerie, but became better when The HDTV Video Board started playing a special presentation about Ryan Zimmerman winning the 2009 Rawlings Gold Glove and the 2009 Louisville Silver Slugger Award this past week. All accompanied by a series of Flaming "Z's" dancing across the ribbon boards at Nationals Park.

Finally, we ended our trip around Nationals Park in Washington's Rightfield Bullpen, where everyone got the opportunity to take a few throws from the mound. Since only four of us were there, we each got four tosses.

The small group provided a nice opportunity for banter and storytelling, that back and forth which baseball fans always love. Even Les was into the camaraderie of it all. The casual and intimate atmosphere making this visit well worth our time. The Ballpark Tour, a nice outing for fans during the off-season looking for their baseball fix.

All Photos Copyrighted--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

Blogger Availability With Jim Riggleman

2009-11-13T20:00:00.011-05:00

Early this afternoon, Mike Gazda, Director of Baseball Media Relations for Our Washington Nationals conducted a Blogger Availability with Jim Riggleman, the 3rd Full-Time Manager of D.C.'s team since baseball returned to The Nation's Capital in 2005. As it turned out, Sohna and I happened to be at Nationals Park during the conference call. We were using our free Ballpark Tour tickets, a benefit available to Season Ticket Holders. Never had we taken the tour before and that freebie for 2009 Ticket Holders expires this Saturday, November 14th. So as it turns out, we participated in the phone conference call while still on South Capitol Street, in the proximity of Jim Riggleman, but a good distance away.

Funny though, and enjoyable to watch beforehand, a special video presentation on the ballpark's HDTV Scoreboard to commemorate Ryan Zimmerman being awarded the Rawlings Gold Glove and Louisville Silver Slugger Award from earlier this week. All ribbon boards throughout Nationals Park displayed a very cool, almost Zorro like, Flaming "Z". The videos covered both Ryan's exploits in the field and at the plate in 2009. Not sure if the displays and video presentation were put on for those taking the tour (of which only four were on hand), or if this was for the enjoyment of Nationals Employees having lunch at Nationals Park. The displays had been dark for the first 90 minutes of the tour. But when our visit extended a little past 12 noon--the HDTV Scoreboard and Ribbon Boards came to life.

By the way, take a look at this picture of The African Queen and I in the Home Dugout today. It is pouring outside--which helped make the the tour quite interesting, different, and a lot of fun. Nothing like a near private romp around a Major League Ballpark!!

Good Stuff-even while exploring in a driving rainstorm. We will have more on that ballpark tour later.

But nothing like baseball in November!! And that's leads us to the transcript of today's Blogger Availability With Jim Riggleman. Eight different social media folks asked questions during the 20 minutes alloted. There were, at least 11 or so on the call. But there was not a roll call before the event began to know how many for sure.

With that, here with go with today's Blogger Availability With Jim Riggleman--which got off to an inauspicious start when Mr. Riggleman accidentally hung up after being introduced by Mike Gazda:

Jim: Hello guys, sorry for that delay there. John Dever (Sr. Director Media Relations) messed that up. I’ll make sure that won’t happen again!! (Sohna and I were balling over in laughter. We are sure others were as well).

Question: One thing. If you had to make a list of all traits you bring, what is at the top? What stood out as to the reason you got the full-time job?

Jim: The criteria that the job is based on is in somebody else’s hand. I know what I feel my strengths are. I know what I am looking on to improve—that type of stuff. But exactly what they (The Nationals) are looking for—you really never know. The people who are making those decisions on who is going to be the manager, or who is going to be in any position—if they have the power in their hands to make that call—they are the one’s who are going to have that criteria. I am not sure what qualities I have that helped them make this decision, but I am confident I am going to be able to do this job. I have done it before. I look forward to continuing it on and the faith they have shown in me, the confidence they have shown in me, will be rewarded with that continued progress.

Question: Can you tell us Jim what decisions remain for you to make, in regard to your coaching staff? Or, for example—bench coach?

Jim: Yeah. We are in the process of doing that. We don’t have anything to announce right now because whenever you make these types of decisions, there are people who you might want to bring in—but you have got to get permissions from the existing clubs they are with—to talk to them. In most cases, it is just a formality because you are not asking for the person to make a lateral move. So, there will be a couple of changes on the staff. I know we are close to finalizing it. If we were probably doing this call two days from now—we would have a final list for you. But I really can’t disclose those things right now because the permission hasn’t been granted, yet.

Question: I want to follow up on that first question asked. What do you think are your strengths as a full-time manager in the field that is the reason why Mike Rizzo said: ‘you are the guy, no one else?’

Jim: Again, it is a tough question to answer because that would be a question for Mike. I will just say for myself, I feel like I have managed a long time. People look at how long you manage—I managed, whatever, eight seasons in the Major Leagues. But, I managed eight or nine years in the minor leagues. That’s 16 years of managing there. I don’t care what level you are at—when the umpire says play ball—your competitive juices are flowing, game situations come up, so there are 16 years of experience that I am drawing from every time I manage in a ball game. And amazingly it’s strange, that as long as I have been in the game, something will happen most every other day that you haven’t seen before—whatever. So, I think the qualities I bring is just the experience, the dealings with the ups and downs of the game, the understanding how difficult of a game it is to play and not get too down in the dumps if the play isn’t going well. But, then again, not accepting if the effort is not going well. Trying to keep an even keel, I think that has helped me as much as anything. Not getting too excited about wins and not getting too down about losses—being more intoned to the effort we are giving out on the field and are we, or are we not making progress. But I think I have a good handle on that.

Question: If I could follow up on that real quick. With that experience in mind, what do you see with this team right now as it moves forward?

Jim: I think that the way we finished the (2009) season, not just the fact that we won seven ball games. But I think the energy the ball club displayed throughout September—in September we didn’t necessarily win a bunch of games—we won our last seven games of the season—but a lot of those losses we had were in September, but the energy level and the determination by the players is something I really think we can build on. The talent level we saw with some of our young players was very exciting. (Ian) Desmond, (Justin) Maxwell, the way that (Garrett) Mock developed into a guy that could go deep into ball games. John Lannan throwing better in late September, as good or better than in April—which is very encouraging because he is a guy that logged over 200 innings for us. I just think there are a lot of things to build on without even mentioning the two big boys in the middle of our lineup (Ryan Zimmerman/Adam Dunn). Nyjer Morgan and (Sean) Burnett are great additions that Mike (Rizzo) made for us that will be there from day one for us next year. There are a lot of things I feel positive about.

Question: Jim, you talk about the plan to move Cristian Guzman to second base. I have heard a lot from fans, just comments, wondering why not try him out at least for one or two games in September—the end of last season? Just to see him at game speed just to help form the decision of what to do going into the off-season?

Jim: That is what we want to do, but when we came to the decision that we were going to move him over there and we talked to him about it—we then wanted to get him some work at second base, pre-game. So it would be fair to him and fair to the pitcher that was pitching that night. We’d have then worked him out at second; he’s had his pre-game over there. And it was about that time that he really wasn’t able to continue playing at all. His arm was bothering him to the point where we just had to shut him down. No matter what position he played, the arm wasn’t going to allow him to throw. And they (Team Doctors) checked him out and they saw an issue there that needed to be operated on. The operation took place and we heard it was very successful. The damage that was in his shoulder was minimal—to the point of where he is probably going to be throwing fine by January or February. But, yeah you are right, it would have been nice to get him out there in September for a few games, but we just weren’t able to do it.

Question: Talking of injured players, any word on the progress of Scott Olsen after his surgery in July?

Jim: He’s progressed very nicely. He’s pretty much progressed well from the time he got injured. After getting the operation, he has progressed pretty well. Toward the end (of the season) he was playing catch and so forth. Then, whatever the timeframe was, he is actually ahead of schedule. So now it is a matter of making a decision on what to do with him this winter—bringing him back or whatever—because he is a nice young guy—but still he is a veteran that’s got some experience out there. He’s a guy that has put in 200 innings himself a couple of times. We think he will be healthy in the spring.

Question: What is on the top of your wish list for the 25-man roster?

Jim: When you finish the season with as many losses as we did, obviously there is a lot of room for improvement. My wish list is that we just continue the progress that we made and more in the line of defense. Offense in exciting, people want to see the ball go out of the ballpark and all that, but I don’t want to see us add offensive players who can’t play their position—defensively. I think we have to shore up our defense. I think that my wish list is—a little more often we make the plays, we cut down on the errors, when the ball goes in the air, it’s an out. When it is on the ground, it is an out. We have guys with range that can make the necessary plays to help our pitchers.

Question: I had the pleasure of going down to Phoenix to watch some Arizona Fall League last week and the question I had was—with the wisdom of a manager—but put yourself in the position of a young player who is hoping to make the 25-man roster—if you had to churn a course, if you were starting today and wanted to end in April in Washington—what would your course be?

Jim: Well, you saw those guys in Arizona. If you look at the Arizona Fall League a higher percentage of those guys who play in that league end up playing in the Big Leagues probably more than any other league. So, that is a great path to go on. If you are respected enough by your organization that you are invited to that league—that’s a path you should be flattered to be asked. And then to go there and play well, it really does help your progress for making a ball club in April. Many of the guys who will play in the Big Leagues don’t go directly in April, but they will show up there at some point in that season or next. It’s a very good league you got to see down there. You are basically seeing the cream of the crop throughout baseball when you see that league.

Question: On the AFL, if Drew Storen had a great spring, would you consider giving him a spot in the bullpen? And if so, what would that role be—middle relief, set-up?

Jim: Decisions like that are very tough to talk about right now because you get real excited about these guys and you come into spring training and their numbers—themselves—don’t allow something like that to happen. You want to put the best ball club you can out there, but you also want to make sure you take care of the player the right way—get him enough innings throughout the Minor Leagues times that he comes and has got his feet on the ground and kind of understands the workload that he may be asked to carry and—as I said—he gets his feet wet in the Minor Leagues. Now, that being said, Drew signed quickly last year and that is a great thing. He signed quickly. He got a lot of work for us last year. He is in the fall league now. His path to the Big Leagues is definitely sped up. If he were that impressive in the spring and he made it a tough choice for us—then more power to him and it could go his way. The role would probably, as you said, middle—not a long man by any chance—but somewhere toward the middle, sixth to eight inning, more in there.

Question: Going back to the Frank Robinson days, The Nationals have always tended to be toward the bottom of the league in stolen bases success rate. And that remained the case last year. I wonder if, A: that is a priority for you? And as a manager, what is it going to take to get The Nationals up to the point where they are being successful 75% or more on stolen bases?

Jim: A good number is probably 70%. A great number is 80%. And I know we weren’t at that. The stolen base success rate is a product of the personnel on the ball club. I think what happened is that—you know I came up in The Cardinals System. I coached and managed in The Cardinals System with Vince Coleman, Willie McGee, Ozzie Smith, Andy VanSlyke, Tommy Herr—those types of guys. That ball club was actually stealing 300 bases per year. That kind of went away. We hit the Steroids Era. People weren’t willing to make outs on the bases because so many guys were hitting the ball out of the ballparks. Why take a chance unless you were going to be extremely successful running the bases. So, I think you are going to see more and more teams go towards athleticism and speed again as we get away from the steroids times. And when you see that, you are going to see a success rate increase in stolen bases. The bottom line is that you want to score runs. However you create those runs, a stolen base just for the sake of a stolen base doesn’t do you much good if you are not 75% successful. I think you are going to see in the next year or two the game go in that direction and that will be reflected in the players we sign.

Question: If you are comfortable moving Guzman to second base with a spring training behind him, how comfortable are you with investing in Ian Desmond at shortstop and Jesus Flores behind the plate—even though he has been often injured?

Jim: My initial reaction to that would be that I really liked what I saw with Desmond. I would feel comfortable with him at shortstop. I think with any young shortstop you are going to have to live with some errors that maybe you wouldn’t get with a veteran guy. The payback is going to be with the range and the athleticism and sometimes the extraordinary play that a guy like him can make. The short answer is that I would be comfortable with doing that. Behind the plate, Flores has had a couple of operations. We have got to get him back. This is a big part of our lineup that we want to get in there. But we can’t rush him back. He’s had a lot of things going on with his right arm. So we are not anticipating that he will be ready, necessarily, when spring training starts. We may have to bring him along a little slower. Eventually, I would be very comfortable if, and when, we can get him back healthy.

Question: Are you then going to need a starting catcher in the meantime?

Jim: That is something Mike Rizzo is going to explore. Yesterday was a real busy day. Mike and I got a chance to talk a little bit, but this (Flores) is the type of personnel stuff we were not talking about because I did not know whether I had this job (permanently). Now, we are going to get a little aggressive about that and hopefully begin cataloging what our needs are going to be—and catcher may be one of them.

Question: Just wondering how you expect to draw free agents for a team that has lost over 100 games two years in a row? And how are you going to convince players that this is the place to come?

Jim: Surprisingly, ballplayers are looking for opportunity. When you talk about last year, like (Mark) Teixeira, C.C. Sabathia. C.C. Sabathia was going to a top-flight ball club. A club that was ready to win now. Mark Teixeira had limited his places that he was going to go to the east. He was probably going to end up in New York, Baltimore or Washington, Philadelphia-somewhere in the east. Sometimes, it’s not just a matter of where you are in the standings. For some guys it’s where they are going to fit on the ball club? How bad you need that position that they play or pitch. If they are a closer, if they can come in and be The Closer—instead of being a set-up guy. There are different reasons for guys to go places. They may want to be the closer—like I said. They may want to know they are coming in as the regular shortstop. If they can’t get a job as the regular shortstop somewhere else, and you are offering them that; or you are offering them the chance to be our catcher rather than go somewhere else and not be the regular (guy)—they can come here and be the regular (catcher)—that might be a free agent that might want to come to you and feel like he is going to be a part of the solution—instead of being a part of the problem—where the club has lost 100 games.

Question: You mentioned Scott Olsen earlier. How about Jordan Zimmermann? Any word on his progress?

Jim: Jordan is doing great. But there is really no way for speeding that up. You go into that (ligament replacement surgery to his right throwing elbow) with 12 to 18 months of recovery. 12-months would probably be August. Taking a cautious approach, I could actually see where we could not be counting on him in ’09, instead in ’10 because there would just be a small part of the season left (next year). We want to make sure we get him ready for the next season. Stranger things have happened. We heard that when they (the surgeons) went in and worked on him—they felt great about how it went when they finished up that operation. And he is going to be as good as ever. It could be that he could pitch for us in August or September, but the off-season months will also help his recovery, so it might be in ’11.

With that final answer, The Blogger Availability With Jim Riggleman concluded. What was interesting to hear at the very end was Mike Gazda—not only thanking the many bloggers that participated, but also the mainstream media for calling in and listening. Sohna and I got a big kick out of that.

All photos copyrighted--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

Nats Baseball

2009-11-13T09:45:00.007-05:00

The taking home of two prestigious individual awards this week by Ryan Zimmerman has spotted a new positive light down on Our Washington Nationals. For some time, the national media, and even the local press contingent in the Washington metropolitan area (bloggers too) has used Our Washington Nationals as their punching bag. The butt of all jokes. Losing 205 games over the past two seasons will bring that on.

That's understandable.

Fortunately, the Z-Man's Rawlings Gold Glove recognition on Wednesday, and now his Silver Slugger Trophy announced yesterday, shifts the focus and directs the perspective more on the changing times currently underway. National exposure does that. It helps build a more well-rounded viewpoint.

What those novices now heading over to ponder Nats Baseball will discover, is that upon further review Washington is no longer a team pieced together by "toolsy" players and the hopes some down on his luck guy can turn his career around and be a "diamond in the rough". Instead, General Manager Mike Rizzo is in charge and over the past few months has slowly and methodically formed a professional and, seemingly, cohesive front office. One not built on panache and flair, but top baseball management evaluators. Those with the insight and the skill to find and develop young talent to help make D.C.'s Team a winner--for years to come.

That's a far cry from what was Our Washington Nationals just one year ago today.

Those now looking in on Nats Baseball will also find a respectable core of potential on the field. Not just Ryan Zimmerman, but Nyjer Morgan (whom some have stated was deserving of the Gold Glove in The National League for 2009 too. A big bopper in Adam Dunn and a professional hitter in Josh Willingham. John Lannan on the mound. And if he can remain healthy, a good young catcher behind the plate in Jesus Flores. There are many more holes to fill. No doubt Our Washington Nationals need to get better up the middle in the infield and their bullpen needs to be revamped. But clearly, there is a light now being seen at the end of that proverbial tunnel.

Ryan's Awards will provoke others to take a look at some of Washington's young players. The Farm System which as been slowly rebuilding.

While Stephen Strasburg as been put on everyone's radar and has raised the hopes of many a fan, Zimmy's Awards these past two days also beams notice down on Drew Storen, Ian Desmond, Derek Norris, Ross Detwiler, Justin Maxwell,Chris Marrero and even Danny Espinosa. Just a few of Washington's youngsters looking to find their way in the game in the next year or two. That once bare cupboard, then known as Washington's Minor League System, is being stocked.

That can't be denied.

Beyond a doubt, this is not The Washington Franchise of the past fews seasons. Nats Baseball has a fresh outlook and Ryan Zimmerman's Rawlings Gold Glove Award and Louisville Silver Slugger Award given to him this week has dawned a new age to coverage of our team. The media is now going to be following more closely. And they won't be able to ignore the positives, because Our Number 11 has put Nats Baseball back on the map.

This has been a good week for Our Washington Nationals because two post-season awards given to D.C.'s Franchise Player is helping to change the perspective of all that was Nats Baseball (good and bad) before Ryan Zimmmeran gave Nationals Baseball--National Exposure.

Photo Credit--Getty Images

Jim Riggleman/Mike Rizzo Press Conference

2009-11-12T21:00:00.022-05:00

Prior commitments made it impossible to attend this afternoon's Media Availability with newly named full-time manager Jim Riggleman and General Manager Mike Rizzo at Nationals Park. Despite that setback, Sohna was able to record the proceedings on MASN (which televised the press conference). This evening, I transcribed the proceedings.

With that, here is the complete transcript from the announcement ceremony of Jim Riggleman being named Field Manager of Our Washington Nationals. No longer will he wear the "Interim" title.

Mike Rizzo: First of all it’s an exciting day here to announce Jim Riggleman as the permanent field manager of The Washington Nationals. You now how much I love those "interim" titles. It’s a great day to name Jim the field manager for The Washington Nationals. We went through a disappointing season in 2009 and halfway through the season we turned to Jim Riggleman for some stability to right the ship and he did, what I thought, was a masterful job in a very trying circumstances. He gave us a sense of balance, not only in the dugout, but also in the clubhouse. We went back to the roots of the game, the fundamentals, efficient play and with a big focus on pitching, defense and playing the game the right way. I felt we had a very efficient, talented manager in-house. After the season, we felt it was in our duty to the ballclub and the fans of Washington, D.C. to do our due diligence and look at all venues for a permanent field manager. We did an extensive search and came back to the realization that the best guy we had for the job—was in-house in Jim Riggleman. It’s my pleasure to introduce the 2010 Manager of The Washington Nationals—Jim Riggleman.

Jim Riggleman: Thank you, Mike. In a situation like this there are so many people to thank. I won’t do a lot of that as you invariably end up skipping some people who are very important to you. But first of all, I would like to thank the Lerner Family for allowing this to happen. And Stan Kasten, Mike Rizzo and his whole staff, my coaches, my family, some of which are here. Just the total support I have felt was coming my way throughout the remaining part of the season—from the time I took over. As I said, there are a lot of people to thank. I do have great respect for the game and that respect goes back a lot further than the Major Leagues. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Minor Leagues as a player and as a manager. The reason I am in a position to manage a ballclub is that, when I finished playing, I was given an opportunity by some great people—George Kissel, Lee Thomas—people who were running the Minor League System for The St. Louis Cardinals. They gave me the opportunity to continue on in the game after my playing days. And when I did that for a while, I was then given the opportunity to go to the Major Leagues by a person who I have the utmost respect for—that being Whitey Herzog—who gave me the opportunity. So I would like to thank Whitey for allowing me to come to the Major Leagues. That is (of course) back in the day for some of us who are older here--who remember (Paul) ‘Bear’ Bryant. If you were an assistant coach and you got to work for ‘Bear’ Bryant—it’s a good chance you are going to be a head coach some day. I think Whitey did that for me. Again, I appreciate Whitey Herzog for bringing me to the Big Leagues as a coach. I think for a guy that was a career minor leaguer that (Herzog's recognition)--validated me a little bit as a person who might be able to do more some day. I got that opportunity from some great people in Chicago—Ed Lynch, Andy MacPhail—I send thanks out to them for that. And you move on and other great opportunities in the game took place. But this has been a dream of mine to land right here. This is the team I grew up watching—The Washington Senators—still to me it is still The Nationals, The Senators, it’s all the same. It’s all Washington Baseball and this is a dream of a lifetime to grow up watching a ballclub and then end up playing or managing for that very ballclub. It couldn’t be better for me. So I am extremely appreciative—again to the Lerner Family and to Stan, Mike and his staff. It’s been a wonderful few months for me. I hope better things are ahead for the ballclub as we move forward. The last thing I will say before I hand it over to questions is I really appreciate the fan support we got. It was amazing the energy; I think our players felt in the dugout, during a game. For what our record was, I thought our fans were extremely excited about what was going on, on the field. And our players fed off that. We owe them a debt of gratitude and we are going to do better things in the future.

Question: Could you tell me your reaction when Mike Rizzo called you and said you had the permanent job?

Jim: Yeah, I was extremely excited about it. I was following things, just like everybody else was, I guess, who is a Nationals fan. I felt great about it. I don’t know how else to explain it—that I can really put it into words. It’s where I want to be and Mike is allowing that to happen. It couldn’t be better. It couldn’t have turned out better for me. The circumstances in which I got the job under were not ideal, but I have got to thank our players for the effort they gave to allow this to happen. If they didn’t go out and play hard I wouldn’t be sitting here right now. So it’s a culmination of a lot of feelings there when Mike said ‘it’s your job’. I am just very grateful.

Question: Coming off what the team did to end the season (seven game winning streak), knowing what you have coming back, and knowing management is going to try to put more pieces into it—how much momentum has carried into this upcoming season?

Jim: I think there is some momentum. Smarter people than me have said momentum is no better than your next day’s start. And I kind of believe that. The positive vibes that were flowing around the ballpark which again stimulates from our fans—who were getting excited about what was happening—and our players sending that energy back into the stands—it all worked together and that kind of results in momentum. It’s just a good feeling. I think a lot of our players felt it and I think they feel they can take that momentum to next season. It will be a great challenge. It’s a tough division. It’s certainly something you want on your side, if you can have it, and that’s momentum.

Question: What are some of the things you learned along the way—since this is your fourth Major League team (as manager)? And how are you different from when you first started?

Jim: As I said earlier, I really spent a lot of time in the Minor Leagues. But when you spend that much time in the Minor Leagues—not a lot happens in the course of a ball game that hadn’t already happened. You learn from things that took place from the first day that you start managing in the Minor Leagues until your most recent game. What you learn is more of the interaction with players. When to, when not to address issues--the subtlety of that kind of thing that, hopefully with time, will get better. That, and learning not to compromise what you believe in, staying true to your convictions. You learn that and when you get away from it—it generally comes back to bite you. So, I think much as anything, it’s just that. That experience tells me you have got to go with what you believe in—your gut instinct—whether it’s to hit and run here or whether to call a player into your office. Those are all learning experiences. They didn’t just take place in the Big Leagues for those four teams (as manager). They took place in the Minor Leagues. You know, you like to thank people and before we go any further I would like to thank our players for playing as hard as they did. None of the opportunities I have had in baseball—and I have had great opportunities in baseball, I have had great jobs--but none of that takes place unless those ballplayers who played for me in the 80’s, 90’s, in the Minor Leagues gave the efforts they gave. So, I owe a great deal of thanks to all those players who played for me in the Minor League because most of them didn’t make it, but they all gave me a great effort and I greatly appreciate them.

Question: You were put into a difficult position when you took over in the middle of the season. It became pretty apparent to you that the players responded to you. Was there anything that you tried to do at that time to try to win them over? To take over the clubhouse so they became your team?

Jim: Nothing specific, no. I worked here with Manny (Acta) and I really believed in what Manny was doing, and saying, and trying to get done. And for whatever reason, we were not getting it done. There wasn’t a lot different being said. We got to a point where we were really struggling and our record indicated that players have to be receptive to pretty much anything you have to say. So, I think we benefited from that, I think. No matter what I tried to institute, it was going to have to be received because what’s going on has not been working. And it wasn’t because of not enough effort from the manager and coaching staff--because I saw that every day, and I saw the work being put in--but there was no one specific thing that we tried to do. It was just a general feeling of, look; let’s just keep grinding it out every day. We have got to grind it out and sometime later we are going to be rewarded. If you remember, we lost the first five games I managed here. But we couldn’t give up on the message that it is going to get better if we keep working. If we stop working, it is just going to get worse and there will be a price to pay for that.

Question: You were obviously in this same position last year with Seattle and hoping to get a chance at that job (full-time) after that season ended. Did that weigh on you a little bit as you waited for the five or six weeks to see if you would get the permanent job here? That was obviously a difficult situation when that didn’t come through. How did you handle that?

Jim: To be honest with you, when my time in Seattle ended, I really wanted to go back there because I felt we had left a lot left undone. There were some things I tried to instill there and was not able to do. I wasn’t able to reach some players. And when that happens, you are really anxious to go back and get things right. Maybe, take a little different approach with players, or whatever, reach them in a different way. This situation here (Washington), as much as I wanted to come back, had I not been asked to come back, I would have walked away with my head high. I would have felt, you know what, we had done everything we could do. We left no stone unturned. We worked hard. We addressed issues. We did everything we could do and I hope to get the opportunity to continue. But it would have not been as painful as it was the year before—because you know—when we really didn’t show our best, you don’t want it to end. And that is the way it kind of ended the year before. This year, I felt good about the opportunity to come back. I thought I would. I thought I was the right person. However, if it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t feel like it was because of something I didn’t do during the course of the work.

Question for Mike: You brought in a wide-ranging group of interviewees. Some had vastly different experiences and personalities than Jim. Specifically, I am wondering how you can reconcile Bobby Valentine and Jim Riggleman in the same group, when Valentine is such a different personality—we all know that. How can you begin to compare those two? And I want to ask this to Jim, as well. As you were waiting at home, how did you observe the process going on?

Mike: What was the question again? (Laughter) We felt, as before, we owed it to ourselves and the fan base of D.C. to exhaust all opportunities and look for all sorts of different dynamics, personalities and personality types--and to at least discuss the job of managing The Nationals (with each). We felt there was an opportunity right here to go out and select my first manager as a general manager and really nail down the job of the managerial job for years to come. We started with a list of 18 candidates and whittled that down to 10; spoke to several candidates both on the phone and in person. I flew to interviews, outside the city, to talk to candidates. With that all said, and knowing all along, and expressing to the media all along—we did have a great in-house candidate that I knew I could turn to when I finished making my decision. But, we thought we owed it to the fan base to look at all sorts of people—all diverse backgrounds—and really the only one real caveat I did have with my managerial search—although we did interview some who would have been first-time managers—I did want to stay away from an inexperienced Major League Manager—although we did talk to a few of them. I knew what we had here was a 10-year Major League experienced manager that I got along with very, very well for the last three months of the season. We had a very good daily dialogue and a good process we went through, before games, after games, on the road and at home. And a guy I knew we could both co-exist with in that kind of a partnership to get the franchise rolling in the right direction.

Question: Jim, five games into your time as manager, you were 40 games under .500. After that you played the last 70 games, I think, four games under .500. Which team is it? The awful team earlier? Or, the almost pretty good team late? And what do you do with that team next to figure out which one it is?

Jim: I think we are closer to the latter group. When your record is what your overall record is, or was, you know there are areas you need to improve in. So, it’s a work in progress. It’s certainly closer to the latter though—to cut to the chase and question. We are a lot closer to that record than what we were 40 games under—at that point in the season. That’s the interesting thing this winter, to see if we can tweak. That is a total team effort. That’s all the way from ownership, all the way to your Minor League managers who have seen players and have reported on players and can give you an idea who the prospects are—what deal you can make—and stuff like that. It’s a great, interesting time, but the bottom line is we have to do better. And hopefully, we will play more like we did those last couple of months, rather than what we did the first couple.

Question: Mike, you talked about how comfortable you were. Specifically, can you mention a couple of things what you like about Jim as a manager? What qualities you like about him being the manager?

Mike: He’s got a discipline and toughness to his personality, first of all. He’s a quiet kind of a leader. He’s not a boisterous personality, but he connects with players very, very well. I don’t know if the media knows this but Jim conducts a post-game meeting with the full team after every game. I thought that added a lot of success to the last several months of the season. There was open dialogue. You talk about an open door policy, the manager left the door open, but the manager left the office quite a bit and mingled among the players. There was much more open dialogue between coaching staff and manager—and between manager and players. There is a regimen and a rigorous fundamental workmanship that we put the players through the last three months of the season—at home, taking infield on a regular basis and doing fundamentals that, quite frankly, most other Major League teams don’t do during the course of a season. But Jim and I addressed what we thought were weaknesses throughout the season and we thought, given where we were in the standings and the youth on our ballclub—it was beneficial for them to go through those daily rituals of infield and pitchers fielding practice and that type of thing. We discussed, vigorously, how the game should be played. And although we failed at times to produce, there was always knowledge of how the game should be played. Those were a lot of the smaller things that gave me a comfort level with Jim. And we just kind of had a feeling when we got together in the manager’s office; there was an ease of conversation. We are both the kind of people who say what is on their minds. And, I think, there is a good dynamic between both of us.

Question: You briefly touched on growing up here and this is a dream job. Could you have ever imagined growing up and watching The Senators—being the manager here? And what is the reaction of the folks here in the community that knew you back then?

Jim: You grow up thinking about being the shortstop. You don’t grow up thinking about being the manager some day. To be associated with the ballclub in any capacity is special. I think that anybody, if you are in Minnesota—you want to grow up and be with The Twins—or managing The Twins or coaching or playing for The Twins. The same thing exists in all the cities. This happens to be my hometown. To end up coming here after several stops as coach somewhere else and all that—to come here is very exciting. And it’s exciting for friends and family that now have a heightened interest in the ballclub because we are close family. We are close friends. We were Senators Fans that became Nationals Fans. And they are now talking a little more baseball with me—interchanging ideas—just a heightened interest in what is going on here, especially now that I am here and have so many close friends.

Question: It’s been a decade since you left The Cubs, in that time, were there points or times you were worried that you would ever get another permanent managing job?

Jim: I think wondered is the right word. It’s the thing I like to do. There is nothing better than playing the game. If you can play the game, nothing will ever match that. Once you can’t play anymore, don’t play anymore; managing is the thing that excites me. I enjoyed coaching. I never had a stint that I didn’t enjoy where I was at—as far as coaching. When I went down to become the Field Coordinator with The Cardinals—I enjoyed all of that. But, my feeling was that if there was some divine intervention that came to me and said: ‘you will never manage again’, then I would have gotten out. I stayed in the game because I still wanted to manage. If I had doubted that would ever happen (again), I would not have continued. But like you said, you had to wonder as the years went by.

Question: Have you made any decisions as far as your coaching staff? We know some changes have been made already.

Jim: Mike and I are discussing that and will continue to do that. That will also be a team effort as to how our staff ends up. We don’t have anything to announce on that at this time, but I think we will soon.

With that final answer, the formal portion of the media availability concluded. Individual one-on-one interviews continued for the local press.

Today Press Conference Photo--Haraz N. Ghanbari (AP)

Ryan Zimmerman--Gold Glove Recipient

2009-11-11T20:30:00.002-05:00

For two years now, we've felt Ryan Zimmerman deserved the Gold Glove for defensive excellence at 3rd Base. Today, his peers of Managers and Coaches finally saw that light too and fittingly awarded Our Number 11 the trophy for real. Zimmy, the 2009 Rawlings Gold Glove recipient for 3rd Base in The National League.

No one deserved the award more because no one playing his position in the game:

Tracks a foul fly down the 3rd base line better;

Rushes in on a slow grounder, bare hands the baseball then whips that throw to first base to record an out so well;

And no fielder dives to his right, or to his left, and snares baseball after baseball with such grace--and still makes the out.

The best range, the best reflexes and the finest fielding third sacker to come up to The Big Leagues in some time.

No question about it.

You would have to be blind to miss his quality efforts on display throughout the past few years. Way more times than not--Ryan Zimmerman delivers on the tough play--making it look easy. The one's that happen so fast, only a video replay reveals his excellence. Anyone watching can "ooh!" & "aah!" over the spectacular plays Our Number 11 makes frequently, but his consistency with that glove makes him special. No other player in the game at 3rd Base makes those great plays so regularly.

No one.

Game after game. Night after night, The Z-Man is a wonder to watch in the field. His hitting skill and clutch prowess at the plate is not too shabby either. At 25 years of age, Ryan Zimmerman is rounding himself into a complete player. The Franchise Player envisioned since the very moment he was drafted with the 5th pick of the 2005 Entry Draft out of The University Of Virginia.

This evening, Sohna and I had the opportunity to chat with The Z-Man. He kindly returned our call to answer a few questions about being The 2009 National League Gold Glove Winner at 3rd Base. With that, here we go with Our Conversation with Ryan Zimmerman:

When did you first find out about the good news? (SBF)

“I knew about it the other day. I wasn’t allowed to say anything about it. I had to keep it a secret, even though it’s always tough to do that.”

Even then, what were your first thoughts of being rewarded? (SBF)

“I was very proud. I am very proud of that type of stuff. Ultimately, I would want the team to win more, but individual honors are cool to get. You work hard for them and the defensive honors are very special for me. I have worked hard for everything I have ever received. And now, this makes me want to work even harder each and every year to come.”

It is nice to receive awards, but this must also be rewarding that your peers are recognizing your talent? (SBF)

“Yes, definitely. And what I hope as I continue to get better, the team obviously gets better—and this will bring more recognition to D.C. and The Nationals—not just for me. I really believe we have a lot of talent on our team. We have some good players who probably don’t get as much recognition as they should because of where we play and our record (over the past few seasons). But that is how it is. That is how baseball and all sports go.”

“If I can do something individually that can bring more attention to them (his teammates) and our organization, that makes this even more special.”

You just touched on something that IS important about this Gold Glove awarded to you this day. This gives The Nationals national exposure. Many across the country have ignored this team in the past. That’s now going to be hard to do because of you. (SBF)

“Yes, I believe that is true. And I think a lot of people see that we have lost a lot of games the past few years and ignore us. I think we are heading in the right direction and me winning this will bring that attention to us and, hopefully, have people then saying: ‘hey, they are on the right track.’ It will all kind of change the way people think about us.”

How’s the family feel about all this? (The African Queen)

“They are excited. My Mom & Dad are, obviously, very proud of me. They know how hard I work. This means just as much to them as it does to me. So, this is a very good time for all of us.”

We are proud of you too. Have you talked to any of your teammates about it? (The African Queen).

“I got some text messages. They are all very excited and happy for me as well. So, it’s really all a lot of fun right now.”

Stepping back a little bit, when you were just graduating from high school and heading off to UVA (University of Virginia) some eight or nines years ago now—did you believe you would reach as far as you have in The Major Leagues at 25? Did you expect to do so well? (SBF)

“Honestly, I didn’t know that I was even going to be a Major League Player! I was OK in high school. I wasn’t anything special. I wasn’t drafted out of high school. I wasn’t heavily recruited, or anything. I just played the game and had fun. I enjoyed playing and it was something I wanted to continue to work hard at and hopefully get better. And as I went to college and had a couple of good years there—and continued to improve—I realized there was a chance (to play professionally). But, I really don’t believe anyone really thinks they are going to get to this level. You work hard and you continue to work hard, do things right and then good things happens.”

And you’ve improved while playing around the infield. You played 2nd, 3rd and shortstop as a youngster. (SBF)

“I was always a shortstop growing up. Ever since I can remember playing, I was a shortstop. Then, when I got to UVA, Mark (Reynolds—Arizona Diamondbacks) was playing shortstop, so I played third. I was also on a travel team when I was younger, and B.J. (Upton-Tampa Bay Rays) and I would switch off. He would play shortstop. I would play second. I was also smaller when I was in high school, so I could play second back then. So, I have played all over the place.”

But moving to 3rd Base turned out to be your calling? (SBF)

“Yes. I grew up (physically) and that size has helped me.”

This day for you is really great to see. Are you going to take a break from it all now? (The African Queen)

“Time to relax, enjoy the off-season some more, take a couple of trips and recharge the batteries.”

Well, enjoy your time off and we look forward to seeing you at Spring Training, if not before. (The African Queen)

“Thanks very much. We all (The Zimmermans) appreciate your support.”

With those final remarks, Sohna and I thanked Ryan for kindly returning our call and letting us know how proud he and his family is today--seeing hard work rewarded.

Ryan Zimmerman--Gold Glove Recipient.

Has a nice ring to it. Doesn't it?

Zimmerman Photo Copyright--AP

The 4th Annual ziMS Foundation Golf Tournament

2009-11-08T19:45:00.005-05:00

Ryan Zimmerman, John Lannan & Craig Stammen from Our Washington Nationals.

David Wright from The New York Mets.

Michael Cuddyer from The Minnesota Twins.

And Joel Hanrahan from The Pittsburgh Pirates.

Just six of the 144 Golfers on hand this past Saturday at The Red Wing Lake Golf Course in Virginia Beach, Virginia. All participating in the sold out 4th ziMS Foundation Golf Tournament. The last half of the now yearly Gala & Golf outing dear to the heart of Ryan and his family. As you may already know, and well documented here on Nats320, The Z-Man's Mom, Cheryl, was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in 1995. And beginning in 2006, Ryan founded The ziMS Foundation dedicated to the treatment and finding of the ultimate cure to MS.

Each and every year since, the Saturday Golf Tournament has gotten bigger and even better. No question, the Gala is a fun night out. The opportunity to chat and mingle with many who believe in the same cause. It's the reason Sohna and I first made our way to southeastern Virginia last November.

But the golfing helps bond everyone together.

There were 38 different sponsors at Red Wing on November 7th providing donations and services from $350 to $10,000. Norfolk Southern, Radman Radiological & The Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group topping all donors with their Grand Slam Sponsorships providing $10 Grand. Each Golfer also had the opportunity to take home four different cars--if they were fortunate enough to tee off and drive a hole-in-one at the 4th, 8th, 13th or 16th Holes. Kool Lincoln Mercury, Charles Barker Lexus/Toyota/Infiniti/Scion and Hall Automotive offering that "get your game on" chance. Under Armour (The Sports Clothing Manufacturer) providing golf polos. Gordon Biersch Restaurants & Breweries Lunch and Bottled Beer all day long. JFH Strategies along with "Hometown Heros" providing the main meal for the Golfers and ziMS Foundation Staff at the conclusion of the tournament--when the awards were handed out.

And just like last year, The Tiki Bar was back and going strong!! Dean Eitemiller providing the liquor all day. Hoffman Beverage Company--Budweiser Products.

This was also the season in which Sohna and I stepped up our participation. For 2009, Nats320 sponsored the 12th Hole. We had a great time greeting the foursomes as they came our way throughout the day. The sight of Joel Hanrahan explaining to Michael Cuddyer (his playing partner) what Nats320 is and the 'die hard fans they are'--absolutely priceless. In fact, Cuddyer--another Tidewater area native--was a real joy to chat with. Very personable. He told The African Queen and I later he had his "best drive all day on your sponsored 12th hole."

Michael also had both of us laughing when I asked him after the Golf had concluded: "What are The Twins going to do (moving to outdoor Target Field in 2010) if they play The Colorado Rockies in The World Series one day?"

Cuddyer: "White Out Baby!! It's going to be frigid!!" (very animated response--very funny) But you could tell, he was excited to see his Minnesota Twins move from the Indoor Humphrey Dome to Outdoor Target Field. Fun Guy!!

Sharing a few moments with Ryan Zimmerman after the event ended and chatting about The Minnesota Twins Rightfielder, Our Number 11 said: "Michael really is a nice guy and he wanted to be here to help support us. We couldn't ask for much more."

You could say that, as well, about all 144 Golfers and the many volunteers who made their way to Virginia Beach this weekend to support The Zimmermans' and their personal cause at Red Wing. How nice to see dozens of Zimmerman family friends pitching in and helping out in whatever way they could. Wonderful to see both of Ryan's Nationals Teammates--Lannan and Stammen--drive down from the Washington, D.C. area to participate. Gratifying to see The Mets' David Wright (and schoolboy friend of Ryan) bring his own group and play a round of golf. How decent to witness the local businesses pitch in and make the 4th ziMS Foundation Golf Tournament even more special.

We just missed out on a great picture opportunity as Sohna and I were driving back from our 12th Hole Sponsorship. But it was gratifying to see David Wright actually stop playing his round and drive his golf cart over to Cheryl Zimmerman and talk with her for some time. This one moment signified how much everyone on hand cared for the good cause this event was all about.

Yeah, there were 38 Sponsors, 144 golfers, and 300 folks at the Friday night Gala, but 74 more organizations and individuals also made contributions this weekend. When The Tiger Woods Foundation, The (Albert) Pujols Family Foundation, Starbucks, Merle Norman Cosmetics, Golf Digest Magazine, Glaceau/Vitamin Water & Our Washington Nationals help out in some way--clearly--The ziMS Foundation is doing something right. In a down economy year, individuals and groups found a way to make a difference for Multiple Sclerosis.

That's all you can really ask. A great time for a good cause. On a beautiful golf course that was Red Wing Lake this past weekend. If you would still like to help out Ryan Zimmerman, his Mom--Cheryl--and their famly--you can still donate at The ziMS Foundation website.

As for us, Sohna and I had another very enjoyable weekend in Virginia Beach and very pleased we could participate in some small way at The 2009 ziMS Foundation Gala & Golf Tournament.

All Photos Copyrighted--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

4th Annual ziMS Foundation Gala

2009-11-06T23:57:00.012-05:00

"We hope that person by person you will pass it on" stated Keith Zimmerman. "And because of all you we are making it happen and hopefully finding a cure." Ryan Zimmerman's father was accompianed by his wife, Cheryl. Both were on stage in front of nearly 300 attendees at the 4th ziMs Foundation Gala in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The now annual event to help raise awareness and, hopefully, find a cure for Multiple Sclerosis.

The disease that has afflicted Cheryl Zimmerman since 1995.

This ever popular grass roots get together is now finding its legs and reaching out across the Mid-Atlantic States. Norfolk Southern, Walmart, Anheiser Busch, Pittsburgh Forest Products, Gordan Biersch Restaurants & Breweries, The Colonial Athletic Associaton, Our Washington Nationals and yes, even Nats320 are just a few of the 38 Sponsors for this yearly effort to fight MS.

"I can't thank all of you enough for coming," stated Ryan Zimmerman. "This means a tremendous amount to my family. We hope that one day we will can say we found a cure." The Z-Man again playing host, wanting to be there at The Wyndham Oceanfront Resort in Virginia Beach, Virginia this Friday night, November 6th. The President of The ziMS Foundation hosting and letting everyone know how appreciative his family and friends are over the concern that many have shown.

This is no small affair any longer. A private VIP Meet & Greet beginning at 5PM with Ryan. A silent auction partitioned into two separate parts going into full force at 6PM. The first ending at 7:30PM. The second at 8:30PM. The entire time spent while chatting and mingling with the many guests enjoying Hor d'oevres, drinks, card tricks & piano entertainment.

Nothing like chatting with Our Number 11 in a informal setting. Just having a good time and supporting a cause so close to his heart. Enjoyable also to not only talk with Ryan, Keith and Cheryl, but their many family friends along with Joel Hanrahan, Craig Stammen and John Lannan. All three baseball players on hand to support their colleague and his family--then play a round of golf on Saturday.

There were some very nice auction items tonight. Not only The Ryan Zimmerman Complete Autograph Package which Sohna and I were outbid on at the final moment this evening--but autographed jerseys from Ryan Howard, Chase Utley, Derrek Lee, Ichiro and Ken Griffey, Jr. Game Tickets and Autographed Jerseys and Memorabilia from The Washington Redskins and The Washington Capitals. Adam Dunn signed cleats, lunch with Ryan including a year's supply of beer from Gordon Biersch, four Presidents Club tickets, field passes to batting practice, two Zimmerman signed Jerseys to any game in 2010 (except for Opening Day). And the big ticket item of the night--a Yorkshire Terrier Puppy which was, by far, the the most enticing auction of the evening.

Never one's to go home empty handed, Sohna and I won an auction for a special Kellam High School Lot. The very school which Ryan Zimmerman attended in Virginia Beach. Included along with a four day Baseball Camp for next June (which The African Queen and I will donate to a needy person) were three Kellam Baseball Caps, one long sleeve Kellam Tee-Shirt and one Kellam Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead.

Yeah, a Bobblehead. A giveaway to also EVERY SINGLE ATTENDEE. But in this freebee case was Our Washington Nationals version. The Nationals Park Giveaway from 2008 depicting the Z-Man in his red "DC" Jersey. Gifts which also included a ziMs Foundation Tote Bag, Cup and Pen.

We had a great time and really enjoyed the stage entertainment from the so-called "Educated Redneck". Don Ellison was, at times, absolutely hilarious. And kept the crowd rolling for a good 20 minutes.

Much, much more coming tomorrow as we attend the Golf Tournament. But it's never too late to donate to the ziMS Foundation and support Ryan Zimmerman's mother--Cheryl. Just click on this link and see how you too can participate.

Sohna and I will be back tomorrow evening with the Golf Tournament Wrap-Up.

All Photos Copyrighted--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

Frank Robinson--The Picture Of The Day

2009-11-06T07:50:00.005-05:00

On the very day this picture was taken on April 17th 1956, Frank Robinson was 20 Years Old and about to play in his very first Major League Regular Season Game for The Cincinnati Reds. Over 50 Years later, Frank Robby would wear a Big League Uniform for the last time in a Regular Season Game (in all likelihood) managing Our Washington Nationals.

That date was October 1st, 2006. Frank Robby was then 71 Years Old.

Nearly 5000 times during one of the greatest baseball careers of All-Time, Frank Robinson would wear Number 20 on the back of a baseball uniform. For The Cincinnati Reds, The Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, California Angels and Cleveland Indians, he played. For The Cleveland Indians, The San Francisco Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Montreal Expos & Nationals, he managed.

Always a trendsetter and never one to back down to anybody, Frank would become the 1956 National League Rookie of the Year, tie a Major League record with 38 1st Year Homers that season, and would lead The Cincinnati Reds (then also called Red Legs) to the 1961 World Series. The year Robinson would garner his first MVP Award. Yet being a seven time All-Star and Gold Glove Winner for The Reds was never enough to some in the mid-west.

Incredibly, Frank Robinson was never really appreciated for his accomplishments by Cincinnati's Ownership. And when Reds Owner Billy DeWitt traded Number 20 to The Baltimore Orioles claiming Frank was "an old 30", one of the most lopsided trades in baseball history helped transform a good young team just up the parkway from Washington, D.C. into a dynasty.

Upset over Cincinnati Management sullying his career, Frank Robby carried the entire Baltimore Franchise on his back over the next six seasons. Four-times The Orioles won The American League Championship. Two-Times they won The World Series. In 1966, Frank's first season in The American League--he was named Most Valuable Player. Still, the only person to be so named in both leagues.

Yet, Frank Robinson wasn't done with his accomplishments. He wanted to be a Major League Manager. And he wanted to be the first African--American to do so. In 1975, The Cleveland Indians hired Old Number 20 to be their Player-Manager. Over the next 31 years Robinson would manage four different franchises, never winning a league championship, nor even a division title. His personal success on the field never transforming to the dugout.

Elected into The National Baseball Hall Of Fame & Museum in 1982, Frank Robinson was respected like virtually no other person in the game. He was a fierce competitor during his playing days. That fire which carried over to his managing career. Remember when Frank Robby argued a ruled home run hit by The Atlanta Braves in 2005 at RFK wasn't? And he got the call reversed--even though replays proved the ball DID hit the foul pole. Remember when he got in the face of Mike Scioscia--the manager of Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim--at Angels Stadium over the famous pine tar incident in Brendan Donnelly's glove that same season? One of the highlights of 2005. Remember when few could control the hot tempered, but talented, Jose Guillen during the Inaugural Season of Our Washington Nationals? Frank could because when he spoke, players listened. For those first two seasons after baseball returned to The Nation's Capital--Frank Robinson was The Face Of Our Franchise.

Sohna and I will always remember him for his toughness as well as this poignant moment during his penultimate game as manager in a Nationals Uniform. Frank Robinson also had a heart. Still as memorable as things get.

From the very first day he donned a Cincinnati Reds Uniform until the very last day he wore a Washington Nationals Jersey, Frank Robby proved to be a proud and decent man. A great player from one of the greatest generations of players in baseball history, Frank Robinson always has held his head up high.

Dignified still today, Frank Robinson--The Picture Of The Day.

Photo Copyright--Time Inc, Life Magazine. Photographer--Francis Miller

Please Let The Celebration Breathe

2009-11-05T07:50:00.003-05:00

Not 15 seconds after Mark Teixeira recorded the final out of Game 6 of the 2009 World Series, Major League Baseball Officials and Staff were all over the field getting in the way of The New York Yankees celebrating their victory. Do you think MLB could let the players live in the moment for a little while longer?

Do you think Major League Baseball could let the celebration breathe?

No, instead you could clearly see on Fox TV guys carrying handfuls of Grey Championship Tee Shirts and Navy Blue/White Caps grabbing players from their pile of joy while forcing the commercial crap all over them right away. Nothing more ridiculous than when some tee-shirt toting guy grabs Teixeira and pulls him back from hugging Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera just to tell him to put on that grey tee-shirt. For a moment, it looked like Mark was going to slug him for getting in the way of his fun. And Teixeira probably should have too.

It is just plain silly. Whether The New York Yankees, The Philadelphia Phillies or, eventually, Our Washington Nationals win The World Series--Major League Baseball needs to let the players, coaches and club personnel enjoy the spontaneity, The Moment Of Joy, winning a championship gives someone--without the crass commercialism being shoved down everyone's throats--right away.

There will be plenty of time for that stuff later.

Please Major League Baseball, let the celebration breathe. Don't choke and cut off all the natural excitement of a special moment in a team's lifetime--just to sell a few more tee-shirts and caps.

Of course, not five minutes after The New York Yankees claimed their 27th Title, the very first commercial played on Fox was--you guessed it--"Buy Your New York Yankees Championship Memorabilia Right Now!!"

Even when a team has reached the pinnacle of their sport, Major League Baseball still can't get past the money side--for 10 minutes. Very disappointing.

Photo--Jared Wickerham (Getty Images)

No Old Boys Network Any Longer

2009-11-03T16:15:00.016-05:00

Since the 2009 baseball Season came to a close for Our Washington Nationals, General Manager Mike Rizzo has been quite the busy person. Slowly and methodically, he's been rebuilding, reorganizing and transforming D.C.'s Baseball team--from the top side down. Today, more moves in the front office with the hiring of a well-respected baseball mind as Special Advisor, and the promoting a tireless background scout of the past three seasons to a new position of Director of Professional Scouting.

Ron Schueler becomes one of "Riz's" new right hand men. And Bill Singer upgrades from Special Assignment Scout and Pacific Rim Coordinator. Coming on the heels of three major baseball operations hires on October 15th and the subsequent additions of Casey McKeon as Director of Player Procurement and Jay Robertson as a special assistant to the GM last week--it's clear that Mike Rizzo's reach is throughout the game.

And he's using that to Washington's advantage.

Our New GM seems to have, not only pull, but the conviction to convince other talent evaluators in baseball that what Our Washington Nationals are attempting to accomplish at this point is time--is worth coming on board and being a part of. That's a good thing because in just a short period of time in charge, Mike Rizzo clearly has determined who on his acquired staff needed to be maintained--and who should not--while understanding there are better folks out there to serve Washington's many needs.

Sohna and I love the fact that Rizzo's not playing the Old Boys Network. The hiring of old friends and associates (think Cincinnati here). He is legitimately looking throughout the game for top judges of baseball skills--not just those looking for a paycheck. Clearly, many new hires, promotions and pink slips come when a new boss takes a new job. But it's also important for the top guy to set a new tone and move Our Franchise in a positive direction.

Certainly, Mike Rizzo knows all these folks personally he's recently added to his Baseball Operations office, but none of those coming over from other ball clubs has Mike ever work under--or for.

Big, Big, Difference.

It would be hard to dispute the maneuvers committed to by Mike Rizzo over the past month. What once appeared to be a patchwork organization clearly has a more defined structure now. The new system being installed for finding and working with baseball talent--both on the amateur level and in the professional game--is nearing it's front office makeover conclusion. The results of which will hopefully build stronger roots--providing the foundation every franchise needs--to win consistently for years and years and years to come.

No Old Boys Network Any Longer.

How Refreshing.

And you know Our New Manager's Decision is coming next, followed by roster moves. The determining of whether players currently on the 40-Man Roster should be resigned, offered arbitration or non-tendered. The opening salvos to the upcoming GM & Winter Meetings when The Hot Stove League truly comes to life and the horse swapping of talent between teams sets into full swing. The time of year when any organization must know what cards they have and which should be played. Understanding what you got and can get, honest evaluations that Washington should better be able to handle this off-season, thanks to the six new front office additions and two promotions handed out since October 15th by Mike Rizzo.

Here is the complete press release from the team:

NATIONALS NAME FORMER WHITE SOX GM RON SCHUELER SPECIAL ADVISOR TO THE GENERAL MANAGER NATIONALS PROMOTE BILL SINGER TO DIRECTOR OF PRO SCOUTING

The Washington Nationals today named Ron Schueler Special Advisor to the General Manager. The Nationals also promoted Bill Singer to Director of Professional Scouting. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

A 42-year baseball veteran, Schueler joins the Nationals after serving the previous two seasons as Senior Advisor of Player Personnel for the San Francisco Giants. Schueler is perhaps best known for an 11-year stint (1990-2000) as General Manager of the Chicago White Sox, during which his clubs compiled an 817-734 record and a .527 winning percentage while finishing first or second in the AL Central or West eight times, including a pair of division titles in 1993 and 2000.

In 2000, his final season as General Manager, Schueler’s White Sox were named “Organization of the Year” by Baseball America.

In addition to his tenure as White Sox General Manager, Schueler has served in various special assistant capacities with the Cubs, Cardinals and Athletics, earning World Championship rings with St. Louis in 2006 and Oakland in 1989. He was also a pitching coach with the White Sox (1979-81), Athletics (1982-84) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1986). Schueler pitched for eight big league seasons (1972-79) with the Braves, Phillies, Twins and White Sox.

Singer’s new duties will include coordinating, scheduling and administering all Nationals major league, minor league and winter league scouting efforts. He most recently served the Nationals as a Special Assignment Scout and Coordinator/Pacific Rim Operations.

Singer joined the Nationals in 2006 after a three-year stay with the Arizona Diamondbacks as Major League Scout, where he worked under Rizzo. Singer was a two-time All-Star during his playing career, which included a pair of 20-win seasons (with the Dodgers 1969 and Angels in ‘73) and 118 wins. He has well over 30 years of professional experience as a player, area scout, national crosschecker, professional scout and international scout.

Rizzo/Strasburg Picture Copyrighted--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

A Few Minutes With Craig Stammen

2009-10-30T17:50:00.000-04:00

After reading "Casey At The Bat" and playing catch with some of the young patients presently residing at The Children's Inn at NIH, Our Washington Nationals John Lannan and Craig Stammen stopped to take questions from a few bloggers attending yesterday's events. This provided an opportunity to have a few moments on the side with Our Number 35 to ponder a few thoughts, especially his off-season rehabilitation of his right throwing elbow. You may recall John Stammen had surgery in September and missed the final few weeks of 2009.

With that, here we go with A Few Minutes With Craig Stammen:

I find it interesting that you and John (Lannan) are both here today together because even though Lannan arrived in The Big Leagues before you, your professional careers have sort of tracked alongside each other. (SBF)

“That’s true. We were drafted one round apart from each other in 2005. We played rookie ball together. We were teammates in Vermont, Savannah and Potomac. He’s a little ahead of me in Major League time and experience, but we are friends. We know we can talk baseball and pitching. And we’ve been hanging out together some since the season ended. He asked me to join him and it was a no brainer to come here and be a part of this today."

Which actually brings me to an interesting point. In the past few years there have not been many players for The Nationals staying in the D.C. area during the off-season. A few more are now. If not for your re-hab from your surgery, would you be staying here too? (SBF)

“Yes. When you go to college and then you get put in the Minor Leagues, you really don’t have a place to call your own. So, when you finally get to the Big Leagues and get a place where you will probably be for a while, it’s good to stick your name out in the community, see what you can do, and give back from this great opportunity we have to play baseball. Why not?”

So, what was it like for you to be in Washington, D.C. for your rookie season? (SBF)

“Truly, it was an exceptional experience. For me, it was a blessing, a dream come true and all those superlative adjectives you can give to it. Right now, it’s all just starting to sink in, that first year in the Big Leagues. But now I need to look forward and get a lot of work done to be able to stick around and help turn this team around into an winner.”

Let’s talk about your rehab? (SBF)

“Everything is on schedule. I am feeling real good. I started throwing this past Monday and I will keep throwing all the way to spring training. Right now, I couldn’t have asked for better help than I have had with Liz Wheeler, who is our physical therapist, Lee Kuntz (Head Trainer) and the doctors. It’s going great.

Do you think you will be able to throw harder? (SBF)

“Maybe. (laughing) Hope so! I had some years of wear and tear built up, now everything is clean and ready to go.”

Can you explain exactly what happened to you and why you needed surgery? (SBF)

“I had a bone spur taken out of my back elbow and a bone chip taken out of the front. What happened throughout the course of the season was that extra bone built up in my elbow where I couldn’t fully extend my elbow any longer. So I was playing with a limited range of motion. I couldn’t fully extend on my pitches. And obviously that was affecting my ability to pitch. It’s just one of those things that happens over a course of time from throwing a baseball. And from playing golf, and throwing footballs from my younger days. It all caught up to me this year, but I had it all taken out and it really feels great.”

So you seem confident that you can come back even stronger? (SBF)

“Yeah, I do. Last year, I can honestly say I wasn't 100% the whole season, compared to what I was in the Minor Leagues in AAA and AA the year before. I am looking forward to this new season to see what happens and see how I feel.”

Mike Rizzo (General Manager) had stated that if the season had more time to go than just September when you were diagnosed—you could have come back quickly—is that correct? (SBF)

“Oh yeah. They (The Nationals) took it slower than what I needed because the season was going to be over. But if we had more than six weeks, I would say there would have been enough recovery time.”

You just mentioned that you are looking forward to the new season. Competition for rotation spots in 2010 is going to be tougher than last year? (SBF)

“Competition is always good.”

It’s makes everybody better. (SBF)

“That’s what people say and I believe that is true too. That’s why I can’t wait for Spring Training. There is a challenge to be met and I expect to meet that challenge. I am going to be healthy and I am going to be ready to go.”

Last question: watching The World Series from Yankee Stadium, did that bring back to your mind your first Major League victory in June? (SBF)

(Smiling Broadly) “Yeah, it did. Yeah, it did. I kept getting reminded from people back home about that fact. As you know, up until that game no one had played any game in that new stadium without giving up a home run. It’s something I can be proud of and look back on. No doubt, it’s something I will never forget.”

With that final answer Craig Stammen and John Lannan headed off to the Hospital at NIH to meet and greet sick children attending a special Halloween Party.

Photo Copyright--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

The Children's Inn at NIH

2009-10-29T23:45:00.018-04:00

“The children who come here have exhausted all their other options," stated Meredith Daly, Media Relations Coordinator from The Children's Inn at NIH. "This is their last chance. Pediatric Cancer is 87% curable. We get the other 13%. So, the likelihood is that we will lose a lot of these kids."

"And while those kids are getting treatment here by the good doctors at NIH, The Children’s Inn tends to their heart and soul," said Cyrus Zolghadri, the President of The Formula Sports & Entertainment Group. "This place let’s them stay at peace with their families.”

Since 1990, over 10,000 seriously ill children and over 40,000 families have visited The Children's Inn at NIH. Started 19 years ago to provide a support unit for kids from throughout the world--who need the premier medical services only The National Institutes of Health can offer--The Children's Inn's 59 rooms are the temporary homes for those children sick from, not only cancer, but heart, lung, blood, bone and growth disorders, mental illnesses, and HIV infection.

It's a daunting task to care for these ill youngsters, while still helping them and their families keep their piece of mind and semblance of life. Raising the spirits of these sick children is an everyday battle, and that is where a recently developed program involving Sports Ambassadors begins at the Bethesda campus. The Ambassadors lend their names and likenesses to The Children's Inn to help raise money and build support groups for the many young patients that come from all our 50 states and 74 foreign countries.

For the past two years, The Children's Inn at NIH has worked with all seven Professional Sports Teams in the Washington, D.C. area. The Washington Redskins, The Washington Capitals, The Washington Wizards, The Washington Mystics, The Washington Freedom, D.C. United and now Our Washington Nationals. One-time Redskin Mark Brunell was the very first Sports Ambassador at NIH. Our Washington Nationals John Lannan, the latest.

“I have been trying to come out here the whole year and it is just great that I was in the area and able to set up this visit and see the kids," said John Lannan. "I’ve really wanted to do this all year. It’s great that they came to the games and I just want to show them I appreciate them coming out and supporting us (The Washington Nationals). So, I am here supporting them.”

“We were looking for a Nationals representative to join the rest of our athletes and we thought they would be a sports property that wanted to be involved," recalled Sara Stesis, Marketing and Project Coordinator." I called The Nationals and since John also has a program that he was attempting to do on his own (Lannan’s Cannons), we kind of fused the two together."

Since the launching of his "Lannan's Cannon's" program this past summer, John has dedicated some of his free time and his own money to the kids and family members at the NIH Campus. Over the last few weeks of the just completed 2009 Baseball Season, Lannan hosted sick children from The Children's Inn and their families during Sunday Home Games. Providing food vouchers and game tickets, John wanted to furnish an escape from the daily regimen of treatments and, hopefully, put some fun back into these youngsters lives.

“John has been so generous and he’s not even seen The Inn (until this day), proclaimed Ms. Daly. "This will be his very first visit. He really wants to see what can happen here. He has gone over and above what we originally planned. He contacted us and wanted to set up his visit. We usually get in touch with the team and they set up the schedule. But in this case, HE WANTED TO COME RIGHT AWAY, and was asking when we could accommodate him."

Arriving around 4:30PM this afternoon with teammate Craig Stammen alongside, John presented to The Children's Inn at NIH a check for $7,500. The Inn the beneficiary of Lannan's Nomination for the Roberto Clemente Award in 2009 for community service. Then, John and Craig sat down with those children able to come greet them. Whereupon Lannan read to the kids the famous baseball story by Ernest Thayer--"Casey At The Bat".

After reading "Casey At The Bat", John and Craig led the entire group outside to the Sports Court at The Children's Inn, where the kids and Nationals Players played catch for a good 20 minutes. Then, everyone was invited back inside where My Best Friend!! Screech!! was in the house to hand out "Build-A-Bear" Screech Dolls and a Baseball Card Team Set of Our Washington Nationals. Lannan and Stammen signed autographs and took pictures with kids and family members alike.

John Lannan: “They seem pretty excited and I am very excited to see them too. I am glad we got to come out here and play a little bit. I am staying around here, so I can get out into the community, talk to kids and make people aware that we are here. Baseball has been gone in the D.C. area for some time, so I want to get out and make people aware that we are here and we (The Nationals) support our community."

Meredith Daly: "Yet not only did John want to come to the Inn, but he called back and asked if he could go to the hospital as well for the kids that can’t make it to the reading. All the families that stay here are outpatients. They are well enough to be staying here. Unfortunately, there are many more in-patients that can’t be here. He (John Lannan) wanted to make it up there (to the hospital) which is special. We have had Ambassadors for two years now and we have never had an Ambassador who has taken it to this level. He has gone so far above and beyond.”

Without hesitation, John Lannan and Craig Stammen walked over to the main hospital at NIH to visit sick children enjoying a special halloween party (pictures were not allowed here). But what John and Craig did provide was an ample amount of fun and joy.

Sara Stesis:“It’s all for a good cause, it takes the athletes just 30 seconds to fall in love with this place. They want to be involved and they want to help in any way they can. It’s not a hard sell. And when the athletes do come, I think they feel more for the kids than even the kids may feel.”

John Lannan agrees: This keeps you humbled and it keeps you grounded. I feel really grateful for being in the place I am at. And I am even more grateful that I can give back. They are sick and I am glad I can be here and have some fun with them—make their day a little happier.”

The role of the Sports Ambassador is to lift the spirits of the children, while not focusing on the illness. Happiness, which both Craig Stammen and John Lannan have both taken to heart. “It’s not like this is punishment," believes Craig. "We like doing these things. This is good. It is fun to see their smiling faces.”

Joy which Ambassador Lannan also sees: "Any time you are named an Ambassador, that is just an honor. I want to hold up that title of Ambassador and try to do my best to help these kids out.....we have to show (our) new guys that are coming up (to Washington's Team) that it’s not a pain to do these things. It’s actually fun. You get the chance to meet young kids and you get the chance to meet families in different areas and all walks of life. So, it’s really cool."

Yeah, today's visit by John Lannan, Craig Stammen and Screech to The Children's Inn at NIH was not only cool, but special, because this appearance occurred well AFTER the 2009 Major League Season had been completed by Our Washington Nationals. Lannan and Stammen did not HAVE TO BE THERE. They both could have been home relaxing. Instead, John and Craig wished to be different makers, even if only for one day, in the lives of these young children suffering through some of the worst health issues imaginable.

All Photos Copyrighted--Nats320--All Rights Reserved

Z-Man, Hondo, Frank Robby, Killer & Kitty

2009-10-28T19:30:00.007-04:00

Five Major League Baseball Greats--all with ties to Washington, D.C.--will be among the guests this weekend in Chantilly, Virginia at the Collectors Showcase Of America Event at The Dulles Expo Center. Ryan Zimmerman, Frank Howard, Frank Robinson, Harmon Killebrew & Jim Kaat will be on hand to sign autographs (for various fees) along with a stellar group of Sports Figures from Hockey, Football and Boxing.

Lou Brock, Gaylord Perry, Carlton Fisk, Ozzie Smith, Sonny Jurgensen, John Riggins, Charley Taylor, Len Dawson, Bert Jones, Alex Ovechkin, Gordie Howe, Joe Theismann--on and on this impressive list grows. The Football and Hockey Players appearing on Saturday, October 31st. The Baseball Players on Sunday, November 1st. Check the complete schedule for times. Over 300 Dealer Tables selling sports memorabilia and collectibles.

Complete details here. Depending on who you might be interested in obtaining autographs from--you will have to plan your visit accordingly.

One Person Can Make A Difference

2009-10-26T10:40:00.009-04:00

One person can make a difference.

That's the belief of The Jefferson Awards For Public Service. Since 1972, what began as the "Nobel Prize" for civic duty has transformed into a "Call For Action" for volunteers. In an era where individual accomplishments many times overshadow community needs, those involved with The Jefferson Awards believe Americans still have that heart and passion to work with others less fortunate--to better the society in which we all live.

Co-founded by Jackie Kennedy Onassis, The Jefferson Awards have transformed over the past 37 years and currently presents national and local awards to Elected or Appointed Officials; Private Citizens; those benefitting the disadvantaged; those providing public service under 35 years of age; and to those for benefitting local communities. Past winners have included Melinda and Bill Gates, Lance Armstrong, Oprah Winfrey, Paul Newman, General Colin Powell and President Jimmy Carter.

Select company all.

And now Our Washington Nationals Ryan Zimmerman has been nominated for The All Stars Helping Kids Award to join that elite group--the latest Jefferson Award for Public Service honoring athletes for volunteerism in their communities. Founded by former San Francisco 49er Ronnie Lott--the NFL Hall Of Famer always has believed "I didn't want to walk away from my life feeling that I didn't do enough." His All Stars Helping Kids Foundation is the national recognition program helping to inspire and shape values in youths while honoring athletes for being role models.

"We were absolutely thrilled to hear about The Jefferson Award," proclaimed Cheryl Zimmerman, Ryan's Mother. "Even Ryan did not know about the nomination, but he was very pleased that someone has noticed his effort."

Our Number 11 was nominated along with 51 other athletes who have given back to their communities. The Z-Man honored for his work with his ziMS Foundation, The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The American Red Cross and The Professional Baseball Trainers Society.

Cheryl Zimmerman: "We've only been around for a few years, but knowing others are paying attention and recognizing what Ryan is trying to do--well--that's something we really, really appreciate.

You too can participate, by voting online or texting STAR49 to 55333. Voting ends November 15th.

10 Athletes will win spots on the "Dream Team Of Public Service" at the December 8th Sports, Business & Philanthropy Luncheon in New York City. Then, those "Dream Team" Members will be invited to Washington, DC in June, 2010 for The Jefferson Awards For Public Service. Two of whom will be presented The National Awards for "Outstanding Athlete In Service" and for "Outstanding Athlete As A Newcomer To Service".

Worth repeating yet again, Major League Baseball in The Nation's Capital, Our Washington Nationals and The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation all provide more to our community than just the baseball played on the diamond. And Ryan Zimmerman has perfectly proven that point.

Yes, one person can make a difference. Please Vote for Ryan Zimmerman. Let HIM know, you not only care, but you can make a difference too.

PS--Also, it is still not too late to purchase a ticket to The 4th ziMS Foundation Gala in Virginia Beach on November 6th. The November 7th Golf Tournament is sold out, but some $95 Gala Tickets are still available. All the details here.

Zimmerman Family Photo--copyright Nats320--All Rights Reserved

Good For You Manny

2009-10-25T17:55:00.005-04:00

While driving around running errands this afternoon, WTOP announces at 3:15PM that Manny Acta had been named the new Manager of The Cleveland Indians. I shouted out the loudest "YEEEES!!" in some time. This guy stopped next to me at the red light looked over. He happened to be wearing a Red Curly "W" Cap too. This driver says: "What are you so happy about?"

"Manny Acta was just named Manager of The Cleveland Indians," I replied.

"Really? Well good for him," this guys stated back. "It wasn't his fault here in Washington."

And it wasn't.

You can dicker over Manny's managerial decisions with his personnel (we've done it here many times--especially over his fascination with Alex Cintron), but "The Most Charismatic Of Men" wasn't responsible for the roster given to him by Former General Manager Jim Bowden. Problems which are currently being worked out by New General Manager--Mike Rizzo.

The African Queen was so happy when I called to inform her of Manny's new found fortune--she screamed too. We love that man. We really do. He's one of the nicest people we've ever met in our lives. Hands down, not many come close when it comes to being as genuine as Mr. Acta. Manny Acta deserved another chance and we are thrilled The Cleveland Indians have made him their new field boss for the next three years (with an option for 2013).

Good for The Tribe to see past player personnel issues in Washington that ended up costing Our Former Manager his job. And Good for Manny for again keeping positive, pushing forward and landing his second job as a Major League Manager. One of just 30 such positions in The Big Leagues.

Too bad The Indians don't conduct spring training in Florida anymore, because Sohna and I would have travelled to see him in February or March. Unfortunately, Cleveland moved their spring headquarters to Arizona a few years back. Of course, if Manny had taken The Houston Astros' job--apparently also offered to him--we would only have had to travel less than an hour from Viera to visit him in Kissimmee--The Astros spring base.

But you can bet while every single Media person in Washington, D.C. is circling their calendars for the weekend of June 11, 12 & 13, 2010 when Our Washington Nationals play a three game set at Progressive Field in Cleveland--Sohna and I are looking forward to the weekend of May 14, 15 & 16, 2010. That's when The Cleveland Indians play at Camden Yards against The Baltimore Orioles. With D.C.'s Team in Denver that weekend--The African Queen and I will travel one hour north from our home in Alexandria, Virginia for the series--just to see Manny Acta--"The Most Charismatic of Men" in person and say hello.

We can't wait to see him. And his wonderful smile again.

Good For You Manny!!

Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood--The Final Chapter

2009-10-24T19:16:00.004-04:00

Whether this particular player is available and willing to play for Our Washington Nationals in 2010, Phil Wood believes this sure fire Hall Of Famer would be an asset to D.C. Baseball--whether he's near the very end of his stellar career or not. As we conclude Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood, the Washington Baseball Historian and MASN Broadcaster and I pick up our conversation talking about John Smoltz and a few other moves Phil believes Washington needs to seriously look into this off-season. Then, like chats always do--we get off on a tangent and Phil made some points about media coverage and the response that receives among fans in the greater Washington area.

With that here is Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood--The Final Chapter

So how creative does Mike Rizzo have to be if Washington isn’t going to be spending a ton of money on free agency? (SBF)

“That’s what 2nd Division Club need to do—be creative. The number of free agent pitchers out there will be about 20—who are veterans with some degree of success. Well, you are going to have to overpay for some to come in—whether it is John Lackey or whomever else. I did a piece the other day after watching John Smoltz pitch for The Cardinals in the National League Division Series. And after talking to John a handful of times over the years, he is really, really smart. He is really a smart guy. There is no question in my mind that if you brought him in (to Washington) as your 6th starter—almost as a swing man—just for the impact he could have, even on the local media—would be tremendous. He gets it. He really gets it. He gets (pitching) almost as if he wrote it. They (Washington) talked to him last year but he wanted to go to a contender. And obviously, if The Cardinals want him back—it’s a moot point. But of all the guys out there—just in terms of what they bring to the table intellectually—he is number one. And he is 43 and I am aware of that.”

You read a lot online where people say The Nationals should have signed Randy Wolfe. The Nationals should have signed Orlando Hudson. Whether Washington offered them a contract or not—I wonder whether they WOULD have come here in the first place—not being a contender? (SBF)

“I think Hudson would have come here. The Nationals had him take a physical. (Hudson says that didn’t happen—SBF). Well the thing is that he didn’t take a physical with The Nationals. They got the results of another physical. That’s the difference and there was something in that report they didn’t like. But the point is that Hudson is available again. Isn’t it interesting that Ronnie Belliard goes out there (to Los Angeles) and takes his job away? But to be clear, if Guzman is going to play 2nd Base, I don’t think you bother with Hudson. I think he is going to be pricey and other clubs are going to be interested in him.”

Catching wise—if Jesus Flores is not healthy. Is there really anyone out there that Mike Rizzo can go after? (SBF)

“The only way you are going to find someone is in a trade. I don’t think you are going to find anyone that is going to be a free agent that is worthy of spending the money on. There is always the feeling that you can find a backup catcher and that some team might throw you one in a deal. No one really comes to mind and there are certain guys that I like, but they are all right-handed hitters. And I want to see a left-handed hitting catcher here.”

Is Brian Schneider in your mix? (SBF)

“It’s been a limited sample watching him (of late), so I don’t have any real feeling about him.”

Up the middle, if Washington is unsure about Ian Desmond. If J.J. Hardy is not available in trade, what should they do? (SBF)

“Unless you can actually get a guy that has actually done the job (play shortstop) in the Major Leagues for a couple of seasons—and since you are coming off 103 loss—let’s see if Desmond can do it. You are not looking to contend. You’ve seen he can swing the bat. Offensively, a scout I was with yesterday said: ‘that kid can hit. You have to respect the way he plays. He puts the ball in play.’ That home run he hit into the Red Porch Seats (in his first MLB Game) was a bomb. He’s got some power. It’s really a matter of sitting down with your people and saying: ‘Do we give him the job with no real resume?’ And if push comes to shove—we will move Guzman back and get by for the rest of the season.”

“It’s one of those things where in some point in time you are going to have to find out whether he can play. And you can’t just say this is what he did in September and go yeah or nay on that. Look, they have the luxury of coming off 103 losses. If you were coming off of 75 losses, it would be a different story.”

Winter Meetings are coming, is Washington opportunistic shoppers or players? (SBF)

“When we see who gets non-tendered (right before the Winter Meetings) and who gets dropped off the Major League Roster and who is going to be available as a Rule V guy—that’s when you can figure out if The Winter Meeting offers opportunity. The past two years, most of the trades that have been made are completed after the Winter Meetings. You troll out there at the Winter Meetings, see what you snag and, hopefully, in the next 30-days before spring training starts, get a match-up on some package of players or individual player—whatever.”

And it's at this point in our conversation where Phil and I got off on that tangent discussing coverage of Our Washington Nationals and their Fan Base.

Where do you think this franchise stands right now? (SBF)

“Understand, there are only 30 teams in baseball and only eight of them get to the post-season. Some teams start from scratch. That is exactly what The Nationals did when the club moved here. In ’05, I thought they played over their heads. The fact they were 51-31 at the halfway point was amazing. I give a lot of that credit to Frank Robinson. And I give a lot of credit to the fans who showed up in huge numbers that year. But I don’t think anyone really paying attention right now can honestly say: ‘Oh, there is no hope.’

Now there is a guy that writes for MLB.com, not in Washington and it’s not Bill Ladson. It’s another guy. But let me say this, MLB.com has some terrific baseball writers and they have some awful ones too. And this is one of the awful ones. At one point he was sitting next to me at a game and he said: ‘Nationals are the worst team I have EVER seen!’ And I said: ‘You haven’t seen many teams then I guess.’ Now this conversation was during the first half of the season. ‘Well, they are just awful.’ (the MLB.com reporter) So I ask this guy how many times he has seen The Nationals? ‘This is the 3rd time I have seen them.’ Well, you know, that is kind of a small sample size. So I said to him: ‘you know, your team is not much better.’ He responds: ‘they are going to end up well ahead of The Nationals.’ They did, but not by much. And there certainly was a point after that eight game winning streak where The Nationals were a threat to pass them.”

(Shaking his head back and forth) “If you are an intelligent baseball fan and you are not just a fantasy guy. If you look at the game and read all you can read about it and you talk to a lot of people inside the game that say quasi-complimentary things about The Nationals--or raving about some prospects they have, or raving about Rizzo. Anyone who spends time with Mark Lerner (Nationals Principal Owner) would not have that impression. But this is the issue, the casual fan will sit back and throw out so and so has lost the clubhouse. Or, there is a culture of losing that has to end. It isn’t like that at all (in Washington). That’s not to say there have been clubs that weren’t like that. But it’s not with this club and with these people in charge of it. The perception is wrong.”

“People who complain about The Nationals, I always bring up The Mets. In their first five years (after expansion in 1962), they averaged 108 losses per year. Of course, in their 7th season they were World Champion. This game has such a degree of difficulty that transcends every other team sport—even though on the surface it all seems so simple. There used to be a sportscaster in Baltimore that used to say it’s a simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball and you hit the ball. Well, if it was that simple, we all would be doing it. This is a remarkably difficult sport and to put the pieces together to get you to a championship is not easy. Even if you’ve got $200 Million dollars to spend like The Yankees do every year, or even $100 Million—it does not guarantee that you are going to win. It comes to showing patience. And as a fan, if in the back of your mind you say when they start to win—I will buy a ticket—well what kind of a fan are you? Let’s not define what a frontrunner is.”

“I am old. I grew up with a bad baseball team (The Senators) and a bad football team (The Redskins), but it didn’t make me any less of a fan. Now, certainly there have been disappointing losses. But I don’t think I have ever gone to the ballpark where I thought: ‘now that was a waste of time.’ I find the game today remarkably entertaining night after night after night.”

“But my point here (in a roundabout way) is that if you are going to cover baseball and do it competently, I think you have to immerse yourself into the game. And if you don’t have any passion for it, then why are you doing it? Do something else. When I see young broadcasters and young prospective baseball writers and they go and sit with each other (it bothers me). It’s just the idea that they are just not interested (in the sport). It’s like: ‘I know the object of the game. I think I know what I am doing here, but don’t get me bothered about other stuff, that might make me change my mind about it.' (better understanding the nuances of the game). The stuff I knew about baseball 25 years ago--I don’t think about anymore. The stuff I thought I knew? I was blind back then and I watch the game much differently now.”

“And while I would never be competent enough—no way, in no way—to be a scout, I have a perspective from those guys that I know what they are talking about now (because Phil keeps in touch with them). I am seeing the things they are seeing before they have to tell me. It always amazes me that there are writers that don’t want to embrace the game more than what they think (wrongly) is all there is.”

“It’s easy for me to be upbeat about The Nationals because I went through The Senators experience when there was no hope. The fact that this year’s club did not lose 107 games means the ’63 Senators were still the worst team of my lifetime (56-106). And you could look at that club in 1963 and look at The Senators Farm System then and know there was no hope back then. There was no hope. They did not grow their own particularly well. They spent no money on scouting to speak of. They scouted amateur players out of college yearbooks, I think (only half joking). That is not something they handled well back then. They made the big trade with The Dodgers (for Frank Howard). Without that trade, that club would have never finished over .500. Without Ted Williams they would have never finished above .500. That was a franchise owner’s owned just to say they fielded a club. That was the Expansion Senators. That was hopeless baseball."

“Here, now, you see what is going on. You see what is going on in the Farm System. You see what money is being spent on player development. And you can see a light down there. It’s not a mile away. It may be 10 miles away—if a mile is six months—it’s going to take a few more years. But having been through the experience with The Senators, this is nothing like that. This is nothing like that. So, if you just want to look at wins and losses—that’s fine if you are happy doing that. If you really like the game, look beyond that and realize what else is going on. See what is going on in other markets like in Pittsburgh or Kansas City? The Pirates have had 17 straight years under .500. But over that same 17-year span The Royals have lost more games.”

Stan Kasten always has stated again and again: “We will get the attendance we deserve.” (SBF)

“He is right.”

But has some of the bitterness from the media and the fans affected what the team has tried to accomplish? (SBF)

“It probably has, but this year I think the economy had a lot to do with it. An out of town writer recently wrote about The Nationals ‘dwindling’ attendance. ‘Dwindling’ to me would indicate you were rock-bottom and you weren’t drawing flies. Well, The Nationals outdrew six other clubs with that many losses and that horrible first half. My challenge to those people who write that stuff and post that stuff online is go to a game—walk up and down the aisles—and tell those people they are not having a good time. Tell them how stupid they are? They shouldn’t be there because they can’t possibly be having a good time watching a losing team? This year you had 10 times where Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn homered in the same game. My daughter and her friend loved that and I am sure many other fans did as well.”

"In terms of bang for the bucks—baseball is still the most affordable. Both my girls love the $5 seats. They love that section. They love the view of The Capitol and the view of the scoreboard. And I understand there is a lot of deals this coming season for Season Ticket Holders (Red Carpet Benefits). That’s great—that’s responding to the market. That’s saying: ‘we know the last couple of years have not been what you wanted to see. We are a work in progress and we appreciate your support.' Those things are wonderful.”

How about with The Nationals? (SBF)

“Do I think The Nationals could do more? I've spoken with several club employees who feel the same way. I think there are still too many people who don’t embrace the sport as much as they embrace their job. And those people need to have the riot act read to them or find something else to do. If you don’t love the sport? If you don’t embrace the sport? Then how can you do the best possible job?

Does the negativity hurt the chances for players to come here? Or, are we past that? (SBF)

“I think we are past that. Zimmerman has made a good case for himself in baseball. He knows everyone now in the game. Adam Dunn too. In fact, George Sherill (one time Oriole, now Dodger) told me when the Dodgers were in town—that Ronnie Belliard told a lot of people what a good time he had playing here. What a great town it was and there was a lot to do. So, when you have a lot of players who have been here and gone elsewhere and say: ‘it was terrific!’ that goes much further than some disgruntled fan on an internet bulletin board. The people who play the game that have to come here to live—you are hard pressed to find any player that will say anything bad about their experience. They might say something bad about Jim Bowden, but not about the market.”

With that final answer--Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood concluded. Phil will be heading to Indianapolis this December to cover the 2009 Winter Meetings. As we were leaving the restaurant in Arlington, Virginia this past week--he shared this funny story about running into another Hall Of Famer at The Winter Meetings--23 years ago.

“At the Winter Meetings in Hollywood, Florida in December of ’86, I am walking down a hallway that meets another hallway (running in a different direction). And as I get down to the intersection, I walk right into Ted Williams. We bump together. We each take a few steps back. I was like: ‘hi, hi, hi, hi, hi…..!’. (not knowing what to say)."

"As for Ted Williams-- he just kept going."

PS--Phil is also of the belief that Washington should sport a pinstripe uniform—whether it be with red trim or blue trim—without the gold. And he agrees with me that the Away Uniform needs to sport a Red Curly “W” on the blue cap to match the Red Curly “W” on the script uniform front.

PPS--And Phil also believes Major League Baseball should return to The Balanced Schedule:

“This year if the playoffs meant the top four teams with the best records would go, then no team from the AL Central would have made it at all. So, it’s going to be frustrating because The Yankees & Red Sox situation is not likely to change. They are always going to have more money to spend. And they will spend it. I think if you cut down on the number of games the other clubs in the American League East have to play against The Yankees and Red Sox and you spread the wealth a little bit—if you are a team in the central or west and you know the Yankees are going to be better than you when they come to your town—they are going to sell more tickets. So, it almost becomes a financial incentive. And I am also of the belief that as long as baseball is committed to inter-league play, they should have never had a 14 team league and a 16 team league. They should have had two 15 team leagues and played inter-league series everyday. I also think they should try to compress the schedule a little bit. You can still play 162 games, but schedule a few day/night doubleheaders because you need to avoid playing baseball in November. And what is going to happen in a few years if Colorado and Minnesota make it to The World Series? It’s going to be brutal.”

“If baseball is not going to realign, then one very small step would be going back to a balanced schedule. People will then complain that teams will end up playing more games with teams outside your division—well that is the way it goes. They (MLB) did it that way for years and nobody died.”

Many thanks to Phil Wood for again getting together and chatting about Our Washington Nationals.

Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood--Part Two

2009-10-23T15:15:00.004-04:00

Washington Baseball Historian and MASN Broadcaster Phil Wood spent the the first part of our lunch time chat discussing philosophy. What Our Washington Nationals are attempting to accomplish with personnel since Mike Rizzo was named permanent General Manager. And when we concluded yesterday's Part One--Phil was beginning to touch on Mr. Rizzo's recent front office hires. So that's where we pick up today followed by an in-depth look at what Washington currently has and should keep on their 2010 Major League Roster.

With that, here we go with Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood, Part Two.

What do you know about these recent Front Office hires—Roy Clark, Johnny DiPuglia and Doug Harris? (SBF)

“Harris I had heard of because he had scouted with The Rangers for years and was just with Cleveland last season. He’s a veteran, but the scouts I have talked to with other clubs say Roy Clark is as sharp as a tack. I don’t know what they (The Nationals) are paying him, but the point was made that to get a guy like Roy Clark to leave where he was (Atlanta) to come to Washington—they probably paid pretty well for the privilege. The guy from The Red Sox—DiPuglia—he’s had great success scouting Latin American countries for The Red Sox. The Nationals needed a greater presence there after the whole “Smiley” Gonzalez debacle and Jose Rijo. They’ve hired some really good people. Certainly, Rizzo has been around long enough that he knows where all the good people are.”

These hires are all Rizzo? This has his mark all over it? (SBF)

“Absolutely. When Rizzo was hired in 2006 (VP and Assistant General Manager) right after the club was awarded to the Lerner’s, Riz was one of the first hires. A friend of mine—a long time National League Scout—told me Kasten brought Rizzo in to be the next GM. And I think the expectations throughout baseball was that Rizzo would be the GM between six months to a year—because it was well known that Stan Kasten was not a fan of Jim Bowden. But Bowden had ingratiated himself to ownership and was basically able to keep his job. Of course Stan had to say nice things about Jim, which I am sure, wasn’t easy at times. But people knew that Bowden would eventually implode and it happened. And Rizzo was there to pick up the pieces.”

“You look at the job he did once that transition took place—it was remarkable. Rizzo did a remarkable job. All of these others saying it’s going to be Jerry Dipoto (Arizona Scouting Director). Jerry Dipoto? Jerry Dipoto has been an executive for a while, but he’s never been a GM. It was well known he wanted to be a GM. The idea that The Nationals would let Rizzo go through what he went through, then go through the Strasburg deal, sign Strasburg on Friday and Monday Mike cleans out his desk—that didn’t make any sense!!”

We didn’t believe it. (SBF)

“All along, I never bought into the whole thing either about Dipoto or any other guy coming in to supplant Rizzo. And in the end, I think Kasten accomplished what he set out to do once he first hired Mike. It took a while longer than expected, but I don’t think they would have made Mike go through that dance if there wasn’t going to be some Hot Fudge Sundae on the other end.”

All the rumors really just made no sense. (SBF)

“Mike is a guy who I believe has the ‘make-up’ of a (John) Schuerholz (long time Atlanta GM, now Braves President) in a sense he is not prone to panic modes. He is very deliberate about things and I think there is a payoff there. Mike's dad was a scout. Mike played minor league baseball (in The Angels system) and recognized he didn’t have the wherewithal to play in the Major Leagues and got into the backroom part of baseball. From the very first time I met him when he first got his first job in Washington, he was impressive. Mike knows every scout in baseball—for every team. He knows EVERYBODY!! And I have yet to find anybody to say: ‘you know, he is weak in this area. Or he is good at this, but not at that.’ Everybody thinks the world of him. And because so many people in the game want to see him succeed, there is something very positive about Mike Rizzo as GM. Again, Rizzo as GM. Riggleman as Manager—that works for me.”

Are you surprised Bob Boone has made his way through this changeover and will continue in his role (as Assistant GM—VP of Player Development)? (SBF)

“If you had asked me that six weeks ago, I would have said—yes. But now finding out that once Bowden left and whether it was a sit-down with Rizzo or maybe well before that—Bob wanted to make sure that people knew that while, yes, he had known Bowden in Cincinnati and yes—he had been hired by Jim for The Nationals--that in general he did not consider himself a Bowden Guy. Because he had been around the game for so long, as a player, coach and manager, he felt like he pre-dated Bowden. Certainly, he gave advice to Bowden, but Bowden didn’t always take it. So I think he successfully convinced everyone: ‘I worked for him but I am not his boy.’ Since then, there are scouts who were saying earlier to me that Bob will probably be gone once the season is over. Well, you know what—they are saying now they think Bob and Mike have found a real connection. Whether it’s in terms of special assignments or whatever, I think Bob Boone figures to be around for a while unless somebody else offers him a job.”

I have always thought Dana Brown to be an unsung hero of sorts. Are you surprised to see him go to Toronto as Special Assistant to The New GM? (SBF)

“They (The Nationals) probably thought Dana would be around for a while, but being an assistant GM is a little bit better. Apparently he and Alex Anthopoulos have a history together which I wasn’t aware of. Any time you get a chance—especially at Dana’s age—to move up even if it’s just a tiny move up—you have to do it. Although let’s be honest, The Toronto Blue Jays are not likely to win the American League East any time soon. They can be competitive, but that’s about it right now.”

So we are now in the off-season, Rizzo is truly in control. What does he need to do? (SBF)

“There are a couple of determinations that need to be made. First of all you have to see if Jesus Flores will be able to play 130 games? And if he is not, you have to do something about that. You have to get another catcher. I don’t think you want to go into a season with (Josh) Bard & (Wil) Nieves as your two catchers. Now, I will say this. If you add up their numbers they did OK. Neither one of them is much of a threat at the plate. Nieves not much more than a threat to hit a single to right field. Bard is a switch hitter and he has some power, but he’s not a very good receiver. He’s adequate. Derek Norris is a couple of years away, but Norris may end up as an infielder when he gets to the Major Leagues. If you decide that Flores isn’t going to be an everyday guy, then you maybe look for a left-handed hitter who is a good receiver. A veteran, a young veteran in their late 20’s, early 30’s because catching is such a critical spot. Again, if Flores is healthy, I think you have to give him another shot and you go into it (Spring Training) assuming he is not going to get hurt again.”

“You are set at third base (Ryan Zimmerman). At first base, I think you are set (with Adam Dunn). The point is that Adam only has a year to go on his deal. I think if they could go back in time, they (Washington) would have signed him for more than two seasons. But if you talk to Adam, Adam is not unhappy. He is not unhappy in Washington. He and Ryan Zimmerman have become very, very tight. And I think he would be open to an extension. But obviously, if Albert Pujols becomes a free agent and declares that he wants to play close to The White House (joking), all bets are off at that point. But seriously, look; Dunn did what they got him here to do. He produced a lot of offense. He had a higher batting average than he ordinarily does. He walked a lot and was a great guy in the clubhouse.”

“The trade last year with The Marlins. If they (Washington) had gone into the season with (Josh) Willingham playing every day then I have no doubt Willingham would have hit 30 homers. And again, there is another guy with great make-up and he is a couple of years away from walking away as a free agent. Those fans that have been posting on these online bulletin boards: ‘oh, they have to trade Willingham. They have to trade Dunn.’ Well, why? Why do they have to trade them? Willingham is just 30 years of age. He is a dangerous hitter. And frequently, he was a dangerous fielder (chuckling). He had some adventures out in leftfield I didn’t expect. But as I look now at guys on other teams having the same issue, there had to be something going on with the lights or something (at Nationals Park). Be that as it may, Willingham can play. Nyjer Morgan can clearly play. And if they had a vote for Most Valuable Player this year, I would vote for him (Morgan). He made all the difference in the world.”

Was Nyjer playing over his head? (SBF)

“No, I don’t think so. I think this was the first place he played where he wasn’t labeled—as he was in Pittsburgh—as just a speedy guy who can play the outfield—not a guy who can put the club on his back and be an offensive catalyst. That is exactly what Rizzo saw in him and clearly that is what he became. He embraced that role. He had a couple of adventures on the bases, but they were errors of aggression and I don’t have a problem with that. But when Nyjer went down—Willie Harris we all like—but he wasn’t Nyjer. He (Harris) wasn’t going to make the same things happen. And then (Elijah) Dukes in rightfield. I like Elijah Dukes a lot and I think he is a better hitter than he was. He still has the occasional adventure in rightfield. He’s that toolsy guy who doesn’t have all the greatest instincts in the world. But, he’s shown a great willingness to work on it.”

Were you surprised to see Dukes recalled in August? (SBF)

“No, actually I was not.”

I thought there was a possibility we might never see him again. (SBF)

“There was danger of that happening because when he went down (to Syracuse), he was completely out of whack at the plate. And I think there was a fear he would sour on being sent to the minor leagues and just shutdown. That didn’t happen. He hit the ball very, very well at Syracuse and he showed a maturity I don’t think they (Washington) were expecting.”

“Up the middle can (Cristian) Guzman play second base? I am sure he can. He did not play it last year out of any conceit or anything. He just had never played 2nd Base and his point was: ‘you are not going to make a veteran play a position he has never played before’ at the risk of embarrassing himself this late in the season when The Nationals are hopelessly out of the race. He stayed at shortstop and kind of got banged up and was basically a pinch hitter the final weeks of the season. But he’s got a year to go on his contract. He showed a little bit more patience at the plate. When he walked twice in one game I nearly keeled over! (Laughing) However you want to slice it, he is another one of those guys, another one of those middle infielders who if they can reach it, they are going to swing at it. Obviously, he didn’t hit .300 this year, but he came close. He was well over .300 for a period of time. He had that foot problem and any number of things that probably impacted his swing—but with a year to go (on his contract)—I don’t think they want to pay him to go away. I think Guzman is still capable of being a productive player at second base.”

But you feel he will move to 2nd base? (SBF)

“Oh, he will move to 2nd base. There will be no issues with that. It just came down to…..”

Timing. (SBF)

‘Yes, timing. Perhaps if he (Guzman) had been 100% at that point in time, he might have moved then. His biggest fault, from my perspective is, if he was a victim of a drive-by shooting on the way to the park--he wouldn’t tell anyone about it (chuckling). He would wrap an ace bandage around it, put a uniform on it and hope no one notices he’s bleeding. (Laughing)

He never says anything about any injury. (SBF)

“He just wants to play so badly—and you have to respect him for that. This has already happened a couple of times since he got here. He’s gotten hurt and he tries to compensate for it and do anything to stay in the lineup. There are a lot of other players out there who would milk it (injuries), but he (Guzman) is not one of those guys.”

Then what about shortstop? (SBF)

“Can Desmond play shortstop everyday in the Major Leagues? I don’t know the answer to that. Some scouts have said he is one of those guys that will be a better fielder in the Major Leagues than the Minor Leagues. Well, I guess, we will have to wait and see. But, on the other hand, if they had an opportunity to pick up a J.J. Hardy (Milwaukee Shortstop), I think you would have to go with someone like that. Hardy is coming off an off-year offensively.”

Hardy has been mentioned is a few stories I have read. If Washington were interested in him--whom would they give up to receive him? (SBF)

“I think because Washington has a lot of arms in their system you have to look there. I think you also look at the Big League Pitching Staff now. You see (John) Lannan as a sure thing. We read some of the scouts at Stephen Strasburg’s first Arizona Fall League start say he should be Washington’s Opening Day starter. He is better than anything they have now. So, let’s just say, for the sake of argument, Stephen Strasburg is with the club from April on next season. So you have Strasburg, you have Lannan and after that you have to decide. Will (Scott) Olsen be 100%? I don’t know. But Olsen doesn’t have much in trade value because of his surgery. You are going to have to wait another year for Jordan Zimmermann. But from my perspective, the thought of having a Strasburg, Zimmermann and Lannan top of the rotation—well the back end could be you and me! You want better than that, obviously. But we have three guys; you think, in Strasburg’s case, Zimmermann’s case—great command, terrific fastball. And a solid young pitcher in Lannan.”

“J.D. Martin made a good case for himself for the 2010 season with the way he pitched in September. (Craig) Stammen I am a little bit on the fence about.”

How about Garrett Mock and Ross Detwiler? (SBF)

“Ross Detwiler to me is the wild card because once he came back (to the Big League Club) and they said go ahead and throw across your body—he was much better. He was far more relaxed out there. I can’t look at him and not think he is the guy that delivers my papers (young and thin body build). He looks so young. His last couple of starts were pretty good, he got that first win. I can see Detwiler, if he has a strong spring, start the season on the Major League Staff.”

“Mock is enigmatic. Mock I think has a future as a Major League Pitcher, but whatever light bulb needs to go on--is just flickering right now. He has some innings where he is brilliant and some innings where his command is off and he keeps going back to the same well. He leaves something up and he’s looking over his shoulder (at the hits going past him). He is still a young guy and I think the ball club looks at Mock as having more upside than Martin or Stammen. The results haven’t quite been there yet. There are some other guys who are in the system that can throw, but they are a little bit further down in the system.”

“Talking about trades, and I bring up The Marlins because they have dealt with Washington in the past. Can you imagine if Josh Johnson was available?

I would take him in a heartbeat. He throws smoke. (SBF)

“If The Marlins are really and truly going to try to move Josh Johnson, Dan Uggla, Jeremy Hermida—to get an arm like Josh Johnson—maybe you take something else you don’t want and maybe trade someone you might not want to get rid of. Somebody young who has a high ceiling. I just think Josh Johnson is one of the best right-handed pitchers in baseball and he’s one of those special guys if you can pick him up—it’s a coup.”

Did not Josh Johnson have the same surgery that Jordan Zimmermann had? (SBF)

“Yes.”

And he still throws that hard. (SBF)

“He’s got a pitcher’s body (tall, big legs). He’s a big guy, throws hard, has a decent breaking ball and has that great make-up.”

What does Rizzo do about the bullpen? Are there really any keepers already there? (SBF)

“Yeah, I think there are. He had more walks than strikeouts, but I have to bring back Mike MacDougal. He’s kind of an interesting story. Mike’s dad was a Washington Senators Bat Boy in the 1950’s. And Tom (Mike’s Dad) pitched in the Kansas City A’s Farm System in the 60’s. When Mike first got here, I was talking to him in the dugout and I asked him what else he throws. ‘Well, I throw a slider and kind of a changeup.’ Well, kind of a changeup is really not a changeup. But of course you never saw him throw it because they (Washington) told him not to. And one of the issues he had in Kansas City and Chicago was that he would get away from his great fastball, throw more breaking balls and get into trouble. Everything he throws up there is 95 or 96 MPH, but what the problem is with Mike is that he has so much movement on everything he throws that frequently the ball moves right out of the strike zone. That's where all his walks come from, but I think there is something there. There is something there than can be worked on. Maybe if (Steve) McCatty and some of the other guys have him from spring training on—something can improve.”

Jason Bergmann, Sean Burnett? (SBF)

“Sean Burnett is clearly coming back. He’s a very effective lefthander, situational guy. He’s a lock. Bergmann is interesting. Jason is a guy, and this is said about a lot of young pitchers, he doesn’t pitch up to the level of his stuff. He understands that as well as anyone. If you look at the numbers he put up in Syracuse as a reliever—he was great in AAA ball. And he had some great outings with The Nationals and some awful outings for The Nationals. He’s got a solid Major League fastball. He’s got a plus slider. When he has command, he is terrific. And as you saw in ’08 when he was a starter, he was great at times. That game against The Mets at Shea.”

He also nearly pitched a no-hitter in 2007 at RFK Stadium. (SBF)

“I think he is one of those guys that embraces being a Major League player. He wakes up every morning thrilled to be a Major League player. A guy that likes the game enough that when The Dodgers were in town he walked across the field to introduce himself to Joe Torre and had Torre sign a ball for him. Bergmann appreciates the game. He really appreciates the game.”

“The bullpen is an evolving thing. And if you look at what is available in the off-season, there really is not much out there. Would you want to spend $5 to $6 Million per year on a multi-year deal on a closer on a club coming off two straight 100 loss seasons? There are a couple schools of thoughts about a closer, but the conventional wisdom is a 2nd Division Club doesn’t need a dominant closer. So at this point in time, neither one of us expects The Nationals to contend next season, so going out and getting a guy who has had multiple 30 save seasons is not necessarily the way to go.”

“For another season, you can go with MacDougal. Or maybe at some point, Bergmann becomes a closer. The wild card in this is Drew Storen. If Drew Storen has a great spring, I think that Storen is your closer Opening Day.”

From this point on--Phil Wood and I began to discuss specifics about who might be out there for Washington as roster additions this off-season. Free Agents and other creative opportunities that might arise and which General Manager Mike Rizzo might have to consider between now and February, 2010. All that and more coming in Part Three of Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood tomorrow.

Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood

2009-10-22T19:35:00.007-04:00

Phil Wood on the right in this photo along with Hank Thomas--Walter Johnson's Grandson, Sohna and myself

Most fans of Our Washington Nationals know Phil Wood. The Washington Baseball Historian, MASN Broadcaster and columnist omnipresent at Nationals Park covering D.C.'s Major League Team--and Baltimore's too, The Orioles at Camden Yards. Well versed in the game of baseball, Phil and I are sort of kindred spirits. We both grew in the Washington, D.C. area with The Expansion Washington Senators as our team. The '60's Nats were fairly awful record wise (except for that wonderful '69 turnaround), but The Senators were Our Team and Frank Howard was Our Guy!!

As Phil likes to always say: "If we went to a Senators game and they lost--but Hondo hit one out--we went home happy."

So, very true. We had take what you could get out of D.C. Baseball back then. There was no future for Major League Baseball in The Nation's Capital after 1971 for over 33 years. A far different situation now surrounding Our Washington Nationals since Major League Baseball returned in 2005 and a new ballpark opened in 2008.

As the 2009 Season wound down--I approached Phil to see if we might get together again and review the just completed campaign and look ahead to what might be in store this off-season for Major League Baseball in the Nation's Capital. He readily agreed and just like last season when we met over lunch for a similar chat, this time we devoted ourselves to just talking about Our Current Nats. Phil Wood and I had lunch together this past Wednesday, October 21st in Arlington, Virginia to talk about all things Nationals. This conversation lasted nearly 90 minutes and is pretty encompassing. Most likely there will be at least three installments, but for sure this is part one. And we begin by chatting philosophy. What Washington is looking for in their managerial search and even from their players? Not necessarily who Mike Rizzo should trade for, or what guy they should sign this off-season.

With that, here we go with Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood.

I want to start with the managerial search. I’ve noticed that many of those that cover the team on a regular basis, including you, like Jim Riggleman as the choice. Why is that? (SBF)

“First of all he is experienced. Number two; he didn’t do anything to lose the job. I wasn’t thrilled when he put Ian Desmond in rightfield, but that was more Desmond’s idea, instead of Jim’s. And if you are a second division club and you want to see what someone can do—you can experiment like that. In general, he didn’t do anything to lose his job. I thought when they (Washington) brought him in as bench coach, that’s a brilliant move because he’s a local guy and because he is extremely experienced. And I know from talking to Manny Acta that Manny knew Jim and respected Jim. And having talked to Jim, he (Riggleman) felt they were of similar managerial styles. I thought they would be comfortable with each other.”

“As you look at all the other potential candidates in the field, whether it’s Bobby Valentine, now even Don Mattingly. Mattingly I am intrigued by. I have spoken to Don a few times. He’s a very smart guy. And as a player, he had that tangible that players these days seem to lack, which is he was intense whether he was doing infield practice before a game or actually playing in a game. Mattingly approached everything as if ‘this is important. We are not kidding around here. This is important.’ You have to love that. Right now in baseball you have 750 players where 730 of them don’t play like that (chuckling). But the fact is that he has never managed on any level. He’s been a hitting coach and he’s probably very good at that. Of course, there is an interesting tie-in locally, in the sense that Mattingly’s minor league hitting coach was Mickey Vernon (Washington Senators Great). And he (Don) loved Mickey. In fact, when Mattingly had his retirement ceremony in New York, he insisted Mickey be a part of it.”

“As you know, I knew Mickey pretty well, and having talked to him about Mattingly, I said: ‘What did you do with him when you had him at Columbus (then The Yankees Top Farm Club)?’ He said: ‘I looked at his swing and said—Son, stay away from me because there is nothing I can do to help you out! (Laughing). You’ve got a perfect swing now.’ Apparently, Mattingly had other hitting coaches who would say try this, try this, try this—to the point of changing him. Mickey was the first one to say: ‘Well, you seem to have it down.’ So, if that is his approach (Mattingly in instructing), then I think he has a very evenhanded approach. Not, I need to do something just for the sake of doing something.”

“But Riggleman is the type of guy that is solid--as solid of a baseball guy as you will find. He is exceptionally respected throughout the game. Every scout I know feels Jim deserves the job. I don’t know. I just think there is something, purely from the issue of karma, that fits. Here is a guy that grew up in Montgomery County (Maryland). He was an expansion Senators Fan, like you and me. He knows what it’s like to suffer and wake up smiling. And I think there is a positive to that. I can’t make the decisions for Mike Rizzo or (Stan) Kasten, but when Mike says that Jim has just as good a shot as anybody—I don’t think he is kidding. Rizzo really likes Jim. But I think they (The Nationals) need to go through this exercise looking at other candidates.”

You’ve sort of eluded to this right off the bat, when The Phillies came back to win in their last At-Bat the other night (Game 4 NLCS), both Barry Larkin and Dan Plesac on MLB Network stated The Phillies always play until that 27th out. And are one of the few teams that seem to do that consistently. Why is it that The Nationals can’t play that way? (SBF)

“Let me preface this by saying: the more I am around people who are inside the game, the more you get to appreciate the aspect of the game that is referred to as ‘make-up’. When I say there are only a handful of players that really have that ‘make-up’ to play to the 27th out, there are not many of them. The Phillies have several of them. The Boston Red Sox have some of the best in Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury. (Derek Jeter of The Yankees-SBF) Yes. They are all playing on that higher level—if you will—of observation. They see everything around them and every move they make is important. I just don’t think The Nationals have enough of those players. In general, 2nd Division Clubs don’t and it’s difficult to scout those type of guys in high school or college.”

“Now, the one player that has it, in spades, on The Nationals—is Ryan Zimmerman. There is no doubt. You spend five minutes talking with him and it is clear he is focused. He is absolutely on it! And I think to a similar extent, although he is not gifted athletically, so is Adam Dunn. Once he got to play first base on a daily basis, Adam became a much better first baseman. He was so focused on doing a better job there that I think, at times, it impacted the way he swung the bat. He knew how he had embarrassed himself and the club in leftfield and wanted to avoid doing that at first base. Now he made some mistakes, but by season’s end he was at least average.”

“I think (Josh) Willingham has that same kind of make-up. But there are a lot of guys on this club—I wouldn’t refer to it as a culture of losing—I would refer to it as the comfort of losing in the sense that, win or lose, they feel pretty much the same after a game. And it’s not just The Nationals; every club has a lot of those guys. Some of them are gifted enough that the other players can kind of compensate for it. The more time you spend around scouts, and I have been absolutely blessed with about a dozen Major League Scouts who have trusted me—I’ve gotten some insights I would never get anywhere else. They (the scouts) talk about make-up over and over and over again. It’s that intangible that is important.”

“For instance, you have the guys that are referred to as ‘baseball rats’—guys who hang around the diamond. They are not great players, but they love it. One good example is a young man that played at Towson State University (Maryland) named Gary Helmick—an infielder that puts the ball in play, pretty good fielder, nothing special in anything that he does and he went undrafted. Well The Orioles signed him as a free agent and they sent him to the minor leagues. He hit around .270 (Rookie Ball). He hit better than many of the guys that were drafted. Everyone talked about him. This guy has got such great make-up. He wants it so badly that he is going to make sure he gives more, as they say, than 100%. It wouldn’t surprise me if in three or four years, Helmick is a utility player on some club in the Major Leagues. And you will know that he got there on his own. He didn’t get there because he is exceptionally gifted. So finding players that are gifted, athletically, as opposed to being just a ‘toolsy’ guy is just as important. Someone said a long time ago, you can have all the tools in the world, but if you can’t figure out how to use them you are not going to help."

"For instance, if you are an outfielder and you’ve seen something happen a number of times—and we certainly saw this with Lastings Milledge--and you can see it in Baltimore with Adam Jones--guys who are athletically gifted enough to get to anything. But the strategy of knowing what angle to take to get to it and actually catch the ball is something else. Which is why you will see lesser athletically skilled players as much better outfielders than the guys who have speed to burn. They get to the ball and can not catch it. Or, overrun it, or turn the wrong way. There is a mental aspect to this game that trumps pure athletic ability.”

Mike Rizzo talks about ‘make-up’ all the time. And Washington certainly needs more talent. But is he looking for ‘make-up’ in his new manager too? (SBF)

“Make-up in a manager comes down to whether the guy has the ability to determine which of his players have that make-up and which of them don’t. It’s also about having the relationship between that manager and the general manager where the field manager can go to the GM and say; ‘you know what, I know you like this guy, but let me tell you, he ain’t got it.’ For instance, as a pitcher he’s got it here (pointing to his throwing arm), but not here (pointing to his head). Baseball history is full of guys like that, million dollar arms and 10-cent heads. Certainly, The Nationals have had their share of guys like that. So yes, it’s the make-up of the manager, but it’s more the ability of the manager to recognize make-up in players.’

Was Manny Acta different in that respect? (SBF)

“Not really. Manny would be the first to tell you this. There are guys on the roster that he didn’t care for personally, but he put them in the lineup because he knew they could play. But I look at the demise of Manny Acta (in Washington) and it’s traceable to just one thing—the bullpen was just awful. It was something that Jim Bowden ignored. If Manny had the bullpen Riggleman finished the year with, he (Manny) would still be manager. I have no doubt. They would have won 72 or 73 games—somewhere in there. Look, they had, I believe, 22 blown saves; most of those came in the first half. You almost hated to see Manny walk out to the mound. The idea making you think: ‘who are you going to bring in that can do any better than the guy who is already in there.’ You go through that and hope that one of these guys (relievers) will figure it out. The light bulb will go off and he will say: ‘oh, that’s what he was talking about!’

So you are not surprised that Manny has made it, reportedly, to the finals for the Cleveland Indians manager? (SBF)

“No, I think he is deserving. I actually spoke to him the other day. He admitted the Cleveland thing came to him unexpectedly. He had already talked to Houston and he has a history with The Astros. When that position opened up and they (Houston) fired Cecil Cooper—that’s a job he really thought he had a great shot at. And he still may for all I know, but when Mark Shapiro (Cleveland GM) called him and said The Indians wanted Manny to come talk to them and then called him back for a second interview—Manny thought the first one went about as well as could be expected. He said you don’t go into these things knowing what phrases they are looking for you to say, or what buzz words they want to hear. It’s purely a gut feeling. But he thought it went well. My response to him was—it would have been lovely if it were a job with a contender? He said there are only 30 of these jobs—you can’t afford to turn anybody down.”

There is a story in the Cleveland Plain Dealer about a press conference Manny had after his second interview (but not yet been offered the job). That article was just like reading The Washington Post a few years back when Manny first came on board here—everyone in Cleveland—including the reporters was enamored with him. (SBF)

“The casual fan, not just here but anywhere, will look at a managers won and loss record and say—‘Oh, he stinks! He can’t do it.’ Or my favorite: ‘He lost the clubhouse.’ That always makes me laugh. People who wouldn’t know where to find the clubhouse say ‘he must have lost the clubhouse.’ The only guy that I thought Manny really had an issue with personally—was probably (Elijah) Dukes. It wasn’t because of Dukes’ past. It was times when they would go over things, over and over again—and they would think he had it. And the very next day, it was gone, whatever they talked about.”

“Now, when Dukes went back to the minor leagues, I think Tim Foli (Syracuse Manager) got something out of him by pushing the right buttons because when he came back (to DC) he was far more patient at the plate. But in general, Manny respected his players. He understood that many of them were not Major League Players and you play the hand you were dealt. The casual fan will take a look at this just completed season with 59 wins and say: ‘well, they were just as bad as the previous year. They are still the worst team in baseball.’ Well, they (The Nationals) had the worst record in baseball, but clearly from the second half (of ’09) they were not the worst team in baseball. They had gotten much better.”

“Obviously, there is the bullpen. There is the shoddy defense. Offensively, they scored a lot of runs. They scored enough runs to win a lot more games! But they couldn’t keep the other team off the scoreboard and they consistently gave the other team more than 27 outs night after night after night.”

You’ve just touched on something that many others always write about. I don’t think this franchise is as bad off as many continually claim. Where do you think The Nationals are solid? What have they done really well? (SBF)

“I think they have drafted pitchers very well. The Stephen Strasburg decision aside—which was basically a no brainer—they’ve got some other arms in their system that really show promise. Talking to the scouts who have seen these guys tons of times, and in fact a couple of scouts believe if you take Strasburg out of the equation and you look at just the other players The Nationals drafted—they still had one of the top two or three drafts in baseball. (2009 right? —SBF) Right. They had a pretty good eye for certain players and you give Mike Rizzo a lot of credit for that. You give the departed Dana Brown (former Director of Scouting) some credit for that as well. The Nationals Scouting Staff was rather small. This off-season they have hired some more scouts. That’s one of the things that Mike really wanted to do. Clearly, that is what his background is and he knew they were woefully short in that area. So, arm wise, I think they still want to have a veteran on the staff as some kind of mentor—which I think is a little overrated. But anyway, depending on whom you are able to get, whose name is not Daniel Cabrera (laughing), they’ve got some guys. Now, they don’t have a lot of position players, but if you look at what this club was when it moved in ’05 and what it is now—it is where you would expect a fifth year expansion club to be.”

“People want to say: ‘The Expos were around since ’69.’ Well, the last few years of The Expos, Major League Baseball spent no money on the farm system and spent no money on scouting. You couldn’t look at that objectively and say they came here (to Washington) with a system in place. It was again like starting over. But those things will work their way out. They clearly don’t have the strongest farm system in baseball, but they are now far from the worst. At this point, I would say they are somewhere between 11th and 12th. And that comes down to how much resources you are devoting to player development.”

“While the payroll has not been that high since the Lerner’s got the club, they’ve spent some money on player development. Has it been enough? There is really no way in knowing that yet. But when you start getting guys this next season coming out of their own farm system—like if Ian Desmond makes his mark? If Drew Storen is on the Big League staff next season? Some of the other guys they brought up. They got J.D. Martin as a minor league free agent. He pitched much better than I expected. Craig Stammen is a bulldog, but I don’t know if you could ever project him as more than a 4th or 5th starter—that's not bad though. So, they are getting something of their own out of their farm system. But there are still holes and there will be holes for another few seasons anyway. You can’t judge The Nationals Farm System and put it up against Boston or Atlanta. Some of the guys they just hired were hired to get them up to that point.”

That answer concludes Part One of Talking Nats Baseball With Phil Wood. Tomorrow in Part Two, Phil & I are going to pick up this conversation chatting about all those front office moves he just mentioned. The realignment of Our Washington Nationals off the field which hopefully sets up an ever brighter future for D.C. Baseball on the playing diamond.

History Makers--The Picture Of The Day

2009-10-19T20:55:00.006-04:00

There is so much Major League Baseball History represented in this one photo from a late season game between The Los Angeles Dodgers and St. Louis Cardinals played on September 16th, 1963. With two weeks left in the '63 campaign, The Dodgers were holding on to a slim one game lead for the National League Pennant. Yet the outcome of this game (an L.A. Win) played at the soon to be replaced Sportsman's Park in St. Louis is not what is compelling. What is remarkable about this otherwise mundane in-game photo is that all but one person clearly depicted in uniform played a significant historical role in baseball history. And the one that didn't eventually became The Captain of The Washington Senators--and was involved in the best trade the Expansion Nats ever made. The one that brought My Favorite Player Of All-Time!!, Frank Howard, to the Nation's Capital in 1965.

I love this photo for the History Makers depicted. And not all of the sagas they represent are pleasant ones.

Here's why.

Number 11 with his back to the photographer in this shot is none other than Ken McMullen, the heart and some would say, the soul of the Washington Senators from 1965 through early 1970. The team of my youth. McMullen was a good third baseman with good pop in his bat. And when Senators Owner Bob Short traded Ken away for Aurelio Rodriguez and Rick Reichardt to The California Angels--the official dismantling of Washington's Major League Team truly began.

But wait--there is so much more to follow.

Bending over on the mound picking something up is Johnny Roseboro. The very Dodger catcher who replaced Roy Campanella behind the plate in 1958 when Campy was involved in the horrific car accident which paralyzed the three time NL MVP and ended his career. Roseboro would also be involved in the most violent ON-FIELD incident between two players in Major League History. A well known fracas documented in a special television program currently running on the MLB Network. On August 22, 1965 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco--Roseboro was upset with San Francisco Giants Pitcher (and eventual Hall Of Famer) Juan Marichal. Earlier in that game, Marichal had thrown brushback pitches to Dodgers Maury Wills & Ron Fairly. Roseboro wanted his pitcher--eventual Hall Of Famer Sandy Koufax--to throw his pitches directly at Marichal standing at the plate. The gentlemanly Koufax refused. Upset about no retaliation and taking business into his own hands, Roseboro whizzed his return tosses to Sandy RIGHT PAST Juan Marichal's face. Not taking kindly to Roseboro's too close for comfort throws, Marichal, out of nowhere, raised his baseball bat above his head and proceeded to pummel Roseboro's noggin.

Three times Juan Marichal pounded Roseboro's head with his baseball bat, opening up a huge gash that required 14 stitches and started one of the biggest brawls in baseball history. Roseboro survived, played for five more seasons, and ended his career in 1970 as a catcher for The Washington Senators. Marichal was suspended for nine games in 1965 by The National League and fined--what is today--a ludicrously small amount of dollars ($1750) and was banned from playing at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for the remainder of that season.

Number 6 standing on the mound is none other than Ron Fairly himself. Roseboro's Dodger Teammate and eventual unwilling participant in The Marichal Beaning. But what is interesting about Fairly is that in 1969 he would be traded by Los Angeles to The Expansion Montreal Expos (now Washington Nationals) for none other than Maury Wills. The other unwilling participant and his one time teammate in The Marichal Beaning Game. Ron Fairly would play 21 seasons in The Major Leagues. Fairly would become the very first player to ever play for both Canadian Franchises (Montreal & Toronto). And be the only player EVER to be an All-Star for The Expos and The Blue Jays.

The Dodger Pitcher on the mound is Johnny Podres. The winning pitcher in Game 7 of The 1955 World Series. The only time The Brooklyn Dodgers won The World's Championship. The most satisfying moment for any Brooklyn Dodger Fan and The Boys Of Summer. A long awaited Series victory over their arch rival in the American League--The New York Yankees.

Number 24 in Dodger Gray Away Wool is Walter Alston. Hall of Fame Manager who led The Brooklyn Dodgers to their only World Series Championship. Then, led The Los Angeles Dodgers to three more World Series Wins and five total National League Pennants after The Dodgers headed west to Southern California after the 1957 season. Alston would manage The Dodgers Franchise their last four years in Brooklyn and their first 19 in Los Angeles.

The St. Louis Cardinals player wearing Number 21 is Curt Flood, one of the most important figures for player's rights in Baseball History. A Gold Glove Outfielder, Flood was traded by The Cardinals to The Philadelphia Phillies in late 1969. Flood refused to report claiming Baseball's Reserve Clause (which retained a player's right in perpetuity to the team that originally signed them) was tantamount to slavery. When then Commissioner Bowie Kuhn declined to allow Curt Flood Free Agency (an unknown territory for baseball players at that time), Flood filed a lawsuit against Major League Baseball and sat out the entire 1970 Season. Eventually, Curt Flood would lose his case 5-3 in The Supreme Court of The United States. But ground had been broken and a new era of rights for baseball players was soon to follow.

Flood would NEVER receive any of the fruits of his hard fought labor war. Yet every single baseball player that followed in his footsteps did. In 1975, The Reserve Clause was struck down for good by Federal Arbitrator Peter Seitz. A new era had begun in Major League Baseball. Higher and Higher salaries for players was just around the corner. To really understand Flood's importance, a must read is the excellent book written by Brad Snyder that covers Flood's plight and life: A Well-Paid Slave.

As for Curt Flood, he would finish his baseball career in 1971 after 13 games with, yes, The Washington Senators. Feeling he was no longer capable of playing and having lost the passion for the sport, Flood skipped out on The Senators and took a flight to Spain--where he stayed for a number years while running a bar in Mallorca. Curt Flood battled alcoholism for a number years before turning his life around. But sadly, died of throat cancer in 1997 at the age of 59. Every single baseball player today owes Curt Flood homage for giving up everything in his life--leading to all the benefits players receive today.

Finally--Ken McMullen, Johnny Roseboro, Ron Fairly, Johnny Podres, Walter Alston and Curt Flood--all pictured in the above photo--won a total of 16 World Series Rings between them. And when this game was played that late September night in 1963--The Great Stan Musial was winding down his illustrious Hall Of Fame Career. He would retire at the end of this season. And just three batters before this picture was taken, "Stan The Man" had cranked out the 475th and FINAL Home Run of his wonderful career off Johnny Podres.

And oh--one more thing. The 1st Baseman for The St. Louis Cardinals this night (but not pictured here) was Bill White. The seven time Gold Glove Award Winner who would become the very first African-American President of The National League in 1989. The highest ranking minority executive in sports--at that time.

History Makers--The Picture Of The Day.

Life Magazine Photo Copyright--Time, Inc. (Photographer--Robert W. Kelley)

Baseball Americana--Treasures From The Library Of Congress

2009-10-18T19:00:00.008-04:00

"This book meant a lot to me because of my love of baseball history," stated Frank Ceresi. "I wanted to see the history. I wanted to see it visually. I wanted to see the passion for the game. All of which I was hoping would be in this project and I think it is all included.”

240 pages worth in fact and over 350 images.

Baseball Americana--Treasures From The Library Of Congress--a just released coffee table sized book from Smithsonian Books via Harper Collins Publishing. Three years in the making, Baseball Americana was the brainchild of staff at The Library Of Congress (Harry Katz--Former Head Curator Prints & Photographs, Phil Michel--Manager Library Prints & Photographs Division plus Wilson McBee & Susan Reyburn--editors in The Library's Publishing Office) whom asked local museum consultant, baseball writer and historian--Frank Ceresi--to be involved in their project. Long time readers of Nats320 will recognize Mr. Ceresi's name. When Nationals Park was being constructed, Frank was hired by Our Washington Nationals to acquire, organize and formulate display plans for all the artwork placed throughout The South Capital Street Ballpark. The pictures, paintings, historical facts about the Great Game in The Nation's Capital enjoyed now by thousands during each home game in Washington, D;C.--all of which were first previewed on Nats320 in February, 2008. Mr. Ceresi also acquired and built the display units for the Shirley Povich Artifacts--now at Nationals Park in The Shirley Povich Media Center.

During the final home game of 2009, most of the five co-authors of Baseball Americana were signing copies of their new book in The Stars & Stripes Club. Sohna and I ran into them heading to our seats in Section 218 that day. Interested in the storyline, we all talked for some time. Frank and I agreed we had to get together and chat about the offering more, because this effort is not just about another baseball picture book. Baseball Americana reveals many baseball images not commonly seen. The Library Of Congress stores a copy, many times the originals, of every single copyrighted newspaper, print, photograph, film, book--you name it--ever produced.

Every single one of them.

That's an humongous amount of material. A body of historical proofs not many have indulged themselves into discovering.

Katz, Ceresi, Michel, McBee & Reyburn set out to show the history of baseball in a different light. Not just on the facts about what happened on the field of play--many understand that already--but how Baseball has always reflected American Life. From late in Colonial times, through The Civil War, Post-Reconstruction Period, Segregation, Suffrage, Two World Wars, The Depression-even The Beatles--Baseball has been intertwined in the fabric of America. Only scratching the surface of what The Library Of Congress offers, Baseball Americana gives a nice glimpse into the game's wonderful past while opening up new doors and eyes to what the largest library in the world can offer virtually anyone having the patience to study.

With that, here is the Nats320 interview with Frank Ceresi on the collaborated book Baseball Americana--Treasures From The Library Of Congress:

How did this book come about? (SBF)

“I grew up in this area and I am from this area and I have always loved the Library of Congress. In fact, when I was in high school, my first real research paper I researched at The Library of Congress. And I remember my mom, she was an educator that taught in Fairfax County for 25 years, she said (then), if you are going to do it, you have got to do it right and you should go down to the main reading room in The Jefferson Building of The Library of Congress. I went there and it stuck with me. It was overwhelming because I couldn’t believe I was living around the largest library in the world for rare books, for photographs, for any printed matter. And as time went on, I became kind of prone to that sort of thing. I like to read and write and learn more. Then, I trained as a lawyer. And as the years wore on I melded this other attraction I had to the game of baseball. Several years ago I started to write some articles and whenever I was doing research and wanted to find something arcane—or something you couldn’t find on the internet—I went down to the stacks there (at the Library of Congress).”

“So about three years ago, Harry Katz—who is the former head of Princeton Photographs—knew I loved baseball. He did too. He said: ‘Why don’t you join me and let’s see about writing a book on baseball treasures at The Library of Congress.’ We took the idea to their publishing wing and they were very enthusiastic. Then over the past two years, we did this journey of going down there, discovering and seeing what they had.”

“And let’s be clear, this is not like going to your local library. They have so much sheet music, photographs, rare books, newspapers, film, you name it they have it—that are ripe for things like this. Plus, collections like the Jackie Robinson Papers, Branch Rickey Papers, and Oral History by Fay Vincent on tape. No one had really tried to look at their contents holistically and see what they have there. We couldn’t even do it. It was too overwhelming. So we were able to find a lot of stuff but not as much as is down there.”

So how do you organize to decide what is most important? (SBF)

“That was interesting. We would literally sit around at a table, all five of us, Harry, me, Phil, Wilson and Susan. I was the only one that wasn’t an employee in a sense of The Library of Congress—although Harry is now a consultant—he is not down there permanently. For example, Harry and I would meet. Phil and I would meet. Or Sue and I, or Harry and Sue. We would go in combinations to tackle different areas. We would go into the rare books. We would talk to the head of rare books and just say: ‘Baseball’. And usually they are a fan too, so they will have filed in their head cool stuff and we would tell them what we wanted. Eventually, you start gathering these sorts of things. But you have eluded to it already—this was a real art to then be able to organize and discriminate between what we want and other cool things that we simply couldn’t get in there. We would prioritize, sit around a table, and if everyone felt pretty strong about something and we generally agreed--it went to the editors at Harper Collins and it would get in.”

“We probably met about 15 times around the table (as a group of five), but twice that many times individually or in small groups to just go tackle what was out there. And David Kelley at The Library of Congress was a great help because he is a baseball fan. He was the ‘Go-To Guy’. He’s been there for a couple of decades. So he knew where things were and sent us off in the right direction.”

Still, after you pull all this stuff together, you still have to build a story around it. (SBF)

“Yes, we talked a lot about that. Logically, when you talk about baseball, anything from a narrative to visual, you are going to fall into chronology. That is simply the way it works. It worked nicely for us and was a comfortable fit because I, for example, love 19th Century. The origins of the game. And I really wanted us to focus on that. Well that is a great starting point. Where did the game begin? When did it become the National Pastime? With The Library of Congress being ‘The People’s Library’ for a couple of centuries, the history of our country dovetailed—in a sense—to the history of baseball. So we started at the beginning and went up to the 1980’s. The reason being it usually takes a few decades for artifacts or ephemera to reach the heft or prestige to get into something like The Library of Congress anyway. In probably 10 years, what they have from the 80’s and 90’s will be filled in too.”

“What we also found out was that there was not a lot of battling among us to put things in the book. This team, this group, gets along anyway. It was more like “no brainer stuff”. Yeah, the mental battle for all of us was--and certainly to me at the end—I didn’t know how it was going to work out. How can they (Harper Collins) cleverly design all this stuff? How will this look as a package? And I was so happy with the final piece. Objectively, I couldn’t have hoped for more. This project meant a lot to me because of my love of baseball history. I wanted to see the history. I wanted to see it visually. I wanted to see the passion for the game. All of which I was hoping would be in this project and I think it is all included.”

What was the final overriding decision to put something in the book?

“It was a balance. The image needed to have two things. One, it needed to be a great image. It needed to be a knockout image and it also needed to further the story—representative of the history. Those were the two keys. There is nothing in the book that any one of us felt is a common image—meaning either photo, magazine cover, illustration—something like that.”

Ok then, if I go to Borders Book, Waldenbooks, whatever. There are a litany of large baseball books with pictures and history. Why is Baseball Americana different? (SBF)

“For me, and I have seen a lot. You have seen a lot. In this book you are going to see a lot of things you have never seen before. This book exposes the public to a slice of Our National Pastime that has really never been presented in a visual way—as this book has. For example, these are T-205 cards that came out in 1909. Tinkers, Evers & Chance—we all know that. These cards are beautiful. They are based on paintings, which I found out only because of research at The Library of Congress—were from photographs. All of which are in the files at The Library of Congress. So, that entire set of a couple of hundred cards—now I know—how those cards in 1909 so beautifully evolved.”

The Library of Congress is where anything printed or otherwise is copyrighted goes. (SBF)

"Here are some other examples that stand out because of The Library Of Congress. The entire LOOK (Magazine) collection is there. The entire Jackie Robinson Collection. I would not have known that Dorothea Lange—known for her work during difficult times of the 30’s and 40’s also covered some baseball. It’s all down there. The other thing, and this is important. This book should be considered a window to what's out there. The goal is to get people excited about what is there, but realize this is the tip of the iceberg. So, if they want to learn more about the WPA photos, or the Bain Collection, or the Look Collection, or baseball during World War 2; or baseball in film, or cards from the 1880’s—The Library of Congress has them all.”

“I have seen a lot of stuff, but I have never seen the proof sheets for The Old Judge Cards. Never, and they have eight or nine of them down there. The Library Of Congress is open so anybody from here or from all over the world can see, research, study, learn, preserve and protect all that good stuff on something as important as baseball in history.”

We've sort of touched on this already, but baseball has really reflected American life throughout history—during the Civil War, Segregation, Depression, World War 2, on and on. (SBF)

“This book is exactly what you are stating there. Baseball touches our country’s history like certainly no other sport. Here is another example. I knew about Octavius Catto—African American from the 1860’s. 99% of all historians, even hardcore baseball fan historians—probably don’t know this sad story of an early pioneer of the game that never really got any recognition.”

Why is this book important to you? (SBF)

“It’s very important for institutions and museums and particularly The Library of Congress to educate the public about the history and significance of baseball to our culture. To help, not to promote it, but to preserve it, to educate the young people about what it’s meant to our society. And it takes an institution like that (LOC) to stand behind that and bring it home. Museums have slices, but they don’t have what the The Library Of Congress has!”

So, what should some learn from reading Baseball Americana? (SBF)

"First, the history kind of grabs you. The reason why I give this book high marks is because it touches on everything I could think of in the game. There certainly may be a favorite player of someone that is not there, or things like that. We are limited by a number of photos--but it doesn't take away from the important role that baseball has played in our society. How important baseball is to our culture. How important it is to preserve the purity of the game. And how much the game means to, not only hardcore baseball fans, but to the casual fans—families and kids. I don’t think it is a coincidence that so much of the love of baseball is derived by children following their father’s or their mother’s love. Baseball tends to bind us as a society. It does not divide us into class, race or economic status. It gives us a collective way of enjoying and viewing the sport together. And that's what, I believe, this book represents."

What were the most surprising aspects you learned about the game for the first time? (SBF)

“There were a lot of surprises. The Old Judge Proof Sheet from the 1880’s and seeing the Washington team. I know a lot about the Old Judge Cards from the 1880’s, but I didn’t know there were such things as proof sheets. And it’s so logical. For the tobacco companies to create the cards, they needed to copyright them. And by law, the copyright depository is The Library of Congress. So I was surprised to see these things. Even with my education and background in collectibles, I had never seen them before. You could spend the next two years of your life going to divisions of The Library Of Congress and you are not going to know everything about whatever subject you choose, let alone baseball. They have amassed so much cool stuff that it’s everywhere—advertising, film, letters, people—their life’s work—like the Branch Rickey Papers. And I think Branch Rickey is one of the most important individuals, not just in baseball, but also in the 20th Century. This book gives a taste of what is down there.”

“In fact, James Billington—The Librarian Of Congress—believes they have to just get this stuff out. Let’s get it to where people all over the world can enjoy what we have. And that has been his passion for much of the past three decades. He was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in the early ‘80’s, so he has been there for nearly thirty years.”

Is it safe to say this book and the effort to get this material out there—as you stated—is a love affair for the people that work at The Library of Congress? (SBF)

“Absolutely, because it can be intimidating to go there. To you and me who have both been here (in D.C.) our entire lifetimes, it’s intimidating. You go to The Jefferson Building and The Madison Building (on Capitol Hill), those are huge buildings, and items are sectioned off—like the newspaper division. My goodness, you could spend two weeks reading newspapers just to find box scores. People have done it for a lifetime. What you have to do is focus. You can’t do it all in one day. I love baseball photographs. So you have to go to Prints & Photographs and find people there to help you as a member of the public. It’s still a hands on institution."

"What has also made me really happy is that the hardcore "sabrites" (SABR) have given nothing but great praise back on the book. I think we told the story the right way and it’s a beautiful book at a time when books like this just aren’t coming out.”

So there really is something for everybody? (SBF)

“Absolutely. That is a good way of putting it.”

With that final answer, my conversation with Frank Ceresi came to a conclusion. The large format book is a comfortable read. One you can pick up, study for while, then get back to later and explore some more. What I found most interesting, and sort of ironic, is the very fact that here is The Library Of Congress playing Gatekeeper to the rich history of baseball--much like The Baseball Hall Of Fame & Museum does in Cooperstown--but on a far different level. The largest baseball reference in the world and the Federal Government is holding the keys to the fascinating past of The Great Game--in the very city Major League Baseball thought was undeserving of a Big League Team for over 33 years.

Honestly, that is ironic and why this book is also an important edition for any fan of Baseball. The Library Of Congress--keeping the flame alive for The Great Game--so all can enjoy and re-live history's past.

Available on the shelves in most major bookstores, Baseball Americana is also available online at Amazon.com

If you are interested in doing your own research at The Library Of Congress you can browse the online catalog at loc.gov.

Finally--There a good deal of artifacts covering baseball in the Nation's Capital included in Baseball Americana. A chapter on the 1924 World Series Champion Senators and this factual tidbit in Baseball Americana that again proves how important Washington, D.C. was in the early development of the game's reach throughout these United States.

Frank Ceresi: "1867 is the year The Washington Nationals, as an amateur team, did the first tour of the western United States. An organized baseball team toured the west to kind of sow the seeds of the baseball gospel—two years before professional baseball began (in Cincinnati). This country—all the way out to Missouri—was so enamored with baseball and this team that a very popular song was written called ‘Home Run Polka’ composed by a Mrs. Bodell for The National Baseball Club of Washington, D.C."

Above is the early image from that songbook in the Library Of Congress Catalog.

Images used for this story courtesy of The Baseball Americana Authors, Smithsonian Books and Harper Collins Publishing. Any reproduction or usage strictly prohibited. All Rights Reserved.

Getting It Right

2009-10-15T16:22:00.005-04:00

Rumor here, hearsay there, people constantly speculate all the time about what Our Washington Nationals will do next. Unsubstantiated information about who will come onboard in the latest House Cleaning by Our New GM. Yet, the scuttlebutt has been wrong nearly every step of the way. What has become clear is that Mike Rizzo does his work thoroughly, and quietly, behind the scenes. No one pushes him to a rushed decision. No rampant gossip spread across any or all media sources will change his way.

Love that. "Riz" is his own guy.

Just look at the official hires today by Our Washington Nationals in Baseball Operations:

Roy Clark--Vice President of Player Personnel.

Johnny DiPuglia--Director of Latin American Operations.

And Doug Harris--Director of Scouting.

No one caught wind of these job hires until a deal was struck. The fact Mr. Rizzo was able to pull in front office talent from The Atlanta Braves (Clark), The Boston Red Sox (DiPuglia) and The Cleveland Indians--via Texas Rangers (Harris) speaks volumes about the respect Our New GM has in the game. There are no retreads here folks. These three all have been successful in their fields. And each brings a new element to finding and harnessing talent for Our Washington Nationals. Having never heard of any of these three beforehand, it's clear their resumes are solid. Aptitude is high on this list, not just flair--always present when Jim Bowden was Our General Manager.

Remember all the babble that Mr. Rizzo was going to be let go, two days before he was given the permanent GM Job in August? How wrong was the mainstream media then? And now, more times than not since Mike Rizzo took charge of Baseball Operation those heard through the gravpevine stories have again been nothing short of fiction. You have to laugh at that stuff because unless you are inside the walls of the Front Office of Our Washington Nationals, you are definitely not in the loop about what's going on.

That's a good thing because instead of the word being out first (as is so important in the media), Sohna and I would just rather see Our Washington Nationals GET IT RIGHT.

Today's Official Press Release depicts a fresh outlook for Our Washington Nationals. A franchise finding it's feet, moving forward, and clearly having enough promise to pull scouting and development front office capability from three of the more established teams in the game. That's respect shown, both for Mike Rizzo and D.C's Major League Franchise.

PS--Personally, we want to wish the best to Dana Brown--leaving Washington as Director of Scouting to become a Special Assistant to The New General Manager of The Toronto Blue Jays. A role which Kris Kline was promoted to in DC to take over for Brown. Few people could have done as good of a job as Scouting Director for The Montreal Expos and Our Washington Nationals under orphan ownership as Dana Brown did. Tirelessly, this man worked under very limited budgets and restraints but still was able to do pretty well in getting Major League Talent to the field for the Montreal/Washington Franchise. Just browse Baseball-Reference.com's Amateur Draft Summaries--especially those guys picked by Other Teams AFTER Montreal/Washington chose their player in each round. You could quibble over a few guys--Andre Ethier was available in the 2nd round of 2003 when Montreal chose Jerry Owens (Outfielder)--but The Florida Marlins chose Logan Kensing right before Ethier was picked by The Oakland Athletics too. And Justin Pedroia was available in the 2nd round of 2004 after The Expos chose catcher Erick San Pedro 11 picks earlier.

The Amateur Draft is a crap shoot and Dana Brown rolled some pretty solid dice for the Montreal/Washington Franchise when not only the house odds, but the league odds were far against him. Good luck in Toronto Dana--Sohna and I hope all your dreams come true.

Finally, today's Official Press Release announcing Washington's three new hirings and one promotion in Baseball Operations.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS ADD ROY CLARK, JOHNNY DiPUGLIA AND DOUG HARRIS TO FRONT OFFICE KRIS KLINE NAMED DIRECTOR OF SCOUTING

The Washington Nationals today named Roy Clark Vice President of Player Personnel, Johnny DiPuglia Director of Latin American Operations and Doug Harris Director of Player Development. The Nationals also promoted Kris Kline to Director of Scouting. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

Clark joins the Nationals after an impressive 11-year run as Director of Scouting with the Atlanta Braves. Clark joined the Braves as an area scout in 1989, and he later enjoyed successive stints as Atlanta’s southeast supervisor (1995) and national supervisor (1996-99). His efforts helped the Braves earn Baseball America’s prestigious Organization of the Year award three times (1991, 1996, 2005) and USA Today’s Organization of the Year citation in 1996. Clark sports a World Series ring from the Braves’ 1995 World Championship campaign.

Clark is best known for having procured talents such as catcher Brian McCann, right-handed pitcher Tommy Hanson, right-handed pitcher Adam Wainwright, shortstop Yunel Escobar, right-handed pitcher Joey Devine, right-handed pitcher Kevin Millwood, catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia and outfielder Jeff Francoeur for the Braves. Meanwhile, Braves minor-league outfielder Jason Heyward was recently cited as Baseball America’s 2009 Minor League Player of the Year and is regarded by many as baseball’s top prospect among position players.

DiPuglia joins his fourth big league organization with his Nationals appointment. DiPuglia spent the previous 10 seasons working in the Red Sox scouting department, the last four as Boston’s Latin American Scouting Coordinator. While in that position, he was responsible for coverage in the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, Curacao, Nicaragua, Aruba, Columbia, as well as all of Central and South America. He earned World Series rings while with the Red Sox in 2004 and 2007.

DiPuglia, who also enjoyed stints with the Giants and Cardinals organizations, signed or had a hand in the signings of shortstop Hanley Ramirez, second baseman Placido Polanco, outfielder Rick Ankiel, right-handed pitcher Anibal Sanchez and right-handed pitcher Rene Arocha.

Harris carries 20 seasons of baseball experience as a player, amateur scout and professional scout into his new role with the Nationals. He spent last season as a Major League Scout/Advance Scout with Cleveland after a 12-year tenure with Texas in various scouting capacities. Harris played seven professional seasons in three organizations.

Kline earned the Director of Scouting promotion after spending his initial three seasons in Washington as Assistant Scouting Director/National Crosschecker (2009) and Western Crosschecker (2007-08). A scout for 20 seasons, Kline joined the Nationals in the fall of 2006 after spending the previous seven seasons with Arizona, the last three of which were spent as the Diamondbacks’ Western Supervisor. Kline earned a World Series ring in 2001 as the Diamondbacks topped the Yankees in seven games. Before joining the Diamondbacks, Kline worked 10 seasons scouting for the Angels after completing his four-year professional playing career.

Dana Brown Photo--Copyright Nats320--All Rights Reserved

ziMS Foundation Gala Update

2009-10-13T23:00:00.005-04:00

"We've now sold over 175 Gala tickets," explained Cheryl Zimmerman. "And we are expecting to meet our goal of selling at least 250 total, possibly as many as 300."

Just three more weeks until The 4th Annual ziMS Foundation Gala & Golf Tournament in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The two day affair that begins on Friday, November 6th with the Gala at The Wyndham Virginia Beach Resort. The social gathering which will include not only a Silent Auction, but a Live Auction as well. Then continues on Saturday, November 7th, with the ever popular golf tournament at the nearby RedWing Lake Golf Course--which has sold out for golfing participants already.

Our Washington Nationals Ryan Zimmerman's Mother contacted Sohna and I to update us on the preparations of this year's event. As she stated: "The golfing foursomes are all filled, but it's not too late to attend the Gala on Friday night by purchasing a ticket."

The $95 Gala Ticket provides entry to The Wyndham Resort event beginning at 6:30PM on November 6th. Included will be two hours of entertainment, hors d'oeuvres and the silent auction, followed immediately at 8:30PM by more entertainment and the live auction--which always involves Ryan Zimmerman himself. The Z-Man looking for bids to assist in his family's personal cause to help find a cure for MS--Multiple Sclerosis.

"We've even have another specially designed surfboard in this year's auction," said Mrs. Zimmerman. "Last year's was so popular, we couldn't pass up an opportunity to have one again."

A special hotel rate at The Wyndham Virginia Beach Resort is available. Click here to go directly to the link.

For Gala Tickets and to download the registration form, click here.

The 4th ziMS Foundation Gala & Golf Tournament is for a good cause.

More complete information can be found here and here.