Armas and Ortiz

[Dave B]

Not out of the picture yet

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070105&content_id=1774097&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was

I thought I heard Armas got like 3 years 15 mil from the chisox a couple of weeks ago. I guess not.

Soxfan care to elaborate?

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Please God, no more Armas and Ortiz.  I just can't stomach it.

[UMDNats]

Steve Trachsel isn't terrible...he's a veteran at least.

Jerome Williams also isn't terrible, and young.

but no armas and ortiz!

[Dave B]

Ortiz almost pitched 200 innings. If that is the main priority, he is the guy.  He probably is the most durable on that list

He also had an ERA as low as 4.60 as late as august 9 and was 9-9 at the time.   And those stats get you 10 mil a year these days.

If I told you Ramon Ortiz would be 9-9 with a 4.60 ERA on august 9th of this coming season, you wouldnt want that?  Not bad for 3-4-5 starter. Its not his fault we made him our ace last year.  All things being equal, if your number 3 starter is .500, your team should be too

He started slow and tanked when we were out of it.  I've always said he is not as bad as his stats showed.  I'm all for it.

[2k6nats]

Steve Trachsel isn't terrible...he's a veteran at least.

Jerome Williams also isn't terrible, and young.

but no armas and ortiz!

Yep, Traschel won 15 games with the Mets last year.  I would be willing to give Sosa a shot.  Williams could be able to return to '03 form at RFK.

I just LOVE this news!

[tomterp]

Trachsel, Williams, Ortiz, let's get one of those guys and move on.  Good news.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Ortiz is the most overrated piece of garbage I have ever seen pitch in a Major League park with my own eyes.

200 innings of bad pitching doesn't do much for the team.  The guy has one lucky night to come close to a no hitter and all of a sudden he is the new Messiah of the Nats.

The Anti-Christ of Pitching is more like it.  

I can get positive about most guys but the one guy I know and swear would be a disaster would be one Ramon Ortiz.

[sportsfan882]

Ortiz is the most overrated piece of garbage I have ever seen pitch in a Major League park with my own eyes.

200 innings of bad pitching doesn't do much for the team.  The guy has one lucky night to come close to a no hitter and all of a sudden he is the new Messiah of the Nats.

The Anti-Christ of Pitching is more like it.  

I can get positive about most guys but the one guy I know and swear would be a disaster would be one Ramon Ortiz.

Yep.  Ortiz is the most inconsistent pitcher I've ever seen.  He is also very unintelligent when it comes to pitching and fielding.  He makes so many mental errors that it gets old fast.  I don't want us to sign him  or Armas.  I've always thought Armas might be decent one day yet he has had plenty of chances and has not pitched good.  I do remember Livan saying that Armas needs to work more on his sinker and he could be an effective pitcher.

[PC]

The offers range from Minor League contracts to $3 million, according to one of the sources.

Which one of those pitchers is worth $3 million?  We know it's not Ortiz or Armas!

If the Lerners are going to be so tight-fisted with the dollar, for cripe sake, don't start throwing money at Armas or Ortiz!

[Dave B]

Ortiz is the most overrated piece of garbage I have ever seen pitch in a Major League park with my own eyes.
.

lets relax with the rhetoric.  

Ortiz is not overrated  People generally think he sucks, so lots of people dont think he is better than he is. In fact I think he is underrated. I give him the glowing endorsement of "he's not that bad".

If you want a guy for one year who will give you innings at a cheap price, Ortiz is the answer. Some of the others might want multi year deals or are less likey to pitch the whole season and result in a tommy john surgery to someone in the bullpen or from the minors.  Thus ortiz gets my vote.  Like I said, if we get a 9-9 record from our 3rd starter by August 9th, we'd be very happy.  

I'm not expecting Ortiz to be the ace,  but if he can give us that much...great success

[Dave B]

The offers range from Minor League contracts to $3 million, according to one of the sources.

Which one of those pitchers is worth $3 million?  We know it's not Ortiz or Armas!

The others will probably get more.  Ortiz might be the cheapest of the lot.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Ortiz is the most overrated piece of garbage I have ever seen pitch in a Major League park with my own eyes.
.

lets relax with the rhetoric.  

Ortiz is not overrated  People generally think he sucks, so lots of people dont think he is better than he is. In fact I think he is underrated. I give him the glowing endorsement of "he's not that bad".

If you want a guy for one year who will give you innings at a cheap price, Ortiz is the answer. Some of the others might want multi year deals or are less likey to pitch the whole season and result in a tommy john surgery to someone in the bullpen or from the minors.  Thus ortiz gets my vote.  Like I said, if we get a 9-9 record from our 3rd starter by August 9th, we'd be very happy.  

I'm not expecting Ortiz to be the ace,  but if he can give us that much...great success

Relax nothing.  Underrated?  Please!  If he is as good as you say I wonder why he hasn't be offered squat other than from us.

He had one little stretch of "decent pitching" and his "mystical almost no-hitter" but the rest of the time he remained consistent: pitching a load of blow.

One game comes to mind for me.  The series with the Pirates.  Nats had them beat at least three times during the game but Ortiz just kept handing it back to them.  Everyone in RFK could see by the 4th he was finished.  Nope.  I guess because he is "such a nice guy and has such a great attitude", FR decided to leave him in.  Too bad that doesn't win games and he can't pitch worth a damn.  Ended up losing that game 8-6 or something close to that.  

Of course you want innings but you want innings from a guy who can actually pitch and keep you in the game.

Ortiz is not that guy.

[2k6nats]

I'd rather him be inconsistent than consistently bad.

Seriously, though, no Ortiz please.  And no Armas.  I'll take the rest, although I would be suprised if we sign any of these guys, with the tightass pockets of the Lerners.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

I'd rather him be inconsistent than consistently bad.

Seriously, though, no Ortiz please.  And no Armas.  I'll take the rest, although I would be suprised if we sign any of these guys, with the tightass pockets of the Lerners.

I really don't think its the "tightass pockets of the Lerners" as much as its the "dumbass prices being asked for and paid."  All these guys, including Ohka, are mediocre pitchers who never would of gotten serious looks or consideration a few years ago.

Its comparable to some seedy car salesman who throws a huge pricetag on a 1960 Datsun and tries to sell it to me as a 06'-07' Mustang.  

This year has been highly ridiculous when it comes to FA spending and I thank the Baseball Gods that the Nats have stayed well out of it.  We are going to have such freedom with our payroll while all these "big spending" teams are crippling themselves for years to come, in the near future.

Lerners aren't being cheap.  They are being smart.

[ColtonWillems]

If we sign Williams and he returns to his top prospect form, I will be very, VERY happy.