Letter from Nationals to Fans

[Minty Fresh]

Not at all. SSB didn't build this team. And he is one of the few posters that was crappy about the lack of pitching help in March. I may yell at you and SSB because I have some respect for the two of you.

When I see you again, I'm gonna kick you in the nuts.   

[DCFan]

http://nats3play.blogspot.com/2009/07/hey-buddy-wanna-buy-bridge.html

lol ... some nats fan translation of the letter.  good read. 

You can see from the url where he's headed. 

[sportsfan882]

2011 will be our year.

[HalfSmokes]

http://nats3play.blogspot.com/2009/07/hey-buddy-wanna-buy-bridge.html

lol ... some nats fan translation of the letter.  good read. 

that was one of the funniest things I have read about this team in a long time

[hammondsnats]

2011 will be our year.

u really think so? 

[Frau Mau]

Thanks for posting that, it's hilarious!

[sportsfan882]

u really think so? 

yes.

SS-Lannan-JZ- are a solid 3 and then we will have a slew of guys going for the last 2 spots: Olsen (contract year in 2011), Balester, Martis, Mock, Detwiler, Arnesen, Meyers, etc. Lots of talent there.

C - Flores
1B - Marrero
2B - FA/Trade
SS - Desmond
3B - Zimmerman
OF - FA/Trade/Minor Leaguer
OF - FA/Trade/Minor Leaguer
OF - Dukes?

[HalfSmokes]

So we have a solid 2 (at least until SS signs), one of whom is currently a rookie.

We have a line up consisting of a catcher who can't stay healthy, a guy in Potomac playing first and a guy is Harrisburg playing short. We have questionmarks (assuming the guys in the minors aren't question marks) at second, and two of the outfield spots. The only real definate is Zimmerman.

Could that team compete in 2011- yes, am I confident no

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Did anyone else notice in the letter that AG was mentioned among the young talent and AH was not?

[sportsfan882]

So we have a solid 2 (at least until SS signs), one of whom is currently a rookie.

We have a line up consisting of a catcher who can't stay healthy, a guy in Potomac playing first and a guy is Harrisburg playing short. We have questionmarks (assuming the guys in the minors aren't question marks) at second, and two of the outfield spots. The only real definate is Zimmerman.

Could that team compete in 2011- yes, am I confident no

look at Desmond's numbers in AA this season:

.306 BA (52/170), 12 Doubles, 1 Triple, 6 HRs, 18 RBIs, 16 BBs, 40 Ks, 13 SBs, 4 CS.

He turns 24 in late September. This kid is going to be a good one. He's a special talent.


Marrero should hopefully get moved up to Harrisburg soon. He has had a full season worth of ABs for Potomac over the last two years.

There is a lot of work to do via free agency + trades but if we make the right moves we can compete in '11.

I'm not worried about the starting rotation at all. It will work it self out. We have so many talented SPs in the high minors and some in the Majors that we will be able to field a kick ass rotation.

[sportsfan882]

Did anyone else notice in the letter that AG was mentioned among the young talent and AH was not?

good. AH has been a disappointment and looks nothing like he looked last year or during the Winter.

He has no power, hits around .250, and does not steal bases very often. Solid defensively.

Gonzalez has a stronger arm, is a natural line drive hitter, and has a little pop in his bat. He doesn't just hit weak little singles.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

good. AH has been a disappointment and looks nothing like he looked last year or during the Winter.

He has no power, hits around .250, and does not steal bases very often. Solid defensively.

Gonzalez has a stronger arm, is a natural line drive hitter, and has a little pop in his bat. He doesn't just hit weak little singles.

I kept on looking up at AH's stat line through maybe early to mid June when I'd go to games, and saw his average and OBP being respectable, and I'd forget how much it was influenced by his April.  I can't say it is a surprise to have his numbers come in close to his minor league and major league track record, but he did give us a nice September - April and hope he'd found "it."

As for AG, I'm a skeptic about his bat but think he is a professional fielder.  I'd be tempted to try him at SS and Guz at 2d down the stretch.  I think 2d is a better place to hide Guz's glove, and a little position flexibility might improve his trade value.

[JMW IV]

look at Desmond's numbers in AA this season:

.306 BA (52/170), 12 Doubles, 1 Triple, 6 HRs, 18 RBIs, 16 BBs, 40 Ks, 13 SBs, 4 CS.

well, he's been in AA for like 4 years now. he should be hitting like that by this point.

[CatsEye]

 "Stan is an owner so I don't see him leaving anytime soon. At least not as long as the Nats are a profitable team."

      Read the fine print. There is a difference in ownership, based on share percentage. If the Lerners want to replace or release Stan, based on performance, they will find a way in the contract to do so.
     Believe me, if  there is one thing that can be said about the Lerners - they are the "Uber" experts on contracts and the writings and contents thereof, of contracts.
      I have no doubt that if Stan does not turn this team around to an acceptable level, by next season, he will be replaced.... but we will see what happens.......

[Ali the Baseball Cat]

the pigs did it in Animal Farm...

...and it's awfully hard to fire an owner

[CatsEye]

the pigs did it in Animal Farm...

                     

[sportsfan882]

well, he's been in AA for like 4 years now. he should be hitting like that by this point.

not true at all. In '06 they rushed him up to AA where he had 125 ABs and hit .184 BA.

In '07 he stayed in Potomac all year. Last year he had 323 ABs in AA and hit .264.

This year he has 170 ABs with Harrisburg and has hit .306. He was out for several weeks earlier in the season with a wrist injury.

[DCFan]

"Stan is an owner so I don't see him leaving anytime soon. At least not as long as the Nats are a profitable team."

      Read the fine print. There is a difference in ownership, based on share percentage. If the Lerners want to replace or release Stan, based on performance, they will find a way in the contract to do so.

If you have a copy of the contract, what more is there to say?    Now if you had said that the Lerners can remove him from his job as team president and put him in charge of let's say restroom attendants anytime they want, all while he maintains his minority ownership stake, I'd have believed you.

[DCFan]

not true at all. In '06 they rushed him up to AA where he had 125 ABs and hit .184 BA.

In '07 he stayed in Potomac all year. Last year he had 323 ABs in AA and hit .264.

This year he has 170 ABs with Harrisburg and has hit .306. He was out for several weeks earlier in the season with a wrist injury.

What are you dense? So he gets bumped back to A for a short stint, that doesn't disprove a thing that Jmad was getting at.

[sportsfan882]

What are you dense? So he gets bumped back to A for a short stint, that doesn't disprove a thing that Jmad was getting at.

They put him in AA in '06 when he was like 20 years old. way too soon.

Now he's 23, a lot more mature, and is at the perfect age for AA ball.

great article written last month on how much he has grown:

http://www.pennlive.com/columns/patriotnews/morrow/index.ssf?/base/columnists/1245543016299240.xml&coll=1

When Ian Desmond was first bound for the Harrisburg Senators, we were there, hanging with the young shortstop in Melbourne, Fla., spring training home of the Washington Nationals.

It was March 27, 2006, and the 20-year-old Desmond was the Nationals' No. 4 prospect, according to Baseball America, and drew comparison after comparison to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter.

Not only that, he wore these amber-tinted contact lenses -- a short-lived fad among professional baseball players -- that made the 6-2, 185-pound athlete look somewhat like an athletic alien.

Desmond was clearly ready for the world of professional baseball stardom.

Only it wasn't quite ready for him.

A year earlier, Desmond hit .306 in 36 major league spring training at-bats, impressing then-manager Frank Robinson. The expectations grew exponentially for the 2004 third-round draft choice out of Sarasota (Fla.) High School.

Rushed to Class AA Harrisburg to begin the 2006 season, the reality of his situation smacked Desmond across the face.

Completely overmatched with the Senators, he limped his way to a .184 batting average with 37 strikeouts and just three RBIs through 38 games, earning a demotion to Class A Potomac.

Desmond didn't return to Harrisburg again until 2008.

"That first year at spring training in front of Frank Robinson, I think it was kind of a fluke," Desmond says now, fully confident in his abilities as a leader (both statistically and professionally) of the '09 Harrisburg Senators.

 There are no more flukes in Desmond's game.

BUILDING ON POTENTIAL

The early book on Desmond read that, defensively, he was a master of the spectacular, but prone to mistakes on routine plays. Offensively, he was adequate at best, a .250 hitter showcasing occasional power and bursts of speed but striking out too often.

But the potential -- good enough to make him such a high draft pick -- was there.

"He's always had the tools and the strength and ability to play," said Dana Brown, the Nationals' director of scouting.

"For Ian Desmond it was a matter of fine-tuning. The more he's played, the better he's gotten. We talk a lot about five-tool players, and his skill level is getting to the point where he can use all those tools."

Desmond, now more consistent defensively, thinks he really turned a corner offensively in last season's second half. Back with the Senators after missing nearly two months because of surgery on his left hamate bone, he belted six homers and knocked in 23 runs over the final five weeks.

That preceded a solid stint with the Peoria Saguaros in the Arizona Fall League.

Working with Senators hitting coach Troy Gingrich and special assistant Devon White, Desmond reformed his swing during the regular season, standing upright and resting the bat on his back shoulder. He refined the adjustment with coach Rick Eckstein during his time in Arizona.

Then he went 5-for-14 with the Nationals in spring training this year while postponing further surgery because he wanted to impress the organizational leaders. That surgery -- to remove the hamate bone -- occurred barely more than a week into Harrisburg's season.

 All it did was temporarily interrupt what's been Desmond's breakout campaign, as he's batting .300 with five doubles, four homers, 13 RBIs and six stolen bases through his first 19 games.

"He's a big, strong guy in the middle of the infield," Senators manager John Stearns says, "and that's what we didn't have most of the first half of the season when he went on the disabled list and [second baseman Seth] Bynum was sent [to Class AAA Syracuse]."

Make no mistake, Stearns knows how important Desmond is to his team. With the shortstop missing late April and all of May, the Senators struggled to win 30 percent of their games.

"He brings a lot of life to the clubhouse, gets along with everybody and also brings a lot of energy to the field," catcher Luke Montz said. "He's just an awesome teammate. He's come along year after year. I don't want to say he was hard-headed in the beginning [of his career], but he was hard to talk to, hard to coach sometimes. Now he carries himself like a big league shortstop."

EYEING THE FUTURE

Stearns seems to think a promotion to Syracuse is inevitable for Desmond.

At this point, though, sending him to Class AAA makes little sense. When his opportunity opens up in Washington, Desmond will be ready, regardless of whether promoted from Harrisburg or Syracuse.

"Yeah, I do [think I'm ready], for the first time in my career," he said. "Right now, after the fall league and carrying over into this season, this is for real. This is the year."

A shortstop since he was drafted, Desmond's future in the big leagues might be at another position, depending on availability. All-Star Cristian Guzman currently mans the shortstop position for the Nationals.

"We view him as a talented middle-of-the-diamond player," Brown says, "whether that's shortstop, second base or even center field."

Stearns says to enjoy Desmond's time in Harrisburg while you can.

"He'll be in the big leagues within a year," Stearns said. "I look at him and it makes me want to be 23 again. He's got everything going for him."

Those comparisons to Jeter are a thing of the past. Desmond has progressed beyond it and is ready to make his own name at the next level.

"I don't really think [the early comparisons] affected him," Brown said. "He just rolled with it. The comparison didn't hinder his progress. He was always one of those guys who needed to progress level by level."

[DCFan]

They put him in AA in '06 when he was like 20 years old. way too soon.

Thank you Jimbo.

Now he's 23, a lot more mature, and is at the perfect age for AA ball.

I have my doubts that he'll ever amount to anything in the majors.

[sportsfan882]

Thank you Jimbo.

I have my doubts that he'll ever amount to anything in the majors.

I believe he will be a great player. He's the closest legit offensive prospect we have in our system to the Majors.

Hopefully we get a look at Ian in September.

[CatsEye]

If you have a copy of the contract, what more is there to say?    Now if you had said that the Lerners can remove him from his job as team president and put him in charge of let's say restroom attendants anytime they want, all while he maintains his minority ownership stake, I'd have believed you.

     
         Believe what you want, but there are many ways to make a person move on.....LOL. Whether if be by a performance clause in the contract, or a reassignment to a job that is so beneath the position that the person holds, that it is almost incumbent upon the person to decline and move on.......but that is the "cold" side of business. 
       But I believe it will not get to that point, that all will work out, and we will be fourth in the League in the next two years......positive thinking..............        

[Busta Mimes]

Hopefully we get a look at Ian in September.

...and we can stop looking at Guz.

[JMW IV]

I believe he will be a great player.

you believe that anyone in our minor league system under the age of 25 will be a great player.

I have been of the vehement and outspoken belief that Desmond is the most overrated "prospect" in our entire system and has been for years.  He was pumped up to be a guaranteed superstar in 2005 by Jim Bowden based on a couple of good defensive plays in spring training (I still remember Bowden screaming about how he's the next Derek Jeter), and he's barely played like organizational filler ever since.  He SEEMS to maybe have it together this year, but that remains to be seen. This could very well be a Bernadina Fluke Season...especially considering that throughout his Minor League Career, he's been FAR WORSE that Bernadina was. You could argue that Desmond was promoted too fast and it ruined his development, and I would not find that far-fetched. this first half-season of 2009 is the first time he's ever played like something other than pure roster filler, like he belongs at the level he's been placed at. People say he's special, and I just don't see it.

If Desmond manages to ever make a meaningful contribution at the major league level for the Nats, even as a successful Utility player, then I will gladly eat my words, and recant everything I've said about him over the past 4 years or so.

But I'm not holding my breath on it.

I think Espinosa will surpass him before Desmond ever makes a dent at the MLB level.