Payroll Flexibility.....

[PANatsFan]

can we get an eta on that?

2013?

[Kevrock]

Okay, so payroll flexibility is good so that we can make moves once we have a playoff core together.

Isn't that exactly what the Phillies are doing now? Making moves while they have the window open?

[Evolution33]

Dave Sheinin is smart about baseball.  I don't for a second believe he would say that the Marlins are in a great position because they have payroll flexibility in the future. 

I don't want to start throwing out wild accusations, but I do believe that Sheinin was asked by someone in the Nats employ to write that article.

I do not think Sheinin, Boswell, Kilgore, Zuckerman, Goessling, or even Ladson wouldn't write something they didn't believe.

[Tyler Durden]

A lot of smart baseball people think that having money to spend and spending it wisely is a good thing.

That's fine but don't put out an article like that right now.  The timing just leaves a bad taste in just about everyone's mouth.

[Coladar]

If they do what they say they are going to, the Nats are going to be fearsome. Go ahead and put that in your sigs, LAC, watch it come true.

Lol. Even if they do what they say they'll do, which is about as likely as us signing Lee this past offseason, Rizzo has shown no consistent evidence that he'll sign the right guys. Or that he'll have the money to sign the right guys. But let's ignore the fact Rizzo is unproven, and focus on the if he does what he says he'll do. I seem to remember all September and October, all we heard was "Starting pitching is priority #1. We have to sign a legitimate SP. Blah blah." So tell me, what SP do we have now that we didn't have in September? Rick Ankiel. Bottom line, if you still buy into this teams BS and lies, good for you, I'm sure your fan experience is a far happier place. But likewise, I think that at this point in time, between the lies, PR spin, and unproven track record that Rizzo can select the right guys if he had the money to do so, it's a naive position to have.

[PANatsFan]

What is real fun to do is ignore the deal that was agreed upon in principle for ace.

[PC]

2013?

So I take it they're not going to be playing games in 2011 & 2012?  What do we do those years, just watch the losses mount?

And what happens in 2013, after two more seasons of 90+ (or 100+) losses, when free agents are still staying away like the plague?  I guess that means they'll still have payroll flexibility.

[Tyler Durden]

Lol. Even if they do what they say they'll do, which is about as likely as us signing Lee this past offseason, Rizzo has shown no consistent evidence that he'll sign the right guys. Or that he'll have the money to sign the right guys. But let's ignore the fact Rizzo is unproven, and focus on the if he does what he says he'll do. I seem to remember all September and October, all we heard was "Starting pitching is priority #1. We have to sign a legitimate SP. Blah blah." So tell me, what SP do we have now that we didn't have in September? Rick Ankiel. Bottom line, if you still buy into this teams BS and lies, good for you, I'm sure your fan experience is a far happier place. But likewise, I think that at this point in time, between the lies, PR spin, and unproven track record that Rizzo can select the right guys if he had the money to do so, it's a naive position to have.

See this is what I mean about it being bad timing.  Put an article like that out after you've had some success.  Even if the message is on point, the timing is all wrong.

[PC]

And let's forget about the Phillies.  What about the Braves in the NL East or other teams in the NL, outside of the East.  They're not all bloated and extended like the Phillies.  All of those teams will look much better to free agents and players with no-trade clauses.  Look much better than a team coming off 500 losses over the previous 5 seasons (in 2013).

...and who says the Phillies won't keep spending?  There's no salary cap in MLB and, clearly, winning is more important than profit to the Phillies ownership.

[PANatsFan]

So I take it they're not going to be playing games in 2011 & 2012?  What do we do those years, just watch the losses mount?

And what happens in 2013, after two more seasons of 90+ (or 100+) losses, when free agents are still staying away like the plague?  I guess that means they'll still have payroll flexibility.

This year you head towards .500, next year you exceed it, 2013 you demolished the aging bloated Phillies.

[spidernat]

If they do what they say they are going to, the Nats are going to be fearsome. Go ahead and put that in your sigs, LAC, watch it come true.

How shocking! 

[spidernat]

So I take it they're not going to be playing games in 2011 & 2012?  What do we do those years, just watch the losses mount?

And what happens in 2013, after two more seasons of 90+ (or 100+) losses, when free agents are still staying away like the plague?  I guess that means they'll still have payroll flexibility.

They'll just spew more lies and bullcrap and their apologists will continue to defend them. They are cheap and I don't see it changing anytime soon. There's always an excuse for their cheapness.

[Tyler Durden]

And let's forget about the Phillies.  What about the Braves in the NL East or other teams in the NL, outside of the East.  They're not all bloated and extended like the Phillies.  All of those teams will look much better to free agents and players with no-trade clauses.  Look much better than a team coming off 500 losses over the previous 5 seasons (in 2013).

...and who says the Phillies won't keep spending?  There's no salary cap in MLB and, clearly, winning is more important than profit to the Phillies ownership.

They'll just spew more lies and bullcrap and their apologists will continue to defend them. They are cheap and I don't see it changing anytime soon. There's always an excuse for their cheapness.

Get a room, you two.

[NeedaNewNick]

More payroll flexibility, Nats sign Michael Aubrey, who hit all of .235 for the Tidewater Tides last year.

[NeedaNewNick]

They'll just spew more lies and bullcrap and their apologists will continue to defend them. They are cheap and I don't see it changing anytime soon. There's always an excuse for their cheapness.

Plenty of fools have gone along with the Lerners "we'll compete in two years" nonsense since the Livo salary dump of 2006. 

This franchise will not have more than 1-2 winning seasons in the 2010s.  Harper, Stras, etc, can't stop the poor decision making that's plagued this team since the Lerners bought it.

[tomterp]

More payroll flexibility, Nats sign Michael Aubrey, who hit all of .235 for the Tidewater Tides last year.

Gotta put players on the minor league teams.  I like that they seem to spend a bit of time picking decent talent to round out the Syracuse roster, at least make the team competitive after so many years of suck.

[PANatsFan]

Gotta put players on the minor league teams.  I like that they seem to spend a bit of time picking decent talent to round out the Syracuse roster, at least make the team competitive after so many years of suck.

Sorry, those fans are unimportant, who cares about them? It has to be the evil agenda!!!Q11q1

[PC]

Gotta put players on the minor league teams.  I like that they seem to spend a bit of time picking decent talent to round out the Syracuse roster, at least make the team competitive after so many years of suck.

Shouldn't they, maybe, sign a 1st baseman for the major league team, maybe, possibly?  Because doesn't the Nationals roster need to be rounded out and be competitive after so many years of EXTREME suck?

[tomterp]

Shouldn't they, maybe, sign a 1st baseman for the major league team, maybe, possibly?  Because doesn't the Nationals roster need to be rounded out and be competitive after so many years of EXTREME suck?

Of course they should sign a 1st baseman, who in the hell said they didn't need to?

What does that have to do with filling up Syracuse's roster?

[PC]

Of course they should sign a 1st baseman, who in the hell said they didn't need to?

Ok, let's get on it.  Are the options getting better by waiting?

[PANatsFan]

Ok, let's get on it.  Are the options getting better by waiting?

I'll bet a 1 month ban that they have an actual contract offer out to Lee.

[NeedaNewNick]

I like that they seem to spend a bit of time picking decent talent to round out the Syracuse roster, at least make the team competitive after so many years of suck.

Chiefs already had an excellent career minor league first baseman in Josh Whitesell.   Aubrey is a rehab project who they probably think has a chance at starting a few games at 1st for the MLB team, and has a price tag that fits the Lerner budget.

[NatsDad14]

This year you head towards .500, next year you exceed it, 2013 you demolished the aging bloated Phillies.

Tell me where the Nats are going to get an extra 12 wins? At best Lee+Werth is 1 or 2 win upgrade over Dunn+Willingham. The rotation minus Strasburg and Livo Regression is probably 1 or 2 wins better than last year. Other than that, I don't get where the team is going to get all those wins to reach 81 wins when the Phillies, Mets, and Braves are clearly better than last year and the Marlins should be just as good as last year.

[PANatsFan]

What about Espinosa over Guzman, Ramos/Flores over Nieves and less Pudge, better bench, better OF defense guaranteed?

[NatsDad14]

What about Espinosa over Guzman, Ramos/Flores over Nieves and less Pudge, better bench, better OF defense guaranteed?

Espinosa with his injury and inexperience is not going to be a big upgrade over Kennedy/Guzman. More Ramos instead of Nieves is going to be offset by the decline of Pudge. Agree with you on the bench. That is the biggest upgrade on the team assuming Riggleman uses them properly (IE: not starting Ankiel over Morse). The OF defense will better but the offense isn't going to upgrade that much. Morse looks like he won't play as much in the OF and they lose Willingham's bat.

The Nationals were 4th in the league in 1B OPS with a .891 OPS. That is going to be real hard to replace. Surprisingly, the Nationals OPS numbers in the corner OF were about league average. Where they got hurt was in CF where they the worst in the league. Unfortunately more Morgan, Bernadina, and Ankiel doesn't really improve that.

I could see the team winning 75 games if they get a 1B, but I don't see where .500 comes unless they get a lot of breaks.