Plan "B"

[sportsfan882]

What a terrible offseason for free agency. All of the players that are worthwhile (Tex, Lowe, etc.) won't come play here. The rest suck and would not do anything for this team.

[2IPAs]

Orioles fans are idiots.  I don't even read OH anymore because it's all egos and losers.  My other brother gives me, cmdterps and my parents a hard time for being a Nats fan, then I just bring up the last 12 years and how pathetic of a franchise they are (even more so than ours, I know surprising).  And the 30-3 loss is still fresh in all of our minds.

Gawd, I am soooo glad the Birds did not get Texiera!  Our friend Eric, who is an Orioles season ticket holder, was very smug about their prospects because of the geographical connection.  Even the Evil Empire or Red Sox Whiney Nation is better than the Os.

[hisownfool]

The rest suck and would not do anything for this team.

Sure they would: what matters is not how they rank on some hypothetical scale or vis-a-vis the cream of the FA class but whether they represent an upgrade over what we have now.  Dunn, Abreu, Hudson certainly are an upgrade over the players they would replace. I'd feel a lot better seeing, say, Abreu in LF and Willingham at 1B than Willie Harris and Aaron Boone.

[hisownfool]

Apropos of my comments about Abreu being able to help the Nats, here's Baseball Prospectus' take:

Bobby Abreu: His languorous approach and his decline from a star peak have fed the perception that Abreu is less valuable than he actually is. What I see is a player who has established a new level of performance below his personal peak, but still well above that of an MLB right fielder. He's retained much of his speed (nine triples, 47 steals the last two years) and his plate discipline, while losing range in right field and some power. I look at his last two years, basically .290/.370/.460, and wonder what that might look like in any other competitive context other than the AL East. You may remember that Manny Ramirez appreciated his move to the NL. Likely signable for a three-year commitment in the low eight figures per year, Abreu is the free-agent outfielder most likely to return good performances in each year of his new deal. If he should change leagues, he'll look like a star again.

[PANatsFan]

Apropos of my comments about Abreu being able to help the Nats, here's Baseball Prospectus' take:

Yup, just like DPM and I have been saying. This is a no-brainer. Let see if Jimbo is a negative brainer.

[MrMadison]

Sure they would: what matters is not how they rank on some hypothetical scale or vis-a-vis the cream of the FA class but whether they represent an upgrade over what we have now.  Dunn, Abreu, Hudson certainly are an upgrade over the players they would replace. I'd feel a lot better seeing, say, Abreu in LF and Willingham at 1B than Willie Harris and Aaron Boone.

yup!  people seem to forget what exactly we had last season, and are judging players against the top players in baseball, rather than judging them against Nationals Players.

[MrMadison]

alright, I could deal with Abreu.

but I wonder, any other FA at his "level" that we might be interested in?

[hisownfool]

but I wonder, any other FA at his "level" that we might be interested in?

None of the starters -- I hate paying a premium for FA starting pitching. I'd rather take a chance on a bunch of Gustavo Chacins or Daniel Cabreras than one "premium" FA starter. Starting pitching is overvalued: between injury (when not if) and inconsistency, it's got to be the worst investment in professional sports. (I smile when I read things like "Jordan Zimmerman doesn't project as a #1 starter." If by "#1 starter" you mean Sabathia, Webb, or Peavey, there aren't that many of those: the majority of teams don't have "#1 starters.") You're better off bringing in a bunch of guys who have shown flashes of ability and see if we get the law of truly large numbers to favor the Nats for once.

[ronnynat]

Is Brad Penny a free agent?

[KnorrForYourMoney]

Brad Penny is, but there's uncertainty as to whether he's healthy, and he had an abysmal season this year.

[Air Zimmerman]

i think part of plan b could be to give Nicky J another shot as starting 1b. i'm starting to lean towards it.

[cmdterps44]

i think part of plan b could be to give Nicky J another shot as starting 1b. i'm starting to lean towards it.

No No No, don't fall into the thought of last year, and the year before. We have to get something else besides him. We've given him like, 3 years and all has been injuries, we can use him as trade bait if hes healthy, we got to sign someone else.

[PatsNats28]

hey cmd agree with the avi

[Minty Fresh]

Are you gonna teach Manny to hit lefty?

Nobody wants me to teach anyone hitting tips.....

But, does it really matter what side of the plate he hits from?  Pidgeon-holing yourself and saying, "well, we can't sign Player X because he's right-handed" puts way too much thought into it.  Manny can flat-out hit.  WHO CARES what side of the plate it's from.  Without looking too much, I can't imagine Manny's splits between RHPs and LHPs are that great.  Sign him.  He instantaneously improves this offense.  Move Dukes to CF to make up for Manny's deficiencies in the field and let Milledge play RF.

[cmdterps44]

Would Manny want to play here though, and actually, play. I can see him being Manny and just go about this team, I dont know. I still would like his bat though.

[hammondsnats]

i think part of plan b could be to give Nicky J another shot as starting 1b. i'm starting to lean towards it.

absolutely not.  if we're forced with another season of UNBREAKABLE we're in trouble

[MrMadison]

i think part of plan b could be to give Nicky J another shot as starting 1b. i'm starting to lean towards it.

abolutely not.

who'd play first for the rest of the season after NJ goes on vacation in week 3 of the season?

[natsfan4evr]

Do we go for any free agent pitchers? I'd love Ben Sheets, but I know that will probably never happen.

[HalfSmokes]

i think part of plan b could be to give Nicky J another shot as starting 1b. i'm starting to lean towards it.

Why not? He's good when healthy. When he goes down in early may, hopefully Maxwell is ready. If not Willingham to 1b Harris to the OF and we atleast have a great defensive outfield.

[cmdterps44]

Why not? He's good when healthy. When he goes down in early may, hopefully Maxwell is ready. If not Willingham to 1b Harris to the OF and we atleast have a great defensive outfield.

We'd be a joke again. We need power, not a month of Nick Johnson and then back to the drawing board.

[DPMOmaha]

If I got a guarantee of a healthy NJ for 150+ games next year, I'd be for it.  His track record indicates otherwise which makes me think a different route would be best.

[hammondsnats]

Which line-up do you like better?

a)
SS Guzman
CF Milledge
3B Zimmerman
LF Ramirez
1B Willingham
RF Dukes
C Flores
2B Hernandez

or

b)
SS Guzman
CF Milledge
3B Zimmerman
1B Dunn
LF Willingham
RF Dukes
C Flores
2B Hernandez

[spidernat]

Why not just ask if we'd rather have Ramirez or Dunn, mikehughes? 

[MrMadison]

why the hell would you bat Dukes behind Willingham?

[tomterp]

why the hell would you bat Dukes behind Willingham?

I'm not sure it makes much difference who of those two bats in front of the other, if that's your concern.  What are you thinking?