Nationals new 1B discussion

[The Chief]

i believe julian tavarez said it best

I was thinking more of the original Dunn deal.  And in spite of being lowballed after we whiffed on Tex and being lowballed again all the way through 2010, he still wanted to be here.  And we still discarded him.  Amazing.  I'm sure that'll help with the whole FA's not wanting to come here thing

[The Chief]

It's incredibly easy for the fan to say "what's $1 million here or $2 million there?"  It's a lot harder for an owner to actually shell out that money.  And it's not about being "cheap"

If Rizzo really wants LaRoche or wanted Lee, 1m AAV should NOT matter.

[RyanTheRiot]

I was thinking more of the original Dunn deal.  And in spite of being lowballed after we whiffed on Tex and being lowballed again all the way through 2010, he still wanted to be here.  And we still discarded him.  Amazing.  I'm sure that'll help with the whole FA's not wanting to come here thing

I think there's more to the Dunn situation than the fans know about.  His work ethic and dedication to improvement has been questioned in the past.

[MarquisDeSade]

I was thinking more of the original Dunn deal.  And in spite of being lowballed after we whiffed on Tex and being lowballed again all the way through 2010, he still wanted to be here.  And we still discarded him.  Amazing.  I'm sure that'll help with the whole FA's not wanting to come here thing

Obviously he didn't have the Hot Boyz body Rizzo so badly wants...

[spidernat]

Obviously he didn't have the Hot Boyz body Rizzo so badly wants...

  Rizzo is an AZ type GM.

[RyanTheRiot]

If Rizzo really wants LaRoche or wanted Lee, 1m AAV should NOT matter.

I'm pretty sure we don't want LaRoche that badly.  He's just in the right place at the right time, being essentially the only 1B option in free agency

[Tyler Durden]

It's incredibly easy for the fan to say "what's $1 million here or $2 million there?"  It's a lot harder for an owner to actually shell out that money.  And it's not about being "cheap"

What is it about?  Serious question.  What's the difference in paying LaRoche 6 mil vs. paying him 8 mil?  Or 2/12 vs. 2/16?  Why is it so important for the Nats to pocket that extra money and put an inferior product on the field?  They've already learned that saving those few millions will cost them that much and then some in terms of future FA signings.

The sooner they become respectable on the field, the sooner they won't have to pay that premium for FA signings.

Again - this is not a team that can afford to continue being grouped in with the O's and the other perennial losers.  If they want the Werth signing and Phase II to mean anything, they've got to continue to strive to put the best possible product out there.

[The Chief]

I think there's more to the Dunn situation than the fans know about.  His work ethic and dedication to improvement has been questioned in the past.

Seriously?  Nothing personal, but there is no faster way to get me to completely disregard your opinion than to drag that old crap out.  If you don't know how ridiculous that is then I suggest you do some research on the story.

Even putting it aside, if work ethic is such a concern then why are we offering anything at all to LaRoche?

[RyanTheRiot]

What is it about?  Serious question.  What's the difference in paying LaRoche 6 mil vs. paying him 8 mil?  Or 2/12 vs. 2/16? Why is it so important for the Nats to pocket that extra money and put an inferior product on the field?  They've already learned that saving those few millions will cost them that much and then some in terms of future FA signings.

The sooner they become respectable on the field, the sooner they won't have to pay that premium for FA signings.

Again - this is not a team that can afford to continue being grouped in with the O's and the other perennial losers.  If they want the Werth signing and Phase II to mean anything, they've got to continue to strive to put the best possible product out there.

We aren't going to compete next year, with or without Adam LaRoche.  His impact on the field will not be big enough to justify paying him $8 million.  He's an average player, not an important piece to the puzzle. 

[houston-nat]

Lannan might be good again for an entire season, he might be mediocre (like always).  Good was 2008, 2009, second half 2010; bad first half 2010. Mediocre "like always"? More like swinging between good and bad.

Marquis sucks.  Innings eater, sinker, ground ball outs.  Who cares.  If he isn't injured he's going to be so overwhelming mediocre we're going to miss the days of Mike Bacsik and Micah Bowie. This is pretty pessimistic. A 4.20 ERA and 8-10 record won't make us miss Mike Bacsik.

Livo - who knows what 2011 will look like for him.  Yeah.

JZimm - if he stays solid our only "rock" in the rotation.  If he stays solid, he'll be a rock for sure. If...

Maya - BP fast ball, getting fat, will probably get lit up every other start. More like, mediocre but could make adjustments and be an innings-eater in the Livan mold ... or not.

Wang - Will he ever pitch again?  I really don't believe it until I'll see it.  I also have zero delusions he's every going to return to 2007 form.  This is a Scott Olsen-esque pessimism which is OK, but if we see some good innings from him in spring training that will be exciting.

Strasburg - Maybe he makes it back in September, maybe he doesn't.  No reason to pencil him in at this point. He'll get 4-5 minor league starts. Not sure why he's getting dumped on in this post.

Pavano - One year for $8m is no big deal.  He'll probably suck ass like Marquis but he'll, barring injury, probably give us 25 starts of which 12 will be underwhelming/borderline crapshows.  This is why I'd only give him one year.

Did I miss anybody? Sammy Solis might come up in August/September. A slightly harder-throwing Lannan. And wasn't it nice not to have to list Craig Stammen, Luis Atilano, or Ross Detwiler?

[RyanTheRiot]

Seriously?  Nothing personal, but there is no faster way to get me to completely disregard your opinion than to drag that old crap out.  If you don't know how ridiculous that is then I suggest you do some research on the story.

Even putting it aside, if work ethic is such a concern then why are we offering anything at all to LaRoche?

Disregard my opinion if you must.  All I'm saying is we might not know the whole story.

[The Chief]

We aren't going to compete next year, with or without Adam LaRoche.  His impact on the field will not be big enough to justify paying him $8 million.  He's an average player, not an important piece to the puzzle. 

While I agree with this in principle - and don't personally swoon over LaRoche - I think you're missing out on the power of perception.

[The Chief]

Disregard my opinion if you must.  All I'm saying is we might not know the whole story.

Of course.  But you seemed to be intimating that you think you know more of it than others.  The whole "Dunn doesn't like baseball" flap was ridiculous, and the statement was retracted by Ricciardi himself.

As for Rizzo, I don't doubt that he wants more defensively-oriented players.  And that's fine, it's his opinion that Dunn wasn't the best option for the team, and it's his job to lose.  But if the offseason were to end right now, my opinion would be that Rizzo is a nincompoop.

[Tyler Durden]

We aren't going to compete next year, with or without Adam LaRoche.  His impact on the field will not be big enough to justify paying him $8 million.  He's an average player, not an important piece to the puzzle. 

This is how teams get stuck being the Royals/Pirates/O's for 10 or 20 years.

[Lintyfresh85]

I think there's more to the Dunn situation than the fans know about.  His work ethic and dedication to improvement has been questioned in the past.

By who, Bill Ladson?

[RyanTheRiot]

By who, Bill Ladson?

JP Ricciardi

Do you know the guy doesn’t really like baseball that much? Do you know the guy doesn’t have a passion to play the game that much? How much do you know about the player? There’s a reason why you’re attracted to some players and there’s a reason why you’re not attracted to some players. I don’t think you’d be very happy if we brought Adam Dunn here … We’ve done our homework on guys like Adam Dunn and there’s a reason why we don’t want Adam Dunn. I don’t want to get into specifics

[The Chief]

JP Ricciardi

*snort*

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3453059

J.P. Ricciardi, general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, apologized profusely for critical remarks he made about Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn earlier this week, and indicated he is trying to reach out to Dunn -- who blasted Ricciardi in response to his remarks -- to apologize directly.

"It was my fault," Ricciardi said in a phone interview.

Dunn, who is available in the trade market, was shown a copy of Ricciardi's comments. "I know nothing about this clown. I have no idea who he is," Dunn told reporters in Cincinnati on Thursday. "I don't really care what one guy thinks, to be honest with you. If I'm a GM, I don't know if I would go out of my way to kind of discredit a player.

"It [ticks] me off to be honest with you. He doesn't even know me. If he knew me, fine, say what you want. This guy doesn't know anything about me other than what he sees on whatever 'SportsCenter' they have up there. That's it."

Ricciardi said on Thursday evening that he called Walt Jocketty, the general manager of the Reds, to apologize to him, and he was in the process of contacting Dunn directly. "I let my guard down" said Ricciardi. "I apologize to him. I have to be better than that … Unfortunately, you get caught in the heat of the moment. I don't even know Adam Dunn."

[RyanTheRiot]

Again:  I'm not saying Ricciardi is right about Dunn.  I think Dunn was great for the Nationals the last two years.

[Lintyfresh85]

But you already rang the 'Dunn is lazy' bell.

You can't un-ring it.

[houston-nat]

I'm pretty sure we should all be able to agree Adam Dunn was an absolute class act in every way. He's even a class act in bed. Just ask Mrs. Ladson.

[The Chief]

I'm pretty sure we should all be able to agree Adam Dunn was an absolute class act in every way.

Hear, hear

[RyanTheRiot]

But you already rang the 'Dunn is lazy' bell.

You can't un-ring it.

Haha.  I guess I didn't realize they would send the attack dogs after me

[MarquisDeSade]

Lannan might be good again for an entire season, he might be mediocre (like always).  Good was 2008, 2009, second half 2010; bad first half 2010. Mediocre "like always"? More like swinging between good and bad.

My definition of mediocre is swinging between good and bad.  Hence he's mediocre like always.

Marquis sucks.  Innings eater, sinker, ground ball outs.  Who cares.  If he isn't injured he's going to be so overwhelming mediocre we're going to miss the days of Mike Bacsik and Micah Bowie. This is pretty pessimistic. A 4.20 ERA and 8-10 record won't make us miss Mike Bacsik.

Yeah but is it any different?  Oh that's right, Bacsik and Bowie were getting paid sub $1m, Marquis is getting $7.5m

Wang - Will he ever pitch again?  I really don't believe it until I'll see it.  I also have zero delusions he's every going to return to 2007 form.  This is a Scott Olsen-esque pessimism which is OK, but if we see some good innings from him in spring training that will be exciting.

So far it's been "he'll pitch in May [2010]" only for it be "he'll pitch next season [in 2011]".  Now it's "he's looking forward to pitching in May 2011."  IF we see some good innings from him it'll be a miracle. 

Strasburg - Maybe he makes it back in September, maybe he doesn't.  No reason to pencil him in at this point. He'll get 4-5 minor league starts. Not sure why he's getting dumped on in this post.

I wasn't dumping on him, I was simply stating he won't be in the rotation for most of the season. 

[The Chief]

Haha.  I guess I didn't realize they would send the attack dogs after me

No, it's just a sore subject around here.  Ladson badmouthed Dunn all season every chance he got.  Some people might even say he was preparing us for the inevitable parting of ways on behalf of the FO

[GburgNatsFan]

That would explain it.

I'm pretty sure we should all be able to agree Adam Dunn was an absolute class act in every way. He's even a class act in bed. Just ask Mrs. Ladson.