Nats sign Johnny Estrada

[Dave B]

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080129&content_id=2358547&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was

interesting. cheap.

plan A) loduca is healthy and good and Flores plays every day in the minors, which should be good for him

plan B) we go with Flores and Estrada

money is low enough it doesnt matter

i believe we could have gotten him in the milledge deal at 4 mil per year. nats said no thanks and waited for him to be non tendered and got him cheap. slick

[ronnynat]

Wow. That's pretty cool. I'm surprised he even wanted to come here. The guy has been a regular starter for what, 4 years now? Seems Lo Duca may be in worse shape than we thought... OR (maybe more realistically), we're planning on sending Flores down to play a full season in the minors. Regardless, good pickup!

[spidernat]

Shocking. Maybe Lo Duca is worse off than originally thought. There could be more to that. Maybe he got hurt doing something he should not have been doing. Whatever the case, it's nice to have another catcher on board.

[tomterp]

Kudos to Bowden, can't say he's shy about grabbing guys that could help us.

[blue911]

I'm not a big fan of either Estrada or Lo Duca. Neither can throw worth a tinkers damn. Both are said to "call a good game", which is the baseball equivilent of "having a good personality". But if I had to pick one it would be Estrada.

[CALSGR8]

I thought when we traded Schneider, the Mets were going to throw in Estrada too, but Bowden said NO.  We could have gotten him for "free" and now we have to pay for him!

[Dave B]

I thought when we traded Schneider, the Mets were going to throw in Estrada too, but Bowden said NO.  We could have gotten him for "free" and now we have to pay for him!

um no. his salary (4 mil at the time i think) would have come along in the trade from the mets

[CALSGR8]

um no. his salary (4 mil at the time i think) would have come along in the trade from the mets

Ohhhh, Ok. OOPS!  

[GburgNatsFan]

Is this  a prevailing view here? Because "calling a good game" can't be quantified, it doesn't mean anything?

I'm not a big fan of either Estrada or Lo Duca. Neither can throw worth a tinkers damn. Both are said to "call a good game", which is the baseball equivilent of "having a good personality". But if I had to pick one it would be Estrada.

[Nat of the Living Dead]

Is this  a prevailing view here? Because "calling a good game" can't be quantified, it doesn't mean anything?

I admit it sounds a lot better than the belief that Dmitri Young's smile won us 20 more games last season.

[blue911]

Is this  a prevailing view here? Because "calling a good game" can't be quantified, it doesn't mean anything?

I could use the phrase "Damning with faint praise" if you prefer.

[spidernat]

I'm not a big fan of either Estrada or Lo Duca. Neither can throw worth a tinkers damn. Both are said to "call a good game", which is the baseball equivilent of "having a good personality". But if I had to pick one it would be Estrada.

LOL classic post. That qualification is the NFL's equivalent to "high motor" which is basically saying that you want to praise a guy but there isn't anything there to really praise him for. See Schneider.

[spidernat]

I thought when we traded Schneider, the Mets were going to throw in Estrada too, but Bowden said NO.  We could have gotten him for "free" and now we have to pay for him!

There would never be any trades if this were the case. Instead of dogging Bowden for that he should be commended.

I admit it sounds a lot better than the belief that Dmitri Young's smile won us 20 more games last season.

So I didn't imagine that? Someone did say something along those lines last season?

[PANatsFan]

Nationals, meet Johnny Estrada. Estrada, meet the Nationals. Yuck. Good thing we have Mackowiak.

I hate when I'm right. Why do we need 7 catchers? Estrada is big and slow and can't throw anyone out. Why don't we just bring back LeCroy? At least he was likeable

[nats2playoffs]

I hate when I'm right. Why do we need 7 catchers? Estrada is big and slow and can't throw anyone out. Why don't we just bring back LeCroy? At least he was likeable.

Matt LeCroy... Ah... The Crying Game.  You win the prize for identifying the catcher who is actually WORSE than Lo Duca and Estrada at throwing out base runners.  So bad that Frank Robinson had to remove him in the middle of an inning, and cried about having to do it, after the game.  Another winnable game that was lost.

[2IPAs]

Matt LeCroy... Ah... The Crying Game. 

Phew, that reference worried me. I was almost afraid to scroll down for the photo!

[ronnynat]

I hate when I'm right. Why do we need 7 catchers? Estrada is big and slow and can't throw anyone out. Why don't we just bring back LeCroy? At least he was likeable

I love when people think that a catcher's only job is throwing out baserunners. Come on now. It's SO much more than that. You know that, right?

[PANatsFan]

I love when people think that a catcher's only job is throwing out baserunners. Come on now. It's SO much more than that. You know that, right?

Of course - but we can get into the "intangible" game-calling - which Flores is know for, by the way - or hitting - which Flores in 2008 is better at than Estrada 2008 - or blocking the plate - which I guess Estrada would be pretty good at.

I guess it wasn't clear that a) I was exaggerating (we have 5 catchers on the depth chart for ST, not 7, SO much more reasonable), and B) I just don't want Estrada. LeCroy can also hit better than any of these guys, not that I really want him back

[PANatsFan]

Matt LeCroy... Ah... The Crying Game.  You win the prize for identifying the catcher who is actually WORSE than Lo Duca and Estrada at throwing out base runners.  So bad that Frank Robinson had to remove him in the middle of an inning, and cried about having to do it, after the game.  Another winnable game that was lost.

Can I get a teardrop shaped trophy?

[MrMadison]

just a thought.

The Mets tried to throw Estrada into the Lastings Milledge deal, but the Nats said no.

at that time, Estrada was under contract for a little over 4 million.

with that in mind, this is a very low-risk signing, and the prevailing thought of it seems to be in the name of getting Flores 500+ ABs and a full season as a starter in Columbus, and then hopefully Flores taking over as the everyday catcher in 09, when both Lo Duca and Estrada will be gone.

[nats2playoffs]

Can I get a teardrop shaped trophy?

Wish granted...



Award for Matt LeCroy, who not only allowed SEVEN (7) stolen bases by the Astros in ONE game, but made his manager cry about removing him.

Correction: Miraculously, Washington won the game. Nationals 8, Astros 5, Thursday May 25, 2006.

[spidernat]

Wish granted...



Award for Matt LeCroy, who not only allowed SEVEN (7) stolen bases by the Astros in ONE game, but made his manager cry about removing him.

Correction: Miraculously, Washington won the game. Nationals 8, Astros 5, Thursday May 25, 2006.

Sitting in the stands, it felt like a loss. After watching throw after throw sail over second base on steal attempts I wanted to cry 

[PANatsFan]

Wish granted...



Award for Matt LeCroy, who not only allowed SEVEN (7) stolen bases by the Astros in ONE game, but made his manager cry about removing him.

Correction: Miraculously, Washington won the game. Nationals 8, Astros 5, Thursday May 25, 2006.

Are you insinuating that I am LeCroy? There is some resemblance I guess

[soxfan59]

Is this  a prevailing view here? Because "calling a good game" can't be quantified, it doesn't mean anything?

No, it does mean something, in that some catchers are better at "handling" pitchers -- particularly young ones. 

Carlton Fisk "called a good game."  He got more out the pitching staff than another catcher might.  An example of a catcher who doesn't necessarily "call a good game" is Ivan Rodriguez, who makes up for it with his bat. 

[Teddy-Roosevelt]

It's a good signing because it's a 1-year deal, Flores isn't ready, and LoDuca comes with a bag full of question marks, only the latest of which is the surgery.  The team still has absolutely zero long-term solution at the catcher position; but in the meantime, Estrada can help hold things together through 2008 while Stan and Jim work on The Plan.  Keep your expectations low.  Estrada is a weak and inconsistent hitter with no power and no arm.