Johnny Estrada, Wily Mo Pena and Chad Cordero were all absent during the Nats 9 game losing streak. Bowden and Acta are hoping these now healthy veterans can help turn things around. Whether this is supposed to serve as a motivator or a legitimate baseball move isn’t clear, but it seems to be helping a little considering the Nats are up right now 5-0 in the 6th…scratch that….as I type this it is now 5-2 in the 6th with a Chipper homer.
Wily Mo Pena- Wily Mo will bring tremendous power to a line up that has been missing it so far this season. It will also keep the players cool with how often he will fan. Regardless of whose spot he may be taking, Wily Mo is young, talented, and a full season should be interesting to watch.
Chad Cordero- Having Cordero back on the club will obviously be a positive for the team. Of course if he pitches well the trade rumors will come out again, I know the Tigers have expressed interest with him. Whether or not to trade him we will deal with when the time comes, but for now its good to have the Chief back at the end of the bullpen totem poll.
Johnny Estrada- I’m still confused why he’s anywhere in the Nats system. The Nationals picked him up with worries of losing Lo Duca in the Mitchell Report fall out, which we now know wont happen. As a result we have three catchers in our system; former but over the hill all stars Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, and the young, possibly future all star Jesus Flores. I got a chance to watch Estrada at a Columbus Clippers game earlier this week, he is overweight and unproductive, and right now he is blocking major league playing time for a future major player in our franchise.
The Dearly Demoted- As evident in his last outing against the Braves Bergman was struggling. He started the season in the rotation, and was thrown into an almost surprise relief appearance yesterday afternoon. Whether Bergman is deserving of this demotion so early in the season or if he is simply a scapegoat for Bowden is up to interpretation, the bottom line however is Cordero is much more valuable coming out of the pen then Bergman.
Jesus Flores going down is frustrating. It was a gamble last year taking a young catcher and putting him in the big leagues for a whole season in order to keep him with accordance to Rule 5. It paid off though as Flores exceeded expectations and played very competently where many felt he was in over his head. For Flores this season it is really an argument in philosophy. Some feel giving him an entire year to get experience playing every day in Columbus will be more valuable to him then sitting in the majors. Others believe letting him start 30% of the games behind Lo Duca in Washington with the possibility to move into the starting role with an inevitable injury may help him become more acclimated to the major league game. It looks however that the Nats are putting their chips on the first philosophy, we’ll see how he does in Columbus.
Wily Mo Pena- Wily Mo will bring tremendous power to a line up that has been missing it so far this season. It will also keep the players cool with how often he will fan. Regardless of whose spot he may be taking, Wily Mo is young, talented, and a full season should be interesting to watch.
Chad Cordero- Having Cordero back on the club will obviously be a positive for the team. Of course if he pitches well the trade rumors will come out again, I know the Tigers have expressed interest with him. Whether or not to trade him we will deal with when the time comes, but for now its good to have the Chief back at the end of the bullpen totem poll.
Johnny Estrada- I’m still confused why he’s anywhere in the Nats system. The Nationals picked him up with worries of losing Lo Duca in the Mitchell Report fall out, which we now know wont happen. As a result we have three catchers in our system; former but over the hill all stars Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, and the young, possibly future all star Jesus Flores. I got a chance to watch Estrada at a Columbus Clippers game earlier this week, he is overweight and unproductive, and right now he is blocking major league playing time for a future major player in our franchise.
The Dearly Demoted- As evident in his last outing against the Braves Bergman was struggling. He started the season in the rotation, and was thrown into an almost surprise relief appearance yesterday afternoon. Whether Bergman is deserving of this demotion so early in the season or if he is simply a scapegoat for Bowden is up to interpretation, the bottom line however is Cordero is much more valuable coming out of the pen then Bergman.
Jesus Flores going down is frustrating. It was a gamble last year taking a young catcher and putting him in the big leagues for a whole season in order to keep him with accordance to Rule 5. It paid off though as Flores exceeded expectations and played very competently where many felt he was in over his head. For Flores this season it is really an argument in philosophy. Some feel giving him an entire year to get experience playing every day in Columbus will be more valuable to him then sitting in the majors. Others believe letting him start 30% of the games behind Lo Duca in Washington with the possibility to move into the starting role with an inevitable injury may help him become more acclimated to the major league game. It looks however that the Nats are putting their chips on the first philosophy, we’ll see how he does in Columbus.
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