Changes may mean good news for the Nationals

A new trend appears to be rising in major league baseball. An odd one, and surprising one. For the last 15 years major league baseball has been a game of dollars and cents, well at least dollars, lots and lots of dollars. The teams with the most money have dominated the standings as they sweep up all the talent with unbelievable contracts and take a lot of the pride out of smaller market teams. It seems though, that we may be seeing a change.

In the past the best young players of the game would come into the league and play out their rookie contract, usually earning no more then 500K a year, with a large bonus of course. At the age of 24 or 25 when their options were out, they would sign a 2 or 3 year, sizeable contract, to assure they would stay with the team that developed them and raised them. After their first big contract was up, they would enter the free agent market, a talented and accomplished player between the ages of 26-28, ready to sign a whopper of a deal.

Derek Jeter signed an 11 year 189 million dollar contract at the age of 27. Manny Ramirez signed an 8 year 160 million dollar deal at the age of 28. At the age of 27 Todd Helton signed an 11 year 151 million dollar contract, and the biggest one of all, Alex Rodriguez, signed a 10 year 262 million dollar contract at the age of 26.

Ridiculous amounts of money sure. It was good for the players; they made big time long term deals and didn’t really have to earn it. Players like Mike Hampton, Danny Neagle, Kevin Brown, and Adrian Beltre have never come close to matching the expectations promised with the signing of their deals. It was good for the big market teams regardless of the flops however. The small teams did the lay work, the scouting, the drafting, and dealt with the growing pains, while the big teams snatched them up with super contracts and won championships.

This season however has seen a huge and confusing change. The youngest stars of the games are signing long term deals, for lower amounts of money earlier on. Today Ryan Braun, who recorded possibly the best rookie season ever last year, signed an 8 year 45 million dollar contract before he finished his second full major league season. The numbers are staggering; at the age of only 23 last year Braun hit .324 with 34 homers in only 113 games. The potential contract for Braun three to four years down the line would be huge, even Alex Rodriguez like, yet with his new contract he promises not to be a free agent until the age of 31, and legitimately could be missing out on hundreds of millions of dollars.

Braun isn’t alone. Hanley Ramirez, arguably a greater talent then Braun signed a six year 70 million dollar contract, making him a free agent at 30 and a Marlin for six more years. Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, who last year made a huge splash as in their playoff run, singed a 6 year 31 million dollar contract this year as well. Perhaps most surprisingly Tampa Bay prospect Evan Longoria, before even playing a week in the majors, was locked up in the sunshine state for six years at 45 million dollars. It seems the brightest stars of tomorrow are already locked in with low market teams for a good part of the next 10 years.

While nothing is certain yet, this appears to be a good thing for baseball. The smaller markets will no longer have to try to compete in an uphill battle for the players, they won’t have a mere 2 or 3 year window to win with the talent they have developed, and maybe the balance of power will even out. My question however, is what does this mean for the Washington Nationals who have yet to sign up their young star, Ryan Zimmerman.

Zimmerman renewed his contract this season for relatively the same amount he made last year, for about half a million dollars. Will the Nats be smart like the other small market teams and sign Zimmerman up for a long term deal and an undervalued contract? It seems to me they have a rather good bargaining point. Zimmerman is of course a great young player who is the center point of this franchise, but lets be honest he is not playing well. His numbers have never matched that of Ryan Braun or even Troy Tulowitzki, so his contract logically certainly should not exceed theirs. It seems that this has been a touchy subject the Nats just want to put on the shelf until the end of the season, but I think for the best future of the franchise, the Nats should try and get Zimmerman a new deal along the parameters of his peers.

Nats drop second in row by 1, lose to the Astros

The Nats dropped their second in a row tonight as they could not capitalize on a two run lead they established in the first inning. While they got ahead on the talented Roy Oswalt, when e settled in he caught fire stopping any chance the Nats had on significantly building on the lead. Zimmerman did his best, in vintage style making the plays in the field and with the bat…but it wasn’t enough for the Red, White, and Blue.

A days rest goes a long way

Lucky Jarmes had called for, I think we all deep down felt it was a good idea too. Zimmerman was struggling and couldn’t get anything done at the plate. He was the focal point of young franchise that was struggling, he wanted to be the reason the team turned it around, he wanted to save HIS team. In baseball, as in life, sometimes the best thing you can do is just take a step back…as Zimmerman did by taking the night off for the first time in 200 plus games.

It’s seemed to have worked…since taking the day off and recieving the day of rest before the Nats road trip, Zimmerman has gone 5 for 9 with two homers and a double. Tonight Zimmerman carried his team driving in every run for the Nats who inevitably came up short. While it may be rough watching the Nats drop two in a row, it sure as hell is good to see our number three hitter hit like he can.

Odalis Perez

Odalis has had trouble in his career staying consistent. He broke onto the scene in 2002 as a talented 25 year old lefty starter for the Dodgers. He posted great numbers; 15 wins, 3.00 ERA 0.99 WHIP, only 38 walks in over 200 innings, but to this day he hasn’t been able to come anywhere close to matching that break out year. In all of his starts along the way he’s had solid starts, got settled, and lost focus. He’s had to battle weight problems and has not been able to turn it around on or off the field. His laziness seems to set in when he starts to feel comfortable, and it is often what can turn a good start for Perez into a lousy finish.

Perez had a couple flashes of laziness today which scares me. First he falls apart on the mound in the 4rth inning with a combination of what must have been a 500 foot home run, hit batters, and an RBI single allowed to Roy Oswalt. The next inning, after ripping the ball to the pitcher, Perez forgot out run out the groundball. This may just be an anomaly. Perez could be having a bad day, ate a bad hot dog, or could even have just been distracted by a hot chick behind home plate…whatever the reason lets hope its one of the latter rather then a regression into the tactics of Perez that have made him a journeyman as opposed to a staple in a teams pitching rotation.

Game Notes:

Wily Mo Pena was waved home in 7th off of a hard hit single to center by Felipe Lopez. He never had a chance, which isn’t really his fault, he was waved in. It’s rough seeing a rally end at home plate, especially when it would have been the go ahead run. What’s more frustrating is when your linebacker of an outfielder slides feet first into home on a throw that beat him by 5 steps. Come on Wily Mo…be a man…take out grandpa Ausmus behind home…it’s your only chance of scoring and there is NO WAY it will hurt you as much as it does him…show some fight for your team for god sake.

Christian Guzman botched a couple plays with poor hands and just plain slow feet. Is he really still effective at short stop? More to come on this in the mail bag...

Box Score

Photo's courtesy of AP/Dave Einsel

Nats play without Zimmerman for the first time in 205 games.

Ryan Zimmerman asked for the day off today likely ending the second longest active consecutive game streak in baseball. Coming into today Zimmerman hadn’t sat in 205 consecutive games, and barring a pinch hit appearance or subbing in as a defensive replacement the consecutive games counter will reset to 0 for the young third basemen.

The Nats have the day off tomorrow as well, so I imagine Acta and Zim looked at this as a chance for the struggling third baseman to get two days off in a row. While it is ultimately meaningless, for former Orioles fans who saw former shortstop/thirdbaseman Cal Ripken set this great record, it may have been nice to see one of their own make a run at it. The good news is it will probably help his hitting and give a rest to that surgically repaired wrist.

Jeff Francoeur of the Atlanta Braves currently has the longest consecutive game streak at 355.

Nats heart of the order makes an appearance, Nats win 6-3

Nationals fans I would like to introduce you to something that you may not have seen in a very long time. It is a productive middle of the order. I know you may be thinking,

“But shouldn’t the middle of the order combine to go 0-8 with 5 k’s? Shouldn’t we have the number 8 hitter hit walk off homers as our pitching carries us through the game, only to pray for that clutch hit?”

No! Actually teams that go to the, ‘playoffs,’ have hitters who like to produce in the middle of their line up. I know it may sound crazy, but tonight you got to see how effective it is!

Now that you two are acquainted, you two hopefully will become good friends and longtime partners at baseball games. I know the productive middle of the order is shy, but I hope he can stay around a while and you two can have a long meaningful relationship.

Oh..the Nats won tonight 6-3

The Braves own middle of the order

Chipper Jones and Mark Teixiera did a good deal of the damage against the solid Nationals pitching staff tonight. Chipper went two for five with a solo homer in the top of the 6th and a single in the 1st. Teixiera also helped the Braves get on the board with a double in the top of the second which allowed him to score on a Kotsay single.

The heart of the braves order was also the center of the rally in the top of the 6th that took Tim Redding out of the game.

Tim Redding and the 6th inning

Tim Redding the railroad slows down at the 6th inning, and usually can’t get passed it. It is probably due to a lack of endurance and a little bit of age, but for Redding he usually turns a beautifully pitched 5 innings into an average start with an ugly 6th. Today’s 6th for Redding was relatively tame. He allowed a solo homer to Larry Jones, and then after being ahead 0-2 on Teixeira, walked him on the next four pitches. Acta took him out before he could do anymore damage.

Redding’s last three 6th innings.
Against:
NYM- relatively tame, allowed a single to Carlos Betran and was taken out. The Mets did score 3 runs this inning however

FLA- Two hits, a Home Run and a Double, three earned runs let up.

ATL- Three hits; Single, Double and a Home Run, three earned run’s allowed.

Middle of the Order shows Heart

Zimmerman and Johnson came out swinging today and helped put runs on the board early for the Nats, with back to back jacks in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Zimmerman also came up big in the bottom of the 7th with the bases loaded and 2 outs, driving in two runs with an RBI double. Milledge also helped drive in two more with a double to score Zimmerman and Guzman in the 7th.

Zimmerman’s Line: 3-4, 1 single, 1 double, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Johnson’s Line: 2-4, 1 single, 1 hr, 1 RBI
Milledge’s Line: 1-4, 1 double, 2 RBI

Chad Cordero leaves the game

This was a scary moment, and still is a scary time for Nats fans. After allowing two base runners and only one out Cordero waved to the Nationals trainer for help. It was clear what was wrong, Cordero grabbed his arm and immediately tried to stretch it out…he could be out a while.

Box Score

The Nats win a series...against a first place team!

The Nationals are starting to pick it up. For only the second time this season the Nats have pulled off something that is routine for playoff teams, they won a series.

Not only did they claim the series, they actually at times looked like a playoff team with key hits, good pitching, and a shut down bullpen. The Nats have started do what made them an overachieving team last year, capitalize on everything. Today the Nats only had 4 hits and scored 2 runs, that’s extremely hard to do. Right now it really looks like if Ryan Zimmerman and Nick Johnson start producing to their ability, and start driving in runs, the Nationals could equal their surprising record from last year.

It had been a rough week for D.C. The Capitals were eliminated, the Wizards are getting their ass kicked by the Cavs, and the Redskins making personnel decisions scares everyone. It was good to have John Lannan come out and shut the door on the Cubs giving the Nats a good weekend and at least a little something for D.C sports fans to be happy about.

John Lannan shines at home

John Lannan came out and for the third straight game pitched a gem. After tossing seven shut out innings against a top notch hitting team in the Cubs he has extended his consecutive shutout innings streak to 19! Not bad for a 24 year old, former 11th round pick.

Today Lannan allowed only four hits in seven innings of work and lowered his ERA to 2.64 on the year. At times opposing batters looked just baffled, especially the heart of the order which went 1-10 on the day. Not only is Lannan’s stuff looking great, he’s pitching smart, he just does not make mistakes in the strike zone and forces the bottom of the order to beat him. The only thing more you can really ask from Lannan is to cut down on the walks…but with 19 straight scoreless innings, we can’t exactly ask for much more from him.

Lannan's Season Stats:

2-2, 2.64 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 31/14 K/BB

The Nationals Batting report-brought to you by Lenny Harris

Ryan Zimmerman had been picking it up coming into today’s game. He had been 4 for 11 in his last three games, however he had driven in only one run and had no extra base hits. It looked like all he was trying to do was poke the ball to try and find a way out of this miserable stretch he’s going through. It hasn’t helped…today Zimmerman couldn’t help his team at the plate going 0-4 with three K’s. (He did make a few great plays with the glove though)

Wil Nieves wants to stay in the majors. He knows when Lo Duca and Dukes come back at least one person needs to be sent down…and with him and Estrada already in the majors…its going to be hard to keep all three. Right now Wil Nieves has a five game hit streak, going 8-16 in that stretch including the game winning homer Friday night. He has played solid defensively as well, if it were up to me I’d just cut Estrada and keep Wil not Will Nieves.

Cristian Guzman continues to hit well this season. He is batting a strong .309 and is getting hits to move the leadoff hitter around. Unfortunately though he is still only getting on base at .339. He has only walked 5 times this season in 106 at bats, and as we talked about earlier this year, on base percentage is the key to winning baseball.

Can't we just...start over?

Nationals lose 9th straight, fall to the Braves at home

It’s a sad note that I am starting this blog on the night the Nats set a mark for their worst losing streak since coming to Washington. The season had started so well…a beautiful christening of a new ball park…a three game win streak….and the emergence of Nick Johnson and Ryan Zimmerman as the corner pillars of the 2008 campaign.
Nine games later, and nine losses later, the Nats are looking face to face with the down to earth reality that they are truly the 4th or 5th place team in the N.L East and that the new park alone may not launch them over any hump.

Let’s consider then the founding of NatsPark to be the official turning point in the franchise…YOU CAN BE A PART OF HISTORY!

Let’s take a look at the game today:

After an hour and a half rain delay the game looked to be over before the Nats even got an at-bat. A four run Atlanta inning left the Nats with a big deficit early. When you factor the Nats ability to play behind, and that they were facing one of the best starting pitchers of the last two decades, John Smoltz, it was really an unlikely deficit for the team to overcome. Which it was as the Nats didn’t score a run until the Braves had scored their sixth in the fourth inning. The final score was 10-1, but lets face it the game was over at 6-0.

Pitching woes:

John Lannan took a step back today (4IP 9H 6ER 4BB 2K). It was only his 8th career outing however, and if you consider his age and experience, he has put together a good number of quality starts. Oddly enough for the 24 year old Lannan his best starts have come on the road, away from the pitcher friendly RFK and this was his first game at Nats Park. What can we learn from this? Probably nothing, I would place the blame on the poor performance of Lannan on the rain delay and the fact that most young pitchers with his amount of experience haven’t learned to adjust to a delayed start time like that. Warming up, getting ready to go and then having to sit for 91 minutes can throw you off if you are not prepared. Smoltz on the other hand has just a few more starts under his belt…

Expect the young Lannan to have road bumps like these along the way, he is only 24 after all. The good news is young players don’t stay young for long, and we can truly watch him develop before our very eyes into a solid number 2 or 3 starter down the road.

After Lannan was knocked out, Jason Bergman came on to “relieve” him and had about the same amount of success. In two starts this year Bergman has just been plain awful (10.1 IP 16H 13 ER 2BB 10K), and with today’s outing, giving up four runs and two homers in only two innings, it is evident to say he is not comfortable in the bullpen either. This isn’t to say Bergman lost the Nats the game, it was out of hand by the time he got there, but he certainly didn’t keep the score down.

Hitting woes:

The good news is Zimmerman has seemed to bust out of his slump a little bit. He turned things around today going 2/3 with a double to right center and a Sac-Fly scoring Willie Harris after his triple. Leading into today’s game Zimm was 0 for his last 18 with only 1 walk in that span. The Nats need more productive days like today from their young star to compete in the most competitive division in baseball.

Despite my affinity for Felipe Lopez and all the talent he has packed into that small frame, he has not been much of an improvement over tubby Ronny Belliard at second. The Nats need constant production from everyone in their line up with the lack of a big bopper to rake in tons of runs on his own. The Nats drew six walks which is great but they also left 19 runner stranded. On base percentage, a virtue Manny Acta teaches, is meaningless if no one hits those runners in.

Jeff Francoeur woes:

Jeff Francoeur had a day for the Braves…..eight words that pain me to say. Francoeur “The Natural” went 3/5 with two bombs and raked 7 RBI’s. That’s right he drove in more runs then the Nationals did collectively. Francoeur only had 4 RBI’s total coming into the game…

Will the Nationals win their game tomorrow against the Braves and end this 9 game skid? What does Manny Acta have to do, if anything, to turn this team around? Paul Lo Duca, or Jesus Flores? Leave your comments.

Box Score

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