Nats Talk On The Go: Episode 9

The Nats Blog's Joe Drugan and Capitol Baseball's Craig MacHenry talk Washington Nationals baseball.



In this week's episode, we discuss:

• Ryan Zimmerman's contract extension
• Is any team better set up for the next 5 years than the Washington Nationals?
• Under the Radar and Biggest Impact players in 2012
• Hockey musings
• ... and more.

Subscribe to and rate our podcast on iTunes or download it if you don't use iTunes.

Anatomy of a Face

Face of the Franchise.

Nats fans have heard this term bandied about when describing Ryan Zimmerman since before his first appearance on the field in 2005. And perhaps his on field play, behavior, and decisions since then have spoiled our judgement when it comes to the what that term actually means. Let's run down what, at least in my mind, makes up a "Face of the Franchise" player.

Home-Grown: A true face of the franchise is not traded for, at least not the major league level. To really become a unilaterally appreciated and adored player, fans need to see the major league debut and watch how he develops as a player and man. Some Faces are acquired at some lower minor league level, but for the most part, these players are identified as special so early on that a trade is unlikely.

All-Star Caliber: While long-term role-players and over-achievers are often times key to long term success and are sometimes wholly embraced by the fan base, to truly define a franchise you need to reach an elite level of play over many years for the franchise.

Team Player/Community Hero: The reason teams often hold these players up as their face is because they embody the spirit of team work and volunteerism while also being dedicated to the team and the area.

Zimmerman's case: Slam dunk. The first pick in Nationals history. A career that will included a litany of accolades, spent in a city close to his home and family. Surrounded by a team of young players he has helped mentor and talented veterans he helped lure in. Already signed through 2019 to a contract that allows the team flexibility right now, and I'm sure more than a few nights reserved for the ZiMS foundation. Leader and mentor, line-up cornerstone, and defensive rock completely dedicated to the organization and the community, Ryan Zimmerman has an opportunity to define all that is good in sports.

Other true faces of the franchise in today's game? You go straight to Derek Jeter, who, in terms of championships and longevity you hope that Zim mirrors. Newly vindicated Ryan Braun, who was taken in the same draft and has a similar contract history with a mid-market team seems to be another Face. Evan Longoria is another player in similar position to stay with 1 team his whole career and define a previously undefinable franchise. Other players who are, or are on the verge of being, true Faces are Joey Votto, Joe Mauer, Justin Verlander, and Troy Tulowitski.

There are several hybrid faces of the franchise that are interesting cases. Big Papi for one in Boston is their Face, even though he came up with another team, breaking an 84 year-old curse is a great way to leapfrog some of the requirements for a true Face of the Franchise. Another interesting case is Ichiro - a player so transcendent and talented easily became the Mariners Face in his first season. Albert Pujos and Jose Reyes become almost instant Faces, one on talent alone, the other based on the direction of a new organization (Hanley Ramirez is NOT the face of the Marlins and never could be - I believe we will see why during Spring Training). Honorable Mention to Michael Young in Texas who has all the criteria yet none of the respect or accolades.

Did I miss someone? Most probably. Tell me who!

Deadline Passed

The Ryan Zimmerman Contract Extension Self-Imposed Deadline has now passed - and there has been no announcement of a deal. However, since 10:00 there has only been one tweet from any of the Nats beat writers; that simply stated that the meeting was over and that the players were on the field. Read into that what you will...

Even if a deal is not announced, please remember that the last time Zimmerman signed a contract extension it was announced more than three weeks after the fact. What is important is if the Nats were able to open their eyes and see that he would take a hometown discount in return for a no-trade clause, which would only affect the team for the next three seasons, until his 10-and-5 rights kick in.

The moral of the story is, be patient.

As always, stay tuned to Capitol Baseball for all the latest on the Nats 2012 Spring Training!

Poll: Zimmerman Extension

Tomorrow morning is the Ryan Zimmerman Self-Imposed Contract Extension Negotiation drop dead time. Rumors of a pending deal have been swirling around the twitter-verse over the past day or so, saying that there is progress but still a few hang-ups - one of which is a No Trade Clause.

We are going to take a quick poll here.

Does Ryan Zimmerman get extended by the deadline"
- Yes? If so, what's the length/amount of the deal
- No?

My prediction: Zimmerman signs a 7-year/$127 Million extension before the deadline.

GO!

Fielder Chooses Father's Footsteps

Well, the long hold-out is over and Prince Fielder has finally signed a contract. Much to the surprise of everyone in baseball, Scott Boras was able to procure a 9 year, $214 Million deal with yet another Mystery Team, this time the Detroit Tigers - Fielder's estranged father's team.

According to Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post, Davey Johnson said that the Nationals never actually exchanged a number with Boras Corp; though you can get pretty far without actually exchanging figures. Not too surprising, considering that Mike Rizzo has said all along that they never really were too interested in the slugging 1st Baseman. It has been widely reported that the club was unwilling to go beyond 6 or 7 years - possibly due to the exorbitant contract given to another Boras client last year...

In my unprofessional opinion, I would say that the Nats are pretty much done making moves for the Winter and will go into Spring Training with the players they currently have on the roster.

It has also been speculated that the team might take this time to lock up the Face to a Troy Tulowitzki-type deal, keeping him a National for the bulk of his career. Stay tuned to Capitol Baseball for more on that...

But for now, let's just mourn that Fielder won't be sandwiched in a lineup by Zimmerman and Morse and thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster that we aren't paying Fielder $214 Mil over 9 years.

A Few Good Men: 29 - Zimmerman

We only will be having two parts of this series this week, due to the Thanksgiving break. Wednesday we will be posing our 2nd annual "Thankful" post - we look forward to hearing your thoughts as well! But for now, we continue with part 29 of 44.

Ryan Zimmerman - Age 27 - Signed through 2013

How he became a Nat: Drafted in the 1st Round (4th overall) of the 2005 First Year Player Draft.

The Raw Numbers:
Games - 101
HR - 12
RBI - 49
UZR/150 - 10.6
WAR - 2.5

Key Stat: .798. This is Zimmerman's OPS from the past year and it is over a hundred points lower than his OPS from 2010. I mostly subscribe this to the fact that Zimmerman missed 58 games due to an oblique injury - but it's still a precipitous drop from the past two years. It should be noted that the last time Zimmerman missed significant time due to injury was the last time he had an OPS under .800 - which he followed up with an All-Star campaign the very next year.

Best Game: There are a few Zimmerman walk-off options here, but I'm going to go with one of the Nats top wins of the year - August 19th against the Phillies. By the time Zimmerman rolled up to the plate the Nats had already tied the game at 4 against lights-out closer, Ryan Madson - so they were at least going to extra innings. However, Zimmerman decided that it was time to go home - he hit a grand slam to end the game and give the Nationals an 8-4 victory.

Worst Game: June 25th against the White Sox in interleague action. Zimmerman was just 10 days returned from his trip to the DL - so he was still trying to get his timing back. In a forgettable day at the dish, Zimmerman went 0-4 at the plate while striking out 3 times. Ouch.

CapBall Grade: B. Zimmerman's 2nd half was far better than his injury-filled 1st half - and although the 2nd half was what we've come to expect from Zimmerman, it still wasn't his best year.

2012 Nats Status: Pencil him in the 3 hole in the lineup and at the hot corner come opening day. End of story. The only thing that could possibly change that is injury - or the craziest trade ever.

Crazy Jim Strikes Again, or Does He???

I was driving home from work yesterday while listening to MLB Network Radio's afternoon drive time show, Inside Pitch. Lately the show has been a motley crew of baseball personalities, including our very own color guy FP Santangelo - though today one of the main hosts returned. Jim Bowden.

Since his "resignation" from the Nationals, I have actually found myself agreeing with Bowden more and more on a whole host of baseball issues; from steroids, to coaching maneuvers, to certain players roles. I can definitely see how he had the smarts to become the youngest GM in baseball history when he was with the Reds.

Today, while diagnosing the Angels outfield logjam with Torii Hunter, Peter Bourjos, Mike Trout, and Vernon Wells, Bowden said something that made me laugh. But then I started thinking about it- maybe it wasn't the craziest ideas in the world.

The Trade: Ryan Zimmerman to the Angels for Peter Bourjos, Tyler Chatwood, and a 3rd player.

The Players:
To Angels:
Ryan Zimmerman - 3B
- You know Zimmerman. You love Zimmerman. He is the Face of the Franchise and only under contract with the Nats for 3 more seasons (Ed. Note - The Case Against signing Zim to an extension was featured on MLBTradeRumors.com). I don't need to go into too much detail about the effect this would have on the public perception (in DC) of trading Zimmerman away - as well as the on-field ramifications.

To Nats:
Peter Bourjos - CF
- Bourjos is a 24 year-old CF with about a year and a half of Major League experience. He has proven to be one of the best fielders in the game - ranking 4th in the AL in each of the past 2 seasons in dWAR. At the dish, he sits as the prototypical lead-off hitter; speed, an improving OBP, and more speed - he led the AL in triples last year with 11. Having Bourjos in the system would mean that the Nats would have a team-controlled CF/Lead-off hitter for the next 4+ years - pushing Morse to 1B, Werth to LF, and Harper to RF.

Tyler Chatwood - RHP
- Chatwood was rated as Baseball America's 76th best prospect in all of baseball prior to the 2011 season - 3rd best in the Angels system. He was drafted in the 2nd Round (74th overall) in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Draft - and started his career shortly thereafter. The 6'0" righty is pretty small by pitching standards, but he still possesses a mid-90s fastball and a swing-and-miss curveball. His first year in the bigs was a mixed bag, but that's to be expected from a 21 year old pitcher - he could do with a little more seasoning but has potential to be a quality big league pitcher.

PTBN -
- This player would most-likely be an organizational piece; bullpen arm, utility player, free-swinging outfielder, etc.

Off the bat this sounds like it could be a stupid trade for the Nats, but is it? If Rendon can show the skills that put him at the top of pretty much all pre-2011 season draft boards while staying healthy, he could conceivably be ready for MLB action by September - providing the Nats a cheap alternative to Zimmerman. From the Angels, the Nats would receive a team-controlled, top notch CF/Lead-off hitter in Bourjos, a quality arm that could be a fit for the rotation or as a cog in the bullpen with Chatwood, and an organizational piece - at the expense of an oft-injured but potential Hall of Fame caliber player that is only under contract for 3 more years.

A September 2012 Lineup could look like this:
Bourjos - 8
Espinosa - 4
Harper - 9
Morse - 3
Rendon - 5
Werth - 7
Desmond - 6
Ramos - 2
Strasburg - 1

Would you make that trade?

The Case For...

Yesterday, Sean did an admirable job of taking the unpopular stance that the Nats should avoid signing Ryan Zimmerman to an extension. His argument was three-fold and all well-thought out - 1) health 2) Rendon 3) 2014 is a long way away. While these points are all based upon the past it in no way proves to be a harbinger for the future - IE, lacking statistical evidence.

Let's face it - Ryan Zimmerman is, and has been since Draft Day 2005, the Face of the Franchise. He is the first player the team ever had that was identifiable on a National scale, whether it was defensive highlights on Baseball Tonight's Web Gems or walk-off Home Runs on every holiday known to man.

Yes, we have Strasburg and Harper ready to tear through the National League East, but that is still coming. Zimmerman is our past as well as our future. When NatsTown had nothing but an old beat up stadium, there was Zimmerman. When the Nats were busy losing 100+ games for the 2nd straight year, Zimmerman was there to win the Silver Slugger and Gold Glove. But what's more impressive is that he is just about to hit the prime of his career (28-32).

In the six full seasons Zimmerman has played, he has played 140+ games four times - and in the other two seasons he has played at least 100 in each. Yes, he has been DLed for a shoulder injury way back in 2008 - a result of sliding head-first into 2nd base (headfirst slide injuries have been pretty common lately). His other lengthy DL trip (oblique) was this past year, dubbed "The Year of the Oblique", where he injured himself, once again, sliding into 2nd base. Having missed 10 games with an oblique injury at the end of 2010, albeit a different spot, Zimmerman elected to have surgery to prevent the problem from returning.

As far as his throwing motion is concerned, it should be a non-issue. Despite the fact that 8 of his 12 errors were throwing errors this past year, he seemed to really fall into place in the final few months of the season. His throwing motion does look awkward, but after an entire off-season of work plus spring training he should be 100% for next year. A few throwing errors are forgivable for the Best NL 3B (via UZR) over the past 4 seasons.

When he is on, like in 2009 and 2010, he is one of the best players in all of baseball - in fact his total WAR from '09-'10 (14.5) placed 3rd among all MLB hitters (behind some guys named Pujols and Longoria). Both seasons rank as the two best WAR seasons of any Nats player ever - and it's not even close.

In Zimmerman, the Nationals have one of the best 3B in all of baseball, but we do have a top prospect in waiting; Rendon. Nats Brass has said that for now Rendon will be playing 3B. So, my proposal would be to have Zimmerman, who can pick a baseball with the best of them, move over to 1B - while Rendon comes up at 3B. *Yes, I know that we haven't seen Rendon in action yet, this is purely hypothetical* This move would give the Nats an infield with Rendon, Desmond, Espinosa, and Zimmerman - top notch "D" all across the board. It would keep Zimmerman healthier due to the easier mobility necessary at 1B while giving him more of a focus on his offensive game.

Outside of baseball, Zimmerman has never been a person that was interested in earning the biggest possible contract, taking a team friendly 5 year/$45 million extension back in 2009. One would think that with his commitment to the ziMS foundation in DC as well as his personal ties to the area (growing up in nearby VA Beach, Mother and Father close by) I believe that Zimmerman would be happy just to stay in one town his entire career - Michael Young-style. The money shouldn't be an issue anyway, considering that we do have the richest owner in all of baseball, and he is very willing to open up his checkbook for the right piece.

I believe that Rizzo and Lerner should sit down this offseason and try and hammer out an extension that can keep Ryan Zimmerman as the Face of the Franchise for the rest of his career. If you aren't willing to open up the wallet for one of the top 3B in baseball, the Face of your Franchise, and a possible Future Hall-of-Famer who can you open it up for?

Which camp do you fall in? For or Against?

The Case Against...

In America, every criminal is guaranteed the right to a defense, no matter how heinous he is or horrifying his crime. I am about to advocate for the Charles Manson of Washington Nationals' baseball ideas. Don’t extend Ryan Zimmerman’s contract.

Breathe.

While he is a great talent and core member of a franchise approaching the big time, you have to wonder if, given the cost of his contract and the doors it may close, a long-term extension would really benefit the Nationals that much. The extension would likely make Zimmerman a National for an additional 6-8 years, and cost the Nats as much as 20 million a year (this is based on the Ryan Braun and Troy Tulowitzki extensions, as well as Adam Kilgore’s 8 year $175 million projection). That’s a huge financial commitment to a single player, especially considering the players who are coming behind him. Can the Nats extend Zim, then extend Harper, Strasburg, Zimermann, Rendon, Purke, etc? Probably not. Financially, it would be putting a whole lot of eggs in one basket, when there will be younger, perhaps more talented baskets in a few years.

Speaking of those younger guys, Anthony Rendon. There was a lot of post-draft talk about what position Rendon could move to. Why on earth would you do that? Third base is a premium position and he should play there until its clear he can’t or he shows there would be outstanding value at another position. If Rendon develops in time for the 2014 season, he would be ready to step right in if the team lets Zimmerman walk, at a much cheaper price. If Zimmerman continues his current level of play, there would have to be some drop off (both defensively and offensively), but that’s a big if, plus would that drop off be worth 15-20 million a year? It admittedly sounds drastic to let a stalwart of our current line up walk, but by 2014 I’m sure Rizzo is hoping that Werth, Ramos, Espinosa, Desmond and most importantly Bryce Harper, are making bigger offensive impacts. And if Rendon isn’t ready or has shown he can’t play the position, Ryan Zimmerman is a free agent and can be had for market value, which the Nats will have a better idea of.

Ryan Zimmerman plays the game hard and while he cannot be described as fragile, Cal Ripken Jr. he ain’t. He has twice missed significant parts of season and this past season had surgery on his abdomen which also forced him to drastically overhaul his throwing motion. And he is only getting older. What would be worse than losing Zim to free agency and having Rendon flop as his replacement? Extending Zim, who then endures a series of both nagging and serious injuries that keep him sidelined, and then having Rendon be a flop.

Waiting to resign Zim after his current contract expires would allow the Nats time to see

A. what they have in Rendon,

B. how far Zim can take his talent while limiting injuries and

C. what the make-up of the team will be in 2014.

The boulder on a Zimmerman extension seems to be rolling down the hill at a decent clip at this point. Really the only person who could derail it at this point would be Zim’s agent, and it doesn’t seem likely Zim would let that happen. Ryan Zimmerman is a rare player. He is in a small group of players you can look at and say, if they keep it up for another 10 years, they are headed for Cooperstown.

Am I trying to say don’t try to keep Zim in the organization beyond 2013. Not necessarily. If Zimmerman is lights out the next 2 years and the Nats really do want him to finish his career in D.C., all they would have to do is be serious about it and offer a good contract. During the winter of 2013/2014 the Nats will have a much better idea of what the future looks like for the team and what they need going forward. So when you look at the cost, both the amount of his contract and in the limiting of flexibility of the club to sign other stars down the road, as well as his age, injury history, and the fact that the Nationals just drafted a young third-baseman with high upside and a drastically lower salary than Zimmerman, there should be at least some hesitation for Mike Rizzo when it comes to extending Ryan Zimmerman’s contract too far into the future for too much money.

Do you think I’m an idiot, or at least very misguided? Please tell me.

Winning Against Odds

If you look at the box score from Wednesday night's game, it looked like just another Nats-like win. A one-run game without a ton of runs and a solid pitching performance from the starter and the pen. Everyone starter besides Jayson Werth got a hit, but that's for another post. If you saw the game, though, frustration probably outweighed excitement until Morse scored on Ramos'

Gorzelanny got through 6 innings of work and was surprisingly pitch efficient (82 pitches) after throwing more than 50 pitches through just 3 innings of work, but it didn't come pretty. There were 3 very, very loud outs to deep centerfield, that would have been home runs in almost any other ballpark in the country. Not to mention the home run that Aramis Ramirez hit in the 6th to center field went as high up the batters eye as Zimm's walk off blast on Opening Day 2008. He just crushed it. Gorzelanny's developed a propensity for giving up home runs and lots of them, and not solo ones.

The real problem wasn't Tom Gorzelanny's home runs, though. It was the Nats ineptitude with runners on base. The offense put 16 runners on base (13 hits, 3 walks) and stranded 11 of them. That's right, they left 11 runners on base, with many of them in scoring position with 1 out or less. When Davey Johnson talked about a laugher the other day, this game would have been a prime candidate. It just didn't happen.

Perhaps the best thing to take from the win was Ryan Zimmerman's breakthrough night. Zimm went 3 for 4 with a towering 2-run home run to left field and a walk. Let's all just hope that Zimm is able to keep doing that, because if his offense takes off, there is absolutely no telling where this team can go from here. They can even win games like that, where they had no business even being in it.

Washington Nationals: Baseball Team

It's been a rough/weird season to be a Nats fan. Despite being 32-36, the team as just felt a lot worse than that. The pitching has been good, the offense has been abysmal, and the games have been boring. Werth, the $127 million man, has been merely average, Zimm had been hurt, and LaRoche is done for the year.

Two weeks ago, though, the Nats went on an extended west coast road trip and came away with more wins than losses. Not a small task for this Nationals team. But things really seemed to turn around when the Nats took 3 of 4 from the struggling Padres. The low scoring games and newly shuffled lineup showed the Nats could be successful while playing small ball. But then they came home, and big ball returned in a big way.

The Nats have scored 18 runs in 2 games and has won 5 consecutive games for the first time since 2009. Let's look at our top 5 exclusively fantastic list of reasons why the Nats have looked this good.:

1. Ryan Zimmerman - I mean, come on. How could #1 possibly be anything else? When Zimm is in the lineup, the team just feels different. I literally felt giddy watching his return on Tuesday, and it didn't disappoint.
   
2. New lineup - Ever since Riggs put Werth at the top of the lineup on Saturday with the pitcher hitting 8th, the Nats haven't lost a game. It's just a fact, whether you agree with the new lineup or not, and you've gotta stick with what's working.
   
3. Clutch hitting - the Nats nearly blew Sunday's game against the Padres by starting the game something like 0 for 16 with RISP, but that hasn't been the case against the Cards. Clutch, 2 out hitting has been abundant throughout the games.
4. Michael Morse - Morse is making a ridiculously strong case to make his first career All-Star Game, but being at 1B certainly works against him (see: Pujols, Fielder, Howard, et al). That said, he's hitting .339 in June hitting full-time and hit .405 in May part-time. He just can't stop raking against ever pitcher he faces. He's also played great defense at 1B, which leads us to...
   
5. Defense, defense, defense - The Nats haven't committed an error in 127 innings (June 1 against the Phillies) and that is a stark difference compared with previous seasons. It's fun to watch young players, and even older ones, play so remarkably in the field. It's also staggering to us that ANYONE thinks it's a good idea to run on Ramos and Pudge, under any circumstances. They're unreal.

So those are our top 5 difference makers that is making the Nats look like a real baseball team for the time being. What are some of your tops, CapBallers?

The Z-Man Returns To Washington

Today is a wonderful day in NatsTown. The sun is shining; the breeze is light; the humidity is low; the temperature is perfect. But all that has nothing to do with what makes today so wonderful. Finally, after nearly 2 long months, Ryan Zimmerman will return to the Washington Nationals lineup tonight.

I don't know about all of you, but I'm about as excited for Zimm's return as I possibly could be. Having good old #11 in the lineup just makes everything feel better. We all know Ryan Zimmerman's value to the Nats, but just in case, let's recap.

Ryan's career batting average is .289 with a cool .356 OBP, and has a .485 SLG. In the 8 games he appeared in this season, he's sporting a .357/.486/.536 slash line. And all of that was done while nursing the injury that eventually required surgery.

I planned on going into a deep philosophical discussion on why Ryan Zimmerman is the most underrated player in baseball, but Dave Cameron over at Fangraphs.com did a much better job than I could ever do. So in celebration of Ryan Zimmerman Day, please read this fantastic article, "The Criminally Underrated Ryan Zimmerman."

Let's See Brian Bixler

There wasn't a whole lot to like about the Nats first game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Livan Hernandez gave up 5 runs in the first inning, and the Nationals never recovered, scoring only 2 runs.

The Nats lethargic bats have been a serious cause for concern early in the season, as the club dropped below .500 following a 3-game losing streak. There's no Ryan Zimmerman, and his replacements, Jerry Hairston, Jr. and Alex Cora, have been nothing to write home about. After another 0-for night against the Bucs on Saturday, Hairston is hitting .147. Alex Cora is hitting .130 in limited plate appearances.

But there's hope, Nats fans. The front office has made a roster move that has brought Brian Bixler up to see what he can do to fill-in for the ailing Zimmerman. Bixler, a 3rd baseman by trade, came out of nowhere during Spring Training this season to hit .316 and post a .449 OBP. He continued on his tear to start the season in Syracuse, the Nats Triple-A affiliate. He's hit .326 with a .483 OBP.

The move is clearly a sign that the Nats don't like what they've seen from the veterans Hairston and Cora. Hopefully it's not cause for additional concern over Zimmerman's abdominal injury, since SI.com's Will Carroll reports that Zimm hasn't participated in baseball activities since April 12, when he was added to the DL.

The Nats picked up Bixler from, who else, the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash in 2010. It'd be poetic justice for Bixler to make his 2011 debut against the club that drafted him to help the Nats rebound from such pitiful Saturday evening display at PNC Park. It can't hurt to give him a shot, because it can't possibly be any worse.

Flores to Replace Zim on 25-Man

In a surprise, Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post has announced that Jesus Flores will be called up from AAA Syracuse to replace Ryan Zimmerman, who is sidelined with a "strained abdominal muscle". If anything, this raises more questions than it answers.

1) Is Flores actually healthy?

He has played in 4 of the 5 Syracuse games thus far this season, and though he has struggled to hit the baseball (much like in Spring Training) he has still been in there. Hitting just .125 in Spring Training and now .154 in AAA action, Flores' call-up is a simply a curious move. One of the reasons he was sent to AAA is to confirm his health, by having the 26 year-old play every day, this isn't going to get that done.

2) Is Pudge on his way out?

Though Pudge has made his 3 hits count on the year (racking up 4 RBIs in some clutch situations), he has been struggling since posting a solid .278 average this Spring. If the Nationals are sure of Flores shoulder health, we could be looking at the last few appearances of Pudge in a Nationals uniform because there is no way we keep 3 catchers on the 25-man for very long.

3) Are we really going to rely on Cora and Hairston to fill in for Zim?

It would stand to reason that we would call up an infielder, such as Brian Bixler to fill in an infield hole. Catcher is, for lack of a better phrase, out in left field. Less likely but still making sense would be to bring in an Outfielder to replace Hairston while he covers for Zim at 3B. Bernadina would be a solid fit here, as he actually hits LHP better than RHP.

4) Will the Nats regret trading Alberto Gonzalez or not signing Willie Harris?

The role of utility player is pretty important to an injury prone ballclub, because you never know who is going to be injured, when, or what position they might play. Each of these players have gotten off to solid starts with their new teams (AG hitting .300, Harris hitting .296), while the Nats' bench players are hitting just 6 for 55 on the year...

5) Is this simply having a need for a right handed bench player?

Most likely, considering Nix, Stairs, and Cora are all left-handed hitters. There is a dearth MLB-ready talent in the Nats organization, and this Flores move shows off that emptiness. Even still, its fun to ask the questions.

Edit (addition):

6) Could Pudge earn time as the first baseman?

With Flores coming up from the minors and sharing time with Ramos behind the plate, this might be the time to get Pudge some time at first base. Adam LaRoche's injuries continue to mount (first shoulder, then groin), and we seriously don't like the condition of Adam's throwing shoulder. This could be Pudge's opportunity to extend his career and still mentor the young Nats catchers.

What are your thoughts on Flores' call-up?? The Comment's section awaits.

Nats Embarrass Mets in Extras

(Photo - Joe Drugan/Capitol Baseball 2011)

It was one of those ugly starts for Jason Marquis that Nats fans have come accustomed to seeing. Give up a couple runs to start the game, put your Ryan Zimmerman-less offense in a rut to start the game. But then Marquis settled down and put together a pretty spectacular start, ultimately giving up just 3 earned runs and striking out 9.

The 9 K's counted for Marquis best performance since September 4, 2004 (h/t Adam Kilgore). Marquis ERA on the season is now 3.65, proving his worth in earning $7.5 million.

The Nats offense tied the game in the 8th inning when Pudge got the first of his two clutch hits in this game. The Nats ultimately tied the game in the 8th but still the Nats left the bases loaded.

Adam LaRoche led off the 11th inning with a single and got scarified to 2nd by PH Jordan Zimmermann, but more bad news for the middle of the Nats lineup came when LaRoche was pulled from the game. No news on what the injury is yet, but with his partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder, the bad news keeps coming for Adam.

Factor in Ryan Zimmerman's lingering abdominal issues and Jayson Werth's continued struggles at the plate, the middle of the lineup might be in for some serious struggles over the next 7-10 days.

Ryan Zimmerman: Shortstop???

While reading an article on fangraphs.com about their new Aggregate Defensive Rating (ADR) stat; which essentially takes several different defensive metrics, weights them appropriately, and comes out with an accurate measure of a player's defensive skill. It was in the midst of messing around with different player's ADR that I discovered that our very own Gold Glove winner, Ryan Zimmerman, has done more for this club than play 3B and DH. He has also appeared in 1 game as SS. Needless to say, I had to find out which game and when.

The only information I knew is that it was a game from September of 2005, his call-up. So, looking at those defensive metrics, I saw that Zimmerman had 2 errors - not great, but making my search a little bit easier. Essentially, in a game where there were at least 2 errors by one player, it was most likely a game where the Nats lost, and lost big-time. So, looking at September of '05, I started with the worst loss the team had, and sure enough, that was the 1 game that Zimmerman played shortstop; interestingly enough, his first career start. Let's delve into that game.

The date was September 7, 2005 and it was a gorgeous 76 degrees at game time. The Nats were clinging to a 72-67 record and trying to stay on the very fringe of a Wild Card birth, and they had hope to take a 2 games to 1 lead in the 4 game set. That hope didn't last very long, as the Nats' starter (John Halama) lasted just 0.2 innings, or 24 pitches. Halama only gave up one run, but it would serve as a harbinger for the entire game.

The real beauty of the game lied in the fact that in addition to the 2 errors, which we will get to, is that all 7 Nats pitchers that night gave up at least 1 Earned Run; Halama 1, Hughes 2, Bergmann 2, Eischen 1, Majewski 2, Carrasco 1, Stanton 1.

Anyway, Ryan Zimmerman played a little bit of short over in Charlottesville during his college days, so it was not outside of his comfort zone. Being his 1st start of his career, I'm sure that there were some jitters involved. The first of his two errors came in the top of the 7th inning on a ball off the bat from Juan Encarnacion, who would later score on a double by Former Nats Great PLoD. His second error came just 2 innings later on a shot by superstar Robert Andino, leading to a run by Mike Lowell (and sending Josh Willingham to 2nd).

As I said before, the Marlins went on the win the game 12-1 and in no way did Zimmerman have any real effect on the outcome, as the Nats were already down 8-1 when he made his first error. Also in effect was Dontrelle Willis carving up Nats' hitters to the tune of his 20th win of the season (my how things have changed...). But its definitely interesting to see that initially Zimmerman was brought up as a Left-Side infielder, not necessarily a 3B.

How might things be different in NatsTown had Zimmerman taken over for Cristian Guzman at short in the 2006 season? Post your thoughts in the comments!

25 in 25: Ryan Zimmerman (#1)

In 25 days, all the Nationals diehards will be preparing to head to Nationals Park on Opening Day. Until then, we're going to predict the 25 man roster. With one catch. We're going to do it one day at a time. This way, we can provide more in depth thoughts on who we think is going to make the roster, why we think so, and what to expect from them in 2011. On the morning of Opening Day, we'll post the real 25-man compared with what we predicted.

So we're going to start the series with the gamble to end all gambles: Ryan Zimmerman.

Why?: Zimmerman is clearly among the best third basemen in baseball, so it's no surprise that he makes the list early. We at Capitol Baseball have taken fondly to the moniker "The Franchise" to describe Zimm, and it's an apt name.

Outside of Washington, DC, the only 2 things anyone knows about the Nats are Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg, and Bryce Harper. Considering 2 of those 3 people won't be on the Nats roster on March 31, Zimmerman still keeps the title.

What should you expect?: You should expect more of the same from Zimm in 2011: outstanding defense, line-drive hits, and almost no media recognition outside of the DC Metro area.

Unfortunately, without the insurance of Adam Dunn hitting in the 4 spot, his numbers might struggle a bit. Still, we expect Zimm's defense to be a little sharper with a better defensive first baseman in LaRoche.

Finally, we're going to actually predict that Zimmerman makes the All-Star Game this year after he was snubbed during a career offensive season on 2010.

Re-Signing Adam Dunn and a Special Thanks

First and foremost, on this Veterans Day 2010, I'd like to take the opportunity to thank all of those who have served and sacrificed for our country over the years to make this country what it is today. My ability to pontificate about baseball on a daily basis is because people have sacrificed for my right to do so over the last 234 years. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Now on to Adam Dunn. Ever since... well... all season, Ryan Zimmerman has been Adam Dunn's biggest advocate. There's a lot to explain for Zimmerman's love for Adam. First, almost every player on the Nationals in 2010 has said that Dunn is a crucial element of the chemistry created in the clubhouse. He truly cares about all the guys on that team.

But just think about the kind of season that Zimmerman just had. He finished the season hitting .307, the best of his career by 15 points. His second best? The year before in 2009, where he hit .292. Sure, those numbers are partially due to the fact that Zimmerman is entering the prime of his career and should only be getting better over the next few years. But what else was different compared to previous seasons? The guy hitting behind him.

For most of Adam Dunn's tenure with the Nationals, Zimmerman hit 3rd, Dunn hit 4th. So when a pitcher is looking at that lineup card, there are some real decisions to make. Do they pitch to Zimmerman to try to avoid the slugging Dunn? Do they pitch around Zimmerman and get to Dunn with Zimmerman on base? That 3-4 didn't make it easy on anyone, and was one of the most potent 3-4 spots in the National League, except for Braun-Fielder in Milwaukee and Utley-Howard in Philadelphia.

So with the thought of Adam Dunn not hitting behind him for the first time in 2 years, Zimmerman is justifiably concerned. Who is his protection? Let's explore those options:

• Josh Willingham: Willingham is a perfect 5 spot guy. He has a high OBP, but he doesn't typically hit for tremendous power.
• Michael Morse: Morse hits lots of line drives and hit for good average this year, but he's not a home run hitter.
• Free Agents: Whether you look at Huff, Peña, or really any other viable options at 1st base to replace done, none of them will replace a 40 HR/100 RBI hitter in Dunn, no mater how many strike outs he had (more than 200).

So it's truly no wonder that Zimm has been so high on Dunn. I'm sure the two have developed a great friendship as Zimmerman has said, but Zimmerman's numbers certainly play some part in the equation.

Zimmerman Gets Screwed Again

Wednesday afternoon, Scott Rolen of the Cincinnati Reds was named the Rawlings National League Gold Glove Award Winning Third Baseman. I am incensed.

Scott Rolen entered the league in 1996, won Rookie of the Year in 1997, and had an all around outstanding career. A career that should be recognized as being one of the best among defensive third basemen in recent memory. But that run ended in 2006.

Sure, Rolen had just 8 errors this year. And some people (yes, including Jim Bowden) say that errors are all that matters. But what about when Rolen's 35 year old legs didn't get him to nearly as many balls as Ryan Zimmerman did. Or Padres 3B Chase Headley for that matter.

Nevertheless, the Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Awards continue to nothing but a popularity contest as Jim Memolo and yes... Rob Dibble both put so eloquently this morning. As long as Ryan Zimmerman plays for the Nationals, he will continue to be screwed with his pants on for the recognition he deserves and has earned. When the Washington Nationals start winning, maybe Zimmerman will start winning, too.