3.24.2006

The Nationals are Doomed

Baseball starts in less than 2 weeks. I am positively giddy. Go Red Sox! And, since I don't have a horse in the National League, go Nats (local team), Dodgers (a bunch of ex-Red Sox players), and Mets (PEDRO!).

The Nationals newest acquisition, 2B/LF Alfonso Soriano, has been in the news a lot lately for refusing to play the outfield. He has since relented. I left as many comments as I could on DCist in the middle of this brou-ha-ha trying to explain that the trade to get him was ridiculous and that it was stupid to throw him in the outfield. Admittedly, I did not do a great job of presenting my case.

Thankfully, Jacob Luft of CNNSI.com has made the case for me: LINK. I love it when a sportswriter actually uses statistical analysis instead of general assumptions to make an argument. It honestly makes my day. Pay particular attention to Soriano's home/road splits and to his defensive numbers. Conclusion: The Nationals are being run by a bunch of slack-jawed incompetents.

If you're a baseball fan in DC, I'm sorry. You're getting hosed. You're getting an inferior product.

If you are not a baseball fan, I'm sorry for writing this. I know it's not a sports blog. I'll do better next time.

18 comments:

  1. I would love to see Krystal Koons at a game and a foul ball pop up into the stands and nail her right her mouth.

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  2. I don't think you'll get any argument from any District baseball fan that we're getting an inferior product. We're just happy that we have a product at all. (Pathetically submissive, I know.) The new owner of the Nationals ... whoever that may be ... will have a lot of spring cleaning to do.

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  3. Try this link out while you're at it.

    http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/phil_taylor/03/22/hot.button/index.html

    FACT CHECK: As far as the nationals being run by idiots, they are run by MLB. There is no owner.

    Soriano is a shitty second baseman. He's got hands of stone. He also strikes out more than a pimple faced dork at the prom. When he doesn't miss he is a good hitter and has some speed, though he is a stupid baserunner.

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  4. Tommy, I think Soriano is massively overrated and not worth a $10M salary. I think trading for him was an error. We agree.

    I'm just noting that the Nationals are exacerbating their mistake by moving him to a position which he has never played before and which can lead to doubles and triples instead of just singles.

    I know the Nationals are owned by MLB. I was referring to their front office. You know, the people who actualy run the team. They are idiots.

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  5. Maybe the whole team could f*** Krystal Koons.

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  6. They have. Well, the white ones.

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  7. What is wrong with a brother wanting to tap that too? I'm saying if baby got back well then it's all good right?

    Sadly I do not think the brothers will be lining up to bang her anytime soon. :(

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  8. She wowed me 16 years ago. Damn she was good.......

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  9. Nationals run by idiots? are these the same idiots who acquired the best closer in baseball and a possible rookie of the year?

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  10. Cordero was acquired by a different GM. And Zimmerman is great and all, but the Nationals are still a 70-win team with no offense.

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  11. Gawd, you are SO NOT FUNNY, SO NOT INTERESTING. Man, I wish the other guy was still writing this blog. What a disappointment. You can honestly do better than this.

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  12. 70 win team? ha...50wins, tops....besides, i'm glad DC has a MLB team in the National League, coz now I can go see my NY Mets kick ass without having to haul myself up to NYC...

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  13. The Luft article was good, even though I don't normally care for the guy . . . at any rate, Soriano was a bad, bad, bad move any way you slice it. He's going to hurt the team defensively regardless of where he plays, and his bat is not enough to help in RFK. Seen his home/away averages from last season (I can't remember if Luft mentioned them or not)? We know the guy isn't simply a product of Arlington, Texas, but still. His home runs will turn into outs or doubles, in which case he will be thrown out when he stupidly tries to steal third.

    The front office is a bunch of losers, if only because of the Soriano deal. Zimmerman is great, a Brooks Robinson clone in an era fairly bereft of quality hot-corner guys. But ready to be an everyday player? To be a force in the NL East? Probably not yet.

    It's going to be a long season, one without the charm of last year. We've lost the novelty, the excitement of finally having baseball back, and we'll be without that nice little run in the first half.

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  14. Rusty. You of Red Sox fandom should not judge bad deals and start throwing around words like "inferior product." Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson? WTF? Letting Clemens and Damon walk? Forgetting to tender offers to Carlton Fisk and Fred Lynn? Oh, and there's one other, but I forget the guy's name . . . pretty decent hitter, from what I recall . . .

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  15. The Jeff Bagwell trade was great considering we had Wade Boggs and Scott Cooper ahead of him at third base. Hindsight is 20/20.

    Roger Clemens was always injured and wasn't worth the cash. I feel the same way about Damon.

    If you're going to pick on the Red Sox, pick on the Yawkeys (the racist owners who wouldn't sign or draft black players).

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  16. I already HAVE picked on the Yawkeys here! I can't bring that tired record to EVERY dance party.

    I'll agree with your logic on the Bags trade, but they'd have had better luck in the mid-to-late 90's with him anchoring the infield. Better than Mo Vaughn and Jose Offerman . . .

    And I'll give it to you on Damon. That was a smart move. Not Clemens though. The front office said he was in the twilight of his career.

    What happened with Fisk and Lynn, though, that is the definition of a fanbase getting hosed.

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  17. tony tavares was team president when the expos signed cordero (front office doesn't just mean the GM).

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  18. AnonymousJune 11, 2006

    Krystal Koons is a really nice girl. It's messed up how you guys dogged her on the internet

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