January 23, 2011

Right at the top I really want to thank each of you for reading my columns. Just yesterday, without a new post, I received close to 100 unique readers, which I think is pretty solid for being less than 2 weeks old. Please keep spreading the word and email me at nationalsgm@gmail.com if there are things you would like me to write about or just general feedback.

Toronto trades OF Vernon Wells to Anaheim for OF Juan Rivera and C/1B Mike Napoli

Hooray! Nationals fans can breathe a sigh of relief… fans were worried that the media would slam the Jayson Werth contract as the worst move of the off-season, but thank goodness for the GM of the Angels. Acquiring Vernon Wells and his 4 years and $86 million while giving up C/1B Mike Napoli, a weak defensive but solid hitting catcher who can play 1B and DH, along with Juan Rivera, a decent right handed hitting corner OF is simply head scratching. Wells is a above average player, whose skills are beginning to deteriorate both offensively and defensively, but his contract pays him as an in his prime superstar. I know the Angel fans and the media were heavily criticizing the club for their lack of off-season moves, but this reeks of desperation. With Peter Bourjos ready to take over in CF, and Torii Hunter ,Bobby Abreu, and Juan Rivera already under contract for 2011 (and Mike Trout about 12-18 months from arriving in the big leagues) why acquire such a expensive contract at an area of little need? To take Wells and move him from CF to LF further drives down his value, and further makes me question the thinking behind this deal. There is no question that Wells upgrades their outfield, but adding that additional payroll and trading away solid players makes this a lousy long-term move for the organization.

For the Blue Jays, their fans have to be ecstatic, as their rebuilding plans have probably moved up 12-24 months by clearing that albatross of a contract from their books. This club has some solid young pitching, a developing farm system with a rash of picks in this upcoming amateur draft in June, and little in the way of long-term contracts. Napoli should split his time at catcher with prospect JP Arencibia, and 1B/DH with Adam Lind, while Rivera should start in LF on opening day and perhaps serve as a trade chip during the season. In short, those expletives and loud shouting noises you heard Friday were from the executives of the other AL East teams, as the Blue Jays just became a much larger threat in the division.

Rumor: the Nationals heavily pursued 1B James Loney

A report from Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe this morning came out with news that before the Nationals signed Adam LaRoche to serve as the teams first baseman for the next two years, the club heavily pursued James Loney from the Los Angeles Dodgers. On the surface, this makes a ton of sense, as Loney is known as a solid defensive first baseman with the ability to drive in runs, similar to LaRoche. The big knock on Loney has always been in the power department: he just does not hit for the number of home runs typically expected from the position. Loney now into his arbitration years, saw his salary jump to over $5 million in 2011, certainly no bargain. So why did the Nationals resist: well according to Cafardo, the Dodgers insisted on Ian Desmond AND Jordan Zimmermann in return for Loney’s services.

People are purchasing Kamagra jelly to get rid of erectile dysfunction only if you are facing this problem of erection due levitra price pamelaannschoolofdance.com to the performance anxiety. pamelaannschoolofdance.com generic viagra Doctors usually recommended only one a day as the dose. Some of these pellets have side effects that you on line levitra should be taking this particular medicine. Checking in with fact and science for a minute would suggest that brand cialis price their claims are justified. The Dodgers must be overcome with a case of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I guess they think Loney will begin to hit for more power, because Desmond and Zimmermann should be the beginning of a trade package for a superstar caliber player, not a league average 1B. While Desmond and Zimmermann are both somewhat unproven, both have the potential to be above average starters, with Zimmermann perhaps as a #2 starter in time. Glad the front office resisted this “temptation“ and signed the better player in Adam LaRoche.

Rumor: Tampa Bay signs LF/DHs Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon

WOW! And just as the consensus started to assume that the Rays would take a huge step back this season, they acquire two veterans who may have something left in the tank. According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, Johnny Damon will receive a one-year contract worth $5.25 million with $750k in incentives, and Manny Ramirez will receive a one-year deal worth $2 million. Assuming these signings do happen, Damon likely slots into left field, with uber prospect Desmond Jennings in right field, along with others, and Manny should slide into the DH spot. While Manny may not be the hitter he was a few years ago, even last season while marred with injuries and controversy, he batted .298/.409/.460 in 320 plate appearances. If both of these players still have something in the tank, this just made the Rays VERY interesting this season, and should help them keep pace with Boston and New York in the AL East. Damon’s play has deteriorated in recent years, but he still does an excellent job of getting on base and could provide the Rays with a poor man’s version of Carl Crawford, minus the excellent defense. And Manny should be a positive upgrade at DH from last years club and should fill the hole left in the lineup by Carlos Pena’s departure to the Chicago Cubs.

I still prefer the roster of Boston, and to a lesser degree, the Yankees compared to the Rays, but with these two signings, the gap has closed significantly and these moves could go down as two of the best value signings of this winter. Excellent job by Tampa’s front office.

Finally, for those that are interested, I will take Pittsburgh minus the points and Green Bay minus the points today. Just think the gap of Ben Roethlisberger and Aaron Rodgers is too great compared to Mark Sanchez and Jay Cutler and will be the difference in the games today.
Pittsburgh 24- Jets 14
Green Bay 30- Chicago 13

Thanks again for reading and I will be back tomorrow with a new column.

January 20, 2011

Yesterday, the Nationals finalized a contract with free agent relief pitcher RHP Todd Coffey, who was non-tendered earlier this off-season by the Milwaukee Brewers. The terms of the contract have yet to be announced. Coffey has spent his entire six year career in the National League Central, beginning in Cincinnati before spending the past two and a half seasons with Milwaukee. An enormous figure at 6-4 240LBs, he is probably best known for his full sprint from the bullpen to the pitchers mound when entering the game. Playing in these relatively small media markets has kept Coffey’s profile low but make no mistake, he is a solid, slightly above average right handed middle reliever who would be an asset in virtually any major league bullpen. Coffey possesses a 92-94mph fastball that he locates reasonably well and flashes a plus slider. While Coffey does have a bit of closing experience, he is expected to slot in nicely with Tyler Clippard and Henry Rodriguez in middle relief, giving way to Sean Burnett and Drew Storen to finish games out.

Todd Coffey’s numbers:
Career: 359.2 IP, 4.15 ERA, 1.446 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 6.6 K/9, 1.1 HR/9
It is best to side effects viagra buy from stores which offer cash on delivery facility. Then you will be taken to the web viagra generic usa site that you employ. Irrepressible emotions: Do you experience a mad rush of anger and violent outbursts when Intermittent Explosive disorder symptoms. generic levitra pill Further, it price of cialis is highly recommended that the user doesn’t work on by exerting things or do any kind of outdoor mechanisms. 2010: 62.1 IP, 4.76 ERA, 1.412 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 8.1 K/9, 1.2 HR/9
2009: 83.2 IP, 2.90 ERA, 1.159 WHIP, 2.3 BB/9, 7.0 K/9, 0.9 HR/9

Coffey is a solid addition to the Nationals already deep bullpen, and should act as a steady influence in this rather young group of relievers. The best case scenario for the Nationals is that Coffey gives the Nationals a poor man’s impression of Matt Capps from last season: provides us solid relief pitching through July then gets traded to a contender down the stretch for prospects. I probably like this move from the Nationals more than I should, but I think the key to a team overachieving often comes down to the relative success or failure of that seasons bullpen. Thus, I like collecting solid, proven relievers. This move shows a clear shift in the organizations thinking, as in past seasons the Nationals would have passed on spending money on a veteran with a track record, instead trying to catch lightning in a bottle from a rookie or minor league free agent. I fully endorse this move and think this is the type of overlooked signing that solid General Managers make to round out their club.

Overall Grade -> Solid B, almost B+

January 19, 2011

The Nationals are certainly trying to keep me busy in my first week…. Today the Nationals signed infielder/outfielder Jerry Hairston Jr. to a one year deal worth $2 million, with an additional $1 million in incentives. The versatile Hairston Jr. is a 34 year old bench player who has spent most of his career at second base, but has experience at shortstop, third base, and each outfield position. Hairston Jr. hit .244/.299/.353 with 10 home runs and 50 RBI in 476 at-bats last season with the San Diego Padres.

Jerry Hairston seems to be just what the doctor ordered. He is a solid improvement from Willie Harris who served the same super utility role the past two seasons for the club, and is an upgrade from Alex Cora, signed to a minor league deal earlier this week. The Nationals have wanted to upgrade this bench position all winter, as Danny Espinosa, the current starting second baseman, has been recovering from a hand injury and they want to protect themselves in case he has a setback in his recovery. Similar to the Todd Coffey signing, this gives the Nationals some solid depth and another player that could fetch a prospect or two this summer at the trade deadline. The Nationals bench, one of the least productive in baseball last season, now has the makings of a team strength going into 2011.
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My only reservation with this deal is the base salary: I wish it was closer to $1.5 million rather than $2 million, as that is big money for any utility player and it is difficult because of the lack of playing time for bench players to produce enough to earn those dollars. But Hairston is a solid veteran, a positive clubhouse influence and excellent insurance in case of injury to our middle infield. While this a is relatively small signing in the grand scheme of things, I think this once again shows a shift in organizational thinking, as they did not settle for a generic utility player as in years past, but saw an opportunity to upgrade the roster and spent a reasonable amount to do so. This signing is another solid move that I endorse.

Overall Grade: B to B-

January 17, 2011 

After trying to sign Cliff Lee and Jorge De La Rosa and trying to trade for Zack Greinke and Matt Garza, the Nationals quest to upgrade their starting rotation finally materialized this afternoon, as they acquired 28 year old LHP Tom Gorzelanny from the Chicago Cubs for minor league prospects OF Michael Burgess, RHP AJ Morris, and LHP Graham Hicks. Gorzelanny, who made $800,000 last season, should make $1.5-$2.0 million this season, and is under team control through 2013. Gorzelanny, a five-year veteran who pitched for the Pirates early in his career, became expendable when the Cubs acquired Matt Garza from Tampa Bay less than 10 days ago. 

Tom Gorzelanny was a highly prized prospect in the Pirates organization early in his career, and has been incredibly inconsistent in his big league career. He had some early success with the Pirates, but a combination of injuries and poor pitching mechanics plagued his performance, forcing him to the minors in 2009, and subsequently, got him traded to Chicago at the July trade deadline that same year. At his best, he shows an 89-91mph fastball that he can locate and a solid breaking pitch that gets some swings and misses. This could be the case of a pitcher taking some time to learn his craft as these numbers bear out: 

Career in Pittsburgh: 383.1 IP, 4.79 ERA, 1.503 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 

Career in Chicago: 174.2 IP, 4.43 ERA, 1.466 WHIP, 8.2 K/9, 4.2 BB/9 

Career: 95 Starts, 558 IP, 4.68 ERA, 1.491 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 4.1 BB/9 

2010: 23 Starts, 136.1 IP, 4.09 ERA, 1.496 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 4.5 BB/9 
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The Chicago Cub version of Gorzelanny is a solid number 4 starter and would greatly help the back end of the Nationals rotation for the next three seasons. The Pittsburgh version, is of little benefit to anyone and would render him a classic AAA journeyman. He will slide into the 2011 rotation, with Livan Hernandez, John Lannan, Jason Marquis, and some combination of Ross Detwiler, Yunesky Maya, Jordan Zimmermann, and Chien-Ming Wang rounding out the group. 

To acquire Gorzelanny, the Nationals traded OF Michael Burgess, RHP AJ Morris, and LHP Graham Hicks to the Chicago Cubs. Burgess was the 49^th selection in the supplemental 1^st round in 2007 and spent most of last season in High A Potomac, where he batted .265/.357/.465. Burgess has above average to plus power, and a strong arm in right field but he struggles with weight, has below average speed and struggles to recognize and hit off-speed pitches. He is a nice prospect that should reach the major leagues, but likely will settle into a platoon or 4^th/5^th outfielder type player down the line. RHP AJ Morris, a 4^th round pick in the 2009 draft from Kansas St., has a nice sinker/slider repertoire that proved more effective out of the bullpen last season. Like Burgess, I think he will be a major leaguer, but I think he will likely top out as a decent but replaceable middle reliever. Graham Hicks, the final player heading to the Cubs, was the Nationals 4^th Round pick in 2008 as a Florida high school pitcher. Hicks, who will turn 21 in February, posted a 5.26 ERA in 15 starts in low-A Hagerstown in 2010. Graham’s professional numbers have left much to be desired, but he is a young left-handed arm with fastball velocity and some upside, exactly the type that rarely but occasionally come back to haunt you. 

Will the real Tom Gorzelanny please stand up? The bottom line is this trade comes down to has Tom Gorzelanny improved since being traded to the Cubs, or are the Nationals being fooled by a small sample size of solid results. If he continues to pitch like he has the past 18 months, the Nationals have a nice #4/5 starting pitcher under team control through 2013 who can produce slightly above league average results, a valuable commodity. If he reverts back to previous form, then the Nats got fleeced and traded away some depth from our average farm system. I think there is a good chance we hear from these prospects at some point, especially Burgess and Morris, but I do not fear them coming back to bite the Nationals in the future. When we reflect back on this trade in a few years, this will be one deal that will have a decisive winner and a loser, and I believe the Nationals odds of winning are better than 50-50. 

Overall Grade: C+ … inching close to a B-