A Nats320 Editorial
The reports that Special Assistant to Our General Manager--Jose Rijo--will be fired should come as no surprise. The Esmailyn Gonzalez revelation has embarrassed Our Washington Nationals and they have no choice but to distance themselves from Rijo's Academy in The Dominican Republic. Washington needs to start over in recruiting Latin Prospects as the reviving of their reputation could never heal by standing pat.
But some have to remember that the Gonzalez/Lugo situation is completely different from The Federal Investigation involving the skimming of money in signing young latin players. Everyone knows Our General Manager Jim Bowden has been publicly mentioned as a target of The FBI. Listen, if Jim Bowden is ever directly linked to any association in these money skimming operations--then clearly he should be gone. But right now The Winds Of Fire being spread calling for his ouster are being fueled by those that have little, if any, probably no inside information whatsover--as to what is truly going on with this investigation.
A healthy give and take over whether Jim Bowden should remain with Our Washington Nationals is worth discussing. But the sharks, vultures and just plain haters that have wanted to see JimBo kicked out of his job in Washington for some time have been piling it on--fueling a Wildfire getting so far out of control--Our Washington Nationals may be forced into doing something drastic--like revamping their entire Baseball Operations--without regard to the long term future of Our Franchise.
Sometimes when people play with matches--they can actually torch far more than expected. At the rate these allegations are spreading rampant--that house called Our Washington Nationals might just catch fire as well. Please--let the investigation play out--before this Spreading Wildfire burns Our Washington Nationals to the ground.
Only after those smoldering ashes are being sifted through--will some realize the irrecoverable damage caused.
SBF,
ReplyDeleteI agree, innocent untill proven guilty.
I do feel bad for Mike Rizzo and Dana Brown as this process goes on. Some blogs, reports, etc say because they are associated with the Nats that this might hurt their career in the long run. I think that is totally ridiculous.
Plus the Nats did not do anything wrong and thats what stinks because this is not like the NATS made there players take HGH or roids to win.
I hope Bowden is innocent because if this A Dunn deal works and we win (hint MLB TV picked us to go 80-82 this year) he should be here to enjoy the good season.
I feel empathy for Jim Bowden the person but not for him as our GM. He needs to go because there is a dark cloud hovering over "our Washingon Nationals." Once he leaves, maybe the Nationals can work on gaining respectability in the public eye and in the MLB baseball circles.
ReplyDeleteI largely agree, SBF. The process will play it out, whether or not it conforms to a proper 24-hour news cycle of "Jim Bowden: Professional Deathwatch!"
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, though, I'm not sure this thing is necessarily about presuming Bowden's innocence as it is determining a degree of accountability. We all agree that Bowden should be canned very swiftly if he were directly complicit in any fraud or illegality (and I'd say it's doubtful that it would ever be determined that he was). The real question, I'd say, is whether the actions of those under him (primarily Rijo, but not only him) were so wrong or negligent that Bowden should be held accountable for employing them in important positions. That's likely the behind-the-scenes assessment that's still ongoing.
Seriously? Separate and apart from losng his job as a result of the Smiley Gonzalez scnadal, Jim Bowden should already have been fired for the utterly putrid job he has done as the GM of this team. Between the poor product plcaed on the field year after year, his transparent and unimaginiative reliance on his former players to fill roster holes, the Aaron Crow debacle and his inability to sign Ryan Zimmerman to a long-term deal when nearly every other young star in baseball has done so (including Ryan Howard, whose situation Stan Kasten compared Zimmerman's to with respect to their agents not liking long term deals) are inexcusable. I thnk any reasonable Nats fan knows that the chances of this organization improving considerably this the NL East under Bowden's direction rest between slim and none. It's time to get the ship righted if there is to be any hope for the Nats.
ReplyDeleteFIRE
ReplyDeleteHIM
NOW
Bowden has been, and continues to be, an embarrasment "our Washington Nationals" both on and off the field for some time now. Cutting ties with him now will quell the fire not start one.
ReplyDeleteNationals Mascot "Screech" To Debut New Look at ESPN Zone on Monday, March 2
ReplyDeleteBy MASN Staff on February 26, 2009 12:16 PM | Permalink
WHAT:
The Washington Nationals will unveil a new look for "Screech" on Monday, March 2 at the ESPN Zone. Fans are invited to attend the unveiling from noon to 1:00pm at the Washington, DC restaurant. Narrated by Nationals in-game host Clint, the program will include a slideshow featuring "Screech" through the years, the unveiling of the new mascot and a meet-and-greet with fans.
Following the ESPN Zone event, "Screech" will head to Children's National Medical Center to visit with children in the hospital's atrium. This visit is not open to the general public. "Screech" will make a variety of appearances in the month leading up to start of the 2009 Nationals season to show off his fresh-feathered look.
WHO:
Clint Khoury, Nationals In-Game Host
"Screech", Nationals Mascot
Members of the Nat Pack
WHEN:
Monday, March 2, 2009
WHERE:
Noon - 1:00pm
ESPN Zone
555 12th Street, NW
Washington, DC
3:00pm - 5:00pm
Children's National Medical Center
111 Michigan Avenue, NW
Washington, DC
A new Screech will be unveiled acording to Chico Harlan....thank goodness, I hope he looks more like the Caps Eagle instead of a fat little cartoon chicken.
ReplyDeleteWell written.
ReplyDeleteBut you can pick your poison, he's either a crook or incompetent. Either way he has to go.
And we haven't been calling for ouster just recently. He's been bad since the beginning. Early on he was able to pick some low-hanging fruit - Guzman and Guillen come to mind.
But other than that, he's been bad. Plus there's something about him...he's just greasy...
The ongoing investigation casts a dark cloud over the Nationals as an organization. We need to remember why. There is a reason. The forecast can change with a simple decision - a simple decision because our general manager has shown he is not capable of producing a winner. In 15 seasons at the helm of a team 11 teams have finished below .500. Blame a few on injuries, another couple on bad luck. Sure. But the buck stops somewhere. Anyone in baseball could do the same, however, and this is unfortunate, the man the Nationals (or MLB) hired to be at the team's helm has embarassed the franchise and himself off the field, too. Do I want him destroyed, completely blackballed? Not at all. Would I like to see this team and organization regain some credibility, starting with a change at the top? Absolutely. Something has to be done. Remember, there is no court of appeals in the private business world. It's time to move on and start fresh.
ReplyDeleteI suppose his innocence or guilt could determine whether or not he goes to jail. That is besides the point.
ReplyDeleteGetting rid of JimBow will quell the circus. Plus, I'm quite sure the woods are full of GM candidates capable of fielding a team that loses 102 games. These aren't the Murderers Row Yankees he's assembled since he hit town.
Are either Rijo or Screetch available for weddings and bar-mitzvahs?
ReplyDeleteI've been impressed with Stan's handling of this to date, and I think that it's prudent to let the investigation play out fully. Also, if there are others involved throughout MLB, I wouldn't want to see a few singled out while others got off. We've had enough of that with the steroids investigation.
ReplyDeleteI trust that Stan will, as he said, let the chips fall where they may when all of the facts are all in. I also don't think that the Internet rumors will hurt the team. They tend to inflame certain segments of the fan base more than anything else, IMO.