Jim Bowden/Mike Rizzo ESPN Zone Part Two

Finishing up where we left off in Part One. Our General Manager Jim Bowden and Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Player Development Mike Rizzo are sitting in The ESPN Zone in Downtown Washington, DC last Friday, September 19 meeting, greeting and chatting with Fans of Our Washington Nationals. Radio Broadcaster Charlie Slowes is hosting.

With that, here with go with the conclusion:

Charlie: How do you make decisions going through the off-season for the guys who have been hurt? I know you speak to the doctors and they let you know what the recovery is going to be like and whether a guy is going to be as good as new. But, you never know that until he gets on the field in spring training—as you were so surprised with Nick (Johnson) last spring.

Jim: As you know, we have to evaluate what the doctors say about the player coming back. And we have to look at how their injuries are going to affect their performance. Those are tough judgments to make. Obviously, the one concerning a player who has missed the entire season, or most of the season, I don’t think anyone should ever assume at this level, the player can definitely come back in the exact same level as he was before. It’s happened before. I have had Ron Gant and Eric Davis miss entire years and both of them came back and hit 30 Home Runs as if they hadn’t missed a year. That does happen, but you have to take all the information, put it together, look at it, and make your best judgment.

Question: As a full season ticket holder, I found this year unquestionably the most difficult to watch on a day-to-day basis. The Season Ticket Bill is not for five years down the line—it’s for the next year. I was wondering what specifically you are looking to do in the off season to make the team that we have now—better to watch on a day-to-day basis next year—as we build for the future.

Jim: I think one of our goals as I have mentioned before, is try to get a big bat in the middle of the lineup. That’s a priority for us. Obviously, we never stop trying to improve the pitching. It would be nice to have another starter near the top of the rotation. We would like to have a more experienced bullpen, to help some of the young kids develop. The first priority, if we could, whether it be trade or free agency, the preference would be trade, is to try to find another big lefty bat that can help get more fastballs for the other players in our lineup.

Follow up: Is Free Agency a possibility?

Jim: It is a possibility. We are going to look at absolutely everything but our preference, obviously, would be Free Agents in their 20’s that can be a part of the long term solution, not a short term fix. Not that we wouldn’t do that as well, as we want to look at everything. Ideally, we would prefer to control a player that is in their 20’s that can be a part of the solution.

Charlie: Jim, people have asked me about Willie Harris, sign Willie Harris. Signing him is not an issue, he’s arbitration eligible. I guess the confusion about that is because you signed him last year as a free agent because he was arbitration eligible but Atlanta non-tendered him and did not offer him arbitration.

Jim: Yes, that is right. We control him because of service time and he is not an issue in that he does not become a free agent. We control the player.

Charlie: Is he of great value to have based on what you saw this year?

Jim: Yes, Willie brought a lot to the table. And a lot of the things he brought to the table were not on the field. They were in the clubhouse. He’s been a tremendous influence along with people like Ronnie Belliard with the young players like Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, and Ryan Zimmerman. Willie is a very serious person who really cares about winning and preparing for a game. You know, in his ideal role he would be able to play four or five positions. He can play, 2nd, 3rd, center, left, right—he gives the manager the ability to double switch. We have had a lot of injuries to make him an every day player. He certainly brings a lot of energy, a lot of enthusiasm and leadership to the clubhouse and he has worked out well for us.

Question: Jim, you just mentioned that you need a left-handed power bat. You know you might not be able to trust Nick Johnson being 100% next year. You also don’t seem to have a young person in the pipeline at first base—maybe Chris Marrero, maybe not. What are you going to be doing to fill that position so you can be confident you have someone that can both hit and field?

Jim: We are looking into every option we have out there. The doctors do think Nick is going to be back. With that being said, we are searching for what’s out there. We do think we have Chris Marrero in the pipeline. He is only 19 Years Old. We think he is going to be an impact player at some point in his career. He’s not ready for next year. Certainly, his (broken) ankle, we feel, is nothing that will set him back in getting to the big leagues at a young age.

Question: There seems to be a lot of talent in the minor leagues in the outfield. Mike Daniel, Michael Burgess, I forgot some of the others. But, there is a lot of depth there and a lot of our current outfielders are really young. So, those guys in the minors, are they going to be looked at more as trade bait or would one of those guys possibly convert to the infield?

Jim: I think when we look at players and value, you can’t get enough depth. We do have depth at positions that are there to trade. That is why they are there. They are not going to play for you. Whether you trade an outfielder at the Major League Level or AA or AAA, or even Rookie Ball—we will get every option we can to get the pieces we want. One of the reasons you build up the farm system is so you can make a deal to get an impact Major League Player. You have to pay the price of trading two prospects, three prospects that you really like, that you don’t want to trade, but it gets you that impact, young player that you control. So, as far as depth goes, you never get enough depth and yet we are very blessed with a lot of outfield prospects in Dustin Hood, J.P Ramirez, throughout the system, from Rookie Ball all the way to the top.

Mike: I think that what we have become in the last 30 days very deep in the infield also. We’ve got Cristian Guzman who has been terrific for us and signed an extension for two years. And Alberto Gonzalez who we have seen flash plus defensive skills and is swinging the bat well for us—along with Anderson Hernandez. We’ve got a pipeline of middle infielders at every level of our minor league system from AAA to Extended Spring, that we believe are prospects at shortstop, and in centerfield. We’ve come a long ways in our depth. We made some astute trades to improve our depth in the upper minor leagues and our drafts have really supplemented our depth in prospects—impact type of players in our organization.

Jim: No question we have some depth. One of the things, obviously we’ve had some injuries, Cristian Guzman had two really big injuries over the last couple of years. And it was difficult when you don’t have a defensive shortstop to pick you up when you have those sorts of injuries. We feel pretty blessed if he (Guzman) were to go down again—sitting there with Gonzalez and Hernandez—two guys and even Bonifacio can play shortstop. We have three guys that can play there.

Question: Could you describe what you look at over the summer with the summer leagues. And the second part is that the draft is a long time off, who would you say would be the top three if you had to pick tomorrow?

Mike: The summer coverage is organized and covered by our tremendous director of scouting Dana Brown. He’s out and about today. He’s not with us. He is scouting games right now. His staff puts together everything. There is a bunch of coverage right after the draft (in June of each year). The Day after the draft starts preparation for next year’s draft. There are area code games, east coast showcases, the Jupiter Games, there is The Cape Cod League where we scout intensely. There is a full four-month slate of scouting that we do to prepare for the ’09 Draft. So, we are well into the beginnings of the preparation for the ’09 Draft. Going into today, it’s a long way from the draft. I don’t like to name names, but people we are bearing down on and looking at—we are going to do our due diligence on all the players we have. (Stephen) Strasburg’s name comes up. (Grant) Green, the shortstop at Southern Cal. There are a bunch of names that we feel are on the upper echelons of the draft for 2009. But, it is such a long way off, they’ve got so much more seasoning and improving to do for us—that I am going to delay the answer until we get a little closer to the date.

Question: Is there something that can be changed in the training or the regime they (the players) go through before a game to help (the series of injuries this year). And number two—how do you look at these prospects in the eye of staying healthy and conjecture what would we have been, record wise, if we did not have the injuries we had this year?

Jim: Answer to the first part. We are always looking for ways to improve. Certainly, we look at the training and physical therapy, the conditioning, the flexibility programs. We are always looking at that, always trying to find a better way, always trying to be sociable not only with other teams in baseball, but in other sports, trying to find a better way to do things. Certainly, our injuries have been very wide spread. A lot of that had to do with bad luck, but some of the injuries certainly we look at saying, he had two calf pulls, that’s not normal. What are we not doing right to cause that? We certainly look at that and what was your other question for Mike?

Question: Basically, are you looking at the prospects? Does this person look like he is going to be healthy for X number of years. And the other was a throwaway—what would our record have been had we not had the injuries we had this year?

Mike: I will let our General Manager do the conjecture answer. But, I do believe there are young players within our minor league system that we have done a phenomenal job of keeping pitchers healthy—knock on wood. Our pitching program has come to a point where we really have improved The Nationals in that regard. Position player wise, it’s good to draft athletes that are strong, flexible and versatile. When they enter the program in good shape, and each player is put on an individual workout regimen that is monitored throughout the season obviously, but throughout the winter also. We are hoping as the exit physicals after the season come into the office, we are hoping to have the beginning of spring training, instructional league and our accelerated program to have continued good success with our health all over our minor leagues.

Jim: As far as conjecture, I will tell you that in Spring Training, all of our baseball people felt, the consensus was that if we stayed healthy, and the players all performed up to what their potential was—we felt at Spring Training, we could have gone 82-80.

Charlie: Jim, when you talk about injuries, of course pitchers you monitor more closely than anything to try and keep their arms healthy in how they prepare, flexibility, the whole regimen. But, there is not really much you can do for Nick Johnson’s swinging injury, Wily Mo Pena a torn labrum, wear and tear, a swinging injury or from diving for a ball—that type of thing. Austin Kearns, who knows how long he had chips. He had five chips in his elbow—they don’t show up overnight. There are some things you just couldn’t do anything about once they are known.

Jim: There is no question about that. And certainly there are a lot of players that play hurt. You like having players that play hurt and don’t worry about injuries. But when a player is hurt in this game, whether it be a knee or a shoulder, you are not going to get a player living up to their potential because the game is too hard to play through those type of restrictions. In the case with Austin, he had five bones. The Doctors were, quite frankly, surprised and could not understand how he could actually be playing baseball. He is just a tough kid and that’s how he did it.

Charlie: If you talk to trainers over the course of the grind of 162 Game Schedule, it’s hard to find a player who isn’t hurting or having something nagging him over the course of the year. What people don’t realize is how tough the game really is. The grind it puts on the body.

Question: I am sure you are very pleased with how The Potomac Nationals did this year. I’d like to hear some reflections on how you feel about player development at the upper levels of AA and AAA. And also, if you can share some names of players at those levels who you think have a more legitimate chance of making the team next year—who have not made an appearance yet on the Major League Roster.

Mike: We are so proud of development people—Bob Boone and Bobby Williams have done an outstanding job of putting together not only the champions at Potomac but also our Gulf Coast League Team lost the final game of its championship at that level. Our Dominican Summer League Team won its second straight championship in The Dominican Republic. So, we believe we have one of the top Farm Systems as far as prospects in all of baseball. We have come a long way in a short period of time. In June of ’06, we were ranked 30th out of 30 teams in Major League Baseball as far as Minor League Systems. Last year, we jumped that up to 9th and we expect to go up even higher this year. Some of the players that were instrumental in the Potomac Championship—I can let Jim expound on some of them—some late entries to our prospects such as Stephen King, Michael Burgess among a bunch of other players that were there for a majority of the season and helped out.

Jim: And also I think one of the names that we didn’t bring up because of the number innings he had pitched this year and he had some bicep tendinitis at the end of the year—was Jordan Zimmermann who is the one prospect we have the 29 teams call us on all the time. We feel his has the potential to be a pitcher that goes right into our rotation out of spring training next year. We did with him, what we did with John Lannan last year. It was tough for us not to bring John Lannan up in September (2007). But certainly based on all our medical people and all the history of innings pitched—we felt it would be more beneficial to shut John down so that this year he could go a full year in starting games—which he has not done professionally (at that time). We have done the same thing with Jordan Zimmermann—who is on a similar track record and history. But he is certainly a guy that you can see or you might want to watch come Spring Training this year.

Charlie: Certainly worked with John Lannan, he was about in uncharted territory for innings pitched and maybe threw his best game as a Major Leaguer last time out.

Jim: He did and ironically the adjustments he made—he had changed the grip on his changeup after watching Shairon Martis, our other 21 year old starter, who had pitched that brilliant game in Florida and kept on throwing that nasty change up. And John was talking to him—Shairon showed him the grip and changed to it. Odalis encouraged him to throw it more. And against The Mets, he threw a one hitter. Yeah, we were pretty proud of Balester who had thrown a one hitter a few games before that. To sit there with a rotation of three guys that are 23 and under not something that is easily done these days and certainly we are proud of their developments—knowing that Jordan Zimmerman is being added next year. This gives us four young guys under 23 to help build a starting rotation around.

Charlie: Maybe the most positive thing that has come out of this season.

Jim: There is no question that when you go through the pain and agony that all of us have had to go through to know that at the end of the year we are developing so many young players. In the middle of our lineup, we have four guys that are 23 or under in Elijah Dukes, Lastings Milledge, Ryan Zimmerman and Jesus Flores. So they have had to go out there and fight by themselves without veteran players who were injured to help them get better pitches to hit. And certainly it has been painful to watch them develop. But at the same time, for them to have to face those tough sliders and tough breaking balls and the location of the balls that they have had--in facing some really good pitches, will only help them develop quicker next year.

Question: Follow-ups from some questions earlier. First of all, Alberto Gonzalez, Emilio Bonifacio, Anderson Hernandez—none of the three of them have ever had On Base Percentages in the Minor Leagues higher than .340. When they all revert to their minor league numbers, who plays second base? Number two is about the injuries. Injuries happen but they happen to Cristian Guzman. They happen to Dmitri Young. They happen to Nick Johnson—every year. How do you explain away the reward contract you have given to Young and to Guzman?

Jim: Sure, I think that if you take Guzman baseball card and look at the games played his entire career, I think you will find it’s about 148 games on average per year. Certainly we had the two years here in Washington where he was hurt. But, the rest of his career that was not the story. This is a guy that wants to play every single day. He’s fifth in the National League in hits right now. He has more hits than David Wright. He plays the game hard. He’s a shortstop and certainly our feeling is that baseball guys do get hurt. His history is not that. Nick Johnson that is a different case. Certainly, his history was injured when we signed him. We signed him at a deal that was significantly below market value because we thought it was worth taking the risk in case he was healthy. That one did not work out. As far as your question on On Base Percentage, Elijah Dukes didn’t have a high OPS there either. His has been 420 since he came back from the injury and .380 for the year.

Question: That’s a six-week stretch.

Jim: We think Emilio Bonifacio has a chance to develop into a player like Luis Castillo. He’s got tremendous speed, game-changing speed. We like him from the left side. If you take his On Base Percentage from the left side and take away all the At-Bats from the right side—you will like his On Base Percentage.

Question: Tell me, how can you do that? He is a switch hitter?

Jim: Well, there is a couple of ways you can do it. You can go baseball wise and identify mechanically why he cannot hit from the right side. Are there ways that we think you can develop a player to improve his swing and his average and On Base Percentage from the right side. The answer to that is yes. Our hitting people think there are things that they can do to help him improve that. They are working with him every day to do that. We think this is a guy that down the road has the chance to be a leadoff hitter.

Question: My question is for Mike. I look at what you did in Arizona and there was a three or four year stretch where you directed the drafts there where you had the crystal ball of knowing every guy you hit on—Justin Upton, Mark Reynolds, Stephen Drew, Max Scherzer, Micah Owings—it was like one after the next. Those are the guys that are putting The D-Backs in the playoffs now year after year. And they are going to for a while. A lot of people talk about the draft as a crap shoot. I don’t believe that. I believe drafting and scouting are repeatable skills and some people are better at it than others. I see you as a future General Manager in the league. My question for you: Is that something you want to do? Do you want to be a General Manager at some point in your career?

Mike: The short answer for me is yes. I have visions of heading an organization in the future. But, I am really excited about what I do here. We got great leadership here. We are going in the right direction. It’s a great turnout here today. This organization is going in the right direction. We are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were in Arizona in their second year of existence. There are troubled times here, but we are building. We are building it the right way. We are doing the right thing. We have great, great leadership with The Lerner Family, Stan Kasten, and Jim. What we have done here since June of ’06 as far as scouting, player development, given the resources from The Lerner Family—is second to none. We are attracting some of the best and brightest minds in scouting and evaluation. Player Development side has had steady improvement and we are heading in the right direction. We are the youngest team in the Major Leagues right now. We are fast, athletic and exciting to watch. We need to tweak things. A few tweaks here and there. And we need patience from our fans, like the knowledgeable fans like here today. But believe me, as far as where we are timeframe wise—where I started in Arizona we are leaps and bounds ahead of anything we could of dreamed of over there. Short of gaining $100,000,000 in Free Agent Signings like we did in Arizona to win the World Series in ’01—we had to retool the entire situation and it is because of the draft and development we had there in Arizona that they are in the condition they are in right now. And as far as what you do with the good drafts, as far as the Major League Level goes, they either play for you or you package them in deals. And Arizona has six of their 8 starters/players were drafted and developed by that organization. The other players were obtained by trading 33 of the players they had in their system. So, We are well along the way of getting there in Washington. We’ve got a tremendous scouting and player development staff here with Washington and that is the backbone of any good organization. It’s the fundamental fun process of the leaders above you letting you implement your plan. And I can assure you that the people above us have given me and my people every resource possible in every encouraging way they could possibly give. And it starts with Jim and filters down to everybody we have in the organization. So, I appreciate the kind words. If you like what we did in Arizona, wait another year or so because we are going to better it here in Washington.

Question: Hi, I have been a season ticket holder for four years and I obviously care about The Nationals because I come here. You are talking about the fans and they are educated fans. I think, in general, The DC Fans are not very educated. There are a lot of people who are trying to like baseball that never got into it before and lived in a city where they did not have baseball. Or, you have the fans that are from New York or Boston and they expect perfection. How do you go about educating the fans that aren’t here—how important the farm system is? How to be patient? There are a lot of people out there who are not patient and are willing to give up—not renew their season tickets. How do you get through to those fans to explain what you are going to do and the progress of how long it will take. We are not going to be The Marlins. How do you go about that?

Jim: Means like coming out here and talking to the fans here, talking to the media, answering e-mails we get from fans, letters we get from fans. And we do the best we can to educate. We have been very upfront and honest from the very beginning. Stan Kasten came in as President two years ago. People don’t seem to realize it’s only been two years since he’s been here. He’s a big believer in development and scouting as he did in Atlanta. It’s how The Braves won 14 Consecutive Division Titles. You know we have been very upfront with the fans. We have not been misleading telling them how we are going about doing it. Certainly, we all understand the frustration. Everybody wants to win. But, when you do win, you don’t want to have to break the team down. You want to be able to sustain the winning—like Atlanta did for 14 years and that is the blueprint we have. In mean time, instead of wasting, as we mentioned before, we could have signed some guys for $10 Million per year for five years. They are mediocre players and paid $50 Million. Instead of that, we are putting money into the system. Sure, we have been aggressive at minor league free agents to fill in like Joel Hanrahan, (Tim) Redding, and Odalis (Perez). Rule V with Jesus Flores. We’ve been able to do that with some good scouts. But the reality is that we are trying to build the organization with the draft and through trades for young players like The Dukes’, The Milledge’s and The Bonifacio’s. We have just tried to be upfront with fans and let them know how we are getting there. We certainly think we made a lot of progress and are going in the right direction.

Last Question: You guys talk about Austin Kearns. I look at a guy like Roger Bernadina. I have been looking at this guy since he played at Harrisburg (AA) and seen him move up here. I think if you look at some of the plays he made when you first brought him up here to give him some At-Bats, to get his bat on the ball. This guy has an arm I have not seen in years. I think if you look at some of the plays this guy has made recently when you talk about defense. He has got to be a guy you put into the equation for the future. How do you look at a guy like that. I know he is going to play in the off-season to further his game. But I think this is a guy who can be a leader in the clubhouse. When you talk about a guy like Martis, these guys are close friends, from what I understand. Do you look at a guy like that and say hey we got a talent here that we can do something with and make a decision for guys of that nature to give them the confidence they need?

Jim: There is no question Roger hit over .320 at both AA & AAA this year. He stole 40 bases for the second consecutive year. Although, at times, he may have some bad jumps and angles, he runs a lot of baseballs down. He’s got a good arm. He is very athletic. He’s an exciting player. He needs an opportunity at this level to see what he can do. But certainly, does he fit in the same grouping as our other young players talent wise? Absolutely. It’s just a matter of opportunity for him.

Charlie: All right folks. Thank you for your questions and your comments. Please say thanks to Jim Bowden and Mike Rizzo. Great Questions, you ARE the educated Nationals Fans. We thank you for coming this afternoon.

After the session ended, both Jim Bowden, Mike Rizzo and even Team President Stan Kasten (watching the event) stayed around for some moments after to talk to fans on the side. This was a good discussion, the success of which will hopefully allow for more such get togethers with fans in near future. Nothing like giving everyone their chance to ask their question, or questions, directly to those in management of Our Washington Nationals.

Jim Bowden/Mike Rizzo ESPN Zone

Between work assignments, the current last home stand and having to transcribe the entire nearly one hour get together, which takes a long time, I finally had the opportunity post up the transcript of Our General Manager Jim Bowden and Assistant General Manager Mike Rizzo at The ESPN Zone this past Friday in downtown Washington, DC. Hosted by Radio Broadcaster Charlie Slowes, the get together was one of those rare opportunities for fans to sit down, listen and have the opportunity to question management of Our Washington Nationals. This was a good event worth attending. Something Our Washington Nationals should schedule on a more regular basis. Nothing wrong with being outward, forward thinking and meeting Our Fans in a upfront and personal way.

This will be a two parter as the transcript is so long--it might be a little taxing to read in one take. For the most part the transcript is pretty complete. If a questioner went off on a huge tangent rambling before asking his or her question, I have shortened the remark for brevity sake, without taking away from the importance of the thought. From the get go, Charlie Slowes kept the conversation flowing, asking his questions and allowing anyone attending and willing to participate--their opportunities to ask. To their credit--Jim Bowden and Mike Rizzo did not back away from any comments--making this ESPN Get Together the best one of 2008. A very entertaining hour to say the least.

With the preamble out of the way--here we go with Part One of Jim Bowden & Mike Rizzo at The ESPN Zone in Washington, DC on September 19th, 2008.

Charlie: Please welcome our special guests today—Our Senior Vice-President and General Manager Jim Bowden and Assistant General Manager and Vice-President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo. Get your questions ready for these guys. I am going to get things started with a subject that has been in the news Jim, trying to line up your farm system for next year. You announced yesterday that The Vermont Lake Monsters are back and the Harrisburg Senators are back. Potomac already under contract and you are working on locking up your AAA Team.

Jim: We are. We visited Syracuse yesterday, which we believe would be a phenomenal place for us. A tremendous facility in which they put over $1.4 Million into their field. Grass facility with two indoor batting cages for the cold weather, as it can get in Syracuse. But, they (Syracuse Management) have done a tremendous job with that facility. It’s only a one-hour flight from DC. We met with them yesterday and are continuing our discussions with them. But, I certainly think it would be a good spot for us if both of us can make it work.

(Official Announcement has now been made—The Syracuse Chiefs will be Washington’s AAA Franchise for the next two seasons).

Charlie: The landscape of parent clubs and AAA Clubs has really changed in recent years. You use to have teams, for instance, Syracuse was with Toronto for 31 Years. And before that, had a really long relationship with The Yankees, but we are not seeing those long-term agreements or renewal of these agreements over the long term these past few years. Why is that?

Jim: I think it is a couple of reasons. One is that clubs are trying to get their affiliates as geographically closer to your home. And number two there is such a turnover now a days in baseball--the relationships have changed. Syracuse for so many years had for many years had relationships with people like Pat Gillick and Bobby Cox. Then, there is turnover in Toronto and the relationships changed and a lot of the time the affiliates changed as well.

Charlie: I know the question has come up and some folks understand it. I know I have had to explain it a number of times because The Braves are pulling out of Richmond and taking their AAA Team to Georgia—just outside of Atlanta. The difference being they (The Braves) own that franchise. So, when their agreement was up (with Richmond) and the lease with stadium, they applied to move the team and can do that because they don’t have a working agreement and relationship. They own the club.

Jim: Yes, that is exactly right.

Charlie: It use to be a lot more of those where Major League Teams owned the Minor League Teams. That’s not so much the case anymore—either.

Jim: No. I still think there are organizations like Atlanta that own a lot of their affiliates and there are a lot of benefits to being able to do that. But you also must look at it from a cost perspective because the price of the clubs have risen so much a lot of times it does not make sense, financially, to own the club yourself.

Charlie: You guys have been very busy. At this point of the year you guys gear up for Instructional League, putting together rosters for the off-season. Even at this point, it’s never too early to think ahead to next years draft by getting ready for players for next year and seeing how thing line up—especially with The Nationals possibly having The Number 1 Pick, The Number 2 Pick and definitely 9A—which is, I guess, the 10th pick not being able to sign the pick from this year.

Mike: This is a very active part of the season, especially for us in the front office. A lot of long term and short term plans are being implemented now. We meet on a daily basis in the office and we try to forge out a plan for not only this winter, but for next season. We have Instructional League just starting to crank up right now down in Viera. And there are Winter Ball decisions that have to be made. It’s a lot of activity this time of year.

Charlie: Arizona Fall League too, is right around the corner.

Mike: Definitely. October 7th we kick off there in Arizona. The Florida Instructional League started, yesterday (September 18th) I believe was the first workout. The calendar is a 12-month per year working environment for us in the front office. And after the season (fall season) starts; this is an important active part of the baseball season.

Charlie: One of the interesting things going on in the big league level here in September looking at some of the new players. Of course, Emilio Bonifacio whom you acquired from Arizona and now Anderson Hernandez whom you acquired from The Mets—both playing at second base and Anderson Hernandez did not have a good year at AAA for The Mets—hitting just .203. But seems like a completely different player offensively right now in the big leagues.

Jim: A year ago he had led The Pacific Coast League in hits. But, he was in a difficult situation in New York stuck behind Jose Reyes. He didn’t get another chance. He got a couple cups of coffee with The Mets and didn’t perform at The Major League Level. So, he was just a young guy that got buried behind a tremendous shortstop. Sometimes it’s hard to stay motivated when one year you lead in hits and then the next year you are still back in the same league again. We thought a change of scenery would help him.

Charlie: Manny knew him pretty well having been the third base coach for The Mets.

Jim: Yeah, Manny did. Obviously this is a guy who is a tremendous defensive player and has also had a lot of success in Winter Ball. Although he has never had offensive success at The Big Leagues until now. He’s certainly showed it in AAA and Winter Ball.

Charlie: How much importance do you put on what happens, especially to guys that just get called up in September, in terms of formulating where they may be for next year? The old baseball saying: “You don’t make an assessment on Spring Training or September.” But, you do to some extent.

Jim: You always have to take into account who the hitter is facing in September. Facing Brandon Webb or (Jake) Peavy—you are going to weigh that more than you are going to weigh a AA Pitcher being brought up in September. So, when you are evaluating you take it a little step further in evaluating more importantly, certain pitches and certain pitchers rather than what the At-Bats and hits, what the statistics say.

Charlie: I have seen some teams in the past call players up in July or August—a month or so earlier for that very reason. They want to see them against Big Leaguers who are in mid-season form.

Jim: Or in our case, then our entire team gets to see them (chuckling).

Question: Hi Jim, Season Ticket holder for four consecutive years. Very disappointed in the season and I think that a lot of personnel decisions this year—I have questioned. In my view, and again as armchair fan, I thought (Justin) Maxwell, Lannan, Flores should have been on the 25 Man Roster (at the beginning of 2008). I thought that at the end of last season. I thought that the LoDuca, Estrada, (Rob) Mackowiak and other signings were improvident. I thought that the day they were made. Obviously, hindsight is 20/20, but now when we are in a situation where $30 Million of our $55 Million payroll is no longer here. Any thought next year, framing this as a fan, I would like, I would prefer to see, rather than one season stopgap signings—if we are going to lose—lose with the kids. Let them play here, package up all that money, $10 to $15 million on one player, whether it’s a pitcher or hitting. I don’t know what Free Agents are out there; perhaps there won’t be any. I wouldn’t say just go sign someone to just sign anybody. But, I would rather see that than see what we had this year.

Jim: I think that is fair. A couple of things real quick. One thing we don’t want to do is rush a player to the big leagues that our baseball people do not think is ready and hurt his development by coming up here and failing. In the case of Flores, we made the judgment that we thought he needed one more season in AAA to work on some things, to make some adjustments—both in catching and following the game plan as well as the bat. We signed LoDuca and Estrada with the intent of two things: Number One---if we can get LoDuca hitting maybe by July 31st, we can trade him, get a prospect. By then, hopefully Flores is ready and that way you are not rushing him. In the case of Mackowiak, of course that didn’t work. But, if you don’t sign Mackowiak, we also don’t get Willie Harris. We also don’t get Odalis Perez. And when you sign those kinds of guys that are in the $850,000 to $1.5 million you are not going to hit on all of them. If you were going to hit on all of them, they are not going to get the $850 to $1.5 Million. They are going to get $3 or $4 Million if they are a proven guy today. So, when you are signing Free Agents, three or four guys like that—you don’t know for sure that Willie Harris was going to have a year like he had. We weren’t for sure that Odalis Perez was going to give us many solid starts. But, you sign them because you don’t have prospects that are quite ready to take position. As far as philosophically, yes, sure, I think if your preference, all our preference would be to have one quality player that is making $15 Million per year. However, if it’s a quality player, he’s not going to sign for one year. You are going to have to give five years, six years; it’s what the market is for those types of players. And, is the right person there? Is it a player that is in his 20’s that will a part of it when we are ready to win? And that is the question you have to ask when you do those types of signings. But we philosophically feel the same way you do. No one is against that. Are all moves going to work—no—but at the time we had our reasons for doing that.

Question: My question is about the Aaron Crow situation and we have heard a lot about how there were problems communicating. They wanted to do via emails. You wanted to talk on the phone. I think that at the end of the day, by the way it’s been reported, is that Aaron Crow was allowed to walk over $900,000. That he wanted $4.4 Million, the team wanted save a little less than a million in dollars and not pay him that. I think that what a lot of fans don’t realize is that, that signing bonus is a one time (deal). He wasn’t asking for $4.4 million salary. That is a one time signing bonus and that as a part of signing that contract the team has the right to pay him league minimum for his first three years in The Big Leagues. If he is going to spend some time in the minor leagues, four maybe five years, so if you think about that signing bonus, averaged out over the course of lets say four years, before he goes to arbitration, Aaron Crow is asking for about what we paid Rob Mackowiak this year. I assume you wouldn’t trade Aaron Crow straight up for Rob Mackowiak, so I wonder why is it that in the business interest of the team—I agree with you Jim that he was a future front line starting pitcher. I think today he could be the second best pitcher in our rotation. Why is it in the baseball interest of this team, would you allow a talent like Aaron Crow to walk over $900,000?

Jim: I think that’s a fair question. We wanted to sign Aaron Crow. Obviously that is why we drafted Aaron Crow. We also feel that you have to be sensitive to a marketplace and the dollar value of players that sign. Brian Matusz was taken with the 4th pick in the draft. At the end of the day, we offered more money than what Brian Matusz got. We also had the leverage of getting 9B (Draft Pick in 2009) if we don’t sign the pick for next year in which we get the equivalent talent of Aaron when it comes our time to pick next year. In Negotiations, yeah sure, we can run a business where we can just pay whatever the player wants. But certainly, over a long period of time, it’s going to cause problems trying to find and sign players if all they know they have to do is wait until midnight and whatever they ask for, we are going to pay. We negotiated in good faith and in the end, couldn’t do a deal. Mike, do you want to add anything?

Mike: We spent a lot of time invested in scouting Aaron Crow. We feel, we felt we got the best player available at the 9th pick. What not signing Aaron Crow does is that it delays gaining a player of his ability level 10 months. And that is 10 Months of development (lost) that we don’t like doing. But, in the interest of The Nationals Scouting and Player Development Department, we felt that we did negotiate a contract to sign the player. We felt we were negotiating in good faith. And it was a matter of, at the end of the day; we couldn’t come through with an agreement with the player. We feel that the option of picking 9B, which will be the 10th player in this year’s draft, was to the point where we felt that it was to the best interest of The Nationals if we couldn’t’ get this deal done—at a price we felt was fair and equitable—then we would take our chances with two picks in the top 10 next year—which we are very excited in Scouting and Player Development to plan for next year. And we are going to do our best to follow the impact players in the ’09 Draft.

Charlie: Jim and Mike, we never really know what goes on when you are in a negotiation like that and obviously, in the 11th hour—running out of time—that sort of thing. How difficult is that? Communication, the agent maybe thinking he has, as you would say, an advantage based on the last moment to try and see if you guys will give them what they want because you don’t want to lose the player. But, you guys are delayed 10 months in receiving a quality player, but the player certainly loses because he’s going to pitch in an independent league in Texas. How is that a good thing for the player?

Mike: Well we feel that the new rules that were implemented within the basic agreement in the last two years concerning draft picks really are favorable to the clubs because we do. Aaron Crow and God Bless his Heart, we hope only but the best for him. He’s got to go now and pitch another year and have success like he did at The University of Missouri in an independent environment where he is going to be working out on his own, playing with players that he has no ties to. He is going to be one year older. One year farther away from arbitration and free agency and the making of the big dollars. Plus, he has to remain injury free and have success on that level. He’s got to get back to a point where he can recoup the money he has left on the table. So, in retrospect, we look at the situation and both sides lost a little bit in this negotiation. We feel because of the new rules implemented, we are going to get an equitable player at 9B as we had with Aaron Crow in next year’s draft. So, we feel that because of that and because of the fairness having negotiated his contract with, we felt we were being very fair and equitable with the player.

Charlie: I would think, my own opinion, the player took a much greater risk in not signing and the chance that he could get hurt whether the agents taken an insurance policy out on him or not, because you look at the money, the signing bonus money is small potatoes compared to the amount a guy like Aaron Crow can make at the Big League Level when he puts in his couple of years and had success.

Jim: Also, you talk about how we can walk away. They also walked away from the $900,000 difference. Not only did they walk away from that, but we had promised him a September Call Up—so he would have gotten service time and a Major League Salary, in addition to--he would have been in our starting rotation next year. So, he loses that $400,000 (in salary). He also loses that year of salary arbitration. He loses a year of free agency. So, if he is as good as we all think he is, the impact of what he walked away from is millions and millions of dollars when you it comes to arbitration time and free agency.

Question: I am hugely involved in everything The Nationals do and I watch what over teams do also, like the (Pedro) Alvarez situation with Pittsburgh. So, I have a question for you Mike—When you are out scouting between now and next June’s Draft, do you, as you are watching the players, and make decisions as to who you might want to draft—especially with what we have at the top picks—are you also looking at who their agents are in making your decisions. Because it sure looks like (Steve) Boros wants more than top dollar for whoever his players are. Is that an issue?


Mike: It is a part of the equation when we put together and talk about the evaluation of each individual player. In my career, in Jim’s career, we have never walked away from an agent, per se. I have dealt with Scott Boros and his clients for many years, as has Jim. We evaluate players on what they can do. What impact they could have in our organization. And we access many, many different ingredients, which go into the assessments of these players. That is a part of it, but it’s not a major part of it. But, it is certainly something we think about. If the next question is whether we will walk away from a Scott Boros Client—I would say no. As we have done in the two drafts that I have been associated with The Nationals and with all my drafts with Arizona—we never walked away from sign abilities or agents. They are factors in our decision making process, but we are not going to let the agent dictate who we may take or who we pass on.

Question: There appears to be a lot of hidden gems in the later rounds in pitchers. Randy Johnson was a second round pick for The Expos in 1985. So, to me it’s a crap shoot when it comes to whatever you are going to get with pitchers. I am kind of glad you didn’t sign Crow because who needs another big attitude around here. I think the guys you picked recently—hats off to you—Anderson Hernandez, (Alberto) Gonzalez, (Emilio) Bonifacio. We went from a slow and lazy team to a team built for speed—which seems to be more conducive to The NL EAST. I think the attitude is great. It seems to have changed on the field and the way that Manny manages. I know we were all trying to scratch our heads and he seems to have gotten a hold back of the team. So, I think that is great. I want to look more toward next year. What do you see, without making trades. What would be your starting lineup in the outfield?

Mike: I think going into Spring Training there is going to be competition at a lot of positions. Going into it and looking at what we have at the end of this year, through the winter and spring training next year—I think Elijah Dukes has planted himself the guy that is a key component of our current club and our future. Lastings Milledge we think still has star potential in the future. He is having a very nice year for us this year. And we are expecting Austin Kearns to come back and be the Austin Kearns we’ve seen two and one-half, three years ago. We feel once he gets over the hump physically and gets healthy, we are expecting good things from him—from Austin.

Jim: I think there is also a possibility that we do make a trade and change that answer. Certainly we all know that we need to add offense. Ideally, you would like to be sitting there with a pull hitter from the left side that could take some pressure off the kids. And put them in a better slot in the batting order. Lastings Milledge is not a clean up hitter. He would be better off hitting second if you develop him ideally. And if certainly we had more protection, maybe if Nick Johnson had been healthy, he would have helped those young kids there in the lineup. But, I think at the end of the day, we are going to explore every avenue. We are going to explore trades, I think, as far as how the outfielders line up. I think Manny has got to evaluate how everyone has done defensively, maybe find out if there is an area, without being specific, make an outfield position change—just to upgrade the defense—without getting into specifics. So, I think we are looking at all that. We need more offense out of our outfield, for sure. And we need to improve the defense as well.

With that, part one of Our General Manager Jim Bowden and Assistant GM Mike Rizzo at The ESPN Zone concludes. Plenty more coming tomorrow in part two as The Baseball Operations Management takes on even more Questions from Fans Of Our Washington Nationals.

Jason Bergmann ESPN Zone Part Two

As was established in Part One, Jason Bergmann is an excellent student of the game of baseball. Even better, Our Number 57 can explain and discuss the game as well as anyone out there. Today, in the conclusion of Jason's Q & A with Charlie Slowes last week at The ESPN Zone--Bergmann talks about pitching inside, umpires and throwing to a variety of different catchers. All that and more as we continue with Our Washington Nationals Jason Bergmann at The ESPN Zone in downtown Washington, DC this past September 17th.

Question: What are your thoughts about desperate organizations trying to rush their pitchers through The Minor Leagues, bypassing certain levels, only to see them get up to The Big Show and self-destruct?

“I think it all depends on the pitcher. Many times you see a pitcher go straight to The Major Leagues and have success. Other times you have a guy who has been in AAA a long time and not have success. I think it all depends on the pitcher, his makeup, his ability to trust the catcher—all kinds of stuff like that are factors. I don’t know if you are really rushing a pitcher if he’s ready at 20 (years of age)—like Martis has shown he’s pitched pretty well here. He is very composed. He, like Charlie says, is throwing down in the zone with three quality pitches. Is he ready or not? His statistics show that he is looking pretty good. Other guys have come up and struggled a little bit, maybe that has to do with a bad day or whatever, but I don’t think you can actually say there is a number that this guy can pitch at 21 or 25 or 26. It just depends on if they just go out there and get it or not.”

Question: What do you think of Nationals Park as a pitcher and what park do you like to pitch in the most?

“I like Nationals Park. I think it is a great place. I think that scoreboard is tremendous. I think they worked out a lot of the kinks early on. Being in a new stadium there is always going to be stuff that you are going to find out is going to go wrong. There are apparently a whole bunch of questions about whether it was ready or not. I don’t know anything about that stuff. It’s a beautiful park. It’s got great dimensions. I think a lot of people are asking questions whether it’s a hitter’s park or a pitcher’s park. I think it’s pretty neutral. Early on it was more of a pitcher’s park. As the weather started to warm up, the ball started to carry a little bit more, definitely, that right center field bleachers seem to carry the best. We saw Zimmerman hit a home run to dead center a week and a half ago, two weeks ago, that I can’t believe it went that far. It hit off the back wall about 440 feet on a line. That’s just his power. But, the park plays very fair. We are all happy with it. I don’t know if there is one park I really like playing in. I like Atlanta. I like Pittsburgh. I like pitching in Shea. I like pitching in our home park. I liked pitching at RFK Stadium for obvious reasons. But every park has got its own little nuances, stuff like that, that make each an interesting place. There is no park that is not a good park.”

Charlie: People always ask me the same question. They are all different. Atmospheres are different. Wrigley Field, there is nothing like that to compare it too, except for maybe Fenway Park.

“Wrigley is incredible. If you have been there it’s like a huge college attitude. Everybody is yelling and screaming. The bleachers are filled before the first pitch. Before we are even out there for BP, there are thousands already in the park. It makes for a fun time as a visiting player to go out there and see how dedicated they are to their fans. We have confidence in our fan base and look forward to our team picking it up. When we see thousands of people out there. A full Red Loft. A full bleachers and they are all yelling and screaming for our guys—our park is going to be pretty loud as well and that’s pretty exciting.”

Charlie: What has it been like when you have had big crowds at Nationals Park with the fans so close to the field? Do you feel the difference between RFK?

“When it’s loud it’s intimidating. It can be a very intimidating place. It’s a very loud stadium. And when our fans get up and scream and yell and clap—it can be a motivator for our team and it can really can be a 10th person. You talk about how a fan can contribute, well, I tell you what—when the count is 3-2 and you are yelling for our side and the yelling is clicking in your ear because it’s so loud—their team might be a little more intimidated. It might make a little bit of an edge for us. That’s something we look at when we go to other places. When it’s really loud in Philly, you know it. You can feel it. When we get that it’s going to work for us. So, we encourage that—please.”

Charlie: Last home stand, the team only lost one game—you felt it then. The crowd was into it late in games. Even last night, the crowd was probably not as big as some others, but in the 9th inning, you could tell the crescendo building with that match up between Joel Hanrahan and David Wright. (September 16th 1-0 Game). He got a little adrenaline going.

“And you can tell the fans helped that out. When the fans are right behind you, you can really feel it. It’s this coming aura that they are pulling for you and when you are doing a good job and the fans are on their feet extremely yelling—you know it’s going to work in our favor.”

Question: There has been a lot of injuries with catchers—Johnny Estrada, Paul LoDuca, is there any one catcher you would like to throw to or does that bother you at to have different catchers—never knowing who might be there behind the plate?

“It doesn’t bother me. Look at the injuries that happened. Estrada was hurt during spring training. LoDuca got off-season knee surgery. He got hit twice in the same hand. Jesus Flores makes a great play at the plate and his cleat gets stuck in the ground. He ends up with a twisted ankle. He’s working real hard to come back. I think that working with the catchers there is one point where I threw four consecutive starts to four different catchers. It’s a good thing and it’s a bad thing. I think different catchers can see different thinks in you, but they all stick to the game plan. So, it should not change too much. Wil (Nieves) sets up a little different than Flores. Estrada set up a little different than LoDuca. But, in the end, the game plan is still the same. Let’s go hard in on this guy (batter). Throw curve balls to this guy. Make sure this guy does not hit a fastball down the middle. Stuff like that is stuff that does not matter whether you are Flores, LoDuca, Estrada, Nieves or (Luke) Montz. It still needs to be a fastball in and it still needs to be set up for whom you are throwing to. Anytime you must have trust we are wearing the same jersey and that everything will work in your favor.”

Charlie: Really, if you think about it a little differently, as long as he (the catcher) is calling the same game and you are in tuned with him and you are not having to shake him off….

“Yeah, I think the biggest concern is that a lot of us don’t like to shake off the catcher because we like to be on the same page. The only time I usually shake off the guy is if I want a curveball and he wants a slider. I think that is the biggest thing with catchers. Maybe Estrada did not know that I like my curveball more than my slider and he keeps putting down that slider. I like my curveball better, it’s a much better pitch but catchers can see that. They adjust too. If your curveball is working better one day, they will probably go to the two (pitch) instead of the three (slider).”

Question: When we are playing The Phillies it always seems to end up in a fistfight. I think they are deliberately going after our players. Kyle Kendrick hits Ryan Zimmerman on July 31st the second time up. The next time on Labor Day he threw at his head. Chase Utley went into Jesus Flores. It looked to me as if he was trying to go into his shoulder and not necessarily knock the ball out of his glove. And it does not look to me as if The Nationals are giving it back to The Phillies. What do you think of that?

“I think our rivalry with The Phillies is pretty intense. They are a very good ball club. We played a very good ball club like them, and The Mets tough. If you watch the video (of the Flores collision with Utley), Chase clearly jumped from about 10 feet away. But, if he really wanted to hurt Flores, he would have waited until the very last second to really barrel him. Chase is a hard-nosed player and he plays tough. He is the type of guy you want on your team and hate playing against him. Therefore, I am going to say it probably was not a dirty play as much as he was trying to do a ‘Charlie Hustle’ grinder play. If Flores does not hold on to that ball, it’s a different situation. But, he (Utley) was not aiming for a certain body part. If he really wanted to hurt him, he would have gone in at the last second, lowered his head and gone for the head. Flores blocked the plate pretty well. There was no room for him to go, outside, inside. So, the only way to try to do anything is to go right for him. And he did almost jump from the grass—a good seven feet away—so he is just a hard-nosed player. As for the fans, you guys sit out there. You guys have been to Philly. They love their team. They do. They love their team. They want them to win. They do boo a lot. They do cheer a lot and it’s a tough place to play—for and against them.”

Charlie: This rivalry is going to end up in the stands too—between The Phillies Fans and The Nationals Fans. We get so many of them coming to Nationals Park.

“Part of your question too was about throwing at people. Well, I have only been in the game for a couple of years, but I understand back in the day they use to throw at people all the time—that was just a part of the game. A part of the game that has changed and modified over the years. I am not saying that is part of the game we should return to, but if you are standing inside like The Phillies do. You are going to get balls thrown inside. It’s not meant to hit you. But, if it does hit you, you can’t take exception to it because you are standing right on the dish. If you are standing right on the plate and the ball hits you—you have got to come to expect a few of those. You are so close to the plate. Chase Utley, if you have an overhead view, his elbow is on the plate. That ball could be a strike.”

Charlie: He wants you to pitch inside because he is so good at not just taking a big swing but, just like Willie Harris has become for The Nationals, just dropping the barrelhead of the bat down and ripping the ball down the right field line.

“It’s a part of the game, standing right on the plate, because pitchers know it’s hard to pitch inside, it really is, especially if that guy is standing on the plate. You really don’t want to hit a guy like Utley, because Ryan Howard is on deck and he knows that. We all know that. Rollins is right on the plate. Victorino is right on the plate. Utley is right on the plate. And when those guys are on the plate and you are trying to throw a fastball in—if that leaks just a little bit over that’s going to be right in his zone. So, pitching inside has to be part of the game. I am not saying people are throwing at people. I don’t know if anyone was throwing at anyone. But, when guys get hit like Utley they are right on the plate. You have to come to expect things like that.”

Charlie: 2006 looking back and now playing for The Cubs, (Alfonso) Soriano the same thing. He wants you to try to pitch inside.

“The crazy thing is that the plate is only 17”. Soriano can get to a ball this far off the plate (stretching his arm a good 10” off an imaginary plate) just because he uses that big bat and he is so far over the plate. So, if you throw a slider and it’s a bastard slider. It’s a really, really good slider that starts on the outside corner and goes 7” outsides—he can still hit that out of the park. That’s what the problem is when facing him (both Jason and Charlie Chuckling). If you are going to try to throw inside to a guy like that, you have to also worry about throwing away and keeping him honest—as we say.”

Question: Jason, you were talking before about trying too hard. If you have ever gone into a game saying I am going to do exactly what the catcher says. All I am going to do is look for his mitt?

“Yes, I have done that. I have done that a lot. There are times were I have not shaken off a catcher in 100 plus pitches. Like I have said, we try to stay with the game plan. Obviously, the catcher is down there throwing down what the game plan dictates. There are also times when the hitters make adjustments. I can say I am going to throw this guy all fastballs away because he is batting .100 on fastballs away. If he’s diving and hooks that fastball into the gap for a triple, well you need to adjust your game plan a little bit. When the numbers say he’s hitting .100 on fastballs, what fastballs is he hitting .100 against? Is he hitting.100 off Joel Hanrahan 97 (MPH)? Or is he hitting .100 against Jamie Moyer’s 81 (MPH)? You can’t tell (on the scouting charts). You can’t tell if this guy is hitting Brad Lidge’s slider, my slider, or somebody else’s slider. It’s all kind of loosely based. You must make your adjustments on the fly. If this guy is hitting curve balls really well and all of a sudden you throw him a curve ball and he can’t find it—you might have to go back to that pitch—because it’s working then. That is what his eyes are seeing off you at that time. You are a completely different pitcher than any other pitchers out there. You can’t say this guy is exactly like that pitcher. It’s very important to be able to go out there and make adjustments on the fly.”

Charlie: You are pitching a great game or are in a tight spot and this happens—we talked about how small that plate is—you make a pitch that you and the catcher know is a strike. The umpire does not call it. That has got to be frustrating for not only you but also every other pitcher. That has got to be the ultimate frustration when you actually have a strike and for some reason the umpire misses it.

“Umpires are human. They are seeing that same 90 MPH fastball coming in. They may blink at the wrong time or something happens. They get mixed up. If you’ve got a pretty good curveball—you might fool the umpire too. And sometimes that does happen. They are only human. I know they’ve got instant replay. It’s only a matter of time before they do instant relay on pitches too (joking). Who knows? Yes, it’s a little frustrating, but you know you have got to come back and make that adjustment and try to move to his zone a little bit more.”

Charlie: You are throwing a curveball where it passes the batter and the plate. The catcher catches it. Do Umpires ever talk about that where ‘I thought it was high when it passed the hitter.’ Or, it was inside and didn’t get the plate—it went around the plate.

“There is always a time to ask an umpire. Obviously, when you are throwing that pitch is not the best time. Maybe after the inning, say hey, do you have that high, or did you have that low? Was that curveball low? If you are friendly enough and show them the proper respect, they will come back and say it was close, but it was a little bit low. And you know what, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said: ‘I know that pitch is a strike. I know it is. I know it in my heart.’ I go up to watch the video and the pitch is 7” outside. Catchers do a very good job of framing the ball. So good, they even fool us sometimes.”

Charlie: Are there any umpires, and you don’t have to name names, that are not going to talk to you at all?

“I think it’s all how you ask and when you ask. If you ask at a wrong time, they might blow you off. I have never really had an unfriendly umpire. Most times they are all pretty good.”


With that answer--this ESPN Zone Lunch Time Meet & Greet with Jason Bergmann came to a conclusion. It was autograph and picture time, the customary ritual where everyone in attendance can step up to Jason and share a little more personal time with a player of Our Washington Nationals. This was a good one hour session where some good baseball knowledge was shared by Our Number 57. He was very, very good--well worth the time to attend.

Shirts Off Their Backs

When I was handed a yellow card with the number "11" written on it--my heart jumped like not felt in some time. Since the beginning of the top of the 7th inning, Sohna and I were standing in The Foyer of The Executive Offices of Our Washington Nationals. During the fifth inning an Official from Our Team had come to our seats in Section 218 asking me to come to Level 2M behind home plate. My name had been randomly picked as a WINNER OF SHIRTS OFF THEIR BACK DAY.

The African Queen said she had not seen me so excited in a long, long, time. So thrilled, I started to leave Club Level right away without picking up all our stuff in and around our seats. Now--as the Yellow Card was given me--my only thought was that, some how, some way, Ryan Zimmerman was the Jersey I had Won Off His Back. The card did read Number 11.

Not a sole among the 20 some odd folks waiting in The Team Offices was not reflecting on their numbers given as well. There was a different accounting method going on among those on hand. And it had nothing to do with very fact that Our Washington Nationals were down 6-1 at the time on the field against The San Diego Padres. Five might well have been the deficit in the game, but the numbers of record being considered was who on Our Washington Nationals had each winner's corresponding jersey number. Everyone was going through The Roster Numbers of Washington's Active Roster. But, what most standing in The Foyer did not realize--was that more than a dozen winners will have their jerseys sent to them--as those lucky folks were not in attendance. That very fact changed the order, dramatically.


Eventually, we all headed down to The Service Level of New Nationals Park. Past The Presidents Club we walked and then into the tunnel directly beside The Visiting Dugout on South Capitol Street. There we waited, patiently, chatting baseball with some new found friends, not watching the game--only knowing Our Washington Nationals were not winning. Finally, The Final Score was announced to us, although none of us witnessed the final three innings. The San Diego Padres had swept Our Washington Nationals. And with the excitement building among those waiting in line, no one really seemed to be too upset about Our Team's defeats now nearing the 100 level for 2008. EVERYONE waiting--just wanting to walk out onto the field and stand on the third base line--Our Final Positioning before receiving The Jerseys Off Our Players Backs.
Radio Broadcaster Charlie Slowes was announced as The Master of Ceremonies and the festivities finally began. One by one each player standing along the first base line was introduced. Each player then presenting their jersey to the corresponding winner in line. As the process continued--the jockeying for positioning continued. While The Winners remained in order, Our Players, talking among themselves, changed their lineup consistently. At one time it appeared that Joel Hanrahan was the jersey I would receive. Then, Ryan Langerhans. Even Our Number 29 noticed I might be his recipient and we acknowledged the possible moment across the diamond--both of us laughing at the fate. Unfortunately, Ryan Langerhans would not be my final destination. As the numbers dwindled and the winners received their jerseys, the one Player from Our Washington Nationals, for me, finally came into focus. Roger Bernadina would be MY NEW MAN!! Yes, Our Number 2 would present to SBF The Jersey Off His Very Back.

I was very, very happy.

Honestly, it really did not matter who would give me their jersey. Certainly everybody wanted to win Ryan Zimmerman or Our Manager Manny Acta's Jersey's. That did not matter to The African Queen and I. The very fact that I won by donating to The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation was far more important. But, the sight of Charlie Slowes chuckling as I passed him after being presented Jersey Number 2 from Roger Bernadina--well worth the effort. You can bet I had a BIG SMILE on my face. Now, That WAS FABULOUS. Even Mr. Bang!! Zoom!! was enjoying the moment alongside me--shaking his head in wonder.

Sometimes it's all about The MOMENT. And this was a good one.

With Sohna cheering me on from the stands alongside our friends Melissa and Matt--I was quite thrilled. Out of the blue, Sohna and I, with NO EXPECTATIONS OF WINNING, were fortunate enough to take home a jersey of a 2008 Member of Our Washington Nationals. A Roger Bernadina Red "DC" Uniform Top from The Inaugural Season Of New Nationals Park. The Very Jersey we love, that from all the information given to us, will be a retired jersey after Our Washington Nationals play their final game this season. A New Red Curly "W" Jersey may well be coming for 2009.

Thrilled to win, and excited knowing that for the remainder of my life--Roger Bernadina's Uniform--worn in The Very First Season Of Play at New Nationals Park--A HISTORIC MOMENT IN THE HISTORY OF OUR YOUNG FRANCHISE--will be displayed in our home in Alexandria, Virginia--FOREVER. Yes, everything we do is a team effort for Sohna and I. The African Queen and I left South Capitol Street tonight proud that we were lucky enough to win A Jersey Off The Back of Roger Bernadina in The Inaugural Season of New Nationals Park.

We are going to frame it. And Enjoy The Uniform For The Remainder Of Our Lives.

Running into Team President Stan Kasten and Our General Manager Jim Bowden after the presentation--Mr. Kasten said to me: "You got a good one. He is going to be a good player. That uniform will pay off far more than you possibly paid for the tickets."

JimBo stating: "You got that right."

Funny hearing all that from Team Management after another fan sitting in the stands upon the conclusion of the ceremony stated to me--" You were one person away from receiving a $2000 Jersey--instead you received a $20 Jersey." I had to laugh, because this person had missed the entire point of the message. What Shirts Off Their Backs Was All About--supporting The Washington Nationals Dream Foundation and their causes.

Final Score from Wonderfully Comfortable New Nationals Park--The San Diego Padres 6 and Our Washington Nationals 2. Loss number 98 of 2008 may well assure a 100 Loss Season for DC's Team and the distinct possibility Washington may receive The Number One Pick in the 2009 Entry Draft. But at least on this day, being drafted for me resulted in the presentation of Roger Bernadina's Jersey Number 2. No, I didn't finish Number 1, but I won. Sohna and I coming home tonight proud we had supported a good cause and been rewarded for Our Efforts.

Game Notes & Highlights

Interestingly, Roger Bernadina wears a Size 46 Jersey. A size not available for purchase on MLB.com. My personalized jerseys are sizes 44 and 48. Bernadina's Number 2 is a Wonderfully Fit Cool Base Jersey. If I ever decided to wear it--the fit would be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT.

If Adrian Gonzalez was available for Our Washington Nationals, I would make every effort to get him as Our Starting First Baseman. Not well known throughout the game among fans, The San Diego Padres first baseman has quietly become a star. What in the world were The Texas Rangers thinking of back in 2006 when they traded Gonzalez to San Diego in the Mark Eaton Deal--along with Terrmel Sledge? Today, Adrian Gonzalez slammed his 35th Home Run and 115 RBI in the 6th off Odalis Perez. Even before Steroids ruined his career, Rafael Palmeiro was always one of my favorite players. A great hitter and solid player. Adrian Gonzalez is almost a clone of Palmeiro at the plate. He's got that perfect swing from the left hand side of the plate (and for you negative folks, that's not claiming in any way The Padres First Baseman is juiced. Just writing about similarities in style).

Ryan Zimmerman broke out of a 0-12 Slump in the bottom of the 6th when he hammered a Cha Seung Baek 3-1 fastball deep to right centerfield for a home run. One of those shots that always shows that Our Number 11 is seeing the ball well and not over swinging at the plate. Later, "Z" would single in Washington's final run of the afternoon scoring Ryan Langerhans.

Other than that, I honestly can't write much about the game on the field. I didn't see nearly 1/3rd of it. Although Our Racing Presidents competed on Segways this Sunday at New Nationals Park. Teddy, of course, held the lead but could not manage the corner from the right field wall to the right field foul line. Tom easily passing Our Lovable Loser--winning The Segway Presidents Race.



Many Thanks to Steve and his son Christian for stopping Sohna and I near Noah's Pretzels before the game and saying hello. Also, Lee and of course--Karen and Lou Gehrig (also known as TEDDY)-- that's right, that is his real name. All of whom are big fans of The Nats320 Blog. If you haven't come to realize it by now--Every day at New Nationals Park is all about Our Friends.


Finally, the final Kids Giveaway for 2008 was handed out today. In sponsorship with Smithfield, all kids 12 and Under received a Red Curly "W" Backpack. They are pretty big and seem to be of decent quality.

Today's InGame Photos--(AP) Luis M. Alvarez
All Other Photos--Nats320 (All Rights Reserved)

This Game Was No Picnic In The Park

As enjoyable at "The Picnic In The Park" sponsored by Our Washington Nationals was this afternoon at New Nationals Park--the game which played out on the field tonight on South Capitol Street was anything but ugly. A shoddily played, error filled, bad affair with little excitement was featured. Even a continuing problem returned with outfielders not being able to track down liners hit to them in left field. A situation that Daniel Murphy of The New York Mets had earlier this past week and Willie Harris of Our Washington Nationals had again tonight for the second game in row.

Yes, this one was truly unsightly. From Emilio Bonifacio over running a fairly routine ground ball to his right over the second base bag. A play that if Our Number 7 had just knocked the ball down--allowing The San Diego Padres Wil Venable to reach first base with two outs--his teammate Nick Hundley would not have scored. To instead witnessing, Bonifacio muffing the catch and allowing the baseball to scoot by him giving San Diego their first run of the evening. An error that rattled John Lannan enough for him to allow a NO DOUBT Two Run Homer to the very next Padres' Hitter--Edgar Martinez--a light hitting shortstop.

A 3-0 lead that eventually moved to 6-0 when San Diego's Starting Pitcher Chris Young Smoked a liner to deep left center for his First Career Home Run in the 7th and Willie Harris lost a liner to left in the lights by Brian Giles off Charlie Manning--leading to a triple. A throwing error on a routine toss to second base by Ryan Zimmerman followed, helping to account for the final two scores of the evening for The Padres.

Add in Wil Nieves getting himself picked off first base and Cristian Guzman booting a grounder to his right made This Game No Picnic In The Park. Final Score, The San Diego Padres 6 and Our Washington Nationals 1. Fortunately, the saving grace was the very nice Season Ticket Holder event held this afternoon from 12 Noon until 3PM. A Get Together of Fans and most every player of Our Washington Nationals. This Picnic In The Park was a winner. Far more so than the 97th Loss of 2008 for Washington.

Game Notes & Highlights

Interesting outing by John Lannan, he pitched a pretty good game. He allowed two home runs--the one to Edgar Gonzalez in the 5th, right after Bonifacio's error extended the inning. And a surprising jolt off the bat of San Diego Starter Chris Young in the 7th. Otherwise, Our Number 31 was quite excellent. Just four hits allowed and five strikeouts. He didn't receive any run support. And because of no help--had no chance of winning. Like None.

The Willie Harris Lost In The Headlights Look was worrisome. In both The 7th and 8th Innings--Our Number 1--a very reliable fielder, misplayed liners hit by Wil Venable and Brian Giles. Hits that Harris claims he could not see with the downward arc of the light standards which rise high above the first base stands. As stated earlier--The Mets had a similar problem earlier in this homestand. Yet, I don't recall this being a problem earlier in the year. Have You? Is this just luck of the draw or something that needs to be addressed? Have the light standards somehow been realigned and moved to another position. Having talked with the construction crews as New Nationals Park was built--the light standards are run totally by a computer program. There is supposedly no margin for error. So--what gives on the misplayed baseballs during this homestand?

Only four hits tonight for Washington against San Diego's Chris Young and two other relievers. DC's only rally in the bottom of the 8th with two outs after Bonifacio had singled, Zimmerman walked and Aaron Boone was robbed of a two run double when his missile to left center bounced over the wall for a Ground Rule Double--scoring Our Number 7, but sending Our Number 11 back to third on a play he certainly would have scored. These Ground Rule Doubles over the bullpen wall in left center have been a common occurrence all season long--killing many a rallies. Is there a possibility those short bullpen fences can be raised for 2009? It only seems fair as these Ground Rule Doubles happen far too often than really necessary--changing the outcome of at least a few games this season.


Now on to the more fun stuff--The Picnic In The Park.





From 12 Noon to 3PM, Season Ticket Holders were allowed to take tours of New Nationals Park--Run The Bases, Sit in The Dugout, Throw a Pitch from The Bullpen, Walk the Warning Tracks--all the while meeting and greeting Players for Our Washington Nationals, Coaches and Team Officials.

Upon entering from The Center Field Gate--each Season Ticket Holder was given a Plastic Washington Nationals License Plate Holder and Program of Events. Nationals Official John Spahn was one of those on hand to greet Ticket Holders.



Throughout the afternoon, Radio Broadcasters Dave Jageler & Charlie Slowes, along with TV Personalities Don Sutton and Bob Carpenter hosted Our Manager Manny Acta, Our General Manager Jim Bowden and a host of players in The Center Field Plaza Addressing the crowd and taking questions--fans were given the opportunity to find out answers to many questions that might be on their minds.





Additionally--Five Autograph Stations were set up around The Main Concourse. Two Players or Coaches apiece at most stations. In 30 Minute Intervals from 12:30PM to 2:30PM--they moved around New Nationals Park and even onto The Catwalk next to The Miller Lite Scoreboard Walk in Right Centerfield.


Below The HDTV Scoreboard, players and coaches sat awaiting fans to take personal pictures. For Sohna and I, this was our favorite part. The backdrop of The Entire Stadium was terrific for picture taking. And Our Players and Coaches were having a good time meeting and greeting Our Fans.


Of course--for us--nothing beat "The Guz" and "The Ballplayer" downright thrilled to see The African Queen again. Both Cristian Guzman and Ronnie Belliard calling her over to stand next to them for pictures.


We absolutely LOVE Our Mafia Shots with Odlais Perez and Ronnie Belliard. The Sunglasses, The Beautiful Day, The Backdrop, The Character of these pictures--nothing short of terrific. And what more can you say about Guzman's Funky Hat. Very cool. Our Number 15 and Our Number 10 very engaging today. They were great!!

For Sohna and I, the personal touch means everything. For 10 Minutes we had a wonderful conversation with Our Pitching Coach Randy St.Claire. We had all met before in Viera--at Spring Training--during the past two seasons. Mr. St.Claire was kind enough to chat with us about some of our young pitchers and the difference with working with those still learning to play the game--compared to those veterans that trust their abilities. Good stuff and Our Number 46 is very funny too.


Not being big autograph collectors, we were able to move around quickly during the course of the three hour picnic--meeting with friends, taking pictures and moving on. The only player we missed out on--due to timing--was Ryan Zimmerman. Hopefully, we will have another opportunity soon. We loved attending The Picnic In The Park and hope Our Washington Nationals will continue with this and other Meet & Greet Events for Fans in 2009 and Beyond.


Later after the picnic concluded--Sohna and I ran into "Ringo Starr" buying merchandise in The Main Team Store when we returned to New Nationals Park for tonight's game. Funny because just before we left The Park after the conclusion of The Picnic In The Park, Sohna and I were in The Team Store behind Home Plate on The Main Concourse--buying stuff with Charlie Slowes there as well. In commemoration of our abilities to run into each other all the time--Agent 99, Charlie and Myself set up for a picture just behind the left field stands while The Padres were taking Batting Practice.

Finally, just before game time--Charlie was shown on The HDTV Scoreboard talking with Garrett Mock about assistance and support Our Number 50 is helping to solicit for victims of Hurricane Ike near his Hometown of Houston, Texas. Mock's family is safe today, but they and others are feeling the hardships of the destruction left in the wake of the vicious hurricane which leveled Galveston, Kemah and destroyed power and water lines throughout Southeast Texas. Garrett doing whatever he can to help others in the time of need.

PS--The Giveaway tonight was A 2008 Team Picture on Hard Card Stock with 2009 Tentative Schedule affixed to the bottom. Nicely done. Usher Supervisor Jimmy Wilson one of the many at the gates handing out the picture when fans entered New Nationals Park tonight for the game.

Tonight's InGame Photos--(AP) Nats320
All Other Photos--Nats320 (All Rights Reserved)