Monday, August 17, 2009

He Can Flat Out Hit


"He can flat out hit," stated Interim GM Mike Rizzo. "What he hasn't found is a position."

Exact words Mr. Rizzo told me last month during one of the many rain delays at Nationals Park this season. I was him asking what Mike Morse brings to the table. What future he may have with Our Washington Nationals--after being swapped by The Seattle Mariners for Ryan Langerhans.

Transferred to AAA Syracuse and hitting the cover off the baseball since--Mike Morse will now get his chance to show what he can do on South Capitol Street starting tomorrow--August 18th. Recalled today to fill the roster spot vacated by Logan Kensing--who was Designated For Assignment. For the second time in his career, Morse will find out whether he can stick with a Major League Club, without having a Major League Glove.

As for Kensing--he is very puzzling. Watching him pitch so hard, consistently hitting 96 MPH on the radar gun and not getting anyone out consistently, quite remarkable. And mentioned here many times.

Here is the complete press release from the team:

NATIONALS SELECT MIKE MORSE FROM SYRACUSE, DESIGNATE LOGAN KENSING FOR ASSIGNMENT

The Washington Nationals today selected infielder Mike Morse from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and designated right-handed pitcher Logan Kensing for assignment. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Morse batted .339 (56-for-165) with 12 doubles, three triples, six home runs and 34 RBI in 44 games with Syracuse. He hit safely in his last 12 games with the Chiefs, going 17-for-44 (.386) over that period. The 27-year-old — acquired from Seattle in exchange for outfielder Ryan Langerhans on June 28 — hit a combined .322 (137-for-425) with 26 doubles, three triples, 16 home runs and 86 RBI in 110 games this season between Syracuse and Tacoma of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League.

In parts of four seasons (2005-08) with Seattle, Morse batted at a .300 (90-for-300) clip with 22 extra-base hits and 37 RBI in 107 contests.

Kensing, 27, went 0-1 with a 10.71 ERA in 17 appearances with Washington.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Will Morse play Short, 1st and 2nd base or Outfield too?

I can't figure out how they will use him with Belliard getting so much playing time now and Willie Harris playing so little now.

Screech's Best Friend said...

Really not sure, he been playing all over the place in AAA. Probably the first guy off the bench to pinch hit and relieve at first base to give Dunn a breather on certain days. But that is totally a guess. This is an audition--that's truly what Mike Morse is getting.

Eileenwaz13 said...

MASN reporting the Nats have got a deal with Strasburg. 12:12 am