The Baseball Game:

Walking into the park it appeared that there would be a lot of fans at the game.  The Nationals were playing the Atlanta Braves so there were tons of Braves fans here in DC for the game.  Once we actually got into the game there the ball park was probably 60% full, which is high for a team on pace for 100+ losses.  There are a lot more pictures after the jump.

The bullpen the new beer garden just out side of Nationals Park.  Unfortunately we did not have time to check it out, although I did notice that both beer and hot dogs are cheaper than inside the park.

People entering the park after walking down Half Street.

Just about to start the game with the Nationals trotting out to their positions.

Nationals warming up before the upcoming inning.  Look how empty the seats are behind home plate.

New National Nyjer Morgan manning center field.  I think he was a good pick up for the club, I mean look at those knee high socks.  Awesome.

Nationals standing around wondering if they were going to have a chance to win this game.  They were down by four runs at the time.

Action shot showing the full infield.

Another action shot with the Nationals in the field.

Middle of the presidents race, Teddy’s in last already . . . again.

The end of the president’s race.  Teddy of course did not win but this time he didn’t lose as Washington jumped into the seats down the first base line.

Abe Lincoln came to hang out at the bar and mack on some ladies . . . and dudes. Seriously though he was the most popular person hanging out at the bar.

Adam Dunn playing in left field after hitting home run number 300.

Looking down into the Braves bullpen through the metal stairs leading up to the Center Field Bar.

The Nationals came back to win this game in the bottom of the eighth inning.  It was only the second win I’ve ever been to at Nationals Park.  I’m not sure who many games I’ve been to but their record is something like 2-17 when I’ve been at the park.

The first picture is my favorite.  What a great way to hide an ugly parking ramp.  The second to last photo is a picture of a Twins flag which flies over the press box.

My streak of not witnessing a Nationals win in person continues.  I’ve lost count how many times the Nats have lost when I’ve been at the game. But I know how many they’ve once: 0.

At least the game was close, and Ryan Zimmerman hit a home run.

But on the bright side, I don’t think that the Nats being owned by the Lerners has hurt the club.  Further, if Tom Lerner is making decisions which are hurting the club: What are they?

The Washington Nationals this year are on pace to lose a 100 games, but this may be due to the fact that they have been riddled with injuries.  They are a young team, and if key players can stay healthy, the 2009 club will improve.

I’m not saying the 2009 Nats are a diamond in the rough, but they will almost certainly be better than this year’s team.

Estrada will fill the roster spot vacated by the trade of Luis Ayala.

Estrada is a right handed pitcher who was starting for the Triple-A club.

His minor league stats can be found here: Marco Estrada’s Stats from Baseball-Reference.com

According to Baseballreference.com, Ayala is 1-8 with a 5.77 ERA after appearing in 62 games so far this year. Ayala is certainly having a down year, but it also doesn’t appear that he will ever be the pitcher he once was, and it makes sense for the Nats to trade him before the season is over.

For Ayala the Nationals will receive an unproven infielder, who will have a change to make the major league squad soon. On Baseballreference.com, they give the 25 year old Hernandez the following line:

R  H   2B  3B HR RBI BB SO  BA   OBP  SLG  OPS SB CS
57 97  21  7  5  36  38 95 .203 .262 .307 .569 11 8

While Hernandez doesn’t sport the best line, he will help to fill a weak spot on the Nationals roster.

Getting something in return for Ayala was probably a good move for the Nationals, but it appears that the trade is essentially a wash for both teams. Neither team is significantly hurt by this trade, but neither really improves their team for the long run.

Just in case you missed it: The Nationals failed to sign their first round draft pick Aaron Crow. The whole draft signing process isn’t as open to examination as I’d like it to be, but the time line is being reconstructed. For example, here is mlbtraderumors.com’s summary.

Crow not signing is unfortunate both for the Nationals and the young pitcher, himself. For the Nats part, they are missing out on a marque pitcher, a new face that the franchise so desperately needs. BaseballAmerica.com’s scouting report on Crow stated:

In three years, Crow has gone from an undrafted high school senior to the best righthander in the 2008 draft, thanks largely to the best fastball package available. Other pitchers may throw harder, but no one can match the combination of Crow’s velocity (92-96 mph with a peak of 98), hard sink, command and ability to maintain his fastball.

The Nationals pitching staff could have used Crow’s talent, if not this year, certainly by the 2009 season. Now instead of solving one of their weakest points through the draft, the Nats will have to look to free agency and other internal options to fill out their rotation.

For his part, Crow will miss out on an opportunity to pitch in the Majors this year for the Nationals. He also will earn very little money, and risk injuring himself for next year’s draft. Even though similar tactics worked out for Luke Hochevar of the Royals and Max Scherzer of the Diamondbacks, Crow is risking his future by not signing in the 2008 draft.  Finally, Crow will miss out on achieving every little leaguer’s dream: to play in the Major Leagues; I’m not sure I would be able to turn that same opportunity down.

I’m not sure who to blame for Crow not signing, but there seems to have been plenty of problems on all sides. Ultimately, the reality of signing draft picks is that not all of them will sign. Baseball is a business, and fans have to accept the fact that not all deals will be made. But for Crow and the Nationals, both sides have lost a great opportunity to improve their situation. The fact that a deal between Crow and the Nationals came down to a $900,000.00 difference eventually will cause one of the parties to regret the impasse.

The Twins’ offense looked good, while their bullpen continued to struggle. Whatever the games looked like, they counted in the win column.

The Nationals have lost ten straight games, including a loss this weekend to Twins castoff, Livan Hernandez. The sweep made for a bad weekend in the U.S. capitol. Furthermore, the Nats failed to sign Aaron Crow effectively ensuring that he never dons a Nationals jersey. On a slightly more positive note, the Nats did complete a trade with the Mets giving up Luis Ayala for a player to be named later.

Likewise, here in Washington I read both the Washington Post, and the Washington Times. Both DC papers have their strengths and their weaknesses, but one thing really bothers me about the Washington Times: their coverage of the Nationals is terrible². Thom Loverro happens to cover the Nationals for the Washington Times, which is unfortunate for both the readers and the Times itself. For example take Thom Loverro’s latest story:

Washington Times – Thom Loverro: Lerners shouldn’t lure free agents this winter

Loverro argues that the Nats should not sign any free agents this winter. He has iron clad information to back up his claims:

1. Top tier free agents like CC Sabathia, Manny, Adam Dunn, and Mark Teixeira cost more than the Nationals can afford.

2. Even if the Nationals could somehow scrounge up the money required to sign one of the top free agents these players won’t sign with the Nationals, because the Nationals are a joke.

3. The market is weak in the Nationals’ areas of need: first base and outfield.

4. Austin Kearns and Dmitri Young are earning more money than they are worth.

5. The Nationals just released Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez. That money was wasted.

I think Loverro’s line of logic is flawed. While I would agree that some top free agents are out of the Nationals’ pay range, that doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t sign any free agents. That is just stupid. I also disagree that the Nationals main needs are a first baseman and a power hitting corner outfielder.

Loverro lists the Nats possible starting position players for next year, and while they are not great, they also are adequate. The real problem facing the Nationals is their lack of pitching. Without starting pitching to keep games close, and reliable relievers to keep the Nats in the lead, it won’t matter who is playing the other positions or how many runs the Nats score. The Nats should make strides to improve their pitching, through the various drafts and certainly through free agency. (Of course the easiest way to start would be to sign Aaron Crow) While Loverro is correct that Sabathia will not sign with the Nationals, Sabathia will not be the only free agent pitcher, a fact that Loverro completely ignores.

Finally just because certain free agent deal or extensions haven’t worked out great for the Nationals³ that doesn’t mean you stop trying to improve your team. Most deals don’t perform at their greatest potential, the Nationals have run into some bad luck lately. When the deals don’t work out at all, you bite the bullet, jettison the contracts, and try again in the off-season. Thats just the way baseball works.

Loverro, also includes several errors in the article. He cites that Dunn is asking for a contract in the range of 100-120 million dollar. The source of that number was Bronson Arroyo, and Dunn has already responded to Arroyo’s rumor mongering. Dunn responded:

That [number] makes me look like a jackass. You never hear players talking about money. I don’t think about the offseason [sic]. Me and my agent don’t even talk about numbers.

Loverro also advises that the Nats shouldn’t sign Jason Giambi because he is apparently the “famine” to Manny’s “feast.” Good metaphor . . . Oh by the way, Giambi’s .398 OBP ranks 7th in the AL, and would certainly be an upgrade for the Nationals. To top it all off: he misspells Emilio Bonifacio’s name.

The bottom line is, if the Nationals want to make money, they will have to become more competitive through both free agency and the draft, in order to fill the seats in Nationals Park.

The Washington Times should also not rule out finding an upgrade on the free agent market.

Aaron Crow, the Nationals’ 2008 first round draft pick, has apparently signed with an independent league team. The deadline for the Nationals to sign him is tomorrow, August 15th. While Crow’s signing with the independent team may just be posturing, it is not promising news. Two other former draft picks have signed with the team in the past in order to improve their draft stock¹. But Crow was drafted with the ninth pick in this year, leaving him little upward movement.

With the state of the Nationals minor league system, not signing their first round draft pick will be a heavy blow. Hopefully Jim Bowden can get this under control. The impasse seems to be over an Major League contract: Crow wants it, Bowden doesn’t. Either way, hopefully the parties can find some middle ground. The Nationals need the pitching help.

On another note, we spent the game at the Center Field Beer Pen.  I’ve never been to that part of the staduim, and it was so much fun that we never actually made it to our seats.  More pictures after the jump.

Odalis Perez out on the mound.

Johan Santana owing the inside corner.

The Beerpen was worth the visit.

Not sure why there is a White Sox chair at National’s Park. The chair is back behind the center field wall. There must be a story behind its presence at the stadium.