Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Tuesday odds and ends

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER
Ian Desmond turns a double play from the second base side.
VIERA, Fla. -- Today was one of those days where there were all kinds of little tidbits popping up. So rather than put together a long-form analysis of one player or issue, it seems appropriate to run through a bunch of these items in bullet form...

-- Mike Rizzo may say Ian Desmond is going to focus on playing shortstop and will man that position no matter where he opens the season -- and the guess here still is Syracuse -- but that doesn't preclude him from working out elsewhere this spring. During today's workout, Desmond joined other infielders in some fielding drills after the pitchers and catchers were done with their workout. And though
he began the drill at shortstop, he then moved to second base for more. The above photo is of him turning a double play from the second base side. (Not bad for an amateur, huh? I mean me, not Ian.) I have a hard time believing Desmond will beat out Cristian Guzman for the starting shortstop job, and that he's more likely to open the year playing every day at Syracuse than serving as a super-utility guy in Washington. But it appears the club at least wants to get him some work elsewhere, just in case.

-- Some conflicting information out there about the Nats' potential interest in signing another veteran starting pitcher. Here's the way I understand the situation, based on conversations with several team officials: Rizzo has some interest in bringing another arm aboard, but only at the right price. And at the moment, no one is coming down to his price. Braden Looper would top the list. Livan Hernandez would also be among the possibilities. As for Jarrod Washburn, even if the lefty came down from his $6 million asking price, the Nats aren't interested in taking a chance on a guy who had some injury concerns late last season. Also, though the club is looking at a potentially shaky rotation to open the season, Rizzo and Co. know that's likely only going to be a temporary problem, with Chien-Ming Wang and Stephen Strasburg targeted to join the rotation sometime in May/June. Why spend money on another veteran pitcher now, knowing his services might only be needed for one-third of the season?

-- Speaking of guys fighting for rotation spots, Scott Olsen presents an interesting case. Olsen, as you know, is returning from shoulder surgery. He's not experiencing any pain anymore, but he's still not all the way back to top form. So I asked Jim Riggleman today whether Olsen is a lock to make the rotation if he's healthy, or does he still have to show something. "What we're looking for is something close to his Florida days," the manager said. "That's what we want to get him back to. If that's where he is toward the end of spring training, that's great. Because this was a guy, he did a nice job for Florida. He threw hard, he had a good breaking ball and he got plus-200 innings. That's big. If he's close to that, then that's really good. So he's a lock. If there's some setbacks or it's just not on that pace, we've just got to back off a little bit. But we know he's going to get to that point where he was in Florida." Something to remember: Though Olsen signed a $1 million contract this winter, the Nats still could release him with more than 15 days to go until Opening Day and be responsible only for one-sixth of his salary. That's what they did in 2008 with John Patterson, and it's what they did last spring with Shawn Hill. In both cases, everyone just assumed both of those guys would make the club if healthy. Didn't turn out that way.

-- Position players officially report tomorrow, but almost every single one of them is already here. Only guys who hadn't arrived by this afternoon were Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes. And there's no reason to believe they won't report tomorrow. Physicals will take place Thursday, then the first full-squad workout is Friday.

-- Pitchers' bunting practice is a staple of spring training, but I saw something today I hadn't seen previously at camp. The Nats had a groundskeeper paint a bullseye around the area between the plate and the pitcher's mound on one of the practice fields. Then each guy would try to get his bunt to come to a stop as close to the center of the bullseye as possible. I didn't see every member of the staff work on this drill, but I did note that young Mr. Strasburg appeared to have some good success.

-- Finally, Riggleman spent a good portion of his media session today talking about the risks of sliding headfirst and the emphasis the coaching staff is placing on teaching guys to go feet-first this spring. They actually ran a drill today for a few guys, most notably Nyjer Morgan (who broke his hand sliding headfirst into third base last August in Chicago). If you're a subscriber and received the Riggleman audio today -- and if for some reason you didn't get it, please let me know because I think the file might have been too big for some email servers -- you may be interested to hear the entire conversation. For these purposes here, I'll share one of the manager's strongest points on the subject: "Our message to the guys -- not just Nyjer, but any of them who have always slid headfirst -- is: 'We'd like to get you going feet-first. If it's causing more problems than it's solving, we can't do it. But we've got to give it an effort.' I think they're all in total agreement with that."

28 comments:

Dave Nichols said...

Willingham's wife is very pregant, so I'm sure the team is well aware of where he is and he has their blessing to be with her.

Anonymous said...

Heard the Riggleman audio over on the MASN site. Money well unspent.

peric said...

Your ex-compatriate Ben Goessling is undercutting you Mark. Deeper insight might serve your cause best at this point?

Avar said...

Don't sweat it Mark. I haven't even listened to my files yet and I'm still very satisfied w/ my $20.

Mark Zuckerman said...

(I just posted this on one of the previous comments thread, but I'll post it again here for those who didn't see it)...

Folks, knock it off. You know what I'm talking about. Ben Goessling, Bill Ladson and Chico Harlan are all fine reporters who do great work. More importantly, they're all good friends. We spend more time with each other than we do our own families. I didn't launch this site in any way to undermine those guys. I launched this site to provide fans another venue with another voice covering the Nats.

When I initiated the fundraising campaign, I decided to offer those who contributed at certain levels extra content, things that at the time weren't being offered anywhere else. But there's certainly nothing preventing anyone else from offering the same material, for a fee or for free, and I have no problem with any of them doing just that.

If you contributed and feel like you've been shortchanged, please let me know and I'll refund your money. In the meantime, do not treat this space as an open forum to anonymously rip on other reporters. That's not cool.

sjm105 said...

I agree Marc. No matter what site I pick there is something negative from Periculum/Peric etc. Just keep doing what you are doing and we are very happy.

JayB said...

Mark,

It is all the same guy....He is famous for what he is doing here under different signons...I love the information I get here and the formats I get it in....thanks...

natsfan1a said...

I'm not feeling shortchanged in the least. Thanks for all that you're doing!

JayB said...

Hey Mark,

Any feeling of disappointment from coach or FO types the Dukes is not in camp early working on his hitting. He is such a key part of this team as Rizzo has put it together. If he fails to focus and stop chasing curve balls outside there really is no plan B it seems. Rizzo is not a big risk taker so he must feel a bit exposed putting all his eggs in the Dukes basket and then to have him be the last one in camp.......what do you hear?

An Briosca Mor said...

I didn't launch this site in any way to undermine those guys. I launched this site to provide fans another venue with another voice covering the Nats.

Understood, Mark. And no problem with that. But didn't this site get launched to be an "independent voice"? It sure does seem like all you reporters are operating in lockstep. I read the exact same stuff everywhere, from you, from Ben, from Chico, from Ladson. I don't care who gets there first with the report, in the end it's all the same. Why can't one of you reporters branch off and cover things from a different angle, focus on different players, stuff like that? And since you're the only one not tied to an organization that would have expectations of you, it seems like it would be easiest for you to be the one doing that.

peric said...

NatsNut is right.

JayB said...

I understand Nats are not going to the post season this year...I really think Rizzo is making a mistake by not putting a strong rotation in place on opening day. Sure it may cost more money but if they come out and loss like we all know they can in April....No SS or Olsen or Wang innings in July will help energize a beaten down fan base. Again Rizzo is exposed and Season Ticket base is down to about 5000....they have to come out hot or it is going to be very ugly with under 7K in the park in April.

alm1000 said...

Thanks Mark. Ignor the nonsense - we all try to.

natbiscuit said...

Mark,

Thank you very much for your efforts. You are delivering a very good product and I would be no less happy with it if there were 10 other sites covering the exact same material. We have a saying in this virtual neighborhood - "Ignore the Trolls".

I'm enjoying the photos too.

Andrew said...

Mark Zuckerman said... Only guys who hadn't arrived by this afternoon were Josh Willingham and Elijah Dukes. And there's no reason to believe they won't report tomorrow. Physicals will take place Thursday, then the first full-squad workout is Friday.

I texted Elijah and you will see him there tomorrow! Like Dave said, Josh's wife Ginger is due to give birth any moment.

JayB said...

Oh I missed that....you took the picture too Mark.....looks like a pro pic.

Anonymous said...

I enjoy reading all you write Mark, it's quality stuff every time. Keep on keepin on. But, as in life itself, some people are just sour notes, they can't help it though, so, it is what it is. JT in SC

peric said...

I hope you all aren't attributing the anonymous note above my note to me sjm105? As it is every time I used the gadget/widget to donate it generates an error and paypal tells me to wait for 1/2 hour. Perhaps its because I am on a Mac? So, at this point I am not out a dime.

My post was an attempt at humor, perhaps feeble to some here, and a suggestion. I did know that the use of the word "undercut" would be considered offensive? Well, at least I do not post anonymously.

As for "negativity". Gee, I'm not sure but I don't think I am the only one here who doesn't think the Nats have done enough to get out of the cellar. Why not ask these reporters if they think this team is where it needs to be to leave the NL East bottom.

peric said...

Meant to say "did not know"; instead of "did know".

natbiscuit said...

Mark, a request: Could you ask Riggleman whether he will bat Kennedy a) second against right handers, b) second against right and left handers, or c) mix him in somewhere at the bottom of the order. Guzman has the advantage of being a switch hitter, but Kennedy is likely to have the better OBP. Stole 20 last year too. Kennedy seems like a better choice up top to me, but I can't even get the Nats to interview me for Manager.

markfd said...

Mark,

Thanks for the odds and ends today, good stuff. I would hope with so many pitchers in camp they would give a shot to those already in camp before sign a lower level starter.

greg said...

an interesting link to share w/the more hardcore fans who want something "unique" that's related to the nats (at least indirectly).

http://www.theclinkroom.com/blogs/frontpage/1304782-_syracuse_chiefs_phase_ii_edition

Found this site today. They sell hats with early designs of logos they designed for minor league teams. the link above takes you to a concept they showed the syracuse chiefs that ended up not being selected.

ok, so it's a little random, but maybe someone will find it intriguing.

Section 222 said...

Mark, I think you're doing a great job and I'm happy with my investment. You even provided the unexpurgated Guardado interview. What could be better than that?

On the other hand, I do think a little more skepticism of the FO is in order. Instead, this post seems to adopt Rizzo's outlook as your own. For example, do you agree that it would be foolish to spend money on another starter, and that such a starter would "likely" only have a temporary position? Rizzo started the offseason saying he was looking for two starters -- he got one (Marquis) and a hope for another (Wang). Strasburg and Wang *may* be in the rotation in May/June -- but they may not. We clearly don't know yet if Wang is going to be the ace we hope he'll be. We don't even know for sure that he'll be healthy enough to pitch regularly starting in May, regardless of how good he is. Strasburg has thrown all of two bullpen sessions. There already seems to be a good chance that Olson won't be ready to go by Opening Day. Detwiler has already gone down. So I don't think a decision not to spend more money on a starter is at all justified at this point. Remember last year at this time, when Daniel Cabrera was finallg going to be a half-decent pitcher, Olson was going to throw 200 innings and Zimmermann was the first coming before Strasburg? How'd that work out?

I'm interested in what you think about what Rizzo tells you based on what you're seeing down there, not just what he says. Or is that beyond the scope of the new venture?

peric said...

I should think Rizzo would want to have a left-hander in the rotation other than Lannan? No one knows for sure if Olsen and Wang would last through the all-star break even if they pitch ..

It looks like its now down to Thompson and Chico?

upperdeck4 said...

Mark: I am enjoying the site very much. Ignore the naysayers and keep ob blogging. I am curious if you know what happened with Dukes in the offseason after he left Licey because of his dad's death.

SpashCity said...

Since Mark won't plug himself I'll help him out.

He's got a story on Strasburg on the front page of the USAToday sports section. He's not out of the print business yet.

Also the link.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/nl/nationals/2010-02-23-strasburg-spring-training_N.htm

natsfan1a said...

Thanks for the heads up, Spash, and congrats on your continued fish-wrap presence, Mark. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Josh's wife gave birth to their 2nd child last night. The Nats have told Josh he can report Friday and at the latest Saturday.

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