The Nationals Enquirer

Degenerate gamblers don't like Manny's chances.

 

Manny Acta: Best Odds to be first MLB manager fired in 2009?

With a 5-15 start, the knives are being sharpened in some corners of Nats Town. Now it appears that Vegas doesn't like Manny's chances, either. According to BetFirms dot com, BetUS Sportsbook has set the odds for Manny Acta being fired at 2/1:

There are several coaches that have to start wondering if they should put the house on the market, including Manny Acta of the Washington Nationals (2/1), Ron Washington of the Texas Rangers (4/1), and Cecil Cooper of the Houston Astros (4/1).  You also can’t feel comfortable if you are Eric Wedge of Cleveland (5/1), Clint Hurdle of the Rockies (5/1), Ken Macha in Milwaukee (6/1), Joe Giarardi of the Yankees (6/1), Bob Geren of the Oakland A’s (7/1), Fredi Gonzalez of Florida (8/1), Bruce Bochy in San Francisco (8/1), or Joe Maddon in Tampa (8/1).

Interestingly, odds on Jerry Manuel getting fired are at 12/1. Remember, that's the guy keeping Manny's seat warm up in NY...Bet you Manny will take those odds...

(AP Photo)

Radio Free Jimbo

"We didn't have the resources to ever have a competitive payroll, or we weren't able to sign our first-round pick because we weren't given the dollars to finish that. But the reality is it is going to be a gold mine. It is just going to take some time... Washington is going to draft Strasburg. The decision has already been made. It was made when I was there. That is who they are going to take."
(Jim Bowden, via Washington Times, 4/29/2009)

He hasn't lost his touch!

Jim Bowden takes to the airwaves in LA, blames Cheapskate Lerners for his crappy team(s), failure to sign Aaron Crow.

Also, despite what Stan Kasten might tell you at this hour, Jim says the decision has already been made to draft Stephen Strasburg.

Hat tip to Thom Loverro of the Washington Times, who taps into pure comedy gold by tracking down Jim Bowden out in L.A. doing a part-time radio gig on an ESPN affiliate. Of course, Jimbo never disappoints; Loverro's piece is filled with one Jim Bowden Whopper after another; never mind that the quotes are almost a month old (from an appearance on April 1). Try this one on for size:

"In my whole career, I never got a choice where to be. The Cincinnati Reds chose me. The Washington Nationals chose me. This time I am going to choose where to be. And certainly radio and television are two things that I love, and that's what I am going to be pursuing."

Boy, do we miss Jim. We're actually surprised by the news he's in LA; almost expected to hear he'd moved in with Jose Rijo down in the Dominican. Wonder if he's still sticking to that prediction of a championship season for the Nats in 2009?

(Photo of Jim Bowden on TV by The Nationals Enquirer staff)

The Closer(s).

 

"The guys see us different because Kip Wells and myself have been around. Nothing against the other guys in the 'pen, but the guys that have been around, they see us different."
(Julian Tavarez, via Washington Times, 4/30/2009)

Nationals 4, Phillies 1: It's like Jimbo used to say, pitching, pitching, pitching!

Olsen solid; Mock, Wells, Tavarez hold up.

Zim's hit streak hits 18 (just don't ask him about it, okay?).

Welcome, Logan Kensing.

(Photo of Julian Tavarez on TV by The Nationals Enquirer staff)

Can't pin this one on Hanrahan, unfortunately.

"With the team that we have we can't afford to be giving away more than 27 outs on an everyday basis."
(Manny Acta, via Washington Post, 4/29/2009)

Phillies 7, Nationals 1: The good news is, you can't blame the bullpen. But the bad news is the reality that the bullpen isn't the only problem in Nats Town.

Meanwhile...

Nats ship Alberto Gonzalez (6 errors!) to AAA. Guz activated, at last.

Of course, yesterday the Nationals officially removed Hanrahan from the closer's job; will go with closer by committee led by Kip Wells and Julian Tavarez. Good Lord. Where is Jesus Colome when we need him!?

Devastating.

 

"I mean, it's pretty bad."
(Joel Hanrahan, via Washington Post, 4/28/2009)

Phillies 13, Nationals 11: On second thought, to call it devastating doesn't even begin to do this one justice.

11 runs, 12 hits, 5 HRs not enough. Phils double-slam Nats. Mock and Hanrahan crap the bed in the 8th, can't hold 11-7 lead. The good news for Hanrahan is that it's only a 4 hour drive from Philly to Syracuse.

What's another expression for "worse than soul crushing"?

Fill it in, here: ______________________

(Photo of Joel Hanrahan chewing on his towel on TV by Nationals Enquirer staff)

I Love You, Mann

 

"That was impressive. That's as good as it gets. He just handled those big-time guys really well, especially since he didn't have his usual command."
(Manny Acta, via Nationals dot com, 4/26/2009)

Nats 8, Mets 1: Zimmermann and Jesus do their part to salvage lost weekend in NY.

Thinking about a Strasburg-Zimmermann 1-2 punch in 2010 just might get us through 2009.

Hey, at the very least, Jordan Zimmermann will give Nats fans a reason to tune in at least once every 5 days the rest of the season.

Meanwhile - this should put to rest any doubts about Manny's job security. *wink* *wink*

Injury shocker! Shawn Hill to DL; it's his elbow again. Maybe Mike Rizzo isn't a complete buffoon after all!

(Photo by Getty Images)

FLATLINING.

 

"I've been here for three years now, so I can control my emotions, because I know a lot of these kids -- or all of them -- are trying hard right now to do good. Nobody wants to be embarrassed. It's just, things are not working out. It would make a good press conference, but no, I'm not going to throw things; not at least in front of you guys."
(Manny Acta, via Nationals Journal, 4/25/2009)

It's like Manny said: things are not working out.

16 games down, and the expression "historically bad" is officially back on the table.

Mets 8, NAAAts 2: U - G - L -Y, you ain't got no alibi. Even Softball girls wouldn't put on as ugly a display.

Mets 4, Nats 3: Fundamentals. Defense. Timely hitting. These things would certainly help the cause.

Fear not, Nationals fans: Dmitri Young is only about three weeks away...

(AP Photo)

They've Kicked the Tires.

"Unless we got to a point where the price makes sense to us, we're very satisfied with what we've got in our rotation. It's really young, but we think it's got a lot of upside...That (Martinez) would give us depth at the right number. We've kicked the tires a few times. But it hasn't really gone anywhere past that."
(Mike Rizzo, via FOXSports.com, 4/23/2009)

Pedro in DC: sure why the heck not! But...

Ken Rosenthal reported yesterday that the Nationals had 'mild' interest in Pedro Martinez, and Mike Rizzo admitted as much. Rosenthal says:

Martinez, 37, is looking to join either a contender or a rebuilding club that would want him to lead its staff and serve a mentoring role.

Off days are good for floating stuff like this, but to our eyes it seems highly unlikely that Pedro could land in DC. Among just a few of the many reasons we can think of:

• The price won't ever be right. Can't see Pedro coming down from his $5 million price tag. This is an extremely proud guy, a future Hall of Famer, and he's already taking a massive pay cut to get one last shot. We're fairly certain Ted Lerner won't pony up that sort of cash for such a risky proposition - unless you could work out some sort of incentive-laden deal.

• At the moment, the only spot in the rotation you could slot him into is Daniel Cabrera's - and we don't see Ted Lerner saying OK to kicking Daniel and his $2.6 million contract to the curb to take on another big (relative to the Nationals) contract - even if it's only a 1 year. Kristen over at We've Got Heart floated the idea yesterday of making Pedro into the Nats closer, but we don't see Pedro going for that; at least not for a last place team. (and we still like the idea of trying to develop either Hanrahan or Mock as a long-term solution for Closer).

• The Nationals would be a last resort for Pedro. If a contender (say, the Angels or Dodgers) has interest, and Pedro IS willing to come down on price, you'd have to think he'd choose to ride off into the sunset with a team that has a shot at the playoffs rather than a team that will spend the year with a view from the basement.

With all that said - if by some act of God Pedro ends up in DC, we'd welcome him with open arms.

Meanwhile...
When Nationals dot com posts a headline like "Acta realizes club needs improvements in every aspect", it's implied that that includes the Manager, too, right?

Onward. A sweep is in order this weekend in NY. We're feeling it.

(Photo by Reuters Pictures)

Walk It Off

 

"My job is to put hitters away, and I didn't do my job. If I throw anywhere close, maybe I have a shot. But two short breaking balls, that's not getting the job done."
(Mike Hinckley, via Washington Times, 4/23/2009)

Braves 1, Nationals 0: Three straight walks in the ninth kills Nats. But it could be worse; they could be the Caps.

Another wasted effort for John Lannan. Hinckley walks 'em home in the ninth.

(AP Photo)

Heart Attack!

 

"Bro, no signs -- first-pitch slider, let's go. And he throws a 94-mph fastball."
(Jesus Flores, via Washington Post, 4/22/2009)

Nationals 4, Braves 3: Martis is strong + a nice comeback! Hanrahan is a heart attack in the ninth, but it all turns out okay.

Saul Rivera is like a bad penny.

(AP Photo)