The Nationals Enquirer

Don't Blow It, Mike.

(Photo by Washington Post/Newsweek Interactive. Does Mike Rizzo need to do something -- anything? -- by 4 P.M. today to help his case for removing the "Acting" prefix from his job title?)

4 P.M. looming: Make a move, Mike!

Ben Goessling of the Washington Times thinks the Nats are perfectly happy to stand pat, or make a few minor moves at best; here's hoping the Rizzo can at least flip Beimel and NJ for mid-level prospects.

But in the interest of rumor mongering, there's this fun little nugget from this morning's Fort Worth Star-Telegram, an otherwise throw-away line in a piece about the Rangers' pursuit of Roy Halladay (and starting pitching help in general):

Other pitchers who might be available are left-handers Zach Duke and John Lannan.

Lannan? Is Mike Rizzo dangling John Lannan out there? Or at least listening to offers?

Of course, last night, word broke that a market for Nick Johnson had miraculously reappeared: with both the Marlins and Rockies reportedly interested; as of 12:30 a.m. this morning, there's reportedly an offer on the table from the Marlins for NJ from the Marlins according to Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOXSports dot com:

The Marlins are waiting to hear if the Nationals will accept their offer for first baseman Nick Johnson, according to major-league sources.

The proposed deal would send Class AAA right-hander Ryan Tucker to Washington, with the Nationals paying part of the approximately $1.8 million remaining on Johnson's contract.

Guess we'll just have to wait and see what happens...

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A Newfound Appreciation for Jim Riggleman

(Photo of TV by Nationals Enquirer staff. Umpire Joe West celebrates his 4,000th game by tossing Jim Riggleman, shortly after blowing an obvious foul-tip by Anderson Hernandez in the 2nd that he called strike three.)

"I thought I heard the ball hit the bat. When the ball's going through the zone like that -- low and in the dirt -- you can't really see much. I thought I heard the ball and bat make contact. I'm not positive, but I thought it warranted Joe checking with the third-base umpire. He was sure with what he saw and decided there was no need for that."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals dot com, 7/30/2009)

Manny Acta would've just stood there. Calmly, serenely.

Thank you, Jim Riggleman, for caring enough to get your ass thrown out.

Brewers 7, Nationals 3: The box score says no errors, but piss poor, shoddy defense by Wil Nieves (missed tag) and Anderson Hernandez (crappy throw) dooms Nats.

J.D. Martin deserved better than his final line (6IP, 7H, 5R, 5ER, 2HR). Put a gold star next to this: 86 pitches, 64 strikes.

Zim hits HR #19, flexes for the camera.

Much ado about nothing: The 30-year old guy with a history of back problems everyone suddenly wants to keep around for the next few years was a late scratch due to a stiff neck, firing up speculation he'd been traded. We're talking about Mr. Untouchable himself, Josh Willingham, of course!

Again, the good news is: no ground lost in the Bryce Harper Sweepstakes today.

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Hopefully Interim Mike's first priority isn't the same as Interim Jim's first priority.

 

(AP Photo. Jim Riggleman hopes Mike Rizzo doesn't break up the band. Despite the fact that the band can't carry a tune most of the time.)

"My first priority is that we keep this group together and see what we can do with them."
(Jim Riggleman, via Washington Post, 7/29/2009)

Maybe last night's loss puts an end to this crazy talk from Riggles.

By our count, at the moment, there's only one untradeable name on the 40-man roster, spelled two different ways:

Zimmerman; and Zimmermann.

Other than the two Zimms, it's open season. Go ahead: be like Huntington and trade 'em all, Mike.

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The Party's Over

 

(AP Photo/Morry Gash. Nyjer Morgan can't believe it!)

"We should've won this one too."
(Tyler Clippard, via Washington Times, 7/30/2009)

Brew Crew Kills Nats' Buzz.

Brewers 7, Nationals 5: Winning streak goes up in smoke, courtesy of Mock and Clippard in the sixth.

Look on the bright side: at least a Replay call reversal finally went the Nats' way. (And best of all, no ground lost in the Bryce Harper Sweepstakes!)

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Brew Ha Ha!

 

(Photo of TV by Nationals Enquirer Staff. Nyjer Morgan mouths "Oh My God!" at the camera following Adam Dunn's 4th inning stadium-clearing bomb.)

"That ball was crushed. Once he hit it, everybody was screaming in the dugout. That was one of the farthest balls I've seen."
(Collin Balester, via Washington Times, 7/29/2009)

Streaking Nats: Milwaukee Beasts!

Nats 8, Brewers 3: Who are these guys? Four in a row since Interim Jim ripped 'em for laying down on the job.

Collin Balester goes six for the win. Morgan, Guz go deep. Dunn hits one out of Miller Park. Here's a question: if Adam Dunn is Paul Bunyon, does that make Cristian Guzman: Paul Bunion?

Ho Hum: a 2-4, Grand Slam-less night for Josh Willingham.

Meanwhile...

• Dan Steinberg shows restraint, doesn't classify the Bullpen arm wrestling "incident" as Nats Fail. Maybe he'll reconsider after this little win streak ends.

• All quiet on the trading front?

• Rizzo's days are numbered? SI dot com's Tom Verducci says:

  "Arizona director of scouting and player personnel Jerry DiPoto has emerged as a frontrunner for the Washington Nationals general manager job, according to a baseball source."

Finally, if there's such a thing as a silver lining after a win: no ground lost in the Bryce Harper Sweepstakes. SD won (39 wins); KC won (40 wins). To reiterate what we said back on July 16 in our welcome address to Jim Riggleman:

Best of luck to you Mr. Riggleman. We wish you nothing but success the rest of the season - just not too much success, okay? Whatever you do, please don't go and blow the #1 pick in 2010: we want Bryce Harper more than we want a few more meaningless wins in 2009.

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Oh My Josh!

(AP Photo/Morry Gash. Josh Willingham is doing everything in his power to get the hell out of NatsTown.)

"That's the beautiful thing about baseball. You never know what can happen."
(Josh Willingham, via Washington Post, 7/28/2009)

Willingham Hammers Brewers

It feels sort of good to be able to talk history, and not in a bad way, for once.

Nats 14, Brewers 6: 2 Grand Slams for Josh Willingham. That sound you just heard is his trade value going through the roof. Thanks, Jimbo!

Meanwhile...

Is it possible that the Mets are even more screwed up than the Nats?

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Austin Kearns. Now, we've seen everything.

(AP Photo/Evan Vucci. Vegas oddsmakers would tell you Dmitri Young had a better chance of delivering a big hit for the Nats than Austin Kearns this afternoon.)

"In that situation, you're just trying to get the guy in, and hopefully get a win. I was just trying to get a pitch to hit and not miss it."
(Austin Kearns, via Washington Post, 7/25/2009)

Worth the wait?

Nats 3, Padres 2: 3+ years later, and Austin Kearns finally comes through when it counts. Lannan deserved W #8, but Mike MacDougal wanted to see Joe Beimel pick up W #1.

Nats 13, Padres 1: Deluge! It's an after-hours party in NatsTown following a 3+ hour rain delay! We'll never forget J.D. Martin's walk against Luis Perdomo with 2 outs in the 2nd to get the rout rolling.

Meanwhile...

Farewell, Dmitri Young. Seems oddly fitting that on the same day Jim Bowden's biggest bust in D.C. finally earned a little bit of his money, his second worst decision in D.C. finally, mercifully, broke down for good with a torn quad. Godspeed, Da Meathook.

MLB dot com's Bill Ladson reports that Manny Acta dropped by Nationals Park on Sunday, but Manny wouldn't divulge the reason for his visit. Anonymous sources with no knowledge of the situation tell the Nationals Enquirer that Manny returned to apply for the open Managerial position in the Nats' mail room.

Non-Waiver Trade Deadline, Friday. Nick Johnson to SF, right, but what about Willingham?

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E-E-E-E-K!

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais. High-fives! The Padres gained ground in the quest for second worst.)

"Children listen to [the postgame show], so I can't tell you what I said to themIt was just a bad effort. You hate to even try to look for the silver lining. It was particularly bad early. We just weren't ready, and that's on me. I can't accept that. ... I had a lot to say to them, but that's beside the point."
(Jim Riggleman, via Nationals dot com, 7/25/2009)

Yuck! So Effing bad!

Padres 6, NAAAts 2: They're undisputed kings of the basement!

Meanwhile...

In case you needed more proof that Scott Boras is really, really good at his job. A perfect plant!

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Like a Bigfoot sighting: Mark Lerner Speaks!

(Photo by Reuters Pictures)

Frustrated and Accessible!

Mark Lerner, in a rare and exclusive interview with MLB dot com's Bill Ladson, would like Nats fans to know he's frustrated, but accessible. And don't forget, the Nats tried to sign Mark Teixeira this past offseason!

Among the highlights of the interview, Lerner says the Lerners have been unfairly criticized for their frequent disappearing act. An excerpt: 

MLB.com: The Lerner family has been criticized by some for being distant, even evasive. Does this criticism bother you? Should a member of the family have been at the press conference when Manny Acta was relieved of his duties and Riggleman named interim manager?

Lerner: We decided, and announced from the first day, that Stan Kasten -- a well-regarded sports executive and part owner -- was going to be the public face of the Nationals. He has done a splendid job as that public face. Our model is not, by the way, particularly novel in sports. In fact, most baseball decisions at club levels are made by team presidents or general managers. You don't often see team owners making public announcements.

I do think some of the criticism, generally, has been a little unfair. Members of my family, and other members of the ownership group, are at practically every game and certainly accessible to fans. I know I spend a lot of time walking around the park before and during games and enjoy visiting fans each night who just want to talk about the park or about the team. I also, personally, answer mail sent to me, both critical and complimentary.

I will also tell you Stan Kasten is absolutely one of the most accessible in the game. Anyone who's been to Nationals Park has seen Stan walking the park during games, chatting with fans, listening to their ideas or criticisms and telling our story.

We take back all the unfair things we ever said, Mark!

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A Soggy Mess

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais. It's raining, it's pouring, etc.)

"The whole infield was an inch under water and they put down an inch of dust trying to get it, to sop it up, and that only turned into mud...We lost the field, that's what happened."
(Umpire Dana DeMuth, via Washington Post, 7/24/2009)

NatsTown 2009: The Lerners lost the fans; Manny lost the team; and the grounds crew lost the field.

Cards 4, Nats 1: May 3rd makeup becomes loss #67. Will they find the field by 7:05 tonight?

Let's recap: Balester labors, Dunn bobbles, two rain delays, grounds crew Fail; game called it in the top of the 7th with one out. Did we miss anything?

Meanwhile...

Scott Olsen's surgery "went well".

We accept your explanation, Joe; but we're still planning Nationals Enquirer Brown Bag Night anyway.

Over at OMG, Harper chronicles Nats' Trade History.

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