The Farm Report

I don't read the Washington Times regularly, so I sometimes miss interesting little stories like this piece on the battle for Harrisburg. It seems that Peter "Satan's Little Helper" Angelos has opened up a second front in his war on Washington. Having failed to keep major league baseball out of D.C., Angelos is now trying to drive our AA team, the Harrisburg Senators, out of town. The irony is that if the Nats farm team left, Harrisburg would be even more like D.C., another capital without Senators.

Staying down on the farm, today's Times also has a glowing review of Nats SS-of-the-future Ian Desmond. Desmond, who Jim Bowden has already compared to Derek Jeter (wow, with Jeter and Rolen our infield is shaping up nicely), is hitting .268 at Potomac. But the 19-year old has drawn raves for his range and glove work, 14 errors in 42 games notwithstanding.

The Washington Post has positive press for Preston. If he continues his August clip, (.328, 4 HRs, 14 RBI, .971 OPS) I may have to rescind his nickname. But the 19 Ks in 18 games is still just uncalled for.

Finally, Nationals.com gives overdue props to Brian Schneider, the Nats second half batting leader at a healthy .365 (.291 overall for the season). Schneider credits some of his improvement at the plate to advances in clubhouse video capability. The Nats catcher's foray into the wonderful world of 20th century technology was first reported here by yours truly.