The Last Straw

Meet Marlon Anderson, the Nats new $1.85 million left-handed pinch hitter for the next two seasons. If Marlon gets a hit every single time he comes up to bat in 2006 he's earned his contract. Otherwise I have had it with Jim Bowden. The Nationals are operating on a roughly $50 million dollar payroll. Bowden just promised about $1 million of that to a guy whose job is to get one at bat a game. And then he promised it to him again in 2007!

Earlier this offseason the Nats blogosphere debated Jim Bowden in philosophical terms. Agree with his decisions or not, isn't it better to have someone in charge, making decisions? I think it's time to revisit that discussion. Leaving aside the Vinny Castilla-Brian Lawrence trade, inertia might have been the Nats best friend this winter, if only to keep J.B. from overloading the roster with subpar utility infielders.

The big losers here are Jamey Carroll, Rick Short and Brendan Harris, all of whom should probably start looking for a new gig in 2006. Darn you Bowden, Darn you to heck. (Distinguished Senators has a much more satisfying, profanity-laced take on the Marlon Anderson signing.)

Google Bombs Away!

Bud Selig is a national disgrace, not that you needed me to tell you that. Der Selig's latest mealy-mouthing on the Nationals:

"We want to move as expeditiously as possible. I'm very sensitive about all these issues... We need to select an owner. We need to get a lease done. We just need to move ahead."

As Tonto said to the Lone Ranger, "What's this we stuff, cowboy?" Bud is the one who still has three ownership interviews to conduct. If that's what $100,000 and the promise of $450 million more gets you in the way of personal service from the Commish, no wonder baseball owners are all grouchy SOBs.

One faint ray of hope comes from the rumored merger talks between the Lerner family and former Atlanta baseball exec Stan Kasten. The Lerners have the deep pockets and family control, Kasten has the baseball-insider mojo, and no one named Smulyan is involved. What's not to like?

Today's Post also reports that the city council reacted favorably to plans for the new stadium. I'm remaining agnostic until I see pictures. Speaking of the stadium, negotiations continue at roughly the speed of cold molasses. Capitol Punishment and Curly W have the in-depth analyses.

Beantown Bound Bowden Redux

Trader Jim gets a 2nd interview with the Red Sox, putting him in the same category as the ex-Orioles GM who's not Mike Flanagan, and a host of nameless candidates possibly including Screech. (And I don't mean Dustin Diamond.) Please Boston, take him before he trades Brad Wilkerson for Juan Encarnacion. We'll even throw in Tyrell Godwin!

Thankfully, J.B.'s busy interview schedule didn't prevent him from treating free agent SP A.J. Burnett to a hamburger Happy Meal with all the trimmings at a Miami-area McDonalds. Behold the power of the $50 million payroll. The Nats' free agent marketing campaign, "Washington: It's like Tampa Bay but with slightly more money and less organizational talent!"

USA! USA!

• USA 7, Nicaragua 4

It's not exactly the Yanks-Red Sox, it's not even the Chiba Lotte Marines-Yakult Swallows, (and shouldn't the Phillies really get busy and change their name to Philadelphia Swallows?) but it's baseball and the boys in red, white and blue are undefeated after 3 games in the regional Olympic qualifying tournament. The latest victory comes courtesy of National infielder Brendan Harris, who hit the go-ahead 2-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Brendan is having himself a nice winter, following up an impressive Arizona Fall League showing with a 5-9, 2 run, 3 RBI, 1 HR, 0K start to the Olympic tournament. His .556 batting average currently leads Team USA. If Harris doesn't get a legitimate shot to compete for a utility infielder spot with the Nats this spring I despair for the future of the franchise. Of course the Damian Jackson signing means that Brendan, Jamey Carroll and Rick Short will be fighting for two roster spots at best.

But Only If They Throw In The Parker Brothers Too

Count me as a convert to the cult of Milton Bradley. News of Trader Jim's misguided lust for Juan Encarnacion sparked a "What About Milton?" movement in the Nats blogosphere. OMG and new Nats Blogger Banks make the case for Uncle Milty. Summarized: we need a CF and leadoff man, Bradley can play center and hit leadoff. Sure he's crazier than a shithouse rat, but so what? Is he going to disrupt the burgeoning clubhouse chemistry between Guillen and Wilkerson? Predictably of course, the Nats are said to have no interest in the Dodgers outfielder.

ESPN Noticed... ESPN Cares!

Tim Kurkjian has apparently pulled his head out of [the sand - ed.] just in time to register that Washington's baseball franchise is still ownerless, rudderless and just generally -less. Timmy joins Frank Robinson, The Washington Post and Chris Needham among others in strongly encouraging MLB to just name a f****n' owner already. While attention from "The Worldwide Leader in Sports, Entertainment and Stupid Sports-Themed Game Shows" is nice, it reinforces the painful truth that few people outside the DC-MD-VA region have noticed or cared about our predicament.

T.K. places most of the blame squarely where it belongs, on Bud and the gang, but he can't resist a little dig at the city for not immediately kowtowing to all of MLB's idiot demands. He identifies the usual suspects, Malek, Lerner and Smulyan, as the prime contenders but notes that only Malek and Franklin Haney have promised to pay for construction cost overruns on the new stadium, making them very popular with the D.C. city council.

Mostly though, Kurkjian's column underlines the utter powerlessness of our position. Ultimately baseball will do what it wants, when it wants with the Nationals, and there's not a thing we can do about it (except sending nickels to the league offices postage paid.)

Prospects?! We Don' Need No Stinking Prospects!

And it's a good thing too, because we really don't have any. Both Baseball America and John Sickels evaluate the Nats top minor leaguers and find much to be desired. Beyond Ryan Zimmerman, who pretty much has to stop being considered a prospect now that he's the 2006 starting 3B, the earth is cold and barren. Nats Farm Authority has an independent evaluation of BA's top 10. Possibly the biggest offensive contributor in our minor league system? Triple-A Offensive Player of the Year Richard Ryan Short.

Attack of the Fifty Foot Lake Monsters

In lieu of actual baseball news, of which we have none, Triple Play proudly presents the re-christened NY-Penn League affiliate of the Washington Nationals, your Vermont Lake Monsters. The former Vermont Expos were officially re-branded today, though Nats Farm Authority had the scoop last week.

In possibly the first ever case of a team being named after its mascot, (Washington Screeches, anyone?) the Lake Monsters name derives from their mascot Champ, the Loch Ness-type monster said to live in Lake Champlain. Vermont ditched the Expos red, white and blue for uniforms that have a color scheme similar to the Triple-A New Orleans Zephyrs.

What does all this mean for the farm system? Nothing. But it's nice to see that the new uni craze extend to all levels of the franchise. Stay tuned for the Zephyrs new 2006 outfits, hip-waders and yellow rain slickers.

Alternate Universe

On the heels of the new price-gouging ticket plan, MLB has decided to strap the ol' milking machine to Nats fans proverbial udders and wring the last nickel out of the franchise before handing the mauled carcass off to an actual owner. The scam du jour? Alternate jerseys, which are to be unveiled at high noon this Saturday at the Modell's Sporting Goods in Springfield Mall (convenient to the ninth circle of hell that is the Mixing Bowl, estimated completion date: once Bud Selig has finished interviewing all the sub-contractors.)

BallWonk has been tracking the sordid history of Unigate. I'm torn. I have no interest in providing MLB with another cent of my recently-hard-earned money, but Guillen the Barbarian and Tex Majewski will be signing autographs, and line priority will undoubtedly go to those who purchase something. Some commenters on the Nats blogosphere have suggested staging a protest of MLB's handling of the ownership issue, but organized chanting makes Guillen angry, and in any case unless Bud, Bob or Jerry puts in an appearance I think I'll allow my rotten tomatoes to continue to over-ripen.

Dollars and Sense

Just as everyone assumed, the delay in naming new ownership has less to do with Bud's need to have all the candidates over for tea and bratwurst than with maintaining leverage on the city during the stadium lease negotiations. The Post is reporting that the sticking point is D.C.'s demand that MLB guarantee the $6 million dollar annual lease payment the city is to receive over the 30-year run of the lease.

Now let's leave aside that this is a standard lease term for almost every public project of this type, that the city is raising (at least) $535 million to build the thing with no contribution from MLB and that the revenue guarantee is essential in obtaining bonds to finance the project. Ignoring all that, D.C. is asking for $180 million in guaranteed income over the life of the lease.

That's less than 1/3 of what the construction will cost, and just a little over half of the profit that MLB will immediately realize from the sale of the franchise. MLB has already milked the city like an overworked cow for the Nats relocation, getting D.C. to refurbish RFK and agree to finance 100% of the cost of a new stadium. Thus far the league has contributed absolutely nothing to the process, and it looks as though the city is ready to draw a line in the sand here.

For the duration of the negotiations Bud Selig has wielded the ownership question like a stick, using it to beat back all attempts to reconsider the stadium legislation or make substantial alterations to the lease. But now he may have overplayed his hand. As Frank Robinson noted, the Nationals have already been handicapped in free agency and for the 2006 season by not having owners in place to establish a budget and direction for the team. The good news is though that the damage has already been done. Now it really is no detriment to the team to not have an owner by Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or Valentine's Day, or whatever other arbitrary date Bob DuPuy announces next. So D.C. should hold the line, demand that MLB guarantee the rent and stonewall whatever other asinine conditions Jerry Reinsdorf tries to impose at the 11th hour.

And if the San Juan Nationals end up back at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in 2007, hey, thanks for the memories and let's get to work pressuring Congress to repeal that anti-trust exemption.