CHICAGO -- Jim Riggleman, the Nationals' interim manager for the second half of the 2009 season, will be elevated to the permanent managing job, SI.com has learned.
NEW YORK -- This Yankees team is a lot like many past pin-striped champions, with its emphasis on pitching, power and payroll. And although it'd been six years since the storied franchise's last trip to the World Series, in another reminder of past champions, Mr. Steinbrenner recalled the usual script. Only this time it was the young Mr. Steinbrenner, Prince Hal, who sounded in celebration like he was impersonating his father.
Former Nationals manager Manny Acta has been hired as the Indians' new skipper.
Another critical piece of the Washington Nationals efforts to rebuild their operations abroad was put into place Wednesday afternoon when Boston Red Sox Latin American coordinator Johnny DiPuglia accepted a position as the Nationals director of international operations.
When commissioner Bud Selig told us he had faith in the Washington Nationals back at his All-Star Game briefing, it was assumed he was being more hopeful than realistic. But Selig looks like he might have been on to something.
The last three years, Major League Baseball has implemented a signing deadline, ending the interminable holdouts that often plagued baseball's draft process. The draft still has plenty of problems, but that's another story. This draft is essentially in the books now that Monday's deadline has passed, with two fourth-year pitchers -- indy leaguers Aaron Crow (Royals first-rounder) and Tanner Scheppers (Rangers supplemental first-rounder) still unsigned but not subject to the deadline.
With or without Stephen Strasburg, when midnight arrived on Tuesday the Washington Nationals would still be in last place in the NL East, still own the worst record in baseball and still have more question marks than any organization in baseball. But now that Strasburg has agreed to a four-year contract worth more than $15 million, for the first time in the Nationals brief history, there is considerable cause for optimism. By signing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the Nationals not only made up for their failure to sign their top pick (pitcher Aaron Crow) a year ago, but also brought some much-needed legitimacy to a floundering franchise, some much-needed talent to a club hurting for star power and some much-needed hope to a fan base starving for a team that can, eventually, be something more than a pushover in the difficult NL East.
As the midnight deadline approaches, there are strong signals the Nationals will raise their initial offer of $12.5 million for No. 1 pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg.
Guesses from a multitude of executives around baseball for ballyhooed/deified No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg's eventual signing bonus have ranged from $12 million to $30 million. Every estimate represents a record bonus.
1. Does it seem to you that ejections and arguments are way up this year? It might seem that way after a wild past week in which umpires Ed Rapuano (long-distance ejection) and Jerry Crawford (blown gasket) called attention to themselves last weekend, Kevin Youkilis overreacted on Tuesday and four guys got thrown out of games Wednesday afternoon alone. Well, the answer is ... yes, just a bit, thanks to a lot of beefs about plays on the bases.
CHICAGO -- Jim Riggleman, the Nationals' interim manager for the second half of the 2009 season, will be elevated to the permanent managing job, SI.com has learned.
NEW YORK -- This Yankees team is a lot like many past pin-striped champions, with its emphasis on pitching, power and payroll. And although it'd been six years since the storied franchise's last trip to the World Series, in another reminder of past champions, Mr. Steinbrenner recalled the usual script. Only this time it was the young Mr. Steinbrenner, Prince Hal, who sounded in celebration like he was impersonating his father.
Former Nationals manager Manny Acta has been hired as the Indians' new skipper.
Another critical piece of the Washington Nationals efforts to rebuild their operations abroad was put into place Wednesday afternoon when Boston Red Sox Latin American coordinator Johnny DiPuglia accepted a position as the Nationals director of international operations.
When commissioner Bud Selig told us he had faith in the Washington Nationals back at his All-Star Game briefing, it was assumed he was being more hopeful than realistic. But Selig looks like he might have been on to something.
The last three years, Major League Baseball has implemented a signing deadline, ending the interminable holdouts that often plagued baseball's draft process. The draft still has plenty of problems, but that's another story. This draft is essentially in the books now that Monday's deadline has passed, with two fourth-year pitchers -- indy leaguers Aaron Crow (Royals first-rounder) and Tanner Scheppers (Rangers supplemental first-rounder) still unsigned but not subject to the deadline.
With or without Stephen Strasburg, when midnight arrived on Tuesday the Washington Nationals would still be in last place in the NL East, still own the worst record in baseball and still have more question marks than any organization in baseball. But now that Strasburg has agreed to a four-year contract worth more than $15 million, for the first time in the Nationals brief history, there is considerable cause for optimism. By signing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the Nationals not only made up for their failure to sign their top pick (pitcher Aaron Crow) a year ago, but also brought some much-needed legitimacy to a floundering franchise, some much-needed talent to a club hurting for star power and some much-needed hope to a fan base starving for a team that can, eventually, be something more than a pushover in the difficult NL East.
As the midnight deadline approaches, there are strong signals the Nationals will raise their initial offer of $12.5 million for No. 1 pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg.
Guesses from a multitude of executives around baseball for ballyhooed/deified No. 1 pick Stephen Strasburg's eventual signing bonus have ranged from $12 million to $30 million. Every estimate represents a record bonus.
1. Does it seem to you that ejections and arguments are way up this year? It might seem that way after a wild past week in which umpires Ed Rapuano (long-distance ejection) and Jerry Crawford (blown gasket) called attention to themselves last weekend, Kevin Youkilis overreacted on Tuesday and four guys got thrown out of games Wednesday afternoon alone. Well, the answer is ... yes, just a bit, thanks to a lot of beefs about plays on the bases.
So much of success must start with a vision. For those faced with an unenviable task of seemingly overpowering enormity, it can and must be a source of sustainable energy and renewable hope.
Indians higher-ups say they aren't likely to trade hitting star Victor Martinez. Not only is Martinez one of the better hitters in baseball, with 14 home runs, 57 RBIs and .313 batting average, but the Indians hold a bargain 2010 club option on Martinez for $7 million.
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates, swapping outfielders at a rapid rate for the second successive season, sent starting left fielder Nyjer Morgan to the Washington Nationals in a four-player deal involving outfielder Lastings Milledge and also shipped backup Eric Hinske to the Yankees on Tuesday.
Folks always talk about how important it is to get off to a good start. These players, managers and executives can say they're off to spectacular starts ...
The Pedro Martinez Sweepstakes kicks off in earnest today when he throws for at least four teams: the Cubs, Rays, Angels and Yankees. The workout will take place down in the Dominican, where he's been working out and waiting for the appropriate deal.
A potentially great pitching market is threatening to become almost nonexistent.
Manny Acta appears to be on his way out as Nationals manager, and while respected ex-big league manager Jim Riggleman reportedly will be installed as the interim manager, team higher-ups also have begun internal discussions about permanent candidates. One of those candidates to replace Acta, according to National League sources, is Bobby Valentine, who is currently in his seventh season as manager of the Chiba Lotte Mariners in Japan.
Manny Acta is likely to be fired soon, perhaps as early as Monday, a National League source confirmed.
The four-minute clock that began counting down at the command of Commissioner Bud Selig at the start of Tuesday's MLB Draft marked not only the beginning of the draft but the end of the Washington Nationals' time as a mostly anonymous, seemingly directionless and understandably inept franchise.
The wealthy Yankees, Red Sox and Mets were all hoping that by some miracle Stephen Strasburg would slip to them due to signability concerns. (Hey, it happens -- coveted hurler Rick Porcello fell all the way to Detroit at No. 27 in 2007.) But there was no talking the needy Nationals off the pitcher who's considered one of the greatest prospects of all time.
This week's Diamond Digits dissects the Diamondbacks' pitching staff's very uneven yet eventful week, a century-long record falling in the Windy City and the Big Unit's big moment -- and how his final steps along the way to 300 wins compare to other recent club members.
What's more fun than playing scouting director? Playing scouting director 32 times. Baseball America's draft experts, Jim Callis and John Manuel, conducted a mock MLB draft in which they took turns making the picks for Tuesday's first round, factoring in the finances and needs for each team. So the player listed is the one that BA's experts think that each team should pick, not necessarily the one that they will pick. (Callis won the coin toss, so he gets first dibs on the best prospect in draft history and makes all the odd-numbered picks; Manuel has the evens.)
A Washington Nationals official pretended on Sunday not to know a thing about Stephen Strasburg, the San Diego State pitching phenom who's expected to go first to the Nats in Tuesday's draft. "What's Tuesday? Who's Strasburg?'' he said, feigning ignorance.
Stephen Strasburg of San Diego State is 20 years old with a fastball alleged to have reached 103 mph, a slider just as good and the skill to put them where he wants them. Probably no collegian has ever pitched as well. He's struck out more than half the batters he's faced this year. Watching footage of him you wonder where he would rank in various major league contenders' rotations; third in some, maybe higher in others.
The Washington Nationals are primed to select San Diego State star pitcher Stephen Strasburg with the No. 1 overall pick in next month's draft, sources said.
In the nation's capital these days there's plenty of impatience and lots of talk about when things will finally turn around. The economy? Oh yeah, that too. The state of the area's two major league teams is almost as sad as the state of the economy. In Baltimore, the Orioles started well but have fallen back to a more familiar fourth place in the AL East. Meanwhile in D.C., the Nationals have the worst record in the majors (3-10).
When the oh-so-smart Marlins traded arbitration-eligible players Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the competing Nationals in November, it looked like a typical small-revenue club salary dump. But with the Marlins, typical dealings are almost always more than they seem.
That $50 million figure that's being attached to ballyhooed college-pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg is no joke. Baseball people who have spoken to Strasburg's adviser Scott Boras say they believe that's the figure Boras has in mind for Strasburg, the San Diego State pitcher some are calling a once-in-a-decade talent.
1. The Jim Bowden saga is not a distraction to the players.
Washington Nationals general manager Jim Bowden's job is in jeopardy, according to people familiar with the situation.
A top Washington Nationals prospect and recipient of the largest international signing bonus in team history is not who he appeared to be. Esmailyn Gonzalez, who is listed as 19 years old on the team's roster, is actually 23-year-old Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo, four sources have told SI.com.
Caleb Peiffer of Baseball Prospectus breaks down tonight's key games:
What is the biggest reason for the Mets continued slide? How would you fix their bullpen? Should they be trying radical solutions, like making Pedro the closer? -- Ray Sarola, New York, N.Y.
Embattled Nationals general manager Jim Bowden still appears to have the support of his bosses, who blame others for problems that have beset Bowden and the club in recent days, according to people who have spoken to the leadership of the last-place club.
In this week's edition of Diamond Digits we look at the Windy City's "other" winning team, the worst of the bests, a Nationals disaster and a pitcher who really used his head to get to the top. (NOTE: All stats through Monday night.)
You may want to consider adding Mike Marshall's 1974 Cy Young year to your list. While not strictly a "closer", entering 106 games and pitching 208 innings in relief (with 21 saves) is as mind-boggling now as it was then. Back when relievers were given the Firemen of the Year Award, he did the work of two whole firehouses and a squad of pumper trucks. -- Mike, Rye, N.Y.
Although the FBI and Major League Baseball's investigation into whether Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden and associates, including Nationals special assistant Jose Rijo, skimmed money from bonuses to Latin American prospects is still in its early stages, the team's signing of shortstop Esmailyn Gonzalez in 2006 is a focus of the probe, according to sources close to the investigation.
Worshippers began arriving at the Washington Nationals stadium before sunrise, eagerly awaiting an open-air Mass that will be presided over by Pope Benedict XVI
When the Washington Nationals play their home opener against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday, the grass on the field won't be the only thing that's green.
It was early April, not yet two weeks into the new baseball season, and already the Nationals looked like everything that everyone feared they would be. They had won one game. They had lost eight, including, at the time, six straight. Other than the one win, courtesy of a walkoff single in the ninth, the Nats hadn't had a lead all year. They hadn't scored a single run before the fourth inning.
This has been a great week for the emergence of newcomers. Of course for every opportunity there's a setback (see Chad Tracy, Hank Blalock, Jeremy Bonderman, Roy Halladay) so while these players will probably help your fantasy outlook, they probably won't immediately help you as much as those who they are replacing.
Also in this column: • Mariners lead in failed drug tests • Rangers not happy with new skipper • Ozzie Guillen's latest controversy • More news and notes
I. The Nats: You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension -- a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into ... the Twilight Zone.
Teams covered in this issue:
It's 5 p.m. on April 24, and the Florida Marlins are doing what they normally do when it's 5 p.m. and they are in Miami: They're taking batting practice. The Marlins, somewhat unexpectedly, boast one of baseball's most explosive offenses -- at week's end they led the majors in extra-base hits (97) and slugging percentage (.475) -- and this afternoon that potency is on full display. Miguel Cabrera, the hulking 24-year-old third baseman who's averaged 31 home runs the past three seasons, launches ball after soaring ball, many of which land in the outfield seats at Dolphin Stadium. Dan Uggla, the second-year second baseman with the circus strongman forearms, does the same. There is something metronomically workaday about the process: Step in, take a few hacks, let the next guy have a go, repeat. Then Hanley Ramirez enters the cage.
1. 2006 underachievers: Prior to the 2006 campaign, two middle America cities were abuzz with optimism. Both Cleveland and Milwaukee boasted young, exciting teams that were coming off encouraging seasons in '05. Hopes and dreams quickly came crashing down, though, as both teams vastly underachieved and finishing below .500.
Back in the late '70s, the Orioles had a right-handed reliever named Don Stanhouse, a big ol' floppy-haired lug of a guy that Baltimore manager Earl Weaver supposedly liked to call "Full Pack." That, it was said, was the number of cigarettes that Weaver inhaled during one of Stanhouse's typically nerve-searing and painfully drawn-out appearances.
Also in this column: • Reds-Nationals deal still under review • Manuel blows up at reporters • D'backs have a winner in Owings • More news and notes
Make faces at the oh-so-cuddly panda cub or inspect a moon rock. Cheer on a big-league baseball team or practice spycraft.
This is not about baseball. Or, rather, it's about so much more than baseball. When Jackie Robinson took America by the collar 60 years ago and shook it for all it was worth, he did it on a baseball field, yes. But why he did it, how he did it, the era in which it took place -- and, of course, that he did it at all -- are infinitely more important than where it happened. Then and now, the act itself was much bigger than the stage. None of us should ever forget that.
Also in this column: • Nats look forward to trade deadline • Possible suitors for Lidge • Johan Santana's "denial" • More news and notes
The Astros need to trade struggling, just-demoted Brad Lidge while he still has value. And apparently, he still does. Three executives contacted Tuesday said they'd gladly take Lidge off the Astros' hands -- at the right price, of course.
Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has an idea that seems to make sense, especially after a trying first week in baseball in which the Indians had seven games either snowed out or relocated to a different time zone, stars such as Johnny Damon, Hideki Matsui and Victor Martinez were hurt trying to play baseball in football weather, and fans, when they bothered to show up at all, sat through miserable conditions to watch something that did not pass for major league-quality baseball.
Also in this column: • Poor scheduling by MLB • Sheffield's new book • More news and notes
It's dangerous trying to read a 162-game season after a couple of opening-week toe-stubs. It's worse than dangerous. It's stupid, reckless, downright irresponsible.
Also in this column: • Selig's golden parachute • Moreno a big fan of A-Rod • More news and notes
The prediction business never has been more difficult in baseball. So-called surprise teams happen so often these years that you should expect at least one playoff team to come out of nowhere -- or even Milwaukee, if you care to be specific.
With the baseball season starting on Sunday, it's time to look at some of the key storylines. We'll let other baseball previews tell you who's going to win which division. Here are the things you should really be looking out for:
Although the roster will be comprised of a bunch of no-names, don't mistake this year's Nats for last season's Marlins. The starting pitching is a shambles, the lineup is sprinkled with "Four A" players and few team members have fantasy value at all. Even with the energetic Manny Acta running the show the Nationals will be hard-pressed to keep this from being the first 100-loss season for the franchise since 1976.
Justin Verlander went to Tigers spring training last season with two games of major-league experience. Scott Proctor had been rather useless over two seasons with the Yankees thanks to his ERAs of 5.40 and 6.04. Frank Thomas reported to Oakland's camp having played a total of just 108 games over the previous two seasons. Each of those players, however, became key contributors for playoff-bound teams.
Also in this column: • Bernie Williams' chances • Cardinals whiffed on Weaver • More news and notes
The National League had some catching up to do, and it did just that this winter. The NL imported Barry Zito, Carlos Lee, Freddy Garcia and Randy Johnson from the American League. If this keeps up, things will even out before long.
For millions of Americans, the first big financial decision in life is whether to take on a student loan. Student loans are debt, of course, but they represent something different than credit card debt or a car loan: They are part of a quest for a better future.
Time Warner is exploring a sale of the Atlanta Braves and one of its cable networks that carries many of the teams' games.
It's pleasingly difficult to remember when Major League Baseball seemed to be in a perpetual state of labor war.
Spending a lot, rather than spending smart, seemed to be the way to baseball's post-season this year. And 2006 may belong to the big spenders too.
Led by its crafty, crusty manager, the new team in Washington is winning over a baseball-starved city.
Billionaire financier George Soros has joined one of the groups bidding to purchase the Washington Nationals baseball team, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
When the Washington Nationals play their home opener at R.F.K. Stadium this week, it will be the first regular-season major league game in the nation's capital since 1971.
A record number of fans came out to watch major league baseball last season, and they'll pay for that support with higher ticket prices this season.
In 2005, for the first time in 33 years, Washington will have its own major league baseball team.
This Christmas, many candidates are eligible for either the naughtiest or nicest of 2004.
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