In an MLB Network Radio interview earlier this month, 35-year-old former Astros and Phillies' closer Brad Lidge talked openly about why he wasn't going to be pitching for the Phillies the next time he threw in Citizens Bank Park after four-years, 100 saves and one World Series championship in Philadelphia. The veteran of ten MLB seasons explained that the Phillies told him they were open to bringing him back, but after he looked around for a job as a closer and found no one willing to sign him for that role, "I came back to the Phils," Lidge said, "And at that point they didn't have a spot left for me. They changed their mind, that can happen in this business, so at that point I went looking for the best spot for me."

Lidge, who was coming off a 3-year/$37M dollar deal in Philadelphia, explained that he made the decision to join the Washington Nationals on a 1-year/$1M dollar deal, "After talking to Jayson Werth for a while..."

Continue reading this post »

The two best things about Bryce Harper's five minute-plus interview with the MLB Network's Harold Reynolds?

1) The 19-year-old left-handed hitting power bat explaining that he wants to hit opp-boppo HR's (Translation: HR's to the opposite field) because it's the difference between being a .300 and a .260 hitter. The no.1 overall pick in the 2010 Draft, who left high school early, got his GED and went to a year of Junior College just to make himself eligible for the draft as soon as possible, isn't all about the so-called "light-tower power" home runs that caught everyone's attention in the YouTube clips that first got everyone talking about Harper. As the Nats' prospect explains in the MLB Network interview, "Anybody can pull the ball nine miles to right. I wanted to be able to hit the ball the same way to left that I do to right. All my home runs that you see are usually left-center to center. If you can hit the ball that way you're going to hit .300, if you're not, you're going to hit .260."

• The 2nd Best Thing From The Interview, And the Interview Itself If You Missed It...

Continue reading this post »

One of several interesting observations in Washington Post writer Thomas Boswell's Spring Training opening article on Monday entitled, "Reporting day, baseball’s most relaxed day", dealt with the grip strength displayed by Nationals' second baseman Danny Espinosa as he met up with teammates again for the first time this Spring. Nats' skipper Davey Johnson, after shaking the 24-year-old infielder's hand, tells the WaPost writer, "... that last year Espinosa hit well right-handed but poorly left-handed," but, Johnson's quoted stating, "'That’s going to change dramatically this year.'" Johnson points to the Nats' '08 3rd Round pick's firm handshake as evidence that Espinosa is finally fully-healed from the injury he suffered before the 2011 season which the infielder says affected his power from the left side of the plate last year...

Continue reading this post »

"The plan three years ago was to attack the draft before the new CBA," D.C. GM Mike Rizzo told reporters this winter. "That was our focus," the general manager of the team initially ranked as the no.1 organization in baseball in 2012 by Baseball America continued, "that was our vision, that was our strategy going into it three years ago and we did it, we attacked it for the last three years and I don't think you'll see a draft class like last year's because of the new CBA rules, so..."

That aggressive approach which included signing no.1 overall picks Stephen Strasburg ('09), Bryce Harper ('10) and 1st Round pick Anthony Rendon ('11) to major league deals, going well-above slot to sign picks like A.J. Cole (4th Round 2010), Robbie Ray (12th Round 2010) and Matt Purke (3rd Round 2011 who got a major league deal), and using compensation picks for the loss of free agents like Adam Dunn to load up on first round picks and sign players like RHP Alex Meyer (23rd overall in 2011) and OF Brian Goodwin (34th in '11). The results? Baseball America, which ranked the Nationals' organization 21st overall in 2009-2010 when Rizzo took over as GM, and had moved them up to 13th last year, had them no.1 overall in 2012.

Continue reading this post »

D.C. GM Mike Rizzo made an appearance on 106.7 the FAN in D.C. this afternoon to talk to hosts Danny Rouhier and Grant Paulsen about the beginning of Spring Training and the high expectations for the Washington Nationals this season, which are higher than they've been in any year since baseball returned to the nation's capital in 2005. The Nationals too expect a lot of themselves the general manager explained. "We've said all along that we're here to win games and to win championships and that type of thing," Rizzo said, "but it's not a short process, you need to build to that end. We [feel] that we've got ourselves a good foundation of a good ballclub. The Philadelphia Phillies are still the king of the mountain here in the National League East, and we've got ourselves in a very difficult division. With that said, though, we intend to be playing meaningful games in September and October. We're going to give that message to our players here when they all assemble, when position players get here and they take their physicals and we're ready to take the field."

"We've done a good job developing our young talent, our young core in the major leagues," Rizzo continued, "A good farm system. We made some acquisitions via trade and free agency that we like. We like the construction of the ballclub as it is and the future as it lays, and we're going to tell the players it's time for them to take the next step and win some ballgames."

• Listen to D.C. GM Mike Rizzo Talk Nats With 106.7 the FAN's Danny Rouhier and Grant Paulsen:

Continue reading this post »

Reports out of Florida on the first official day of the Washington Nationals' 2012 Spring Training, after pitchers and catchers reported yesterday, have D.C. GM Mike Rizzo reiterating that once 23-year-old right-hander Stephen Strasburg reaches his prescribed innings-limit in his first full-season back from Tommy John surgery, he will be shut down. No late starts to the season, no extended rests, no manipulation to keep him around for a potential late-season run at a post-season berth. When Strasburg reaches his limit (which will be around 150-160.0 innings according to Nats' skipper Davey Johnson via MASN's Pete Kerzel on Twitter @KerzelPete), the Nats' '09 no.1 overall pick will be done for the season regardless where the Nationals happen to be in the standings at that time.

"If we're lucky enough and improved enough to be playing meaningful games in September," D.C. GM Mike Rizzo said in an MLB Network Radio interview with hosts Kevin Kennedy and Jim Duquette this past September, "and [Strasburg's] pitch limits are up, just like Jordan Zimmermann this year, he will be done. We'll sit with our plan and we'll stick to it." In a conference call with reporters this winter the Nats' general manager said that though they hadn't arrived at a set number of innings "in concrete" as he put it, they had discussed , "... general parameters of what I think is something I would allow him to throw."

Continue reading this post »

So what have we learned in the first two days of the Washington Nationals' 2012 Spring Training? Not much we didn't know. Mike Cameron's decision to decline the Nats' ST invitation and call it a career can't be seen as too much of a surprise. Bryce Harper has arrived. The Nationals' middle infielders have changed their uniform numbers, with Ian Desmond going from no. 6 to no.20 and Danny Espinosa changing from no.18 to no.8, but we already knew that. Some astute readers noticed that Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa's jersey numbers were changed weeks back and we did a little investigating then:

"Danny Espinosa wore no.8 on his jersey at Long Beach State. The Nats' SS@2B also wore the number 8 at some stops in the Nats' system. According to reports at the time, the infielder changed to 18 when he got called up to make his debut with Washington in September of 2010 because then-bench coach John McLaren already had the no.8. Espinosa will return to wearing the no.8 when he returns to the nation's capital this season.

"Ian Desmond will be wearing the no.20 in 2012. I asked and looked around, no good explanation for why. He was born on 9/20/85? To honor the Nats' skipper and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson? Anyone? Those are the cosmetic changes you'll notice around the 2012 Nats' infield."

Continue reading this post »