A Yankee-fan friend of mine texted me with these ominous words:

"Nats get Pedro..."

To which I responded incredulously, "Where'd you hear that?"

"Speculation on SI website..."

"Send me a link," I said, and he did...and he should have included a ? in his original text, as in "Nats get Pedro?"...

Ben Reiter, SI.com columnist, has a post entitled, "Ranking the top 50 free agents", where, in a chart listing the top fifty available players and the team with which they'd be the "Best Fit", he gets to #44 overall, the 13th starting pitcher on the list, Pedro Martinez, and Mr. Reiter writes that the best fit for Pedro would be the Nationals...:

"Many thought the Mets would get two good years out of his four-year deal; they got one, his first. His next contract could yield fewer than that, and as such will likely be largely incentive-based. Jim Bowden's Nats always willing to gamble, even if success rate is low."

Even if Pedro was healthy, I can't see this making sense, any more than signing Lo Duca did last season...but I'm sure Manny Acta knows what he's like in the locker room from their time together in NY...Does anyone believe this? The only positive I can see is giving one of Scott Boras' clients, like Pedro, a deal to start the year off on a good note so negotiations with Stephen Strasburg are easier...Just thinking ahead...