Washington third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is on the inside flap of the most recent issue of Sports Illustrated, along with the class of the '05 MLB Draft...Milwaukee's Ryan Braun, Arizona's Justin Upton, Troy Tulowitzki from Colorado, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clay Buchholz of Boston...and then...THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!! THE KIDS CALL HIM ZIM!!! Ryan Zimmerman, who stands legs crossed and looking down at Buchholz's personalized cover variant of what I believe was SI's Spring Training Preview edition...

Inside the Sports Illustrated Baseball Preview, SI writers predict a 4th Place finish in the NL East for the Nationals, with a (73-89) record, leading Florida by just one game to claim the Runner-Up To the Runner-Up to the Runner-Up spot behind New York, Philadelphia, and Atlanta, first to third '08.

As for Zimmerman's profile, Sports Illustrated writer Ben Reiter writes that, "He reached the big leagues in only 86 days...and hit .397 in 20 games in 2005..." and then Mr. Reiter recounts Zimmerman's sophomore struggles which Zimmerman sums up thoughtfully:

"The second year, [pitchers] know your strengths and weaknesses, and they attack your weaknesses."

...And Nationals' GM Jim Bowden is at his hyperbolic best telling the SI writer, Mr. Reiter:

"He's also a tremendous defensive player, a top-two third baseman who could probably play shortstop. He's got the action on the quickness...He could've been Cal Ripken at shortstop."

If Mr. Bowden was just trying to rile up Orioles' fans up north of DC in Baltimore, that quote should do it.

Mr. Reiter, you'll note, seems to think the Nationals should trade Chad Cordero. For shame. The Flat-Brimmed Closer is here to stay. (I hope.)

IMPORTANT FEDERALBASEBALL.com NEWS-- (ed. note- "Federalbaseball.com Will Undergo Construction starting just after Midnight tonight and lasting through the morning, but it will be back tomorrow night with a new look and a new format that should make building a real DC Baseball Community much easirer. For frequent visitors, you might just have to reclaim your old name and password for access, while any one else trying to comment? (Anyone?)...can set up a new account and join in the fun, post blogs of your own, share pictures, Cheer for Milledge...It should be great...See you on the other side(site)..." -e chigliak)