The Flat-Brimmed Closer...

I always thought it would be the Mets...

Chad Cordero is back throwing off flat ground, not yet the mound, and already, "...at least a dozen teams," including two NL East rivals, are interested in acquiring his services according to Cordero's agent Larry Reynolds, who is quoted, in a post at the MLB Hot Stove blog by MLB.com writer Alden Gonzalez entitled, "Marlins intrigued by Cordero", as stating:

"'I think [the Marlins] are interested in watching him,' Reynolds said. 'A lot of teams have shown interest. But when it's time to make an offer, that's yet to be seen.'"

Washington Post writer Chico Harlan listed the Nationals, as well as, "The D-Backs, Angels, Mets, Rangers and Tigers," last week in a Nationals Journal post entitled, "Right Off The Stove", as the teams with an interest in signing the free agent closer, so along with the Marlins that's seven of the twelve teams Cordero's agent claims, and in the collected articles of an mlbtraderumors.com post under the banner, "Chad Cordero To Audition Friday" by Tim Dierkes, there are also articles that mention the Brewers and Twins, so it's safe to say Chad Cordero will be employed when the '09 season begins...

Why wouldn't Washington just give Cordero $1M and an incentive-laden contract... out of loyalty to a former first-round pick if for no other reason?...Have a heart, Mr. Bowden? Mr. Kasten? Mr. Rizzo?...and bring the Flat-Brimmed Closer back into the fold...That is, if he'd even accept the Nationals' advances at this point?

Would You Pay $56 Million For Adam Dunn?

ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick is quoted in a January 13, 2009 post at ESPN.com's MLB Rumor Central (sorry, Insiders only), entitled, "Price too high for Dunn", reporting that "an official from one club with an interest in Dunn", says the free agent outfielder is seeking a $4-year/$56M dollar deal in return for what is statistically guaranteed, (if there's no falloff in production over the course of the contract), to be 160 HR's and 400 RBI's over the length of the deal for whichever team will meet his demands.

At least he's not asking for 5 years? Dunn's apparently not willing to take a pay cut like Pat Burrell did when he signed with the Tampa Bay Rays recently, and according to published reports, Dunn doesn't think he's, uh, done playing the outfield either, which is probably yet another strike against Dunn eventually signing with DC as I've been predicting for months now...

...as a result of Mr. Dunn's demands, the uncredited writer in this ESPN.com blurb determined that, "Washington and Atlanta, two clubs that have some interest in Dunn, have turned their attention to trade possibilities," before mentioning the same Nick Swisher/Xavier Nady to the Nationals rumors that have been floating around all week. 

Is Washington finally past the point of believing that Dunn's nostalgic attachment to DC GM Jim Bowden from when they were both with the Reds will bring him to the nation's capital? 

WINTER LEAGUE UPDATE...

Tuesday night in the Dominican Winter League Playoffs, the Tigres del Licey shut out Aguilas Cibaenas, 5-0, with DC and Licey right-hander Daniel Cabrera (W, 2-1) earning his second win of the postseason by throwing 5.0 scoreless innings over which he allowed just 5 hits and 1 walk while striking out...9? 9 K's in 5.0 innings is actually pretty impressive. Cabrera struck out 9 of the 21 batters he faced, and he lowered his DWL Postseason ERA to 0.64...Tigres' second baseman Anderson Hernandez was 1 for 5 with a run scored, Jesus Flores, who started behind the plate for Licey, was 1 for 4 with his first RBI for the Tigres...and third baseman Ronnie Belliard ended up 0 for 3 with a walk and a run scored for the (10-5) Tigres.

Wednesday night in the Dominican Winter League Playoffs, the Azucareros del Este broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the ninth inning to beat the Tigres del Licey, who fell to (10-6), still good enough for 1st in the DWL Playoffs. Anderson Hernandez was 1 for 4 with a run scored, and he's hitting .318 in the Playoffs. Ronnie Belliard was 1 for 3 with a walk and a K. Jorge Sosa, yes, he signed with DC too, pitched 6.0 innings in the loss, receiving no decision after allowing 4 hits, 2 runs and 2 walks. (Azucareros' right fielder Ricardo Nanita, DC's Rule 5 pick from the White Sox organization was 1 for 4 with a double, and he's got 5 doubles and 12 RBI's in the Postseason, though he's identified as a White Sox' prosect in MLB.com's, "Wednesday Carribean League roundup: Lobos dispatch Cangrejeros in five."

STRASBURG FILES...

Eric SanInocencio, host of Baseball Digest Daily Live, (whose interview with Aaron Crow I wrote about back in late August), emailed me recently about an interview he was set to conduct with 2009's prospective #1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg for a College Preview podcast set to air in the coming weeks. The interview took place today, and I'll let you know when it's going to air...

In the course of our email correspondence, Eric SanInoncencio made a point about the Washington Nationals' compensatory pick in the first round of the upcoming '09 draft which I hadn't considered...

DC's second 1st round pick, (in addition to the #1 overall selection), was given to the Nationals as compensation after they failed to sign Aaron Crow. To paraphrase Mr. SanInocencio's insight, (since I didn't ask if I could quote him), the Nationals have very little leverage with this compensation pick, because Washington won't receive anything if they fail to reach an agreement here, so the players DC chooses will have a tremendous advantage heading into negotiations...

Will Washington be able to sign two 1st Round picks, especially considering how much Strasburg is expected to command? Can't wait to hear the Strasburg interview...