Now say it along with me..."Bowden hired ANOTHER former Red?" Rob Dibble, former Cincinnati Reds' closer, former sidekick to Dan Patrick from his old 1050 ESPN Radio days, and current host of his own Sirius XM radio show, signed on today to do color commentary for the Washington Nationals after last year's color man, Hall of Fame pitcher Don Sutton, was released from his contract and returned to Atlanta. Mr. Dibble set up a conference call with Washington, DC sports writers this evening, which the good folks at MASN were kind enough to invite me to listen in on...Following are the notes I was able to take...(ed. note - " I quoted Mr. Dibble as closely as possible, but these are not complete/direct quotes...questioners noted when possible...)

Mike Henderson, aka Hendo from Hendo's Hutch at Nationals Pride.com, Nats320, Mark Zuckerman for the Washington Times, Washington Post's Dave Sheinin, MLB.com's Bill Ladson, AP Sports writer Howard Fendrich and Jim Williams, sports media columnist for the Examiner were all on the line...

-- Dibble says he'll be honest and fair, his father was a newsman, was honest, excellent broadcaster...He brings a fairness and openness, will never hold back on a player, It was a privilege to be a player, it's a privilege to be a broadcaster.

MLB.com's Bill Ladson asked if Dibble was here to stay?

Has multi-year deal he's happy about and committed to...interviewed for the job with the Nationals four years ago, but it didn't feel right...it's like going back to being a player again with the travel...he's always loved Bob Carpenter's work, since ESPN, back with the Cardinals, thinks Carpenter's the best in the business...

Dave Sheinin from the Washington Post asked about what Dibble's continuing role with Sirius XM will be?

Dibble says he's been managing 30 teams to keep up with the whole league for his Sirius XM radio show...Dibble says he is not a homer...Dibble will continue with his radio show from 4-6 pm 5 days a week...

AP Sports writer Howard Fendrich asked, What do you know about the Nationals?

Dibble knows they lost 59 games, won 102, starting rotation needs to get stronger, and the bullpen, calls them a "young Braves-type organization", knows with Kasten's history in Atlanta, that they know how to build a nucleus, handful of players away from being a division winner. They'll get their 75-80 wins...very capable of winning...

(ed. note - "At that point I got bounced from the call, and by the time I got back on, Dibble was gone. If any of the above questions are attributed incorrectly, I apologize, Thanks to MASN!!")

Behind the Scenes...w/Federalbaseball.com

The interview segment with Rob "Rod" Dibble was obviously just a chance for him to introduce himself to the DC media and provide a few quotes to go along with the stories each of them would publish, first on their blogs and then in the papers tomorrow. What I found most interesting about the call was what took place before and after Mr. Dibble was made available...

I decided that rather than try to jump into one of the awkward pauses that occur in a conference call with a question for Dibble or the MASN representative who also fielded queries, I'd just sit back and listen, and the determined approach of the reporters impressed me, in, for example, how they questioned why everyone was using the phrase "long-term" contract instead of a definite number of years, and when the MASN rep responded that such details weren't usually disclosed, it was agreed that it was definitely more than two years...

Another line of questioning, (by a reporter later revealed to be Jim Williams of the Examiner) wondered exactly how much time had transpired between Mr. Sutton's request to be released from his contract and the decision to hire Mr. Dibble. The fact that there have been three other color commentators to come through Washington already seems to be an issue with the local media. 

I'm sure with the radio show, talking about all of the Major League teams, Mr. Dibble's familiar with the Washington Nationals' roster, but if I had to guess I'd bet that Rob Dibble isn't ready for a quiz about the Nationals' system, maybe we should help Mr. Dibble get up to speed on the DC franchise?...Maybe we should all spend the next few days coming up with questions here at federalbaseball.com that we can call in to his Sirius XM show? Start a list in the comments section, and I know LOUtheMETSfan will be on the horn with me trying to get on the radio? Who wants to take the challenge? Should we try to stump Rod, I mean, Rob Dibble? (ed. note - "Now I like Dibble. So this is a friendly endeavour see...")

(ed. note - "Unedited notes from the interview after the jump...")

Dibble - "Thanks to everyone on the call, an honor and a privilege to work with MASN, DC, Bob Carpenter, proud to replace Don Sutton, working less for Sirius XM and main focus will be the Nationals..."

Will he be as outspoken?

Always be as outspoken and honest , father was a newsman, was honest and excellent broadcaster brings a fairness and openness and will never hold back on a player. Privilege to be a player, privilege to be a broadcaster. Knows he's a role model. Is there any reason not to be critical of players, no.

MLB.com's Bill Ladson, Are you here to stay?

Has multi-year deal, he's happy about and committed to, interviewed for the job with the Nationals 4 years ago, but it didn't feel right, his wife had to give him the ok to basically become a player again, Always loved Bob Carpenter's work, since espn, back with the cardinals, he's the best in the business. 

Nobody's bigger than the game, nobody should become the story outside of the game. Have as much fun watching and calling this game as he did on the field. 

Sheinin - Sirius XM role? still doing 4-6 pm 5 days a week. been managing 30 teams in the last few years, on his radio show. not a homer, will tell you why they're not playing well. Committment now is to The Nationals.

AP Howard Fendrich, what do you know about the Nationals?

Dibble - "I know they won 59, lost 102, starting rotation needs to get stronger, bullpen, young "Braves-type" organization, with Kasten's history in ATL, he knows how to build a nucleus, handful of players away from being a division winner. They'll get their 75-80 games, very capable of winning, earning right to be called a good team..."