Add Tom Glavine's name to the long list of players the Washington Nationals won't sign this winter. DC GM Jim Bowden was quoted in a Nationals Journal post by Washington Post writer Chico Harlan entitled, "Friends Recruiting Friends", (which you may have missed amidst all the Dibble drama...") explaining that:

"'If he replaces the 12th man on a staff, it makes sense,' Bowden said -- but not if said pitcher takes a rotation spot from Collin Balester or Jordan Zimmermann or John Lannan."

(ed. note - "That leaves two spots for Daniel Cabrera, Scott Olsen, Shairon Martis, Jason Bergmann and Shawn Hill for anyone who's counting...")

Tom Glavine's interest in joining Washington was reported on only a few days back by MLB.com's Bill Ladson, in an article entitled, "Glavine may look to sign with Nationals", which speculated that the veteran left hander might have had interest in reuniting with current Nationals' Team President Stan Kasten, who was Atlanta's President when Glavine was part of the Braves' decade-plus run of success. Mr. Ladson clearly states that Glavine's preference is to go back to the ATL, but there are no quotes from Glavine about anything other than his recovery from elbow and shoulder surgery, and now he's apparently in talks with Atlanta GM Frank Wren, according to another MLB.com writer, Mark Bowman's article entitled, "Glavine, Wren discuss 2009 season."

The list of players that the Nationals will not be signing this winter is long. We all know what happened with their main target, whose name I'd rather forget for now, (but you can see him in pinstripes from an overpriced seat or more likely on the tv for the next three years...at least), and just a few weeks back MLB.com's Bill Ladson wrote another article entitled, "Nationals unlikely to sign top free agents", about how Washington's secondary targets, Adam Dunn and Orlando Hudson were said to have, "overpriced themselves out of Washington," according to Mr. Ladson's "baseball source" and even Milton Bradley and Derek Lowe who were tied to DC in the papers for a moment a piece, eventually decided against coming to the nation's capital.

Still, the other today, with just over two weeks before Nationals' pitchers and catchers report, DC GM Jim Bowden is quoted in another article by MLB.com's Bill Ladson entitled, "Nats to rely on young crop of relievers", reporting that, "There are trades we are working on," before going and repeating the Nationals' Winter mantra, "...we would like to have a big left-handed bat in the middle of our lineup," ** though Dunn's really the only player who meets that description that's still on the market, while any potential trade partners remain a complete mystery.

If the Nationals are actually going to add any offense, is there any other option outside of signing Adam Dunn? Does Adam Dunn have any other choice? SI.com's Jon Heyman, in yesterday's edition of the, "Daily Scoop" entitled, "Market Watch: The latest on the best remaining free agents", writes about Dunn's options:

"Unless the Dodgers see him as a viable Manny replacement, his only real hope for any sort of substantial payday may be Washington, which desperately wants a left-handed power hitter."

There's no mention of the Nationals anywhere else in Mr. Heyman's article...and the Nationals don't come up in ESPN.com's Buster Olney's article, "Abreu, others, might swallow pride", where Mr. Olney utters(writes?) the words no one who thought Te - - - - ra might end up in DC but is willing to settle for Adam Dunn wants to hear, "...Dunn might draw interest from the Yankees...", though Mr. Olney quickly qualifies that the Yankees are:

“...a team for which he is perfectly suited, if they could shed the contracts of two of Xavier Nady, Hideki Matsui and Nick Swisher.”

Wait, where did we leave off on this one? Were the Nationals interested or not interested in Swisher and Nady?

(** = According to Washington Times' writer Thom Loverro, in an article entitled, "Dunn warms the Nats' hotplate", Adam Dunn's, "...management code name at the luncheon was 'big bat in the middle of the lineup.'")