Washington Nationals' prospect "Smiley Gonzalez" is a Fraud; Who is to Blame?

by Dave at Nats News Network on Feb 18, 2009 1:01 PM EST Comment 40 comments

SI.com revealed last night that a "Nationals Prospect Falsified Identity". Esmailyn Gonzalez, listed by the Nats as being 19 years old, is really Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo, 23.

This is is yet another black eye for a Washington Nationals franchise that just can't seem to get out of its own way. Not even a full week has gone by since the signing of Adam Dunn, and the team gets this bombshell. It's not A-Rod big, but in the grand scheme of things it's plenty disappointing, on so many levels.

SI.com writer Melissa Segura figured it out. Why couldn't Jim Bowden, Jose Rijo and Jose Baez (the Nats Director of Ops in the D.R.)? The cynic will point toward the ridiculously high signing bonus the Nats extended to the player and his buscon (street agent), Basilio Vizcaino...So a 19-year old prospect winning a batting title in a gulf coast rookie league for two seasons turns out to be a 23 -year old dominating competition several years younger.

It's not a new story in baseball, but this version has a couple of particularly disturbing aspects: the amount of money involved, the familiarity of the parties involved in the negotiation, and the continuing misplaced trust in members of the Nationals' organization.

Remember, the Nats signed the shortstop in 2006 with a $1.4 million signing bonus, twice what the next highest bidder offered. Also remember, all the negotiations for the other teams in the bidding process were handled by an agent, except the Nats' offer, which was coordinated by Vizcaino, a childhood friend of Rijo and protege of Baez.

Oh, and by the way, Jose Rijo owns the academy the Nationals use as their "base" in the Dominican.

No wonder the situation drew the eye of the Feds. The deal originally sparked the federal investigation of the Nats organization for bonus money skimming, and with these latest allegations, expect even more scrutiny from the FBI and MLB's own investigation department.

And just when you started feeling good about NatsTown (tm), yet another shoe drops. Doesn't someone need to be held accountable for this?

Poll

Who is to blame in Smiley fiasco?

Jose Rijo

58 votes

Jim Bowden

79 votes

Stan Kasten

4 votes

MLB

17 votes

158 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | Comment 40 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Is there any way we can just blame this on steroids? Dan Snyder? The economy?

Somebody has to go down for this and I hope it’s not the glove re-stringer’s apprentice at the academy in the DR.

Patches O'Houlihan - "If you're going to become true general managers, then you've got to learn the five d's of avoiding questions: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!"

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 1:43 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I pick Dan Snyder...

that useless douche bag

by wiggitywhales on Feb 18, 2009 1:54 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Does this mean he's gonna have to give back the $ and the GCL Batting Title?

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 2:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Back to being "laughingstocks" again...

…basking in the big K-filled Dunn glow was nice for a few days at least…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 2:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think well never see him again. To get to the USA, he would have had to have a fake passport and forged federal documents. I think we should just start trying to forget him. And the Nats never see the money again either.

Patches O'Houlihan - "If you're going to become true general managers, then you've got to learn the five d's of avoiding questions: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!"

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 2:30 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Hadn't thought of that angle...so they fooled the Nationals, and US Immigration...BRILLIANT!!

Call him up to the big leagues, quick…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 2:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Hey Wait a minute!

I’m 45, if I go down to the DR I can get a new birth certificate and bamm I’m 21 again with pre-mature greying.

Jim must go!!

BTW Who’s to blame? Can you blame the kids? He was looking at a life of poverty vs some cool cash to play baseball. Rijo, buscone, Jim and the kid should all be part of the blame. the kids not a prospect now. Rijo will be teaching in the DR soon and Jim will slither his way out of this one I bet. I hate how he seems to dirty this team at every turn without consequences. HEY LERNER’S FIRE JIM BOWDEN NOW, please !!!!

by Berndaddy on Feb 18, 2009 3:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Let's think this through...

So, the ballplayer formerly known as Smiley was an adult when he signed this deal. I don’t know what sort of legal ramifications adulthood holds in the DR, but he likely broke a fair amount of laws and signed a lot of false documents in both countries.

I think the FBI should throw the guy in jail and charge him and all his co-conspirators with all kinds of crimes. And freeze some bank accounts. Set an example.

If, by miracle, he had no idea that he was really three or four years older than all of his wee little friends, then we may need to get him into some therapy.

Patches O'Houlihan - "If you're going to become true general managers, then you've got to learn the five d's of avoiding questions: dodge, duck, dip, dive and dodge!"

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 3:32 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If you can rake, or have a nice bender, there might be a job for you in DC...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 3:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

If he isn't in jail

Get him a passport…call him up to AA and if he doesn’t rake then cut him. Hell the Nats have plenty of old prospects who aren’t going anywhere (Maxwell – 25, Ivany – 26, Bernadina – 24) so what is one more to the pile?

by GO_NADS on Feb 18, 2009 3:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm still holding out hope for Maxwell...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 3:41 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I am secretly holding out hope for him as well but with the OF as crowded as it is I don't see it happening any time soon.

by GO_NADS on Feb 18, 2009 3:42 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed...

…time to start trading some of these older prospects???

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 3:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

at least these guys are playing against competition their own ages

Smiley is toast. so is the money. i’m not so confident in Bowden, Rijo or Baez being toast though. but $1.4 million is a LOT of money to throw away, especially as public as it was. you can bet if one of the Lerner’s real estate attorneys made a $1.4 million mistake they’d already be out on their ass. why the delay here?

Your voice of doom and gloom.

by Dave at Nats News Network on Feb 18, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Great point NNN

Uh, Mr. Lerner, sir, um, we wanted to reserve one of those giant cranes to build your new building and they said they needed a deposit. So, we gave them a 1.4 million dollar deposit just before we realized it was just some guy who said he owned a crane company. So, the money’s gone. What’s the next project? Mr. Lerner??? I don’t think security is necess……

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 4:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Just wondering why you didn't include "Smiley" as a target of BLAME?

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 5:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Can we re-sign PLoD just so we can let him go over this?

JimBo got to go.

"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN

by Doghouse on Feb 18, 2009 6:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1 on Jimbo...there, I'm finally saying it, something is rotten in DC...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 7:29 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

FYI

i couldn’t get on the press conference call with Kasten earlier. Chico over at Nats Journal is providing a transcript. just from the first few paragraphs, it sounds like Kasten is prepping for not holding anyone on the Nats staff responsible for this.

Your voice of doom and gloom.

by Dave at Nats News Network on Feb 18, 2009 6:02 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think stealing a million and a half dollars is pretty low. Above, I thought that since he was a 19 year old adult when he falsely represented himself as a 16 year old player, he basically stole the money. I’m sure he had a lot of help too and I hope the juicy parts of the FBI report become public information.

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 6:24 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Has anyone thought about

how ravaged the Nats farm is now? They lose (arguably) their best prospect. That’s gotta bring the overall farm grade down quite a bit.

I am like your Dan Aykroyd and biglow would be Jane, the ignorant slut. -Chad

by thecoolest on Feb 18, 2009 6:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Baseball America had "Smiley" listed as the 10th Best in the Nationals' organization...

…so losing one of your top 10, one of the only 2 infielders in the top 10, and the only SS, has got to hurt…That is…

If they lose him…Is this a foregone conclusion?

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 7:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They may not have lost him as a player

but I have a feeling they lost him as a prospect. Big difference between a 19 year old putting up those numbers than a 23 year old.

I am like your Dan Aykroyd and biglow would be Jane, the ignorant slut. -Chad

by thecoolest on Feb 18, 2009 10:05 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

They certainly won't let him back in the Gulf Coast League...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 10:35 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

What really gets me is what a big deal they made of this signing...

…and how it was THE ONLY major amateur free agent signing the Nationals have made…

(mumbles) – Should’ve just stayed in Montreal…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 7:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Assert yourself, Mr. Kasten...Please step in and end this...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 7:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think they named him as tenth best prospect on a sliding scale. They didn’t think to assume that he was three years older than he said. What is he now…nearly the same age as Flores and Dukes? Not sure of their ages…too lazy to look.

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 7:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Both 24...Kasten as quoted on Nationals Journal...

…never flat-out says the Nationals are done with “Smiley”…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 7:49 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well…I wash my hands of it.

Now I want to see some footage of your hero, Adam Dunn taking some batting practice.

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 18, 2009 7:52 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I bet he K's in BP too...

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 18, 2009 10:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Now that was just mean!

And an out’s an out. Believe in the plan: High OBP, many dingers—and at least a K is much less likely to be a DP.

"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN

by Doghouse on Feb 18, 2009 11:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

A batting order inquiry...

Ladson, in a Nats Inbox question, suggests Dunn will bad before Zimm. So, it will go Leadoff, Dunn, Zimm, Johnson?

With the addition of Dunn, do you think Ryan Zimmerman will have a breakout year in 2009?
— James C., Washington

My expectations of Zimmerman are always high, so, yes, I expect him to have a breakout season with Dunn in front of him. Zimmerman is likely to get a lot of pitches to hit. Here’s what I think Zimmerman will do this season: .290 with 30 home runs and 110 RBIs.

by ROSCOEtheNATSfan on Feb 19, 2009 7:25 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

In 2006...

…Zimmy hit .287/.351/.471 with an OPS+ of 114, with 20 HR and 110 RBI.* That was batting in front of the semi-mythical Healthy Nick Johnson for nearly the entire season. With Dunn and NJ in the lineup, Zimmy’s going to see plenty he can hit. Except for the HRs, Ladson’s “breakout” is practically regression to the mean for the Z-man!

*(I know it was his first full season and pitchers didn’t know him and were probably challenging him—to their detriment, for the most part. Yeah, I’m looking at you, Mariano Rivera!)

"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN

by Doghouse on Feb 19, 2009 9:02 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Zim Owns Mo!!!

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 19, 2009 7:50 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Guzman hit .311 in 83 games batting second, with 3x as many RBI's as when he lead off in 40 games...

Dukes, Guzman, Zimmerman, Dunn, Johnson, Milledge, Flores, Anderson Hernandez…

But they just signed Willingham?

Zimmerman should hit .290, .300…if Zimmerman and Johnson are hitting close to .300 in the lineup together…it’s a completely different team…With Dunn-K occasionally launching one…I almost wrote something optimistic…luckily I restrained myself…the Nationals will totally stink…

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 19, 2009 7:58 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Tempest in a teapot

The guy’s obviously got talent. Okay, so he made the scouting team look stupid. Slap him on the wrist, fine him, and then play him. Why make a federal case out of it?

by Valiant on Feb 19, 2009 3:38 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

He's talented for a 19-year-old...

…problem is, he’s 23… I figure we’re not going to let him go, but at 23 he really shouldn’t be in the GCL. He should probably be at least AA, and AAA if he’s really got talent. Heck, Zimmy had been starting every day in the bigs for two years already at 23. Smiley Lugo is still a prospect, but he’s not a very exciting one any more. Let’s throw him into the higher minors and see if he sinks. Meanwhile, fire Rijo, Bowden, and Clint. And Selig. Did I miss anyone?

"We’re all neighbors in NatsTown™!" --NNN

by Doghouse on Feb 19, 2009 6:02 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Lenny Harris.

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 19, 2009 7:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

That's what I'm saying, a 23-year-old fits right in in DC...if he can't beat out Anderson Hernandez...then give the money back.

Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."

by Ed Chigliak on Feb 19, 2009 7:51 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs