Dave Sheinin, sports writer from the Washington Post was on Charlie Steiner's XM Radio show "Baseball Beat"...LIVE from Nashville, Tennessee and the MLB Winter Meetings...
(Paraphrasing of course. ed. Note- "Sorry I was driving at the time.")
-Charlie Steiner-(incredulous) "What are the Nationals
doing?"
-Dave Sheinin-(laughing) "They are the kings of buying
low."
-Steiner or Sheinin??- "They're the Statue of Liberty of
Baseball, "Bring us your tired, your poor..."
-Sheinin says he understands signing DY when they did,
with his "problems" and also trading for Milledge, but he
seems to view Elijah Dukes' problems in another light.
-Sheinin stumbles around saying that he doesn't think
Elijah Dukes' past will go over well in DC because it's a
more...'Cosmoplitan city' is the description Mr Steiner
offers, by way of describing the difference between DC
and Tampa's attitudes... (ed. note.- "Uh...OK?").
-In the final analysis both Steiner and Sheinin agreed that
the Nationals will have a young talented group with A
LOT of baggage.
NOTE- This was a quick spot, cut short because baseball legends keep walking by and talking to Steiner, unaware that he's doing a radio show. Funny stuff. Mr. Steiner was giving out directions to an event on another level of the hotel...
The other big news of the day was the early morning deal between the Washington Nationals and New York Yankees. In the first deal (I can think of) between the teams since the Nationals/Expos robbed the Yankees of Nick Johnson in a package for Javier Vazquez, one of my favorites, who gave the Yankees everything they deserved in '04...
This morning's deal-(mlb.com's Bill Ladson was first quoted in with the news at 3:20 AM and his article about the trade was up at 8:29 AM...hope Mr. Ladson got some sleep.)-saw the Nationals ship late-season favorite BIG John Albaladejo to New York in exchange for Yankees pitching prospect Tyler Clippard.
Albaladejo, 25, was picked up by DC as a free agent when Pittsburgh released him after six seasons in the Pirates' system and worked his way up to the Washington bullpen by September by going (3-0) with a 1.13 ERA in 15 games with the Nationals' Triple-AAA affiliate, the Columbus Clippers.
Albaladejo impressed in his 14 appearances the Nationals, going (1-1) with a 1.88 ERA in 14 games, 14.1 innings, over which he allowed 7 hits and 3 runs while walking 2 and striking out 12. In his 7 Minor League seasons, Big John Albaladejo was (36-26) with a 3.54 ERA in 537.1 innings.
In return for Albaladejo, the Nationals acquire Tyler Clippard, a twenty-two year old, 9th Round pick by the Yankees in '03 out of J.W. Mitchell(High School) in Trinity, Florida, who had accumulated a (41-38) record with a 3.52 ERA in 104 starts over 5 seasons at every level of the Yankees Minor League system before getting a call last season and putting up a (3-1) record with a 6.33 ERA in 6 starts and 27.0 innings in New York.
The 6'3'', 170lb righty struck out 18, walked 17, allowed 6 home runs, 19 runs and 29 hits in those 27 innings though, but it is the American League so...
Yesterday the Nationals dealt a twenty-year-old, today they acquire twenty-two year-old...Is Jim Bowden done dealing? I doubt it...(SAVE CORDERO!)
What's that you say about some other big trade? The Tigers did what? Everyone thank Detroit for getting Miguel Cabrera out of the NL East. THANKS DETROIT!!!
*LINKS*
mlb.com's Bill Ladson's article at washington.nationals.mlb.com, "Nats acquire Yanks' Clippard":
Jonathan Alabaladejo's stats at thebaseballcube.com:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/A/Jonathan-Albaladejo.shtml
Tyler Clippard's stats at thebaseballcube.com:
http://www.thebaseballcube.com/players/C/tyler-clippard.shtml