AFL UPDATE...
With the Mesa Solar Sox currently trailing 1-0 to the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the top of the fifth as we begin here, the Peoria Saguaros are guaranteed to at least remain tied atop the Arizona Fall League's American Division after they beat the Scottsdale Scorpions, 20-9 this afternoon, scoring in all but one inning of their 18th win which lifts the Saguaros a half-game above the Solar Sox, for the moment at least...
Both of the Nationals' prospects who started the game, Bill Rhinehart at first, and Ian Desmond at short, ended the day 3 for 6, with Rhinehart collecting 1 double, 1 HR (a 3-run blast) and 4 RBI's, and Desmond hitting his third triple of the fall and knocking in two, with all six combined RBI's coming with two outs...
Rhinehart's 4 RBI's give him 17 on the season, the HR was his 3rd, and the double his 7th, and the 3 for 6 day leaves the future-National hitting .270 as a Saguaro. Desmond's triple scored the 19th and 20th runs of the game, and the 2 RBI's give the infielder 11 in 18 games this Fall in which he's hit for a .277 AVG. One negative...Desmond made his 9th error in 18 games...but he and Rhinehart also turned a double play together, so...
The only other DC prospect to appear in the game was Zechry Zinicola, who gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in an inning of work in his last trip to the mound, and struggled again today, allowing 3 more hits, (one a HR) and another 2 runs in just 1.0 IP, in which he ended up having to throw 24 pitches and face 6 batters before ending the game...Zinicola's ERA jumps up to 4.38, and DC Pitching Coach Randy St. Claire may have to start defending his recent praise of the 23-year old right-hander in an article by MLB.com's Bill Ladson entitled, "St. Claire visits AFL prospects"...
(ed. note - "The Mesa Solar Sox just took the lead over Phoenix in the 6th...but Mesa eventually loses, Saguaros lead AFL American division by 1.0 game...")
AFL American
Club
W
L
PCT
GB
Home
Away
L 10
Streak
Peo Saguaros
18
8
.692
-
9-3
9-5
7-3
W1
Mesa
17
9
.654
1.0
7-5
10-4
6-4
L1
Scottsdale
9
17
.346
9.0
7-6
2-11
4-6
L1
The Dominican Winter League had no games scheduled...and I could find no reports on the off-day activities of either Emilio Bonifacio or Anderson Hernandez with which I could judge who gained the advantage in the battle for the second base spot in the '09 Nationals' infield today.
If you want to see the Nationals' new uniforms, check out Nats320's report in a post entitled, "2009 New Uniforms Unveiling, ESPN Zone", which has near-complete photographic coverage of the event, and a great look at the new road, day, and holiday digs...
My favorite quote about the new uniforms comes from DC Manager Manny Acta in a MLB.com, Bill Ladson article entitled,"Nationals display new uniforms", in which Mr. Ladson writes,
"For Acta, the road jersey reminded him of the Expos' road uniform he wore while a third-base coach in Montreal from 2002-04."
...and Mr. Ladson then quotes Mr. Acta, who explains:
"'It does have a lot of similarities to the Montreal Expos one, but if you look around the league, too many uniforms look alike,' he said.'"
I Hate To Say I Told You So, But...
When the Nationals officially parted ways with "The Flat-Brimmed Closer" Chad Cordero a few weeks back, on October 5th, in a post entitled, "Whatever Happened To The Washington Nationals' Flat-Brimmed Closer Chad Cordero", I wrote:
"Who here thinks the Mets won't throw a few million towards Cordero if they think he can come back and give them anything out of the bullpen with the way their relievers have struggled the last two seasons? The Mets don't care, it'll just be $1-2 million out of an estimated $140-150 million dollar payroll. Unless GM Jim Bowden wants to see Cordero painting corners for the Mets next season and in the years that follow, maybe he might just want to consider having the Team President give the DC franchise's Second All-Time and the Nationals' All-Time save leader a minimum deal after he becomes a free agent?"
A quick google of, "Mets interested in Chad Cordero" confirms my suspicions...and now MLB.com's Bill Ladson has the same news in an article entitled, "Closer Cordero drawing interest", where Mr. Ladson writes:
"According to a baseball source, the Angels, Mets, Rangers and Tigers are interested and each team has asked to look at Cordero's medical records."
...the two teams Mr. Ladson singles out are the Angels, near Cordero's home, and the Mets because of Cordero's relationship with NY GM Omar Minaya, who was the Expos GM when they drafted the man formerly known as the Nationals' "Flat-Brimmed Closer"...Here's hoping the Angels take an interest, since K-Rod's most likely heading out of LA...
Not that it was all that hard to predict...So long, Chief.