While there has been a bit of conjecture recently about which big name free agents the Washington Nationals might pursue amongst those available starting this Friday, November 14th, when teams can begin offering and negotiating, the bigger question for DC might be whether or not to bring back arbitration eligible Tim Redding and/or Odalis Perez, a free agent, (who both pitched for Washington in 2008), or instead go with the youth movement and possibly sign a different veteran presence (Pedro? Really?) to help the transition to the DC Rotation of the Future continue...
Tim Redding, who'll turn 31 in '09, finished the '08 campaign with a (10-11) record and a 4.95 ERA after 182.0 innings pitched in which he allowed 195 hits, 110 runs (100 earned), 27 HR's and 65 walks while striking out 120 batters and posting a 1.43 WHIP and .275 BAA, but a second half of the season in which Redding struggled to a (3-8) record with a 6.82 ERA in 13 starts, after going (7-3), with a 3.85 ERA in his first 20 outings, may have raised some questions about what the largest workload he'd ever completed in one season may have done to his arm. (ed. note - "Though Redding's career splits show he's always struggled down the stretch...")
Tim Redding Career Spilts - (from baseball-reference.com)...
First Half - 87 G, 77 GS, 422.1 IP, (21-27, 4.94 ERA).
Second Half - 62 G, 50 GS, 280 IP, (13-24, 3.89 ERA).
Odalis Perez, 31 'til June '09, finished 2008 (7-11) with a 4.34 ERA, throwing more innings, 159.2, than he had since 2004 when he threw 196.0 for the Dodgers, and though his ERA (and just about every other stat of his) rose after the All-Star Break from 3.71 in his first 17 starts to 5.14 in 13 second-half outings, he was a .500 pitcher (5-5) down the stretch after struggling (w/ little or no help from the Nationals' offense) to a (2-7) record to start the season.
MLB.com's Bill Ladson wrote an article entitled, "Nats lefty Perez files for free agency", (ed. note - "No poss. apostrophe?"), in which he noted that Odalis Perez had clearly, "...exceeded the Nationals' expectations as he delivered 14 quality starts", in '08, and Mr. Ladson's article also quoted DC Manager Manny Acta, who expressed the opinion that:
"'He has given us a lot of quality starts and the innings that we were hoping he would give us out of Spring Training,' manager Manny Acta said last month. 'We think he could have easily won double digits, almost 15 wins, with any type of help.'"
No doubt, Perez and his agent think he could have put up better numbers on another team with the effort he put forth, and there's little doubt that the 31-year old free agent can get more than DC paid him last season (1 yr/$850,000) on the free agent market...the question here might be if he's worth the extra cash...Tim Redding played for a cool million in '08, and he too is in for a raise...the only mention of Redding recently was in another article by MLB.com's Bill Ladson entitled, "Nationals targeting a slugger to clean up", where it's mentioned that the Colorado Rockies, who are entertaining offers for outfielder Matt Holliday, had previously shown an interest in Redding...
...For his part, after his last start, Tim Redding told MLB.com's Bill Ladson, in a 9/25/08 article entitled, "Redding's short outing trips up Nats", that DC was the place to be in '09, because:
"'This team is going in the right direction. I think we are going to be good next year, and we have the pieces that we need.'"
Well, hot damn, Mr. Redding has me excited for April, and no doubt Don Sutton will enjoy another year of extolling his virtues. Sutton's convinced me in only two seasons. I can now say, "I appreciate Tim Redding,"...It's a big step...One way or another, the Washington Nationals' '09 Rotation will start taking shape in the next few weeks, either by addition or subtraction, it remains to be seen...
MLB ROY...
The MLB's Rookie of the Year Award is going to handed out on Monday, with Chicago Cubs' catcher Geovany Soto expected to claim the distinction according to a recent MLB.com article by Jim Molony entitled, "Cubs' Soto favorite to claim NL ROY", (ed. note - "See, poss. apostrophe!"), where Mr. Molony predicts that the top contenders for the honor are Soto, Joey Votto (Cin), Jair Jurrjens (ATL), and Hiroki Kuroda (LAD). In last weeks' SB Nation ROY Award ceremony, the voting resulted in this list:
1. Geovany Soto (CHC)
2. Joey Votto (Cin)
3. Jair Jurrjens (ATL)
...but no one in the SB Nation voted for the 33-year-old rookie, Kuroda, who finished 2008, (9-10) with a 3.73 ERA and 2 complete game shutouts in 31 starts in his first MLB season. I think Soto's a lock...We'll see today...
Bonifacio vs Hernandez...Prelude To A Spring Battle...
DC infielders Emilio Bonifacio and Anderson Hernandez combined for 6 of the Tigres del Licey's 15 hits tonight in a 6-3 win over Dominican Winter League rivals, the Azucareros del Este, which temporarily lifted Licey into first place in the DWL standings, a 0.5 game ahead of Gigantes del Cibaod depending on the outcome of games still to be played...
Bonifacio, Licey's DH today, was 3 for 5 with a run scored and 1 RBI, for a .346 AVG after play ended. Anderson Hernandez went 3 for 5 as well, with 3 singles, and he now has a .404 AVG with the Tigres. Bonifacio's RBI was his sixth for Licey, Hernandez, though he didn't collect any tonight, is still second on the Tigres with 15 RBI's in 20 games, and Hernandez's 36 hits, 9 doubles, 4 triples and 4 steals either lead or are tied for the team's best. Errors? Bonifacio - 1, Hernandez -2...I wonder who is more popular with their teammates?...
More Tex Talk... of course this link and talk is from last week, but Nationals' fans might want to take a look at the comments left behind to get an idea of what the rest of the Majors thinks about your team...isn't it time DC stopped being the joke of the league?