WDJD??
Jesus Flores got to enjoy a luxury today he'll only have the opportunity to exploit during Interleague play with Washington, when he filled the DH spot for the Venezuelan Winter League's Navegantes del Magallanes, batting eighth and going 2 for 3 with two singles and one double...play grounder, but the Navegantes beat Leones del Caracas 4-2 with Mets' favorite Victor Zambrano claiming the "W" for 7.0 innings of 2-hit, 1-run work on the mound.
Flores' #'s Now - 14 for 63, .222 AVG, 4 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI's, 4 BB, 17 K's, .275 OBP...
Justin MAXWELL, JUSTIN MAXWELL!!...
Puerto Rican Winter League, Criollos de Caguas welcome Leones de Ponce to Parqu Yidefonso Sola Morales, Nationals' OF prospect and Criollos' left fielder Justin Maxwell lines out to the infield in his first at bat in the second inning, pops out to the infield in the fourth, and then Maxwell steps to the plate in the sixth with two men on and a new pitcher on the mound for Leones de Ponce, and Maxwell launches a two-run blast, his sixth this winter...and MLB.com features Maxwell in a Winter League Roundup entitled, "Nats prospects power Criollos", which reports that Maxwell's HR was, "...his league-leading sixth homer, a three-run shot,"...and Maxwell's teammate and fellow DC prospect Garrett Guzman went 3 for 4 as the DH, with a double and 3 RBI's, and now a .323 AVG on the Winter...
The "Bigger Wilkerson" Adam Dunn Is Coming, And Everyone Wants To Be The First To Say So...(ed. note - "Subtitled: The Backup Plan Is Always The Real Plan".)
MLB.com's Bill Ladson is entertaining questions about what to do with Nick Johnson after Mark Teixeira signs with DC in his most recent, "Mailbag: Could Johnson Be Dealt?", but Mr. Ladson quoted Austin Kearns earlier this week, in an article entitled, "Kearns ready to battle for outfield spot", talking about the virtues of free agent OF/1B Adam Dunn, and now Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin has a post at the Post's Nationals Journal entitled, "Why Adam Dunn Just Became Much More Appealing", where he takes seriously the Nationals' interest in Mark Teixeira, describing the free agent first baseman as being, in the team's eyes, a "...once-in-a-generation exception" to their rebuilding plans, before Mr. Sheinin goes on to explain how the D-Backs' decision not to offer Dunn arbitration freed Washington up to sign the free agent without losing compensatory draft picks, which they consider essential to the rebuilding effort...or having to meet Mark Teixeira's current asking price, which last I read...in an MLB.com, Bill Ladson article entitled, "Meetings mission: Improve offense", was said to be, "...more than Miguel Cabrera's eight-year, $153.3," million dollar deal. Ken Rosenthal's opinion of the D-Backs' clean break with Dunn? Ken Rosenthal, the FOXSports' writer, in a sidebar to his most recent article "Bad economy even hurting Yankees", which is titled, "Dunn's sitting pretty", reasons that:
"A rebuilding club such as the Nationals surely would relish the idea of signing a 29-year-old slugger and keeping their pick."
Alright. I'll order my Dunn/Nationals name and # t-shirt tomorrow...
Former Montreal Expos' starter Javier Vazquez is reportedly coming back to the NL East ...with the Atlanta Braves, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman's article entitled, "Braves acquire Vazquez from White Sox", ...The idea of My Brother Scout, Braves' Fan and Source For All Things Baseball cheering for the one-time Expos' 16-game winner and All-Star...Oh, no that's right...Vazquez was an All-Star after the first half of his one season with the Yankees...and now he'll be pitching for the Braves, against the Nationals. Great...See what the Atlanta fans at the SBN's Braves' blog, Talking Chop have to say about their team's most recent acquisition, the first big NL East move of the offseason...Who's Next?...
(ed. note - "Alright, I give up, I've been waiting for the Tigres del Licey game against the Gigantes del Cibao to end, but it's now 9-9 in the 17th...with Licey tying the game at 9-9 with a 5-run bottom of the 13th, which followed a 5-run top of the frame by the Gigantes, who blew the two-run lead they'd earned in the top of the ninth inning, by allowing Licey to tie it with a two-out, two-run HR in the home-half of the ninth...click here for the MLB.com boxscore...maybe it'll be over by then...So far, Ronnie Belliard's 1 for 7, and Anderson Hernandez is 0 for 7, Belliard wins for today...")