It may seem odd to say that, in a week where the team has lost two close games and starter Collin Balester gave up 3 earned runs in just 1.1 innings, this has been the best week ever for the Nationals. On Monday, the team signed Stephen Strasburg for just $15.1 million, bringing a future ace into the rotation (no pressure, buddy) and avoiding ridicule from all over baseball. On Tuesday, the Nationals lost, but that's okay because the team confirmed Wednesday night that Mike Rizzo will be brought on as the Nationals permanent GM. The news will be officially announced sometime today, bringing stability to a franchise badly in need of it. Finally, Stephen Strasburg will be paraded around NatsTown tomorrow at a 2 pm press conference. The team put 6,000 $1 tickets to the game and press conference on sale online, all of which were sold last night. Good news, Nationals bottom-line followers: Strasburg has already earned back .0000004% of the money the Nationals paid for him!
Baseball is a game played over years and decades, not single seasons. A few years down the road, these moves will pay off, and the Nationals will be competitive. If we, as fans, can be patient just a few more years, the promised land of .500 baseball will be ours.
I'm not the only one excited about Rizzo's appointment as GM: Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn are happy to hear it, too. And they know a lot more than I do!
Good news on the injury front, too: Jordan Zimmermann's Tommy John surgery was "successful," meaning he's still on track for a Spring Training 2011 return, Jesus Flores (who was batting .311 in 26 games this season) has started throwing again and Austin Kearns is expected to resume baseball activities in a few weeks.