The Washington Nationals' Face of the Franchise™ Ryan Zimmerman is lending his voice to the chorus of players calling for free agent infielder Orlando Hudson to sign in DC. According to MLB.com's Bill Ladson's Twitter feed, the '09 All-Star and Gold Glove and Silver Slugger Award winner is reinforcing the message Nyjer Morgan sent out to the 32-year-old second baseman as he tries to decide on a home for the twenty-ten campaign:
"Oh, yes. #Nats 3B Ryan Zimmerman wants Orlando Hudson on the team as well."
Nyjer Morgan told Mr. Ladson late last week in an article entitled, "Morgan wants Hudson to join the Nats", that he thought Hudson, "...would fit right in to what we are trying to put together." When MLB's Nationals.com beat writer spoke to Hudson a day or so later for an article entitled, "Hudson: Nationals still in mix", Hudson said that he'd definitely received Morgan's message, and felt it meant a lot, "...coming from a young player who has a bright future like himself." Hudson also related that he had considered joining the franchise, "Washington is a great place. The Nationals are heading in the right direction. With Willie Harris, Nyjer Morgan and my guy, Adam Dunn, who I'm close to -- it's all good."
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• Boswell Trade?
• Balester Blog.
• Detwiler Interview.
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• Recruting Orlando (cont.)...
Last winter, Ryan Zimmerman, in an article by Washington Post Chico Harlan entitled, "Friends Recruiting Friends", made it known that he'd contacted then-free-agent outfielder Adam Dunn to try to convince him to join the Nationals, and when Dunn did sign, he told the DC press corps, as reported by Washington Post writer Dave Sheinin in a Nationals Journal post entitled, "Dunn: 'This Is Where I Want To Be", that he, "...spoke frequently to Nationals right fielder Austin Kearns, a good friend from their days together in Cincinnati, and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, another good friend. He listened to their sales pitches," and, "did research on the Nationals", on his own before deciding that the Nationals and their two-year offer were right for him...
Zimmerman and Kearns (who signed with Cleveland a week or so back) and undoubtedly the former DC GM Jim Bowden convinced Adam Dunn to join the Nationals in what was then and might still be the biggest free agent acquisition the Nationals have made. Morgan and reliever Sean Burnett reached out to free agent reliever Matt Capps earlier this winter and convinced him to sign with Washington, and now Morgan and Ryan Zimmerman are reaching out to Orlando Hudson, and if the personal testimonials from players who are already a part of what's being built in the nation's capital aren't convincing, one only has to take a look at the job DC GM Mike Rizzo has done, as Jason Marquis did before signing his own two-year deal, to see that the Nationals are no longer a last resort...or was it the two-year deals that convinced Dunn and Marquis and will ultimately land Hudson?
• Boswell Trade?
Lost in all the talk about Orlando Hudson this week was a paragraph transcribed by Washington Post writer Alexa Steele from a Thomas Boswell chat for a Nationals Journal post entitled, "Chat Excerpt: Boswell on the Nationals", wherein Mr. Boswell was quoted as stating:
"I've heard that, within the last week, the Nats thought they were close [to a] trade for a major-league ready pitcher of Jordan Zimmermann quality but it fell through when the other team backed out. My guess, and that's all it is, is that it was one of those Willingham-plus-somebody-for-a-young-pitcher deals that everybody knows the Nats are looking at."
Was this reported anywhere else? What's your best guess? Are the Braves still looking for an outfielder? Did the Mets make an inquiry knowing the trouble Carlos Beltran was having? Who do you imagine the "plus-somebody" might be?
• Bally's Blog Is Back?
Everyone's favorite blogging and twittering National, Collin Balester (Sorry Lannan, step it up) announced that he'd launched his own site this weekend, Collin Balester.com, where the 23-year-old right-hander is blogging, offering updates on the status of his stache and answering any and all questions you might have for the Nationals' rotation or possibly bullpen hopeful...If you follow Balester on Twitter, (@ballystar40), you know he's already been throwing for a few weeks, and as he told readers in a recent post entitled, "An eventful offseason", "...that's when I started to get the itch to get back and play."
• LINK - Detwiler Interview
Baseball Prospectus' writer David Laurila posted a great interview with Ross Detwiler this weekend as part of BP's ongoing "Prospect Q&A" feature, in which the Nationals' '07 1st Round pick talks about baseball as a job, his approach at the plate, the most cerebral pitcher on the Nationals' staff and even discusses the Nationals' '09 no.1 overall pick, Stephen Strasburg:
"David Laurila: A lot was made of Stephen Strasburg’s signing bonus earlier this summer. What are your thoughts on that?
Ross Detwiler: When I signed, everybody said to me that the money’s not to be made with the bonus. It’s to be made in the big leagues. But who’s to say that any player doesn’t get hurt tomorrow and never steps on the field again? As a college player, that’s the only time you have leverage until you’re arbitration eligible, and that’s not until after three years in the big leagues."