Nats' Skipper Jim Riggleman said all the right things, well, maybe not the "right things" at least according to MLB, but he stuck up for his player and his team following the turmoil-filled weeks that ended with Nyjer Morgan's "mound visit" and the brawl with the Fish that followed. DC GM Mike Rizzo came out in support of Morgan and said that he considered this season's struggles an abberration, telling Washington Post writer Adam Kilgore, as quoted in an article entitled, "Reaction and fallout from Nyjer Morgan's suspension", that, "It's really difficult to go get premier defensive center fielders that have potential to hit at the top of the order and have the potential to steal 50 or 60 bases. And we have that [in Morgan]."
So what to make of ESPN.com's Jayson Stark's report this afternoon in a section of an article entitled, "Expanding the postseason", which is cleverly subtitled, "Morgan is less", which quotes "Two scouts whose coverage assignments include the Nationals" who say that fans shouldn't, "...mistake those words as a vote of confidence in [Morgan]'s future." According to the sources, "the team is determined to trade Morgan this winter,":
"Asked what the chances were that the Nationals will keep Morgan, one scout summed it up in one word: "Nonexistent."
• One Other Note: The idea of Carlos Pena as a possible replacement for Adam Dunn at first should he be allowed to walk has been the talk of NatsTown for several weeks after MASNSports.com's Ben Goessling mentioned that sources were telling him that the Nats had interest in the 32-year-old Rays' free-agent-to-be, who's currently hitting .203/.330/.423 with 15 doubles and 26 HR's in 123 games. According to a post at MLBTraderumors.com by Luke Adams entitled, "Free Agent Stock Watch: Carlos Pena", Pena's currently projecting as a Type B free agent, meaning he wouldn't cost the Nats draft picks if they were to sign him this winter...that is, granted Pena has any interest in signing with Washington. (The Nats and Mr. Goessling's reports get a mention in the MLBTR piece.)