Stephen Strasburg Taking Over D.C.

I realize he just started his Major League Debut but comin' in hot late is my thing. The Washington Nationals superstar Stephan Strasburg has got more hype today than anyone in Major League Baseball in recent memory.After having one of the worst professional sports seasons of recent memory, Washington seems to be on the rebound with John Wall probably coming to the Wizards and the dawning of a new era with Strasburg.  The young stars of D.C. will be marketed like crazy and there will be a ton of kids in the DMV area that will rep their hero whether it be Strasburg, Wall, or Ovie.  I am personally excited to watch him perform and I really do think he will be the best thing in Washington D.C.'

I wouldn't be surprised if Strasburg struggles in his first star with more than 200 media personal in attendance (usually those type of numbers are for League Championship Series) but I think as the season continues, he will blossom into a pretty reliable pitcher. I am not ready to say he will be a Cy Young favorite in his first couple of years, but he will be a guy you can count on in the middle of the starting rotation. Another question that needs to be answered especially after the Nationals added power hitter stud Bryce Harper last night, will the Nationals be in the playoffs in the next three to five years? 

My answer would be yes. I joked years ago that in 2010 we would see a Tampa Bay-Milwaukee World Series (whoops on the Brewers end) but seriously, the Nationals will be a playoff contender in the coming years with the money coming in with near sellouts every time Strasburg takes the mound this summer/fall and the merchandise revenue that will come with it will lead to them being able to re-sign their prized possessions and bring in big name free agents. Although,Philadelphia still has a chance to be lethal for years to come but their pitching continues to get older, Florida could contend if they don't decide to blow everything up, Atlanta with Heyward, and who knows with New York. The NL East will be the most competitive division for years to come and the Nationals will be right in the mix, no more days of cellar-dwelling. 

I will predict Strasburg finishes with about 8 wins and 3 losses somewhere with a 3.85-4 ERA.  I know if Washington plays in Milwaukee and he is scheduled to pitch, I am making it a point to go to the game to see him pitch because I am buying into the hype that he is the next pitcher and I want to be able tell people I saw Strasburg pitch.

-Charlie.

NL East Preview

We are moving on to the National League and unlike the American League where I think 10 teams could legitimately make the playoffs, I believe only about six teams maybe could make the playoffs in the NL.  

1. Philadelphia Phillies- KEY ACQ: SP Roy Halladay  I LIKE: Jayson Werth-He basically is everything that I want Corey Hart to be, I absolutely love him as a player and the first year I haven't had him in fantasy baseball.  I HATE: Raul Ibanez- He just keeps getting older so I cannot imagine him pulling out another huge year like last year.  PREDICTION: I think they have the ability to get to the World Series but I believe Cole Hamels has to be in 2008 form to get there because not  just Halladay will carry them there.  

2. Atlanta Braves- KEY ACQ: 1B Troy Glaus RP Billy Wagner I LIKE: Jason Heyward- LOVE him seriously, probably the biggest man crush of the spring. I agree with people who say the hype is comparable to Ken Griffey Jr.  I am willing to bet he hits as high as five in the order come June. I HATE: Nate McClouth- He is a good player but I am not sure that he will be an ideal leadoff hitter for the Braves. I could see him contributing better as a two or seven hitter.  PREDICTION: It's very likely that Atlanta could get back to the playoffs, but I am not sure that Billy Wagner will be a great option plus Derek Lowe doesn't excite me that much.

3. Florida Marlins- KEY ACQ: SP Nate Robertson I LIKE: Cameron Maybin- He was one of the top prospects a couple years ago and I believe that he could be ready to take it big time.  I HATE: Josh Johnson- He is a great pitcher but he has shown some health issues in the past, never a good sign.  PREDICTION: Does it bother the 82 Marlins fans that Joe Girardi was once their manager, and now a World Series winner?  Tough, the Fish might be able to get into the Wild Card discussion if their pitching holds up and everybody is real excited about Ricky Nolasco's season.

4. New York Mets- KEY ACQ: OF Jason Bay, C Rod Barajas  I LIKE: David Wright- I know you shouldn't look into how players do in the spring, but Wright has had one of the best springs so far therefore it's hard not to notice what he is doing.  I HATE: Oliver Perez- He hasn't looked the greatest this year and I have never been a big fan of Perez, the only team he seems to do well against the Brewers.  PREDICTION: Jerry Manuel will be out before July and Omar Minaya by the end of the year. The Mets do not have enough pitching to carry them in a brutal NL East.

5. Washington Nationals- KEY ACQ: C Ivan Rodriguez, RP Matt Capps, SP Jason Marquis, 2B Adam Kennedy I LIKE: Ian Desmond- A prospect who got the starting nod over long time shortstop Cristian Guzman, which to me show signs of a bright future. I HATE: Livan Hernandez- Seriously how old is this guy? You cannot keep thinking that he will be able to win 10+ games and be alright. PREDICTION: The Nationals will take some bumps but they will be a better team this year plus the city will be alive once Stephen Strasburg makes it to the majors.

-Charlie.

The Anchorman Lands in DC

The biggest story before today's madness (trust me much more on that in a little while) was the fact that the Washington Nationals had signed their first overall pick Stephen "the Anchorman" (credited to Bill Simmons and Jack-O) Strasburg which in my opinion was great for Major League Baseball.

The reason being is a team who is probably headed for another top pick in next year's draft and it appeared that there was no way the Nats were going to be able to sign Strasburg. The other thing is maybe the Suit known as Scott Boras is actually a human being. If they wouldnt have signed Strasburg, the emotional state of the fifty-five Nats fans would have lowered it to about five Nationals fans. Now you got the excitement for the upcoming years in Washington D.C. for the Strasburg Era should be awesome and bolt their tickets sales once Strasburg is in the bigs. In addition, I think you have got to make Strasburg a starter if ready at the beginning of the 2010 year.

The one big thing that you have to pray to Andy Benes is that Strasburg's new head coach knows how to manage young pitching and maybe they created Joba Chamberlain-like Rules. If they get a guy like Dusty Baker then all hope is lost for Strasburg's career. My suggestion which you probably will hate is Ned Yost. You can remind me if I am wrong but Yost never got any of our young pitching. Usually it was the minor leagues that were screwing with the pitching. The Nationals really are probably five years away from being a playoff contender and a guy like Yost wouldnt be bad for a young ball club.

-Charlie.

Manny Acta is Fired, I am Shocked.

This is something we have all been waiting for the last month... The Washington Nationals decided to finally fired their manager Manny Acta who will likely go down as one of the worst manager in memorable past. Also Acta was the same guy that decided to fine Elijah Dukes for being five minutes late from a volunteer event so you knew that the writing was on the wall. But what it boils down to is the fact that the Montreal Expos management couldnt figure out now the Nationals have the same issue.

The Nationals have to be the worst franchise right now in Major League Baseball and I believe there is no reason why they are going to get better in the next couple of years. The only way things change if they can reel in Stephen Strasburg/Byrce Harper. They got rid of Lastings Milledge who has a chance to be pretty good and they are going sour on Elijah Dukes. Joel Hanrahan was a decent closer last year and didnt do so hot this season therefore they shipped him to Pittsburgh. It just doesnt make sense.

I thought the Nationals got a chance to take off with Adam Dunn signing. That took a turn for the worst and the only real bright spot is for Ryan Zimmerman. He has been great and has signed long-term with the Nats right now. At least I hope the Nationals finds a way to get it together.

-Charlie.

Are You Ready For Strasburg?

It feels like I am ready to bring out D-Generation X with the whole "Are You Ready..." But in all honestly, Stephen "the Anchorman (credit to Simmons-Jack-O) Strasburg is supposed to be the next big thing in terms of prospects. Tony Gywnn, his manager for San Diego State feels that he could be the number one starter for the Washington Nationals (number one pick in the draft) and feels that he could be the number three starter for San Diego behind Jake Peavy/Chris Young, right now.

I think it is unreal that people believe that Strasburg is ready to be an MLB starter without any time in the minor leagues. I feel that is a complete ludicrous statement because going from college hitting to big league hitting is such a huge difference more than any other sport. You can make that leap in the NBA and somewhat NHL. I would compare it to starting quarterback right away in the NFL, only Peyton Manning was successful with that and I dont believe Strasburg can do that.

The other big story line swirling right now is the Nationals ability to sign Strasburg. They couldnt sign Aaron Crow last year who is the top five prospects for this year's draft. It will be interesting to see if Washington can make them a "Godfather" offer to make sure he will be the face of the franchise for the first four years of career and then becomes a Yankee haha.

-Charlie.

Washington Nationals- Fitting for the City

If this was a Bill Simmons column which it isnt, he would end this piece with "Ladies and Gentleman your 2009 Washington Nationals!" There a couple reasons why this team could be one that we hope are worse than the 2003 Detriot Tigers as they seem to be in worse shape than the other group in DC... whoops no politics..

First off lets start off with Elijah Dukes being fined 500 dollars for being five minutes late to the game and even there was a possibility of him getting sent down to AAA. Are you kidding me? I cant not tell you how many times I have been late to work by a couple minutes and oh by the way Dukes had a great excuse. He was doing charity for the team at a local little league! Cmon are you really going to punish a guy whose trying to clean up his image after he had threatened to kill his girlfriend a couple years ago. Dukes is a budding talent so I hope if he is unhappy in Washington he finds a way out.

The next beef with Washington is they spelled their teams' name wrong on Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman's jerseys. The two best players on the GD team and you spell the name wrong on the jersey. Just a classic, "You know things are bad when..." That is just pathetic and there is really no excuse for that shit to happen.

Nationals Manager Manny Acta said after the Dukes incident that "We are trying to build a new attitude in Washington and he was late for his job so he got what he deserved." No sir, you are an asshole and I hope Washington shows your sorry ass the door come May because you should be praising your players for being out the community to give kids someone to look up to.

-Charlie.

Some Free Agent Rumblings

A couple big free agents signings went down in the past couple of days and I hate bringing this up because its not needed in sports; I think the economy is proving to show a lot of these guys arent getting the deals they wanted.

Abreu to the Angels:
-The Angles shored up their outfield by adding Bobby Abreu who I still believe has a couple years left in the tank and is a serviceable right fielder whose now going to be in left due to having the strongest arm in right, Vladamir Guerrero. Abreu in his statement made it sound like he wanted no part of being the full designated hitter for the Angles. This should help the middle of the order tremendously and add a left-handed bat to the lineup. If I live in Los Angeles of Anaheim I would be stoked right now that our team got Abreu for a cheaper price than Manny Ramirez who is obviously better but I dont believe the Angles want to spend that sort of cash. Just to give Abreu last three years averages... BA: .294 HR: 17 RBI: roughly 103. Those are great results for a five or six hitter.

Dunn to the Nationals:
By reading some of the comments on the ESPN.com article, it seems like a lot of the fans of Washington (yes all thirty of them) are upset that their GM Jim Bowden, the former Cincinnati Reds GM is hiring all former Reds players to their squad. Now Dunn gives them more offensive prowess but they really do not benefit all too much from this deal. I dont understand Dunn, he had some opportunities to go to supposed winners and he decides to be a National. Doesnt make sense. Here are his averages... BA .244 HR: 40 (Dunn has hit 40 consistently the last four years) RBI: 101.

-Charlie.