The Washington Nationals today selected right-handed pitcher Jesus Colome and recalled catcher Josh Bard from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League, placed catcher Jesus Flores on the 15-Day Disabled List (retroactive May 10) with a right shoulder contusion and designated right-handed pitcher Logan Kensing for assignment. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Roster Moves
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#1 by NTPNate - May 15th, 2009 at 15:17
Thus ends Logan’s Run.
#2 by Pilchard - May 15th, 2009 at 15:29
Addition by subtraction on LK
#3 by rukidding - May 15th, 2009 at 15:38
I wonder if we can get a re-do on the trade?????????
#4 by Pilchard - May 15th, 2009 at 15:57
So, collectively, the Nats traded Kyle Gunderson, Emilio Bonifacio, Jake Smolinski and PJ Dean for Scott Olsen, Josh Willingham and Logan Kensing. All 3 of the Marlins cast-offs have played like crap for the Nats.
Smolinski has been hurt; has just returned and has 1 hit 14 ABs for Greensboro; Gunderson has been unscored upon in 4 outtings for Jupiter; after an incredible start, Bonifacio has been mediocre, at best, for Florida. Dean has yet to pitch this season.
So far, two trades that have not benefitted either team. Great.
#5 by John - May 15th, 2009 at 17:11
Jenkins gets a complete game win. 2ER on 7 hits. 10 K and 2BB. He finishes the year 8-1.
#6 by crestwood22 - May 15th, 2009 at 20:42
Mike Hinkley cleared waivers and signed with the Texas Rangers and was assigned to their Triple A team in Oklahoma City. Great for him and his family since he will play 20 minutes from his home town.
#7 by dd - May 15th, 2009 at 21:21
Hinckley>Kensing, Colome, Mock and several other bullpeners. The MLB team bullpen is better than Harrisburg’s. Bowden is gone, but pitching still remains bad, bad, bad.
#8 by VladiHondo - May 16th, 2009 at 08:45
Used to fault Manny for alot of the Nats’ faults, but more and more it falls on Rizzo’s shoulders. Colome gave up 4 HRs in 10 innings, all the HRs and all 7 runs he gave up were in his last 3 games - and this merits a callup? Bergmann should be up in DC, not Colome not Mock not Tavaras not Wells and thank god Kensing is out there! Let’s make a merit based callup for once.
#9 by Brian Oliver - May 16th, 2009 at 09:26
I understand people’s frustrations but I don’t see a true solution in any of them. Bergmann, Colome, Mock, whomever are all interchangeable parts in my opinion. Bergmann has surrendered 1.5HR/9IP in his major league career. Colome 1.1 in his career. There is really little difference.
Colome would have been a member of the bullpen from day one were it not for a contractual rule based on Bowden dumping him when he did.
#10 by David, from savannah - May 16th, 2009 at 10:31
I have been following this for a long time before the Nationals era. Thinking that the disorganizational and political maneuvers would cease. It has been one big shake up in employment since MLB owned the team. People in capacities that are not qualified. With all that said, bottom line all the players that have come and gone through this system has failed — not all on their own accounts but because of the unqualified personnel trying to change them thinking their making a name for themselves because of insecurities of employment. This has destroyed most of the players that have been drafted, obtained etc. that have participated in this system. “Where are they now?, playing better than ever in other organizations.
IMO, Instead of cleaning house on players every year. To the owner, you need more stabilization and quality employees to fulfill the capacities (instead of political maneuvers of” who knows who” to gain employment) to become a successful winning organization. From player development, to pitching coordinator to strength and conditioning personnel, you need to reevaluate. Fans talk about pitching pitching pitching; your coordinator has not fulfilled his capacity in the last 6 years and needs to be taken a hard look. Player development needs more experience than a onetime minor league coach that has just filled in a spot because of his dad’s status, and as for strength and conditioning it is in much better shape than in the past with fewer injuries since the MLB days.
I can say this that the scouting has been untouchable since the MLB era, this is the only department within the org that continues to be successful. You can follow most of the players where they have gone and are continuing to be successful, “Maybe you should ask yourself why” what going on in my own camp?
It is a continuation from the MLB to Bowden to now Rizzo. I do not wish to include Rizzo, he could be a starting point if he cleans house appropriately with personnel and keeps his selections from going through employment shifts, this makes for a winning org from top down in my opinion. The only person that has made it with this org and stuck is Zimmerman. Come on guys there has to be a solution to all of this chaos! Quit blaming your unprofessionalism politics on these players that come and go. Moving guys up with 5, 6 and above eras in all levels (A, AA, AAA) with the result of politics, give me a break! When are you (personnel) going to wake up and say are we ever going to stop doing this and change our political views and become a winning ball club and leave employment insecurities aside and develop players that are dealt for the future of just winning instead of personal advances? Put politics aside and start doing what is right and possibly you might see positive results. We fans deserve this team to become a 500 ball club we all know it can be!
Yours truly, an avid Nationals fan! David, Savannah, GA.
#11 by dd - May 16th, 2009 at 11:18
Here here David!!!
#12 by Eric - May 16th, 2009 at 11:24
Stammen and JD Martin are screwed again by not getting called up.
#13 by natteringnabob - May 16th, 2009 at 14:23
David from savannah’s post is very interesting, but I’m not convinced there is an unusually large number of players doing “better with other organizations”. Marlon Byrd was one. Armando Gallaraga is another. Brendan Harris. Can’t think of others right now. Jose Guillen has had good numbers but the Nats offered him plenty of money. Certainly no whoppers like Sizemore, Cliff Lee, Jason Bay during the MLB era.
I can think of some guys who haven’t improved on their new teams or gotten worse: Jon Rauch, Luis Ayala, Bill Bray (injury problems), Gary Majewski, Brad Wilkerson. I thought Ryan Church was doing better as a Met but his stats don’t bear that out. Brian Schneder looks about the same too.
Anyway, I don’t have a database on this, but it would be interesting to know whether other organizations are taking Nats talent and doing better with it.
#14 by John - May 16th, 2009 at 16:11
http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=4171305&name=mlb_draft
Apparently, Keith Law quotes Rizzo has saying they’ll take the best player at #10 regardless of signability.
#15 by David, from savannah - May 16th, 2009 at 17:37
natteringnabob,
You missed the point, I am not saying that all players are doing better in other organizations, some are that have been put into a new environment have excelled, some not due to injuries, etc.
I am saying the talent we currently have or past players either acquired through drafts, signings, trades etc. Can be or could have been developed into promising and productive players. This organization needs to take a hard look at the current personnel and find out why we are not a 500 ball club and why players are not producing consistently and why players are moving through the system that are not deserving.
We’ve have drafted amazing talent since the MLB era a lot have gone through the system with struggles of exploded ERA’s or other inconsistencies for quite some time —IMO, by personnel trying to play politics with these guys changing this or that trying to make a mark on them for the benefit of their own personal gains, because of the insecurities of employment.
Remember it starts at the top and then settles down into making an organization whole; piece milling something together by “who knows who” or “to benefit one’s own personal gain via politic playing” does not make it sound. This has and will continue to destroy the talent that we currently have by either changing them to put a “mark” on them and say yea I made a adjustment, look see how much he has improved or not, or by blaming the player in some political way” in a short period of time or pushing guys through that are not deserving. This is hogwash in my opinion, again utilizing these scenarios for one’s own personal and selfish gains.
Owners take notice and look at your house, it needs to be cleaned. Put together a qualified and winning team that is sound from the top down, not piece milled together with unqualified personnel that continues to ruin your organization and the development of these fine athletes.
All these players are very good at what they do, if they were left alone and utilized in a way to bring out their best abilities (which got them here to begin with) we would be winning and producing like a 500 ball club should.
Personnel should quit trying to change things that are not broke, just mold it! Put players in their respective positions, according to their production not the lack there of! Remember it’s a mental game! Quit trying to make a name for yourself. There is no I in TEAM if we want to be a 500 ball club, it takes everyone; personnel and players (along with what we already have that’s not broke a supporting fan base) to WIN!
David, Savannah, GA – an avid national fan!
#16 by WallyBall - May 17th, 2009 at 10:35
David
I think that your conclusion is right, that the Nats have not developed players well - their current progress, in most cases, is less advanced than I would have expected based on their scouting reports at draft time, which have generally been positive. There are a couple of exceptions, Derek Norris, maybe, but overall I think that is true. I am only counting the period of time since the Lerners bought the team, so it may still be too early to definitively judge them, especially with a fairly high amount of HS players drafted. But I do think that a brutally honest appraisal of the development team needs to be done and some changes implemented.
But whether it was all motivated by politics and self serving attitudes of the individuals involved, that I am not so sure about. It seemed like that was Bowden’s MO, and I believe that they over promoted players based on a desire to show that the farm was improving, but I doubt that everyone in the organization, Rizzo included, acts so transparently (you know, everyone has a degree of that kind of ambition, and it is not a bad thing necessarily ‘If I develop good players, I will get promoted’; well, the team gets some good players out of that). More likely, since he is not the permanent GM, Rizzo does not have the ability to institute many changes in the organization yet. One thing that Rizzo has done, which I think has hurt the MLB team this year, is make several decisions based more on things like minor league options rather than who is playing better. I think that Detwiler’s promotion is based on this (40 man roster), but I think that it is a mistake. But as Brian said earlier, that may be splitting hairs, since they are all about the same skillwise anyway.
But Rizzo has done a better job (I think) of leaving the minor leaguers where they are to continue to develop.
#17 by natteringnabob - May 17th, 2009 at 13:17
David, I understand that your main point related to the problems with organizational politics and how this affect player development . It was this passage:
“This has destroyed most of the players that have been drafted, obtained etc. that have participated in this system. “Where are they now?, playing better than ever in other organizations.”
that I called into question, because it seemed to imply that players leaving the organization are turning into stars elsewhere. I also understand that this was a relatively small part of your argument.
If you are correct about unqualified personnel being in the positions that are critical for building a winner, we are certainly in for long-term misery.
#18 by exnat - May 19th, 2009 at 15:59
Good for the Hinckleys! I know they’re excited but I’ll still miss them!