Comments on: Full of Sound and Fury, Signifying Nothing

By: JayB

JayB — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:21:43 +0000

Fair Enough….Brian….let us hope we get some more signings and roster improvements to discuss.

By: JayB

JayB — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:15:49 +0000

BinM,

I agree that none of these guys make me happy but the problem is history tells us that whoever we pick up is going to be playing for Nats in 2010 at the MLB level. That is what I find unacceptable.

By: Brian Oliver

Brian Oliver — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:15:42 +0000

It seems rather silly to be arguing over Jamie Burke.

Please cease the name-calling and baiting comments

Thanks all

By: JayB

JayB — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:12:40 +0000

BinM,

Thanks for the complete (more complete) list……more than the one Sue thinks it seems. I see several catchers that beat a 38 year old who was out of baseball last year…….I would take anyone of the 24-28 year olds over Jamie Burke.

By: Sue Dinem

Sue Dinem — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 22:03:21 +0000

BinM – I think we’re both trying to teach a pig to sing. Or discuss the color blue with Stevie Wonder. Or debate the merits of music with Marlee Matlin.

By: BinM

BinM — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:10:59 +0000

Oops, make that 12 catchers signed/traded, or claimed.

By: BinM

BinM — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:07:34 +0000

By my list, 11 Catchers have either been signed or traded as of 11/26/09. On the ML side, you have R.Hernandez (re-signed w/CIN), V.Martines (optioned by BOS) & J.Varitek (re-signed w/BOS), G.Kotteras (claimed by MIL), and C.Tatum (claimed by BAL). The other seven were all signed to minor-league deals (Boscan [ATL], Burke [WSH], Hoover [PHI], & Phillips [CIN] were all re-signs, while E.Bellorin & V.Wilson (by KC), and M.Hernandez (by BAL) were new acquisitions.

See anything interesting among the three that changed teams so far? I don't.

By: JayB

JayB — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 18:50:28 +0000

Sue, you are wrong about the catchers signed to date. List does not inclued those who took options to resign with their own teams like Jason V with BOS. Their are others like the Houston Catcher you found......ours is Jamie Burke!

Hoover, Paul C PHI 11/25/09 Tatum, Craig C BAL 11/20/09 Kottaras, George C MIL 11/18/09 Bellorin, Edwin C KC 11/15/09 Hernandez, Michel C BAL 11/3/09

Problem with Burke is he was not a AAA backup he was home and then he was playing in the MLB for the Nats....I for one do not want to see that again. We need some aggressive work on this roster....not signing people that nobody else would even put in their Minor League system.

By: BinM

BinM — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:25:09 +0000

JayB: Sometimes, minor league signings are just that - Minor League signings. Burke is fine behind someone like Solano in SYR, and helps hold the fort until the younger ones (Norris, Leon, Killian, Nieto, et al) move up.

On the Nationals farm clubs, it looks like there are apparent gaps to fill in SYR (2B, 3B) and HAR (3B, RF). Also, there are minor-league staffs to complete across the board.

By: Sue Dinem

Sue Dinem — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:29:10 +0000

JayB - You bitched about the Nats not signing minor-league FAs, but -- as usual -- you were wrong. And, how exactly, does one (1) team (Houston) signing minor league free agent catchers (their own) constitute "several other clubs?" (That's a rhetorical question, which means you don't have to answer it.)

To answer your question, I went to three Washington Nationals games last year, 64 Potomac Nationals games, two Hagerstown Suns games, and one Harrisburg Senators game.

Also, Jamie Burke is 38, not 40. How you can perceive him as anything other than a AAA backup is, to put it mildly, curious.

By: JayB

JayB — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 14:27:13 +0000

Signing Burke at all is really troubling on further reflection. Is this the best Rizzo can do to build some depth at catcher? Burke as trade fodder at the deadline…..don’t think so….Burke as a coach/player at GCL? Honestly, several other clubs signed minor league free agent catchers over the past few weeks…..we sign Burke. What is the thinking here…..anyone?

By: JayB

JayB — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 13:31:03 +0000

Signing your own trash was not really what I had in mind for the New Improved Rizzo led Nats of 2010. Sue how many Nats games did you attend last year? Does these moves count towards improving the team in 2010?

Kensing was gas on every fire, just about the worst pitcher I have ever seen at the MLB level. Burke...come on a 40 year old catcher who was home in August because nobody in baseball was as poorly set up to need him till the 2009 Nats came calling.

By: Sue Dinem

Sue Dinem — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 12:29:07 +0000

Nationals re-signed pitcher Logan Kensing and catcher Jamie Burke last week (Nov. 17-23). Since October, they have also re-signed:

Jesse Estrada, P Jesus Valdez, OF Charlie Fermaint, OF

FWIW, here’s the list of FAs per BA, which is “my Calgon” for the info above: http://www.baseballamerica.com/blog/prospects/?p=7288

By: JayB

JayB — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 19:44:59 +0000

50 transactions mostly MILB free agents signed this past month……none by WAS per MLB.com stats

By: JayB

JayB — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:08:35 +0000

Brain,

Thanks for you info...I hope to hear about Minor League Free agents..if indeed they have done any of that work.

IMO...keeping Arb guys may well cost them Wilkie.....I would have cut Saul at the least now to put Wilkie on the 40 man.....Just because they do not have to make a decision, waiting may bell cost them while being proactive most certainly would not cost them anything in the Wilkie, Saul case.