A busy weekend of games prevented a full discussion here about the alleged Jim Bowden-Jose Rijo investigation by the FBI. Nats Farm Authority and Fire Jim Bowden were actively updating and synthesizing reports, while the Post, the Times, MLB.com, The New York Times, the Associated Press and ESPN each had their own take on the situation. In summary, ESPN says Bowden and Rijo are suspects. Bowden has and Rijo will meet with FBI investigators but both claim not to be suspected of wrongdoing. Sports Illustrated revealed that the investigation focuses on the 1.4 million dollar bonus given to Esmailyn “Smiley” Gonzalez in 2006. Gonzales, heralded as a future star for the organization, is hitting .394 in 17 games this season with the Gulf Coast team. At the time of the signing, Gonzales made it clear that he was signing with the team because of his special relationship with Jose Rijo, according to Bill Ladson, writing in 2006. Kasten and Bowden said:
“…there were opposing teams who tried to sabotage them from signing Gonzalez. They would not name the organizations in question, but Kasten said the Nationals are considering taking the matter to the league office. “I don’t know how I’m going to react,” Kasten said. “I wanted [our front office] to keep their eyes on the ball and get the deal done [with Gonzalez].”
We’ll all continue to watch this unfold together.
Also frustrating this weekend were comments made by Mark Lerner about his take on building a successful team. Harper at Oleanders and Morning Glories echoes our sentiments, especially with regard to the Johan Santana criticism. Since when did wins and losses for a pitcher mean much of anything? Santana’s doing his job and doing it well. It’s especially disconcerting that he chose that example because we’ve got a decent rotation that has battled throught the first half remarkably well without a lot of wins or run support to show for it.
In other news, Bowden was awarded Sports Illustrated’s First Half Worst GM in the National League Award for constructing a team that has “one, maybe two, legit starting position players.”
Ryan Zimmerman begins a rehab assignment tonight with the Potomac Nationals. He’ll play two games in Salem, VA with the P-Nats before joining the Columbus Clippers.
Entries (RSS)
July 14th, 2008 at 1:45 pm
It’s nice to see Jimbo recognized for all his hard work, or lack thereof. Either he’s not putting 100% into his job or he just doesn’t have the ability……either way dude’s gotta go.
July 14th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Thanks for the shout out!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
oh jeez. i just read the Mark Lerner comments. wow, is he clueless.
July 14th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Rob, Agreed.
Welcome back Dave!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
thanks. we’ll have plenty of pictures of beautiful Maui to share soon.
so much ugliness right now with the Nats. it’s tough to jump right back in.
wait, i’m getting a phone call. it’s Bowden, wants to know if i can play left field Friday night in Atlanta!
July 14th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Maybe he will call his buddy Barry Bonds.
July 14th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
i’d LOVE that. Bonds in a Nats uni?!? i’d run (RUN) to the store to get me one of those.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/18/AR2007011802089.html
I read the above article that appeared in the Washington Post. It serves as quite a background piece to baseball’s investigation into the signing of young ballplayers in the Domincan Republic.
In 2007, Rijo’s Academy was a “sprawling mountaintop academy” that Jose Rijo developed serving the Nationals, the Detroit Tigers and the San Diego Padres. According to a January 2007 article in the Washington Post by Barry Svrluga, Jose Rijo indicated that he had put “close to $10 million” of his own money into developing the site develop clearing away the jungle just up the hill from his home town to build the baseball academy that bears his name..
Each tenants pay from $30,000-$50,000 per month in rent.
Rijo was said to live in the Domincan, and was seen zipping around in his fire engine-red Mercedes convertible, sitting outside the bar he owns in Santo Domingo. “Everyone who passes seems to know him, yelling and waving. Asked if he would have signed with the Nationals had Rijo not been with the team, Frank Cruz, a 17-year-old infielder, replied swiftly and surely: No.”
Jose Rijo was the MVP of the 1990 World Series with the Cincinnati, where Jim Bowden served as general manager for 10 1/2 seasons. In 1987, Rigo established the Jose Rijo Foundation. And why did everyone who pass, seems to know him? Because he funneled kids into his youth league. Now Jose Rijo Foundation sponsors the best of those kids at the academy, where they train with weights and take classes.
Washington hired Manny Acta, a personable, outgoing Dominican, as its field manager last month. “He has caused our profile down there to explode,” Kasten said, “and that’s a good thing for the future.”
The Nationals had placed a lot of eggs in one basket. A poor nation was a fragile place, where people took a lot of nuturing. You had to like an ownership group like the Lerners for taking the chance. I was pulling for them, for Jose Rijo.
Maybe an American in the north, in a place like North Dakota where they had no organized hockey in 1975, would identify with Jose Rijo. Only in the Domincan, no one had money to play baseball.