Paul Lo Duca really talks a big game. He seems to have something to say about everything, yet he hasn’t delivered much in the way of offense or defense since arriving in DC. In fact all he’s done is run his mouth. Before last night’s defeat, Lo Duca was quoted with this gem: 

“We need to realize [we can win], we need to show and play with that cockiness and play with that edge. That’s how we are going to win ballgames.” 

Paul went on to say that he doesn’t think the Nats have that edge yet: 

“We need to go out there with a little attitude and play with attitude and keep fighting – run balls out. Even when you are getting beat, those are the times you need to hustle even more. That’s what we need to do.” 

Hmm I don’t know Paulie but, I think that maybe trying to actually throw a runner out at second, or trying to catch a ball at the plate that might save a run, or maybe even running through first base, would help the team a little bit.  Lo Duca can point fingers and talk all he wants, but the reality is, he hasn’t done much at all, and he seems to be the only one freaking out about the team’s performance. 
 
If the theme for the team is patience and learning, then why not let a young catcher – who at this point is just as good offensively, if not better than Lo Duca or Estrada – learn in the big leagues.  Our centerfielder is still learning, our pitchers are still learning, heck our third baseman is still learning. What is the harm with letting Flores get experience in the majors? Sure he isn’t major league polished yet, but his power is already better than Lo Duca’s. He can catch, hit, and run unlike Estrada currently, and he tries with success to throw out the runners, something Lo Duca hasn’t even attempted yet. At this point, a platoon with Flores and one of the vets has got to provide more offense (and defense) at the plate than we are getting right now.
 
I guess the only problem with keeping Flores in the majors is the type of mentor he would have in Paulie. I’m not sure what advice Lo Duca would have to offer the young guys. He isn’t catching well, can’t throw, can’t run, can’t stop gambling, and can’t stay faithful to his wife, sounds like a great role model. The team is young; they need patience, support, and time to be successful. Things will click, sooner rather than later, but Lo Duca’s constant yapping isn’t going to make it happen any faster.

On top of all this, what’s up with Manny lately? I realize he is dealing with a short supply of players, but a couple of his decisions in the last few games have left us with a bad taste in our mouths. He left Bergmann in way too long on Wednesday. He’s taking Felipe out of left field in the 7th, which wastes our bench. He put Tim Redding (a top starting pitcher) in to run for Estrada last night.  What kind of decision is that?  Last season we lost Bergmann and Hill to injuries on the base paths.  I can’t believe Manny needlessly exposed Redding to that last night.

I’m not so quick to blame the pitching (GM Jim) or the lack of offense on our team’s struggles as of late.  The bullpen has certainly had its fair share of problems too. It seems like a lot of things are out of place and that starts at the top and trickles the whole way down.  

It’s going to be a fun series against the Braves isn’t it? Hudson, Smoltz and Glavine, aren’t we lucky.
 
Lastly, on a positive note, we have attended now five games at Nationals Park. At each game, I have been nothing but impressed with the services and the people. I am greeted like a friend every time I enter. My food has been served in an efficient and pleasant manner. Everything from the amenities offered, to the employees and services are a huge upgrade from RFK and I couldn’t be happier.

We’d sure would be happy to take his seat instead.

Manager Manny Acta already has his favorite seat picked out. Not a fancy box seat or suite, but a lower-deck outfield perch just above the Nationals’ bullpen in right field with the game spread out before him like a panorama and the Anacostia River just over his shoulder. “The perfect place to watch a game,” he says, as if he wishes, for a day, he could be a fan. — T. Boswell

Cherry trees are now planted, opening day tickets are already sold out and the new HD scoreboard is ready to go.  Even the announcers are eager to get to the new park.

Twenty-three days.

Nationals manager Manny Acta recently sat down with Fox5’s Dave Feldman for a brief discussion about the upcoming season. Acta talks about last year’s team, the future of the organization, Lastings Milledge, Elijah Dukes, Chad Cordero and the Mitchell Report.

While not addressing the Lo Duca* situation directly, Acta said that the players accused “have to be man enough to admit it.”

You can see Manny tomorrow night at the Washington Capitals game. He will join Jason Bergmann and John Lannan to sign autographs before the game as part of the continuing winter tour.

Nationals Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden and Coach Manny Acta just held a conference call to announce the big trade of Brian Schneider and Ryan Church to the Mets for Outfielder Lasting Milledge. We were and still are a little shocked by the trade, its kind of like watching two of your good buddies move away. We are very sad to see both of them go, and wish them nothing but the best in NY.With that said, both Manny and Jim sounded pretty excited about the deal during the conference. Bowden made the announcement and said that Milledge fits right into “the plan” as he is a young (22) player who will likely develop into a middle of the lineup impact hitter. The Nats will control him until 2012, so it bodes well for the future of the team. Jim also said that the Nats paid a steep price for the young player by dealing Church and Schneider. He thanked both of them for their work on and off the field, and made it clear that they will be missed.

Manny said it was a day of mixed emotions, but that the Nats are getting a guy that fits into the plan. He sounded confident in Milledge’s abilities to play strong defense, produce runs, and bring a lot of energy to the team. When asked about the controversy surrounding Lastings, Manny defended him wholeheartedly, and said that Milledge is a good kid, who became a big leaguer at a young age, and had to learn a lot quickly. Acta said he has no doubt that Lastings is going to be just fine with the Nats. When asked if Milledge will be the Nats starting center fielder in 2008 Manny said it was still too early to tell. He’s waiting till after Spring Training to make that decision.

After the Q&A with Jim and Manny, Lastings himself called in to answer a few questions. He said he is very excited to be with Jim and to play for Manny. Lastings admitted that while he struggled in New York Manny was there for him and showed him the way. Milledge said he would make sure to play hard for Manny. When asked if he thought he could play CF for the Nats, Lastings was confident in his abilities. He was drafted as a CF and feels like its his premier position. He feels comfortable playing in both left and right field as well. Milledge said he welcomes the playing time and that it’s a relief to be with a team for a while.

Jim, of course, was asked about losing Schneider’s veteran influence and leadership. Jim said that Austin Kearns, Dmitri Young and Ryan Zimmerman could step up to fill that void. He continued to emphasis that the goal was not to fill the 25 man roster perfectly, but to pick up a building block for the future. He cited some concern over losing two left-handed hitters, for example, and about the status of Jesus Flores. Jim did not give a clear answer, but said he is still open to allowing young Rule 5 star Flores to take the position.

Acta and Bowden continued to emphasis their desire to build a team through drafts and trades, using free agency only as a last resort.We were encouraged by the conference. Milledge seems very excited to be part of a young team and glad to be given the chance to play. Manny couldn’t say enough about him and seems to be very confident in his abilities. We are excited to see what Lastings will bring.

Milledge is a career .257 hitter. In 59 games with the Mets last season, he batted .272 with nine doubles, seven homers, 29 RBI and a .341 on-base percentage.

Sure to be lots of reflection and discussion about this over the next few days….leave your thoughts!

With the season over for the Nationals, reviews of 2007 are everywhere. The New York Times did a piece on the Nats yesterday. It’s an exciting time in Washington, the team that was supposed to lose 130 games in 2007 played .500 from mid May to September. With a young team, its time to look to 2008. I wonder how different media predictions will be prior to 2008 Spring Training. With Manny’s optimistic attitude, and a young team that’s only on the rise, anything can happen. We love what Manny said yesterday, “Despite our shortcomings, these kids showed a lot of heart.”

These boys played every game with a determination to be better than predicted. Manny’s positive attitude was reflected on the playing field. The Free Lance-Star, says “The Nats beat the odds, and the predictions and finished the season with their heads held high.” We think Ryan Church said it best though, ” When it comes to heart, we are up there. It goes to show that it starts with the manager. It shows what kind of team we are. We battle.”

“We just like to compete and we showed it,” Church said. “When it comes to heart, we are up there. It goes to show that it starts with the manager. It shows what kind of team we are. We battle. We are not giving up, we are not packing it in. We have an opportunity to make the Mets or the Phillies join us for the offseason. We don’t know. It could be the Mets or the Phillies.”

And, Tim Brian’s column today at Yahoo Sports says Manny should be a runner up for Manager of the Year.

Manny Acta, Washington Nationals. They didn’t lose 110 games. Or 100 games. They might not even lose 90. That qualifies as a monumental (D.C. reference) achievement, if not by the Nats’ front office, then by the guy who convinced the players they didn’t have to be total disgraces. Acta sent 13 different starters to the mound, many of them not as good as the original five, the reason for the dire spring predictions, and the Nationals are about to have their second winning month in the last three.

On Dmitri: Yahoo Sports article

On Manny: Washington Post article

On Ryan Zimmerman: Zimmerman’s weekly column

I have to admit. I saw the line-up Sunday morning. I was angry - well, furious. I thought Manny had lost his mind and decided to just hand Milwaukee the last game of the series. Not only was it frustrating to see regular starters like Dmitri and Ronnie not starting, but the order itself was, to me, frightening — with Jimenez and Batista high in the order — and Church, Flores, and Lopez way down. I silently wondered why we wanted to give away a game — especially with the All-Star break (and plenty of rest for our starters) just around the corner.

So much for the line-up. The Nats managed to pull out an incredible win off the Brewers, keeping them short of 50 wins before the All-Star break.

Tim Redding pitched a great game — giving up only two runs in the 6th. He ALSO hit a single in the 3rd.

Most importantly, the guys were able to finally generate some offense! It started with Felipe’s solo shot homerun in the 2nd. Then came a 6th inning to remember forever. Jimenez walked. Zimmerman’s 14th homerun over the left field wall brought in 2 runs, sparking a huge rally. Kearns walked, Batista singled, Lopez walked.

Church hit a sacrifice fly, bringing in Kearns. Flores singled. Milwaukee finally changed pitchers and we sang Sweet Caroline…

Belliard hit a deep shot to a gap in left-center — bringing in all 3 runners. The Nats scored 6 runs in the 6th.

King, Ayala & Chief came through big with quick easy innings & two strike-outs for Ayala. Trust in Manny.

I have been reading a lot about the Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) on blogs lately and I must say I am a bit discouraged by what is being said. I just can’t figure out why there is so much negativity circling around the station. I get that it is owned by Peter Angelos and some folks aren’t big fans of him, but is that really a reason for such animosity towards a station that is trying their best to provide us baseball fans with the ability to simply watch baseball?!

I had a long season last year without MASN, as my cable provider didn’t offer it. It was frustrating to know a game was on and not be able to watch it. This year we 3 girls have been dedicated, serious fans, but we are still learning the game; the commentary provided by both Bob and Don has been extremely valuable. I learn something new every game and let’s face it, can you ever know everything there is to know about this game? In addition, I enjoy the Nats Xtra post game show just as much. Both Johnny and Ray are charismatic and positive even after a loss, and compliment each other nicely. They are also two of the nicest men I have ever met, and are very receptive to Nats fans.

As for the commercials on the channel, come people lets realize that these are meant to sell the team to viewers. They are entertaining and send a positive message about our growing team. Also for the inconsistencies during broadcasts and misspellings, those things happen everywhere. I tend to shake those off because MASN offers something greater, the ability for me to watch lots of baseball. I also feel for those folks in North Carolina who don’t have access to baseball. I know it must be frustrating. I dealt with it last season, but at least I had the ability to go to home games. These guys in NC don’t have that luxury. If I can help out by signing a petition or encourage the people in North Carolina to speak up to Time Warner, I’m all for it!

On days when I can’t make it to RFK or the team is away, I thoroughly enjoy kicking back on the sofa and tuning into the game with Bob and Don and our boys. I suggest we relax a bit, let the little things slide and embrace what MASN gives us, a lot of baseball! If this season has taught Nats fans anything it should be that a positive attitude goes a long way. Let’s take a page from the book of Manny Acta and his team and appreciate what we have.