According to the LA Times, TMZ and a local news station, Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart was killed early this morning in a felony hit-and-run car accident, shortly after starting for the Angels and tossing six scoreless innings.  Adenhart was 22; he grew up in Silver Spring and attended Williamsport High School in Maryland.

Today, our thoughts and prayers are with Adenhart’s family, the Angels organization and their fans, as well as baseball fans everywhere as they grieve a terrible loss.

Thanks to Nationals fan Carolyn for passing this sad story our way.

From the Nationals:

WASHINGTON NATIONALS OUTRIGHT KORY CASTO AND MIKE O’CONNOR TO TRIPLE-A, PLACE TERRELL YOUNG ON 15-DAY DISABLED LIST

The Washington Nationals announced that infielder Kory Casto and left-handed pitcher Mike O’Connor have cleared waivers and been outrighted to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. The club also placed right-handed pitcher Terrell Young on the 15-Day Disabled List, retroactive to March 27, with right shoulder inflammation. Nationals Assistant General Manager and Vice President of Baseball Operations Mike Rizzo made the announcements.

I only have a minute, so this is going to be real quick:

One - Don’t forget Adam Dunn will be on Dave Letterman tonight to pump people up for the WBC.  He’s part of a group of Team USA players introducing the Top 10 Reasons to watch the World Baseball Classic.

Two - My Q&A with prospect Destin Hood is up at MASN.

Three - Our thoughts and prayers are with Stan Kasten, a man we greatly admire, as he grieves the loss of his mother.

Lastly, I’m pretty sure Keith Law is chatting at ESPN at 1 p.m.   It’s the first post-Bowden chat and thus a good one to try to catch.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it hundreds of times since January 1st.  I love the MLB Network.  I’m addicted.  My default Food Network channel just can’t compare with nonstop baseball.  And I love Harold Reynolds and Barry Larkin.

This week, I love that the Nationals are everywhere! 30 in 30 aired on Saturday, exploring the Nationals club in 2009.  It was pre-Bowden-exit, but included great interviews with Milledge, Zimmerman, Dunn and Kasten. 

Now, tonight, MLB Network treats us to a special documentary about the Young family — Dmitri and Delmon.  It starts at 9 p.m. EST - which is great because our Zumba class was cancelled anyway.  (I’m adding a link to give our awesome instructors a plug.)

We Are Young: A Baseball Family, the first-ever original film by MLB Productions, chronicles a seven-year period of MLB players and brothers Dmitri and Delmon Young, and their demanding father, Larry, who helped guide them into the Major Leagues. The film documents Dmitri, currently on the Washington Nationals, who makes the All-Star team in 2003, watches with joy as his brother is selected as the number one pick in the Draft that same year, but then begins to battle alcoholism and is released by the Detroit Tigers in 2005. Soon after, Dmitri comes close to death due to an undiagnosed case of diabetes, and then bounces back to make the All-Star team in 2007 and become the National League’s 2007 Comeback Player of the Year. We Are Young: A Baseball Family also chronicles the controversy that has surrounded Delmon—the first overall pick in the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft—ever since his 50-game suspension for flipping a bat in at an umpire during a Minor League game. Delmon would learn a valuable lesson, and eventually is called up to the Major Leagues in the fall of 2005, where he would make an immediate impact with Tampa. After finishing second in the American League Rookie of the Year honors the next season, Delmon was traded to the Twins. Monday will mark the television debut for the 96-minute film, which was selected for inclusion in the first annual U.S. Sports Film Festival, held in Philadelphia last October.

Make sure to tune in tonight to catch this special inside look at the Young family.  Here’s a video of Dmitri discussing the film.

Also tonight, Byron Kerr is hosting a special Nationals Insider edition on WFED 1500 at 7 p.m.  Byron will talk to Manny Acta, Stan Kasten, Jordan Zimmermann and the show will be streamed live on nationals.com.

Jose Rijo is done, along with nine other members of the Dominican staff via Bill Ladson’s blog.

Mark Zuckerman also has a good update on where everything stands, including a tidbit about the ownership group being divided on what to do with Bowden and when.

Yeah, we’re all looking at you…

Lastly, I don’t even know where to start with this, without swearing, yelling and hurting someone’s hyper-sensitive feelings.  For now, I’ll just contemplate whether I’m a shark, a vulture or a just plain hater…or maybe all three.  That could be fun.

How about I close with a quote from everyone’s favorite Racing President instead of getting into what I really think.

To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.

T. Roosevelt, 1918

Jorge Arangure Jr. from ESPN:

The Washington Nationals have decided to fire special assistant Jose Rijo and will shut down the team’s academy in the Dominican Republic as part of a restructuring of the team’s operations in Latin American in the wake of an age-changing scandal involving one of the team’s top prospects, several baseball sources have confirmed.

The team’s academy operates out of a complex owned by Rijo in San Cristobal.

Nationals assistant general manager and vice president Mike Rizzo arrived in Santo Domingo on Tuesday to look for alternative sites for the team’s Dominican academy. Rizzo also met with Fernando Ravelo, general manager for the Dominican Winter League Tigres de Licey, about replacing Rijo as the team’s director of Dominican operations.

When asked whether he had been offered Rijo’s position, Ravelo told ESPNdeportes.com’s Enrique Rojas “Maybe.”

The Nationals have already contacted people in Boca Chica about the possibility of the team moving it’s academy into the area for the short term and possibly constructing an academy in the area. Most team academies are located in the Boca Chica region. Another source said the team spoke with the Los Angeles Dodgers about their facility. Tampa Bay currently rents space in Los Angeles’ Campo Las Palmas but they will move out of that complex by the end of the March to move into a brand new complex.

Jose Castellanos, the Dodgers director of operations in the Dominican Republic, had no comment when asked about the Nationals’ potential move.

Rijo told Rojas that he had not yet been contacted by the Nationals concerning his future with the team, but on Tuesday he admitted, “Considering the latest developments, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Nats apply drastic changes to their team operations in the Dominican Republic.”’

And later…

This move by Nationals ownership may not be a good sign for Bowden, who hired Rijo and has known him since Bowden was the general manager of the Cincinnati Reds, where Rijo played from 1988-2002. Bowden was Cincinnati’s GM from 1993-2003.

Barry Syrluga of The Washington Post has the first interview with Carlos Daniel Alvarez Lugo, the player formerly known as Smiley Gonzalez.  Alvarez says his cousin thought up scheme to assume fake name, age.

In the interview, Carlos Daniel Alvarez Lugo — the boy who assumed both a fraudulent name, Esmailyn Gonzalez, and a fraudulent age, 13 when he was actually 17 — authored a whopper of a tale, helped by accomplices that he won’t, for now, identify other than a man he called his cousin. The Washington Nationals, whose officials from top to bottom say they were unaware of the scam, granted Alvarez a $1.4 million signing bonus in the summer of 2006 because they believed he was a promising 16-year-old shortstop, one who would turn 17 that September.

Now, Alvarez acknowledges, he was in fact a 20-year-old shortstop, one who actually turned 21 that November, and therefore a much less valuable commodity.

You can read the full article here.

THOM LOVERRO: Bowden not smiling anymore.  Loverro provides a number of non-subtle references to a solution that would make us all happy.

Also check out:

Jon Heyman’s winter grades:  Nationals:  “They have too many ex-Reds, far too many outfielders and first basemen, too few pitchers and one too many Jim Bowdens.”

Keith Law on Gonzalez/Lugo:  “It’s simply another black eye for an organization that is already a laughingstock in the industry.”

Don’t forget about Dan Steinberg, who is still making it impossible for us to get any real work done.

I also did a Q&A with Collin Balester over at MASNsports.com.

Adam Dunn called into the MLB Network’s Hot Stove show this evening to talk about his two year signing with the Nationals today.  His picture was up, and he was already sporting a Nats curly W.  Dunn sounded relieved to know where he will be playing next year.  He admitted that his goal was to play for a contending team, but that this offseason’s free agency didn’t go the way he thought it would. However, Dunn did say that he really is excited to play in Washington and to be reunited with Jim Bowden and Austin Kearns.  Adam also said he is excited to help the Nationals turn things around this season. 

It was a pretty funny interview.  Dunn called in with his cell phone and hearing him was a little fuzzy.  The Hot Stove panel suggested he use some of his $10 million this year to get a landline phone.  I for one am excited to see what Dunn can bring to the team.  Today’s signing seemed like a little breath of fresh air.

After you’re done, go read DC Sports Bog for some good commentary.

From the Red Sox South…ergh, I mean the Nationals:

The Washington Nationals today announced the individual ticket prices for the 2009 season at Nationals Park. Individual ticket prices range from $5 - $325 ($5 tickets are available on the day of game only at the Nationals Park Box Office), and will be available beginning in early March. The organization has decreased ticket prices in a considerable number of sections for both season ticket holders and individual ticket buyers.

Season ticket plans for the 2009 season are currently on sale. Season ticket packages start as low as $10 per seat in the Upper Outfield Gallery. A partial-plan can be purchased for $210.00, while a half-season package begins at $420.00. Fans may purchase a full-season ticket package for $840.00. The Nationals decreased season ticket prices for 7,500 seats at the ballpark, including 3,400 seats in the lower seating bowl; the average season ticket price for a non-premium ticket will be just under $29.00

Tickets for the Nationals interleague series vs. the Boston Red Sox on June 23, 24 and 25 are currently available exclusively as part of Nationals season ticket plans. Individual tickets for this highly anticipated series may be made available to the public via an online purchase opportunity in March and information regarding this opportunity will be released at a later date. Nationals Season Ticket Holders (full, half or partial planholders) will also be afforded the chance to purchase additional tickets to the Boston series in advance of any public online sale, with a limit of 4 tickets per account. An e-mail notification will be sent to all Season Ticket Holders with details regarding their private pre-sale opportunities at a later date.

“Nationals season ticket packages are the best way to make sure you catch all the important 2009 games. Only season ticket holders are guaranteed first chance at tickets for the exciting inter-league series against the Boston Red Sox,” said team President Stan Kasten. “We’ve got the best ballpark experience and the least expensive sports ticket in the Washington area. The National Pastime in the Nation’s Capital offers all the sights and smells that make baseball a singular American tradition: Sharp young talent on the field, ballpark hot dogs, and the Racing Presidents – all within a mile of the Capitol Dome.”

The Nationals will also offer premium-priced games for 18 contests during the season, including Opening Day against the 2008 World Champion Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, April 13. The premium games include dates against the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. For a full list of 2009 premium games, please visit nationals.com.

The ballclub decreased individual ticket prices by $10 or more in over 4,500 seats including 3,000 in the lower seating bowl. Fans may purchase tickets at a lower rate in 14 sections of the park, including the Centerfield (CF) Reserved and Lounge (Section 100) and the Scoreboard Pavilion (Sections 237 through 243). A complete list of individual game ticket prices and changes can be found below.

A limited number of excellent season tickets are still available throughout the ballpark. Fans interested in season ticket plans may call a Nationals Sales Representative at 202-675-NATS (6287) – Option #1 Monday through Friday during the regular business hours of 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., or visit nationals.com.

On a serious note, it’s good that they are keeping the $5 seats.  Ted Turner would be proud.  Baseball should always be accessible to everyone.  Now, if you want to spend $300 to watch a last place team, that’s your problem.