The Nationals traded Jon Rauch to Arizona today for prospect Emilio Bonifacio.

From the Nationals:

The Washington Nationals today acquired second baseman Emilio Bonifacio from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for right-handed pitcher Jon Rauch. Bonifacio was optioned to Triple-A Columbus of the International League. Nationals Senior Vice President and General Manager Jim Bowden made the announcement.

The switch-hitting Bonifacio entered the 2008 season rated as Arizona’s No. 6 prospect according to Baseball America. The same publication also cited Bonifacio as its 2008 Winter Player of the Year—an award encompassing the three Caribbean winter leagues (Dominican, Venezuelan and Mexican)—after he batted .300 and posted a .359 on-base percentage with Licey of the Dominican Winter League.

“This trade brings us a quality, young player, who has the potential to develop into a solid leadoff hitter and outstanding defensive second baseman,” Bowden said. “He is a high-energy player with a lot of potential, and we anticipate he’ll fit nicely into our long-term plan of drafting, acquiring and developing a solid nucleus that will lead our club in the near future.”

In Washington, Bonifacio joins third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, outfielder Elijah Dukes, outfielder Lastings Milledge, and catcher Jesus Flores as building-block position players who began this season 23 years-old or younger. Bonifacio, Dukes and Milledge were all aquired via trades within the last year.

Widely recognized as one of the fastest runners in professional baseball, Bonifacio is viewed as having all of the tools necessary to hit leadoff in the big leagues. Last season, playing for Double-A Mobile, Bonifacio led the Southern League in stolen bases (41) and hits (157), while ranking second in runs scored (84). For his career, Bonifacio owns a stout stolen base percentage of 78.1 percent (280 of 357).

Bonifacio batted .302 (111-for-367) with 18 doubles, five triples, one home run, 29 RBI and 17 stolen bases in 85 games with Tucson of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League before being recalled by the Diamondbacks in early July. He was a Pacific Coast League All-Star selction, marking his fourth consecutive All-Star season.

Originally signed by Arizona as a non-drafted free agent on December 21, 2001, Bonifacio is a career .284 (788-for-2770) hitter with 107 doubles, 36 triples, 13 home runs, 231 RBI and 280 stolen bases in seven minor-league seasons in the Diamondbacks’ system.

Considered well-above average defensively, Bonifacio’s sure-handedness and range are reminiscent of Orlando Hudson, the Diamondbacks’ current second baseman. Baseball America named Bonifacio as the best defensive infielder in Arizona’s chain entering this season.

The 29 year-old Rauch was 4-2 with 17 saves (22 save opportunities) and a 2.98 ERA (16 ER/48.1 IP) in 48 appearances with Washington at the time of the trade.

We’re going to think about this some more.  We imagined we’d get a few more prospects for Rauch, since prospects are so unknown and Rauch has been a quality closer. 

Today, the Nationals announced that they have agreed to terms with 2nd round draft pick Destin Hood.  Hood will report to the Gulf Coast League affiliate in Viera, FL.

From the Nationals:

Hood, 18, was a two-sport standout for St. Paul’s Episcopal High School in Mobile, AL. This year, the 6-foot-2, 185-pounder batted .485 with 19 extra-base hits, eight home runs, 32 RBI and 17 stolen bases while leading his team to the 5A state semifinals and earning a spot on the USA Today All-USA High School Baseball Team. Hood was recognized as the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s 5A Player of the Year, and was named the High School Baseball Player of the Year by the Mobile Press-Register. He was a 2008 Louisville Slugger Preseason All-American, after batting .517 with seven home runs, 36 RBI and 43 stolen bases as a junior. His impressive junior campaign earned him AFLAC All-American honors and a spot in the AFLAC All-American Home Run Derby, which he won with eight homers.

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.

There may have been no baseball in the nation’s capitol this 4th of July (and that’s a shame), but there was plenty of baseball just a few hours northwest of DC.  The Altoona Curve (Double A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) hosted our Harrisburg Senators in what they call a “PA Turnpike Series.”  Altoona is pretty close to where I grew up, so I talked my Dad into minor league ball for the holiday and I escaped DC’s crowds and humidity.

Blair County Ballpark, home of the Curve, is a true gem of a park.  Built in 1999, the stadium is a beautiful brick structure that echoes the look of Camden Yards.  It’s adjacent to an amusement park, Lakemont, so an old wooden rollercoaster can be seen just beyond right field.  The rollercoast ran all night and the seats spelled out “Go Curves!” Also, the club’s ownership group includes both Jerome Bettis and Mario Lemieux.    

The stadium was filled with over 8,000 cheering on the two local teams.  Before the game, Curve officials commemorated the franchise’s all-time All-Star team.  Their first pick was none other than Rob Mackowiak.  I accidentally laughed out loud.  Rob spent most of 1999 and 2000 playing for the Curve.

A few moments later, the line-ups were announced.  Melvin Dorta was the Curve’s lead off hitter.  Dorta, you may recall, made his major league debut with the Nationals in 2006.  He spent time in Harrisburg from 2004-2007.

Though those random moments of familiarity were surprises, I competely expected to see a dominant performance from RHP Jordan Zimmermann.  And I did not leave dissapointed.

Zimmermann gave up a lead off single to Dorta to start the game.  Dorta quickly stole second and scored moments later off of another hit.  After another stolen base and another RBI hit, the Senators were trailing the Curve 2-0. Jordan settled down after that first inning and delivered six shut out innings.  I was continually impressed by his efficiency.  I was also pleased that manager Stearns allowed Jordan to take late inning at bats because of his low pitch count.  With two outs in the 6th, Zimmerman hit for himself and drove the ball to deep center for a 2 RBI double.  Zimmermann’s good swing put the Senators ahead 5-2. 

He pitched through the 7th inning giving up ony 2 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 4 strike outs.  Beltran Perez finished the game with 2 scoreless frames.  Upon entering the game, Perez nailed Dorta hard in the thigh with an inside fastball.  Dorta fell to the ground for several minutes before walking it off and taking his base.

Five Altoona pitchers would come to the mound for the Curve throughout the game.  While starter Bloom only gave up 1 run on 4 hits in 5 innings, his bullpen put the game out of reach.  Together, they gave up 11 runs on 13 hits with 4 walks. 

 Unlike the “major league club,” the Senators’ bats are alive and well.  Five different hitters collected doubles and seven different hitters drove in runs.  Leonard Davis hit his second home run during the Senators’ 6th innning explosion.  Here’s the numbers:

Davis:  3 for 5; Rhinehart:  2 for 4; Baez: 3 for 5; Guzman: 2 for 5 and Bynum: 2 for 4

I think Lenny Harris should stay far away from these guys.  The final score was 12-2 with 17 hits for Harrisburg.  Bang, Zoom went the fireworks.  The future indeed seems bright for Jordan Zimmermann.  Here’s some photos.  Happy 4th of July!

The series between the Harrisburg Senators and the Reading Phillies will be televised on MASN this week including a live game on Thursday night.   Here’s the schedule and the probable starters. 

Monday, June 23 vs. Harrisburg, 7:05 PM, televised at 11:30 PM
Harrisburg: RHP Bobby Brownlie (5-0, 3.51)
Reading: RHP J.D. Durbin (1-3, 2.45)

Tuesday, June 24 vs. Harrisburg, 7:05 PM, televised at midnight
Harrisburg: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-1, 3.24)
Reading: RHP Tyson Brummett (1-0, 3.12)

Wednesday, June 25 vs. Harrisburg, 7:05 PM, televised at midnight
Harrisburg: RHP Adrian Alaniz (0-0, 1.50)
Reading: RHP Kip Bouknight (3-8, 6.28)

Thursday, June 26 vs. Harrisburg, 7:05 PM LIVE
Harrisburg: LHP Mike Hinckley (2-2, 5.11)
Reading: LHP Fabio Castro (4-0, 4.91)

If you’re bored this weekend because the Nats are on the West Coast, or you’re just interested in checking out some of the organization’s young prospects, you’ll have a great opportunity to do so this weekend.  The Harrisburg Senators travel to Bowie, MD to face the Orioles AA team, the BaySox.  The Senators have a winning record (34-27) and some of our brightest young prospects including Jordan Zimmermann, Zech Zinicola, Luke Montz, Mike Daniel and Roger Bernadina (several more are on the DL).  The game is only 20 miles away - a lot closer than driving to Harrisburg and tickets range from $6 - $14 with free parking.

If the losses are getting too miserable for you, consider heading down to Woodbridge tonight to watch the Potomac Nationals.  It’s $1 Monday, so tickets and hot dogs are each $1.  Ross Detwiler (4-3, 5.76) gets the start for the 7:05 game.  Both Ronnie Belliard and Paul Lo Duca are currently rehabbing at Potomac and the P-Nats are one win away from clinching the first half title in the Carolina League Northern Division.

On Saturday evening, Clippers fans watched their team pull off some magic to withstand an early set of back-to-back homers by the Buffalo Bisons.

Pitcher Collin Balester earned the win for the AAA Clippers after giving up three solo shots in five innings.  Luckily for him, the Clippers offense was firing thanks to shortstop Ray Olmedo.

Following some nifty base running in the second inning that saw Olmedo steal home after an attempt was made at Jemel Spearman stealing second, the home team put up four runs in the third inning capped by Olmedo’s 2-run ground out - a rare sight indeed.  The final score was 6-3.

The Buffalo team, rumored to be playing a lot more often in Columbus next year, allowed hits from 7 of the 9 Clipper batters.  Only Yurendell de Caster and Alex Escobar were hitless, ending a 17-game hitting streak for Escobar.

Ketchup won the hot dog race.

Prior to Thursday’s loss the Potomac Nationals were on a ten game winning streak. After attending Shawn Hill’s rehab start there a few weeks ago, we decided to make an effort to attend more games there this season. With the Nats in Miami, and as an attempt to look at some of the positives in the Nationals baseball organization, we decided to take a trip south to check out some of the Nats top prospects in action.

Every Friday is Ladies Night at Pfitzner Stadium. All ladies get in to the game for free and can also enter to win a bunch of great raffle prizes. They are doing things right at the single A club. Their energetic and helpful staff runs a lot of fun in game promotions. After tonight’s game they even had a band and a pitching machine. (Note – my fastball is not up to even high school standards, clocking in at a whopping 32 mph.)

We were treated to a great game. The Potomac guys beat the Wilmington Blue Rocks 6-1. Right handed 2007 draft pick Jordan Zimmermann was on the mound for the P-Nats. We had seen Jordan a bit during our spring training trip, but were excited to see some of his game stuff. So far this season, Jordan has allowed only one run in over 14 innings of work. He was impressive tonight also. Zimmermann threw five scoreless innings against the Blue Rocks. He allowed only three hits and recorded six strike outs. Jordan is currently 2-0 with a .061 ERA. Not too shabby. It was great to see him in action tonight.

Zimmermann was aided by his teammates’ offense. The P-Nats capitalized on an error in the first inning by Blue Rocks shortstop Chris McConnell, and had five consecutive hits, resulting in five unearned runs. Dee Brown added the final run with a solo homer in the third inning. We saw some great fielding also. First baseman Chris Marrero had some good plays, but also had an error in the 9th inning. Catcher Devin Ivany caught a few guys attempting to steal second.

We caught up with Jordan Zimmermann after the game and asked him a few questions about his pitches and his goals for this season…

Can you tell us a little bit about the pitches you like to throw? What are you working on?
Um I like to throw my fastball, and my slider, and I’m currently working on my curve-ball.

How was spring training? Did anything surprise you?
Actually I was down there for the instructional league last year, so I kinda knew what to expect, so when I went down there this year, it was pretty much the same thing.

Did you have fun?
Oh yeah, but it was a lot of work though, lots of early mornings.

Can you tell us a little bit about the day you were drafted?
Um actually me and my parents and my college coach, we watched the first round on TV at the school. We got to about number 50 and I knew I was getting pretty close, so I started getting nervous. I got up and started walking around the halls and hung out in one of the classroom areas. Then my agent called me and said hey you got picked up, number 67.

What did that feel like?
It was big relief. I was really excited. I just wanted to get going and start playing right away.

What are your goals this season? You said you were working on your curve-ball, anything else in particular?
I mean I kinda want to, well my main goal really is to end up at double A. So yeah that’s my biggest goal this season. Also while I’m here I just want to keep putting up zeros on the scoreboard.

Who did you look up to growing up did you have a favorite player or anything?
Um no not really…

Did you have a favorite team?
Yea a big Brewers fan, I love the Brewers. We used to go to lots of games.

Lastly, what worked for you tonight? You put up a lot of zeros. (Jordan pitched five shut out innings on Friday night)
Um my slider was pretty good tonight, I was locating it to the outside corners against the righties pretty well. Also kept the ball down to get the ground outs and the fly outs.

It was nice to see the up and comers in action. It also reminded us that there are some good things on the way, even if things look a little tough right now. Hey Barry told us to change up our routine. Friday’s game was the first we didn’t attend or watch on TV and they won! Hopefully that doesn’t mean we have to stay away all season.

Tonight, we took a little road trip south to catch the Potomac Nationals’ opening day and Shawn Hill’s rehab start. The start was monitored by a small crowd of 1300, plenty of bloggers and our Nats’ manager and his coaches. Look for all of the other bloggers’ re-caps and interviews shortly.

Not privy to that kind of access tonight, we just took in the game and watched Hill. Although several radar guns were positioned near Manny Acta, Pat Corrales and Rick Aponte - the rest of us couldn’t see pitch speed. Hill looked great in the first few innings, but gave up a few hits as the game went on. After his 5 innings, he threw for a few more minutes in the bullpen. In his start, Hill gave up 4 hits, struck out 4 and walked one.

Jordan Zimmermann, a draft choice from last year, pitched the remaining 4 innings and ended up collecting the save. Impressively, he struck out 6, but he also issued 3 walks.

Chris Marrero didn’t have the best night in front of team officials. He went 0 for 4 with 2 strike-outs.

Photo Gallery

Tonight, the Nats finally put Dmitri Young on the DL with a back sprain.  They activated catcher Johnny Estrada.  No word on pending roster moves. 

Back to Big League ball tomorrow. Bergmann will face lefty Scott Olsen for the 7:10 start.