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Being a Nationals Fan Seems Depressing

Eamonn BrennanPosted Oct 3rd 2008 4:46PM by Eamonn Brennan (author feed)
Filed under: Nationals, NL East, MLB Biz, MLB Fans

Poor Nationals fans. Now, after the 2008 season, the supposed enthusiasm promised at the season's inception -- and the way the new Nationals Park was supposed enliven the D.C. baseball consciousness -- hasn't really done anything of the sort. Instead, fans seem depressed, the park rarely filled up, and the first night of the season, when Ryan Zimmerman hit a raucous walk-off home run, is a distant memory.

What's worse? Even those disillusioned Nats fans, the ones driven toward brazen capitalism and ticket scalping -- even they can't catch a break. They can't ditch their tickets:
Mark Menard, co-owner of the 18th Amendment bar on Pennsylvania Avenue SE, bought season tickets partly so he could give them away to his best customers. When the stadium opened, he had lots of eager takers. But as the season wore on, he says, it got harder and harder to hand off the tickets. "I could not unload to my bar customers who lived literally 10 blocks from the stadium," he says. "Since June, it was painful trying to get rid of them."
There are a few more examples of people not being willing to even take tickets for free, which, though probably exaggerated, is still telling. When you combine a young franchise, a starless team, and an ingrained crosstown team, you get the 2008 Nationals. It should turn around, but not until the team is actually worth watching. Until then, they'll be invisible.

On Deck: Cough! Cough!

MulletPosted Sep 27th 2008 10:00AM by Mullet (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, Cubs, Indians, Marlins, Mets, Nationals, Phillies, Royals, Twins, White Sox



On Deck is FanHouse's look at the day's most intriguing baseball matchups.

Florida Marlins (83-76) at New York Mets (88-72) - 1:10 PM ET

They couldn't possibly do this again, could they?

Of course they could. You know they could. And your New York Mets know gosh darn well they could choke away another season ... especially after another lifeless late season loss to the Florida Marlins (who are now basing the success of their season on knocking the Mets out of the playoffs ... mature) and a Brewers victory which puts the Mets one game behind the wild card lead, and one game closer to another disastrous ending. So in response, the Mets are bringing back Johan Santana on three days rest to try to extend the season to Sunday. Of course, if they get to Sunday still alive, who will pitch then? Jon Niese? Brandon Knight? Frank Viola? Jesus?

That's silly. Everyone knows that Jesus would be in the bullpen because the Mets pen is so horrible. (And, you know ... Jesus saves.)

Continue Reading On Deck: Cough! Cough!

Elijah Dukes Would Like to Apologize to All His Dawgs Out There

MulletPosted Sep 12th 2008 6:50PM by Mullet (author feed)
Filed under: Nationals, NL East, MLB Fans, MLB Gossip

Elijah Dukes had a bit of a meltdown on Tuesday night against the Mets ... he hit a mammoth dinger towards the parking lot, and responded by blowing a kiss to the Mets dugout. Then, after a pitch that came inside by Mike Pelfrey but didn't hit him (and after blowing a kiss towards the dugout, a drilling was certainly possible), Dukes waggled his bat towards Pelfrey and took offense to the point where he had to be calmed down by Manny Acta for a good five minutes in front of everyone in the park.

The rest of the night saw Dukes get booed by the crowd, then respond by childishly egging the crowd on ... both after scoring in the fourth and after grounding out in the ninth. Not good form by Elijah. Today, he showed contrition.
"I just wanted to apologize to my teammates and the Nationals organization and the fans for my actions in the game Wednesday. It was wrong. I basically let my emotions just get the best of me. You know, it was just tough for me to take in what I had to endure, basically, and I just shouldn't have did it and it was wrong. I wanted to apologize about it, because you know, I talked to Jim Bowden and Manny Acta and I let them know that I apologize for it, and I'll try not to let it again. And for my teammates especially, I just want to apologize again to them for my actions."
I wish he would have went into what he "had to endure". Was the Mets dugout riding him that caused him to short circuit? Was it the Shea fans? What was it that made you so agitated Elijah? Help us understand you. Let us into your heart ... dawg.

If the Nationals Lose And No One's Listening, Does It Really Happen?

Pat LackeyPosted Aug 26th 2008 3:13PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Nationals, NL East, MLB Biz

The Nationals are bad. The 46-85 record gives that away. They're also poorly run, as evidenced by the Jim Bowden scandal and their inability to sign their first round pick. The biggest worry for the Nationals right now has to be that their problems go even deeper than that. Recently Arbitron released their latest ratings for baseball radio broadcasts and the Nats' numbers were so low that they didn't even properly register on the charts. From the Washington Post:

The team's broadcasts on the station formerly known as WWWT (107.7 FM and 1500 AM) attracted a cumulative weekly audience of about 26,500 from May through July, the most recent period measured by Arbitron.

[...]

It could be worse -- and probably is.

Arbitron's figures are estimates based on a sample of listeners; as the share of these listeners falls to smaller and smaller fractions, the reliability of the estimates declines as well. Farley concedes that the actual radio audience for the Nationals is "probably lower" than the average reported by Arbitron.

For comparison, the article gives the Mariners numbers at about 133,000 a week, or five times the ratings of the Nats. Meanwhile, the Nationals are 13th out of 16 teams in National League attendance and are averaging less than 30,000 fans a game, despite opening their new park this year. Even the Pirates topped 30,000 a game when PNC Park opened in 2001. Can anyone remember how moving to Washington was supposed to save this franchise from obscurity?

Mets Still Without Wagner, Willing to Ignore Sample Size

Matt WatsonPosted Aug 18th 2008 6:00PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Mets, Nationals, NL East, MLB Transactions

Lui AyalaThe Mets were hoping to get injured closer Billy Wagner back this week. Unfortunately, he reported stiffness and pain in his elbow after throwing off the mound in Pittsburgh this weekend, pushing his return back to ... well, no one knows. All anyone knows for sure is that he's not coming off the DL today.

But relax, Mets fans! To bolster the bullpen, the front office picked up Luis Ayala from Nationals! Jerry Manuel sounds pleased. From Anthony Rieber of Newsday:
"The two innings the other day that we faced him, he threw strikes, attacked the hitters," manager Jerry Manuel said. "I kind of expect the same thing."
Umm ... Jerry? Are you really happy to pick up the Nationals' scraps? Can two good innings last week outweigh the 1-8 record and 5.77 ERA (6.97 since the All-Star break) he's posted over 57 innings the entire season?
When told of Ayala's record and ERA, Manuel said: "Oh, man."
That's right, folks The power of sample size strikes again. Sarcasm aside, no one expects Ayala to be a savior -- all he cost the Mets was the infamous Player to Be Named, whom Reiber outs as the extremely expendable Anderson Hernandez, who's currently hitting .203 for Triple-A New Orleans. If Ayala can simply eat a handful of innings and absorb his nightly beating without giving up the lead, the trade will be worth it.

Winners and Losers of Draft Signing Day

Andrew JohnsonPosted Aug 17th 2008 7:28PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Mariners, Nationals, Pirates, Red Sox, Royals, Yankees, MLB Biz, MLB Draft, MLB Transactions



To fans and the media, what a team does in the MLB Draft pales next to a big free-agent signing or blockbuster trade.

Part of that is the gaudy figures thrown around during the hot stove season. The Red Sox, this year's top spender in the draft, couldn't even buy one year of Gil Meche if they shifted their draft outlay to the open market. Most of it stems from immediacy, though. A big winter signing answers the question who will help me today? A big haul in the draft answers who will help me tomorrow, but in most cases tomorrow is years away, if it ever comes at all.

Still, as the cost of free agents escalates, the draft continues to become the most important way to ensure long-term success. With that in mind, and with the deadline to sign picks in the books, here's a look at three teams who won and three teams who lost in the 2008 draft
Continue Reading Winners and Losers of Draft Signing Day

Paul Lo Duca and Felipe Lopez Dumped in DC

Matt WatsonPosted Aug 1st 2008 3:00PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Nationals, NL East

Paul Lo DucaJust hours after the trade deadline, the Nationals embraced (yet another) youth movement with open arms by releasing 36-year-old Paul Lo Duca and 28-year-old Felipe Lopez.

You'd expect for both players to latch on with another team sometime soon, but the timing of their departure suggests the Nationals tried and failed to recoup any kind of value on the trade market. Now, any interested teams can take a flyer on them without being on the hook for the remainder of their $5 million and $4.9 million salaries, respecitively.

Lo Duca has been especially disappointing this year, hitting just .230 (.582 OPS) without a single home run in 139 at-bats. Sure, injuries have been a factor, but he didn't sound bitter at all about the move. From the Washington Post:
Asked if he was surprised about the moves, Lo Duca said, "I think they're making the right move. Other guys in here need to play and I'm taking up a spot."
As bad as Lo Duca was, Lopez hasn't been much better -- he's hitting .234 (.619 OPS) with two home runs in 325 at-bats. 23-year-old Emilio Bonifacio, acquired from the D'Backs in the Jon Rauch trade, will take over as the everyday second basemen. Bonifacio hasn't done much in two brief cups of coffee with the D'Backs the last two seasons, but he's .314 between Triple-A Tucson and Columbus this year and should be an immediate upgrade. Even though the Nationals didn't make a big move yesterday, they should have a better lineup today than they did yesterday.

Rumor Mill Roundup: July 26

Andrew JohnsonPosted Jul 26th 2008 5:20PM by Andrew Johnson (author feed)
Filed under: Brewers, Mariners, Mets, Nationals, Red Sox, Rockies, MLB Rumors

With the trade deadline right around the corner, our MLB editor brings you the top five rumors every day until July 31.

- The Mets are continuing to pursue a corner outfielder, but with Pittsburgh's trade of Xavier Nady and Cleveland's trade of Casey Blake, the list of potential additions has dwindled. Jason Bay and Matt Holliday are still out there, but New York simply doesn't have the chips to acquire an All-Star caliber bat. Seattle's Raul Ibanez is the one name remaining that the Mets have been linked to and is likely in the team's price range.


GM Omar Minaya probably can't afford to hone in on one target, though, so it's likely he'll make calls over the next few days to gauge what the Padres would want in return for Brian Giles and perhaps what the Reds would want in return for Adam Dunn or Ken Griffey Jr. The Mets are on a hot streak, but the team still has flaws -- flaws that can be taken care of in the next few days.

- Manny Ramirez was a very late scratch for Friday night's game against the Yankees, which the Red Sox lost 1-0, and the Boston Globe's Dan Shaugnessy is wondering if this is the final straw for the slugger in Boston. "Manny Being Manny" is a mantra that has come to mean many different things over the years, and part of it are these little dramas, which usually come to nothing. But the Red Sox have an option on Ramirez for next year, one they aren't even certain they will pick up, so perhaps this time it really is THE time to explore finding Ramirez's replacement. That means a middle-of-the-order bat, one which they could potentially acquire over the next few days. It wouldn't be a great surprise if GM Theo Epstein started making inquiries about Mark Teixeira, Adam Dunn and Matt Holliday, even if once again, this all amounts to nothing.
Continue Reading Rumor Mill Roundup: July 26

Jim Bowden Spends More Time Talking to the Media Than His Own Players

Matt WatsonPosted Jul 25th 2008 2:35PM by Matt Watson (author feed)
Filed under: Nationals, NL East

Jim BowdenNationals GM Jim Bowden announced on the radio yesterday that he would not tender an offer to Chad Cordero this winter, meaning the injured closer will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

It's not a surprising decision -- in fact, Cordero admits he saw it coming -- but it's a little surprising that Bowden decided to announce to the news over AM radio waves before extending his player the courtesy of a simple phone call. From Chico Harlan of the Washington Post:
"My dad called me," Cordero said, explaining how he received the news. "He had received a phone call from a friend who heard on the radio. My dad got the call, and then he called me and told me. That's how I found out. Bowden never once made contact with myself or my agent before he announced it on the radio."
Part of the reason that Cordero is so upset is because he just underwent shoulder surgery two weeks ago -- he's barely had anytime to recover before hearing that his team plans to kick him to the curb. Granted, Bowden later revealed in an email to MLB.com that he hopes to re-sign Cordero this winter to a contract with "a low base salary with incentives," but how would Cordero know that? Again, a quick phone call five minutes before going on the air avoids all of his awkwardness.

The Diamondbacks Add Jon Rauch

Pat LackeyPosted Jul 22nd 2008 7:36PM by Pat Lackey (author feed)
Filed under: Diamondbacks, Nationals, NL East, NL West, MLB Transactions

With the deadline fast approaching, it looks like the deals are going to start coming pretty fast over the next 10 days. Today, the Diamondbacks added Jon Rauch from the Nationals in an effort to stem the ugly slide they've been in since early May. In exchange, they're shipping second base prospect Emilio Bonifacio out to Washington.

Rauch is certainly a nice addition to the D'Backs bullpen. He's quietly been one of the better relievers in the NL with the Nats this year and has done a nice job filling in as their closer since Chad Cordero went down. Any contender would be happy to have him, so this is a plus for the D'Backs. What this move doesn't do, however, is address the team's real problem. That would be their incredibly crappy offense.

On the flip side, Bonifacio is one of those guys that you look at and think, "Well, he's a nice enough prospect, I guess." He's very fast (229 steals in the minors) and he's supposedly got a good glove at second base. Still, he's got the kind of bat that seems like it probably won't play terribly well in the majors (high average resulting in a high OBP and almost no power).

So the Diamondbacks got help where they didn't need it and the Nationals didn't get a whole lot in return for a good reliever. What spurred this trade on again?
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