Good to see the Attorney General landing on his feet back in the nation's capital.

Nats, watch what you say on your cell phones...

C'mon brah, next question.

I initially read "LoDuca released" and "Colletti gets chance he can't refuse," which appeared below it in the Newsblog sidebar, as if they were one. Heh. In Bill Plaschke's wet dreams.

Yeah, I knew they wouldn't just let Dukes back on the roster without some sort of supervision.

So, do the Dodgers bring LoDuca home as Martin's backup? Seems like LoDuca would be Torre and Colletti's kind of guy.

That trade, widely considered an outright steal for the Nationals, has turned out worse than anyone could have imagined for them. Kearns has been a below average player and Lopez an outright disaster. If Kearns doesn't rebound next season, that trade will have been a huge waste of money for Washington.

#6:

Yep. I am a Reds fan, and I really liked Austin Kearns---still do--and I was upset about the trade at the time. Lopez's problems have not surprised me; Kearns' have. I thought he would be second/third-tier star, a guy who would play in a few ASGs.

What's the deal been with Kearns? It's not just the spacious park is it? He was one of the surplus/unwanted Reds outfielders I so desperately wanted on the North Side during the Baker years.

Clearly this bodes well for the (near) future of Jesus Flores. I picked him up in my fantasy league a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure why he had been dropped.

I picked him up in my fantasy league a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure why he had been dropped.

He had like a 25 game stretch where he was OPSing less than .500. I think Flores is the streaky type.

Amazing that Elijah Dukes recovered from a fairly serious knee injury and surgery in less than four weeks.

Will JP bring Lopez back to Toronto? Desperately Seeking Shortstop- see it today.

I'm not sure whether it's the coaching or the ballpark, but there's something funny in the waters of Washington. Zimmerman, Kearns, and Milledge have all stunk out the joint there.

Zimmerman's just afraid to hit there. He doesn't want to put another hole in the Capitol Dome.

I'm not sure whether it's the coaching or the ballpark, but there's something funny in the waters of Washington. Zimmerman, Kearns, and Milledge have all stunk out the joint there.

Lenny Harris says hi.

Yeah, Lenny Harris's track record might impede Flores' hitting development.

I'm not sure whether it's the coaching or the ballpark, but there's something funny in the waters of Washington. Zimmerman, Kearns, and Milledge have all stunk out the joint there.

I doubt it's the ballpark--the new stadium has actually played as a mild hitters' park so far. And Kearns and Milledge have stunk just as bad or worse away from home.

I doubt it's the ballpark--the new stadium has actually played as a mild hitters' park so far. And Kearns and Milledge have stunk just as bad or worse away from home.

Que? B-R has the 2008 one-year batting park factor as 93. That's like Dodger Stadium used to be.

Manny Acta is a favorite around here but it is more important that he helps these young players develop than it is to make SABR-friendly quotes. If Harris is to blame, it's up to Acta to ask for a new coach.

Que? B-R has the 2008 one-year batting park factor as 93. That's like Dodger Stadium used to be.

The one-year park factors listed on BB-Ref are from 2007. The Nationals' actual PF for 2008 is about 101.

Might as well get rid of the deadwood, even if you can't get anything back, and play the youngsters. At worst, they'll simply be overmatched (see Bernadina, Roger); at best, you salvage something out of these final two months and firm your plans for '09 (with Rizzo or some other non-Bowden as GM, we hope).

Lopez probably won't get anything better than a minor league contract by some team looking to augment middle infield depth.

LoDuca might make it onto one last MLB roster on some team looking to add veteran presence or whatever, but he's as worthless a sack of crap as you can find. If all 30 GMs have an IQ above room temperature, he never gets another MLB at bat.

twins could use lopez to minimize the days that punto and Everett start together. Florida makes some sense for Paul, plus the late season addition prevents any unfortunate run-ins with spring breakers.

That trade, widely considered an outright steal for the Nationals, has turned out worse than anyone could have imagined for them. Kearns has been a below average player and Lopez an outright disaster. If Kearns doesn't rebound next season, that trade will have been a huge waste of money for Washington.

And Daryl Thompson might grow up to be a decent pitcher; he's 22, and his peripherals in AA and AAA are pretty good. Furthermore he's a local Washington kid, and the Nationals need all the help they can get building a fanbase.

LoDuca might make it onto one last MLB roster on some team looking to add veteran presence or whatever, but he's as worthless a sack of crap as you can find. If all 30 GMs have an IQ above room temperature, he never gets another MLB at bat.

Too bad Bavasi is gone, or he would have traded a prospect for him.

wonder who'll overpay for Estrada next year

wonder who'll overpay for Estrada next year

Kevin Towers

Austin has never been the same since his wrist injury. He was coming along hitting as expected, then hurts his wrist, gets accused by Kremcheck of being a crybaby, team finally sees the injury via X-ray (or MRI) and his rehab takes forever.

Just doesn't have the same "snap" through the zone.

I can't remember some days if I am wearing pants but I saw Austin play 50 odd games in the minors.

He was going to be a fine player.

Sigh.....

Nationals Park is neutral. That's not an issue at all.

Lenny Harris hasn't helped, but the people who want to blame all the Nationals' offensive woes on him I think overstate the role of a major league hitting coach. Even if he's just a fountain of terrible advice, I don't think a 7-year veteran making $5m a year or whatever AK is making now is hidebound to listen to him. And if he's giving so much terrible advice it ultimately backs up to Manny for not telling him to shut it. Manny doesn't have the power to hire his own coaching staff (that to me is the bigger problem), but he could certainly tell Lenny to teach something else.

I think the top issue with Kearns is that he was never better than a middle of the pack offensive RF to begin with. His OPS+ has always hovered between 105-110 or so. Factor in the park in Cincy, and you have a guy who really shouldn't hit higher than 7 for a good offense. He's been awful this year, but people who were disappointed with him in 06 and 07 were expecting too mcuh from him.

Don't get me wrong. I like Kearnsy. I like his OBP, and he plays a nice RF. But the idea that we got a middle-of-the-order power bat to build an offense around was always wrong. I kind of feel bad for AK and Felipe. Expectations for them were always unfairly high because JimBo gave up too much and then as is his wont way way way oversold them. And the world owes Wayne K. a big apology.

This year, Kearns has cratered, but I think it's an outlier. I don't know what happened this year. Maybe he's still nursing the injury--we've rushed a lot of guys this year. But I think it's that the team lost him mentally in May. His body language on the field has been awful. Moping, shoulders slumped. I think the difference between the Nationals this year and last is that Bowden brought in some very vocal veterans who never wanted to be part of a rebuilding in the first place. Lo Duca most prominently. There were quotes from Paul in the first week of the season saying things like, "this is terrible, we can't go on like this for a whole season..." Just catastrophizing, losing his cool, undermining Manny's no-memory optimism approach. Kearns I think seems to have gotten sucked into that.

Next year I expect him to be the .260/.350/.440 guy he's always been. The problem is that's just not too impressive from a premium offensive position. Can't win with that unless you have Utley and Rollins in the MI.

Manny Acta is a favorite around here but it is more important that he helps these young players develop than it is to make SABR-friendly quotes. If Harris is to blame, it's up to Acta to ask for a new coach.

I agree that Manny warms the loins of SDCNs the world over because he liked Mind Game, but Lenny ultimately relates back to Bowden, I believe. Bodes has vigorously defended Lenny in the press (to the extent anyone's been under any kind of scrutiny from the DC press, it's been Lenny), and I suspect that Lenny wouldn't be gone at this point in-season unless Acta pulled the managerial version of Manny-being-Manny.

Manny doesn't have the power to fire and hire Lenny. It's Bowden's call. To expect Manny to risk alienating the guy he's stuck with by complaining about him to JimBo is crazy.

Of course, I guess Manny could talk to JimBo discreetly. I mean, what are the odds that Bowden would cause problems for the team by shooting his mouth off about it thoughtlessly?

I can't remember some days if I am wearing pants

If you hated them as I do, you would NEVER have this problem.

Will the Manny threads never stop?

And the world owes Wayne K. a big apology.

No. The trade stunk because it was supposed to help the overachieving Reds contend for the playoffs that year, by improving their bullpen. Krivsky grossly overpaid and received nothing that helped them that year. Lopez was coming off an all-star year, and while he wasn't slugging like the previous year he was still getting on base (355) and stealing bases (23/29). Kearns was hitting 274/351/492 and playing plus defense. Both were 26 and still under team control for another few years. There were some questions about both, particularly with Kearns' prior health issues, but they were clearly worth more than an overworked reliever. That Kearns and particularly Lopez have not played as well since the trade doesn't excuse Krivsky for not getting sufficient value and for thinking that one middle reliever would make a material difference in their playoff run.

Alright, LoDouchebag is now a free agent. I implore the media to break the story I've known about him for several years. Do it, media!

And the world owes Wayne K. a big apology.

Why?
Even if he KNEW via his superior scouting instincts that Kearns and Lopez were going to go splat- he didn't receive anything approaching their trade value the day the trade was made.

There were some questions about both, particularly with Kearns' prior health issues, but they were clearly worth more than an overworked reliever.

Who he had to place on the DL because he didn't bother to do any homework. Krivsky gets no apology.

Now I'm even more irritated by the Pudge Rodriguez trade. I could totally see the Molina/Moeller Yankees signing LoDuca.

The Wa. Post reported last week that LoDuca was angling for a trade to the Yankees, but they had no interest in him.

Countdown to a Plaschke "Heart and Soul" column -- starting in 5, 4, 3 ...

The premise of your criticism of Krivsky (that he gave up Kearns and Lopez for a single overworked reliever with only 2006 in mind) is false. He got Majewski, Bray, Harris, Thompson, and Clayton. That's a mix of short-term and long-term help that is collectively far more value than what he gave up. People who heckled him at the time have been proven wrong. Describing the deal as something it wasn't won't make you any less wrong.

What's the deal been with Kearns?

I know, but I can't tell you

What does Bowden not have Ed Wade's cell?

The Wa. Post reported last week that LoDuca was angling for a trade to the Yankees, but they had no interest in him.

"Hello Brian, it's Jim Bowden. I'm calling about Paul Lo--hello? Brian? Hello?"

The full article (expanded from TFBP) is here, with quotes from the affected players and speculation on the new guys' roles:

Link

Alright, LoDouchebag is now a free agent. I implore the media to break the story I've known about him for several years. Do it, media!

Is it a Patrick Wilson in Hard Candy type thing?

People who heckled him at the time have been proven wrong. Describing the deal as something it wasn't won't make you any less wrong.

My "premise" is what the team promised - that the trade would help the Reds contend down the stretch in that season. This was widely reported by the local media when the trade occurred. Those who retroactively spin the deal as a long-term benefit either forgot about or were never aware of the short-term focus of the trade.

The other retroactive spin on the trade is precisely what you're doing - confusing Kearns' and Lopez's post-trade performance with their July 2006 trade value. Even if you credit Krivsky for predicting that those two would regress, there's no reason he should have settled for the unimpressive haul he received for them (and Ryan Wagner, a former 1st-round pick). Two middle relievers (one that pitched a lot of innings that and the previous year, the other being a rookie), an aging sub-replacement level SS (who was awful down the stretch for the Reds), a rarely used and then foolishly ditched utility man, and an A ball pitcher with a lot of medical baggage. If this is the best you can get for two quality starting position players under cost control, then you need a new GM.

My "premise" is what the team promised - that the trade would help the Reds contend down the stretch in that season. This was widely reported by the local media when the trade occurred. Those who retroactively spin the deal as a long-term benefit either forgot about or were never aware of the short-term focus of the trade.

I think presuming that the team's actual justification for the trade is entirely summed up in what they say in a media sound bite is generally wrong, and in this case completely wrong. Why did they trade for Daryl Thompson if their goal was just to win in 2006? Were they insane? Did they have him confused with someone else? Or perhaps were they looking toward the future?

The other retroactive spin on the trade is precisely what you're doing - confusing Kearns' and Lopez's post-trade performance with their July 2006 trade value.

I think presuming that what WE believe to be a player's trade value is the same as the player's trade value within actual baseball front offices is generally wrong. Perhaps there was some small piece of information that the Reds and Nationals possessed about the value of at least one of these players, which observers on the internet or even the media did not possess.

Even if you credit Krivsky for predicting that those two would regress, there's no reason he should have settled for the unimpressive haul he received for them (and Ryan Wagner, a former 1st-round pick).

If Krivsky thought they would regress, couldn't other teams also think they would regress? We have completely insufficient information to determine a player's "trade value". We also don't know what other possible trades they were considering at the time, so we don't know whether the trade was good compared to the realistic alternatives. And we don't know anything about the financial factors involved the trade either, either salary-wise or revenue-wise (with Ken Griffey Jr. unable to handle CF for much longer, they had to move him to right, and thus Kearns was not very useful to them anymore).

Your mindset seems to be that two, five, ten years after a trade, we don't have any more information on who "won" the trade than we did one day after the trade took place. I think that there was knowledge we didn't have at the time, but the GMs did (that Felipe Lopez is a lazy bum, for example), which has manifested since then in evidence that we are now aware of (Felipe Lopez peaked at age 25 and is now unemployed).

Is there any chance the Cardinals will try to get Lopez to replace one of the completely worthless stiffs they had? At least Lopez used to be good, as opposed to Izturis, Kennedy, Ryan, etc.

I think presuming that the team's actual justification for the trade is entirely summed up in what they say in a media sound bite is generally wrong, and in this case completely wrong.

I see your point but in this case, the press releases are a fair way of judging the goal of the trade. It's not as obvious to those who don't follow the Reds, but on 7/30/06 the Reds were 55-50, 3.5 out and had spent virtually all of the season at or right near the top of the division. This despite several memorable collapses by the bullpen, which was a real revolving door after Dave Weathers and Todd Coffey (the only relievers that would end up with more than 30 innings that year). They hadn't sniffed the postseason since '99 and were desperate to contend. These circumstances accompanied with the press releases made it clear that this trade was about now, not later. That Daryl Thompson was thrown in doesn't negate the short-term focus of the trade; minor leaguers are thrown into such deals all the time. Maybe they were considering trading Wagner for Thompson independent of this deal. Who knows.

I think presuming that what WE believe to be a player's trade value is the same as the player's trade value within actual baseball front offices is generally wrong.

I'm sure this is true to some extent but it's hard to believe that the actual value of Kearns and Lopez was as low as a couple of middle relievers and spare parts. Any such disparity would have to be explained by more than "some small piece of information" that wasn't publicly available. Kearns and Lopez were key parts of a very good offense, which scored the most runs in the NL in '05 with mostly the same cast. If the market value for Kearns and Lopez was that depressed, just hold onto them and find relief help with other bait or through other means. The defense may not improve, but the lost production from trading those two was much greater.

I think that there was knowledge we didn't have at the time, but the GMs did (that Felipe Lopez is a lazy bum, for example)

Krivsky should have just held onto Lopez if it was known industry-wide that Lopez was a bum (and if it was you have to wonder why Bowden would trade for him). Lopez had certainly been working out well for the past couple of years, and if defense was such a concern they should have at least tried switching him and Phillips.

Of course, crediting Krivsky with inside information about the players in this deal is odd given that he raised such a big stink about not having the same information as Bowden w/r/t Majewski.

They could have held Lopez for another month and tried to make a waiver deal. Maybe they get lucky and someone claims him and they can just let him go. I mean, Pete Orr started at shortstop for the Nationals last night. Pete Orr!