At the very least this suggests that Pena is in their future plans, and won't be the odd man out in a Pena/Milledge/Dukes/Kearns OF. I have to say, after three years of having 1/3 to 2/3rds of a serviceable outfield, it's nice to have a full four players with solid starter talent.

Poor Ryan Langerhans. He was serviceable for so long, and then last year...the worst offensive performance by a Major League outfielder in something like a century, no? WTF happened?

Poor Ryan Langerhans. He was serviceable for so long, and then last year...the worst offensive performance by a Major League outfielder in something like a century, no?

Try four years. Jermaine Dye says hi.

Nationals still don't have a centerfielder in that group. If Kearns is the odd man out, they will have one awful defensive outfield. But some pretty promising bats.

Nationals still don't have a centerfielder in that group.

Wait, I thought Milledge was CFer. Seriously. Is he not?

On a more serious note, Langerhans would make a great 5th OF for the Nats. He's a lefty, which none of the 4 "starters" are, and he's nifty with the glove. He can't be as bad as he showed last year, and for his career, 233/328/376, which won't kill you from a 5th OF.

and he's nifty with the glove

Thats understating it. He is one of the best defensive OFs I have seen. And stats actually bear that out.
His trouble with Atlanta atleast was that he was trying to hit HRs, when his strength is hitting LDs the opposite way.

I thought the book on Milledge is he is a stretch for CF. But maybe, if you don't care about defense that much, passable.

Nationals still don't have a centerfielder in that group. If Kearns is the odd man out, they will have one awful defensive outfield. But some pretty promising bats.

Milledge is probably going to be CF. He only played the corners with the Mets because of Beltran. I know some people have doubts about his ability there, but from all reports I've seen he's actually decent enough there. Pena is nobody's idea of a plus fielder, but he actually did better in LF with the Nats than any of us expected. At the very least, he didn't look to be Dunn/Manny level with the glove.

Kearns is one of the best defensive RFs in the game. And from what the FO has been saying to Barry Svrluga (WaPo beat reporter, great sports journo, good sources), he's not going anywhere. Which makes sense, since god knows what trouble Dukes might get himself into. Langerhans is, of course, another plus-plus outfield glove, but unless he does something to right himself with the bat, he'll be relegated to a late-inning defensive replacement.

Aaron "World Series Hero Bret Boone" Boone!

The Nationals outfield is fascinating, five players all of whom were dumped by their previous teams and acquired in trades after losing a lot of the value they once had.

Batting average is overrated, but Langerhans' .167 was the 4th lowest of all time for an outfielder with more than 200 ABs.

Kenny Williams' 1990 (.159) is the worst.

Langerhans' .167 in 200+ ABs is tied for the 27th worst at any position since 1901.

So Esoteric's statement wasn't tooooo far off. But, yeah, Jermaine stunk on ice that year!

Defensive projections for National outfield, with Pena-Milledge-Dukes right to left:

Pena -16
Milledge -14
Dukes -6

Numbers based on averaged zone rating and speed scores. Milledge would be -3 in a corner, Kearns +5 in a corner or -4 in center.

Milledge is probably going to be CF. He only played the corners with the Mets because of Beltran. I know some people have doubts about his ability there, but from all reports I've seen he's actually decent enough there.

What do they have to lose by playing him there. They aren't going to contending, so they may as well see what they have with these guys and maybe trade one or two if they find the value is high.

Nats add Boone, avoid arbitration with Pena, Langerhans

When I saw the headline I thought it said "Nats avoid Boone, add arbitration with Pena, Langerhans". Unfortunately for Nats' fans, it didn't.

Unfortunately for Nats' fans, it didn't.

He's replacing Tony Batista. It's an upgrade!

Numbers based on averaged zone rating and speed scores.

How much meaningful data do you have on Milledge in CF or Dukes at all? For Milledge is it just a matter of applying a standard positional adjustment when shifting from RF to CF?

I dunno. Pena didn't look completely terrible. That -14 would make him one of the worst in the league, and he wasn't embarrassing out there last year.

Milledge was a CF in the minors, but he also appeared to bulk up significantly in the last year or so.

FWIW, he did not play RF well at all for the Mets. He has decent speed and a cannon arm, but didn't seem to get very good jumps. at all, and famously misplayed a few balls. He just didn't look like much of a fielder. Tangotiger's scouting report agrees: http://www.tangotiger.net/scouting/scoutResults2007_NYN.html

I think he has the tools to be a decent outfielder, but it may take some time for the skills to develop.

(I'm a Mets fan in DC, so there's my biases).

Poor Ryan Langerhans

A few years ago I picked up Ryan Langerhans for $5 at the end of my NL only roto auction because Ron Shandler projected him to be a better than average (offensively) corner OF...

Strangely enough he was worth about $5 that year (2005) when all was said and done. Usually 75% of $5 roto picks end up being worth $0-1, and 25% are worth $15 or more- getting even value on one is unusual...

How much meaningful data do you have on Milledge in CF or Dukes at all?

Not much, there's a lot of uncertainty around it. I'll have to check what Tango's scouting reports say.

Milledge looked better in center the few games he played this year. Milledge didn't play the corners much (if at all) in the minors. He played 50 games there in '06 and 39 this year. He may have just had a hard time adjusting.

Scouting report has:

Pena 21
Milledge 52
Dukes 42

I think 50 or so is about average for a corner and 65 for a center fielder. I'm preparing myself for a horror show next summer - some co-workers and I are buying a ticket package to the new stadium.

They could put a good defensive OF out there - Kearns in right, Logan in center, Milledge in left. Kearns isn't a dropoff from Pena or Dukes on offense, Logan is enough of a dropoff that you might just accept the crappy defense. If I was a National pitcher I'd be looking to add some sink to my fastball.

Milledge seemed to play CF better than right as a Met. I wouldn't say he's good at either but I think he will be solid with more playing time.

I totally didn't see #17.

I love Tango's scouting report, but I also wonder if with the more popular teams and the sites he gets data from, if there's a bit of a groupthink bias. That's not to say that the CW is wrong. Just that it's not a pure sample of fans. But that's a separate debate.

We'll definitely find out next year. OF defense was the strength of the Nats last year. Church/Logan/Kearns was one of the 2 or 3 best... and see where THAT got their pitching staff! Of course, less Bacsik would help!

I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt for now. Milledge has said he had a hard time adjusting to RF. And Dukes? Who the hell knows with him? (In many different meanings of that phrase!)

and see where THAT got their pitching staff! Of course, less Bacsik would help!

Actually it helped their pitching staff quite a bit, considering they entered the year with exactly zero established starters. 10th in runs allowed despite being last in strikeouts, 14th in walks, and 13th in homers. They were tied for 4th in defensive efficiency, mostly thanks to Zimmerman and the outfield. Middle infield wasn't so great and Dmitri's best position is DH.

Oh yeah Dmitri - I guess all these trades should put an end to the silly talk of him playing left field when Nick Johnson comes back. Dmitri will just have to settle for being a backup 1B and play the 100-150 games when Nick is hurt.

Oh, certainly it helped. I forget I can't toss out a throw-away line in this place! ;)

Although... if you look at the breakdown a bit closer, the starters pitched as poorly as everyone thought they would. The bullpen was pretty damn good, and it pitched more innings than any other team's pen.

The Nats are in the odd position of being able to get more effective starting pitching and actually having their runs allowed total go up.

(The talk about Dmitri in the outfield was refuted by Manny Acta a number of times. With the obsessiveness he showed with outfield defense -- maybe just a function of the pasture at RFK? -- it makes sense that he'd want none of it.)