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Thursday, February 21, 2008

Washington Times: Dukes: ‘I finally found a breakthrough’

Those new long-distance pan/tilt/zoom spy cameras are incredible!

Elijah Dukes, the talented but troubled outfielder acquired by the Washington Nationals over the winter, reported to spring training this afternoon and declared himself a changed man.

“I’ve been working on myself a long time,” the 23-year-old said in a press conference at Space Coast Stadium. “I finally found a breakthrough, and from now on, everybody gets a chance to really see [what] the real Elijah Dukes is like.”

...Dukes has been working extensively with a player adviser hired by the Nationals to mentor and watch over him. General manager Jim Bowden said the adviser, James Williams, has spent nearly every waking moment with Dukes over the last two months, at times even sleeping at the player’s house.

“He kind of comes in and gives me that tough love and shoots it to me straight,” Dukes said. “We kind of do things together that kind of reflect a kind of father and son type thing. That’s a good feeling to always have.”

Repoz Posted: February 21, 2008 at 01:03 AM | 30 comment(s) | Login to Bookmark
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1. H_Vaughn08 Posted: February 21, 2008 at 01:29 AM (#2696184)

That will sound a lot more promising if he stops talking about himself in third person.

2. Greg Pope Posted: February 21, 2008 at 01:36 AM (#2696191)

So who plays OF for the Nationals this year? A straight rotation of Kearns, Dukes, Milledge, and Pena? Or does Dukes go to Triple-A?

3. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 01:41 AM (#2696195)

I assume that Dukes has options and the Nats have a roster crunch, but I'd doubt they send him down.

1) he's better than the other 4th options.

2) he's not exactly in good graces with the International League

3) they want him to be surrounded by the healing embrace of Dmitri Young. (I'm only partially kidding on that one)

Kearns is a lock to start in right. That leaves about 1,200 ABs for the other 3 guys, and I imagine they'd be split fairly evenly by the end of the season.

4. galaxieboi Posted: February 21, 2008 at 01:44 AM (#2696202)

I'm curious as to Dukes' parental situation. My father passed away when I was 7 and my mom was left raising three kids (I'm the oldest) and working full-time. I never got into any trouble, but I was an angry, angry kid. After my dad died I didn't have any kind of real positive male role model around.

Well, being an angry kid turned into an angry young man. Things didn't turn around for me until I started working full-time after high school. I had a couple guys I worked with that gave it to me straight. Lots of that 'tough love' thing. Between them and falling in love with the right girl saved my life.

5. depletion Posted: February 21, 2008 at 02:22 AM (#2696231)

Dmitri Young might play some outfield given the return of Nick Johnson. Pena and Young are not good fielders. Really they'd be better off moving Pena for another player and getting a good defensive 5th outfielder.

6. Dan Szymborski

Posted: February 21, 2008 at 02:30 AM (#2696235)

When I saw the headline, I thought maybe Dukes figured out he should just kill people instead of merely threatening to.

7. Rough Carrigan

Posted: February 21, 2008 at 02:38 AM (#2696242)

Good for him. I hope he gets his #### together. Wasted human potential is just about the saddest thing on earth.

8. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 02:45 AM (#2696246)

I've heard this "Dmitri Young might play the outfield" stuff for a year now. Other than one comment by the player himself, every other source, to include Manny Acta, has laughed it off.

No chance it happens, unless it's an emergency start kind of thing.

(Get a good defensive 5th outfielder? They've got Langerhans for that, but I'm not sure what dumping someone with some power potential to carry a defensive caddy would serve...)

9. Pops Freshenmeyer Posted: February 21, 2008 at 02:50 AM (#2696251)

Didn't Jim create the same 1B/OF logjam when he was with the Reds?

10. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:00 AM (#2696258)

I'm not sure that having adequate cover for Nick Johnson is really a true logjam.

Dmitri's on the roster as much for what he's doing with Dukes as anything.

There's been a lot of talk about potential trades, but I don't really see the need. DY can take some time against lefties, cover when NJ is injured, and get 100 ABs as a pinch-hitter.

11. Pops Freshenmeyer Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:09 AM (#2696262)

Milledge, Dukes, Kearns & Pena is more than enough in the outfield - in addition to the first base redundancy.

12. MM1f Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:19 AM (#2696271)

"Milledge, Dukes, Kearns & Pena is more than enough in the outfield"

I dunno about that. 3 of those guys have never been full-time starters. One of them has played poorly in MLB and is a high risk to be suspended or arrested.
I'd say its a good thing to have all 4 around

13. Pops Freshenmeyer Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:25 AM (#2696274)

Let me be more precise: there are going to be some awfully good players hanging out with Manny Acta in the dugout while the Nationals deploy poor players in other areas.

14. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:33 AM (#2696276)

So you're suggesting that Dukes should pick up shortstop?

15. Dr Love Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:34 AM (#2696278)

“I finally found a breakthrough"

Condoms?

16. Pops Freshenmeyer Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:34 AM (#2696279)

So you're suggesting that Dukes should pick up shortstop?

Or learn a breaking ball...

17. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:39 AM (#2696281)

You underestimate the John Lannan at your own peril!

18. Crispix Attacks Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:46 AM (#2696284)

John Lannan had a huge impact on the NL MVP race last year, and he's just getting started!

19. Barry`s_Lazy_Boy Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:52 AM (#2696288)

“He kind of comes in and gives me that tough love and shoots it to me straight,”

I don't know if this calls for a steroid joke, or a piazza joke.

20. depletion Posted: February 21, 2008 at 03:59 AM (#2696291)

Uh.. Didn't Young hit .320, .378, .491 last year? He's on the bench? He's there because of Dukes? He should bat third as often as possible.

21. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:03 AM (#2696297)

Yes, because we can count on older, overweight, immobile DHs to have career years every year.

Besides, Nick Johnson is a bum! He didn't hit a single homer last year!

22. parkermo Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:05 AM (#2696299)

19 - I was also thinking what type of joke it called for. the guy sleeping over/spending every waking moment with him made me think a gay joke might be perfect... but a little too graphic.

23. depletion Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:10 AM (#2696302)

I think Nick Johnson is excellent. If he's healthy and playing well in the spring, the Nats should move one of Johnson or Young. It's a waste to have one of them on the bench. Young had some years nearly as good as 2007 on the Reds. The Nats aren't good enough to keep both 1st basemen. Young's 33, by the way, not exactly old these days.

24. MM1f Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:10 AM (#2696304)

"Yes, because we can count on older, overweight, immobile DHs to have career years every year."

I think it is pretty hard to bench a guy coming off a year like that until he shows it is a fluke the next year. With Nicks injury problems and Dmitris issues it can't hurt to have both around for a little while.

Plus if you start Dmitri and he keeps it up to some extent you could flip him for something

25. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:15 AM (#2696310)

I don't understand the need to trade either of them.

Nats 1B had about 700 plate appearances. Give 500 of them to Nick, and Dmitri still gets at least 300 over the season coming off the bench and spot-starting.

If someone wants to blow them away with an offer for NJ, I'm sure they'll take it. But given his injury history, I'd be surprised if that happened much before the trading deadline anyway.

26. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:18 AM (#2696313)

I think it is pretty hard to bench a guy coming off a year like that until he shows it is a fluke the next year.

It's also hard to be the team's best player and lose your job because of an injury.

They're having the same decision on the pitching side. Matt Chico led the team in innnings and starts last year (even if he wasn't especially good). With the Perez signing, Chico could be fighting for a spot that he 'earned' with his contributions last season.

27. Crispix Attacks Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:29 AM (#2696316)

Don't tell me Cannonball Tim Redding is going to be in the rotation again.

28. Chris Needham Posted: February 21, 2008 at 04:38 AM (#2696324)

Uncle Teddy didn't become as rich as Oprah by eating million-dollar contracts!

If he doesn't improve that K/BB ratio over last year, he won't be in it by the end!

29. ValueArb Posted: February 21, 2008 at 06:49 AM (#2696394)

I really hope he gets it together and turns his life around. Or dies in a grease fire. Don't really care either way.

Since 1998, he has been arrested 6 times on charges including possession of marijuana, assault, and resisting an officer. On May 23, 2007 it was reported that his wife filed a restraining order after he threatened to kill her [3]. On June 12, a 17-year-old foster child who was living in the care of a relative of Dukes accused him of impregnating her. Police say the sex was apparently consensual, and no crime was committed, but they are investigating. When the girl confronted Dukes, he allegedly got angry and threw a bottle of Gatorade at her

30. Slinger Francisco Barrios (Dr. Memory) Posted: February 21, 2008 at 06:35 PM (#2696677)

ValueArb, that's not the real Elijah Dukes.

The real Elijah Dukes will emerge after he is doped to the gills on Ritalin and Prozac.

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Washington Times: Dukes: ‘I finally found a breakthrough’

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