AGRI Biz

There is less than a month to baseball’s trading deadline and the Washington Nationals will soon have to decide whether they are going to be buyers or sellers.   Six weeks ago, the Nationals were 20-15 and seemingly had finally shed their worst-team-in-baseball persona. Five games later however, they were just a .500 team and since that time have gone 15-30.   There have been signs of life this week, ...

When the Nationals traded their Rule V pick last winter to the Yankees for reliever Brian Bruney, many thought it to be a solid addition to a woeful bullpen.   The 28-year-old veteran had a career record of 17-10 with a 4.31 ERA and he seemed like a logical option to either be the team’s eighth-inning set-up man or perhaps even their closer.   But buried deep within his otherwise solid statistics is one ...

Nationals.com beat reporter Bill Ladson is reporting that Garrett Mock has been named the team’s fifth starter.   Heaven help us all.   Mock, who entered spring training in a neck-and-neck battle for that final spot in the rotation with J.D. Martin and Scott Olsen, won with by far the worst spring performance of the three.   Though Martin’s ERA of 6.30 was the highest of the three, his internal numbers were perhaps the best. A ...

Since Elijah Dukes’ release a few weeks ago, one of the main questions coming out of Viera Florida was just exactly who was going to be part of the team’s platoon in right field in 2010.   It didn’t take long for manager Jim Riggleman to announce that veteran utility player Willie Harris would be the left-handed component of the platoon.   For a time, Justin Maxwell seemed to be the logical choice to ...

Craig Stammen was all but guaranteed a spot in the Washington Nationals’ starting rotation prior to his Saturday start against the Mets.   Heading into that game, Stammen had a 1-1 record with a crisp 2.89 ERA, striking out eight while walking just two.   But after his last outing, the “all but” tag has been removed.   Stammen pitched five strong innings against New York, allowing two runs and five hits, striking out two. Here ...

That was a headline I wasn’t expecting when I turned on my computer this morning.   The Washington Nationals had released Elijah Dukes, their presumptive starting right fielder for 2010.   Team general manager Mike Rizzo has told the various media outlets that the decision was strictly a baseball one and had nothing to do with any off-field problems.   Washington Post beat writer Adam Kilgore reported this morning that the Nationals will replace Dukes from ...

Ten games into spring training, the Washington Nationals are 0-10.   Ugh.   It looks like the team, after back-to-back 100 loss seasons, are heading for a trifecta in 2010.   Or are they?   Adam Dunn said on Sunday that, really, spring training records matter only to people who look at box scores every morning.   Manager Jim Riggleman keeps trying to find the right words to explain his feelings. Yes, he’s not happy with the record but no, ...

In 2007, John Lannan came out of nowhere.   An 11th-round afterthought in 2005, Lannan climbed the minor league ladder quickly, going a combined 12-3, 2.87 in 2007 before finishing the season with the Nationals where the 22-year-old went 2-2, 4.15.   Since then, Lannan has won 18 games and become the team’s presumptive ace.   Man, if the Nationals could find just one more pitcher to come out of nowhere, 2010 could be a fun ...

For about half an hour this afternoon, Viera, Florida was the center of the baseball universe.   Stephen Strasburg, last season’s top amateur pick, took the mound and for the first time faced veteran major league players and not fuzzy-cheeked prospects.   Space Coast Stadium was nearly full. Sports writers from across the nation were in attendance. The game was broadcast live back to Washington.   He looked a little nervous.   He retired all three batters in ...

After finishing their first year in Washington with a .500 record, fans and players alike hoped the Nationals would have a breakout season in 2006.   The key was to get off to a fast start.   It didn’t happen.   The Nationals were just 2-8 after 10 games and finished April with a dismal 8-17 record.   The team brought in a bevy of new players the following year and it was hoped that a fast start ...