Let's take a look at some Nationals tidbits courtesy of MLB.com's Bill Ladson..
- Recently, Ladson said that he would be writing about the Nats possibly signing Orlando Hudson for the third year in a row. However, the Nats beat writer now believes that the club has its second baseman of the future in Danny Espinosa. Pat Corrales, the team's senior assistant in player development, believes that the 23-year-old is the best all-around player in the organization. Espinosa was promoted to Triple-A Syracuse in early August and has posted a .295/.349/.463 slash line in 24 games.
- One reader asks if the Nationals can find a way to get beleaguered outfielder Nyjer Morgan's head back into the game. Ladson isn't sure why Morgan has been struggling this year but says that he could see Washington dealing him this offseason. Unsurprisingly, however, he doesn't envision the club getting much in return. People in the organization have said that he should be a fourth outfielder, an idea which likely wouldn't sit well with the 30-year-old.
- Even after acquiring Wilson Ramos from the Twins for Matt Capps, Ladson says that the Nats should hold on to fellow catcher Derek Norris. The Nats have historically had trouble with their depth at catcher and could use the security of having Norris in the fold. The former fourth-round pick was ranked second in the Nats' farm system by Baseball America heading into this year, ahead of Espinosa, Drew Storen, and Ian Desmond.
If the Cubs can’t deal Zambrano, the Nats can’t deal Morgan. I just don’t see it.
Danny Espinosa is a very very good player. He has been compared to Pedroia but I’m not sure if thats a fair comparison…I think he is pretty much similiar to Gordon Beckham.
That’s not necessarily true. One of the big factors standing in the Cubs way of dealing Z is his salary. Morgan doesn’t have that, so while it would still be challenging to get it done considering his personality, it’s doable.
I wasn’t putting his cotract into perspective, but i still doubt that teams have no intentions of adding a player with such tirades. Yes, the Mariners acquired Milton Bradley, but they gave up Carlos Silva. The Nats don’t have much leverage.
I agree. I can’t think of a contender that would want someone who puts a bullseye on every players backs. He would have to come at no cost.
That being said, I would honestly suspend him the rest of the season if it were up to me. Good, hard baseball is one thing, but the guy has been out of control for the last week or so. I guarantee the Nats won’t miss him, and the contending teams would appreciate it.
Amen.
Admit it, comparing Morgan to Zambrano is like comparing apples to pork chops. It just doesn’t make sense. Morgan is not arbitration eligible until 2012. A lot of teams looking for a cheap, speedy outfielder would be interested in him.
here’s a cheap outfielder sir, what’s the catch? He has a niche for charging mounds, slamming gloves, and chucking balls at fans. Okay no thank you
Hahaha! Not only that, the guy is 30 years old. It’s not like he’s some immature kid that will eventually “grow up.” I think there’s more teams that would be willing to take on Zambrano’s contract than there are that would be willing to take Morgan’s personality. Remember Carl Everett? I wonder if they’re related..? @roberty If Morgan was a superstar your point would be valid. The fact is, he’s a slightly above average OF with a lot of baggage.
My point is valid. Morgan and Zambrano are nothing alike.
Agreed. Zambrano actually has some talent.
I’m just saying your comparison of Morgan and Zambrano makes no sense and illustrates your lack of understanding of modern baseball. Also, your usage of “niche” and “perspective” make me question your understanding of the english language.
don’t question my understanding of Baseball.
I question your understanding of the English language.
Ba-zing.
Well you have a point there.
Before Morgan went on the DL he was playing through a painful injury, but he didn’t want to sit because he still thought he could contribute. He is the kind of player who wants to be out there every day to help his team win. I would love to see Nyjer Morgan as the Braves starting center fielder in 2011. He is a scrappy player and I have never heard anything bad about him as far as clubhouse presence goes. The guy plays with his balls out. Nothing wrong with that.
That’s not his balls, it’s what passes for brains.
How is Espinosa comparable to Beckham, and where has he been compared to Pedroia?
Both Beckham and Pedroia were drafted higher, and both were projected for far greater ceilings than Espinosa.
Aside from the position they all play, there’s no logical reason to compare Espinosa to either of them.
Actually, he’s been compared to Pedroia several times. Second of all, I’ve seenhim play in person, so I have a good idea of what he can do. 3, doesn’t matter where you are drafted.
I can’t find a single comparison between the two online, and no offense, but you going to a Nationals game doesn’t convince me that he’s going to be anywhere near the player Pedroia is.
It was a Harrisburg Senators game. And several anylists made that comparison.
Because ESPN is always right, right?
x)
Nope. MLB Network and other reporters, writers, and anylysts have mouths too.
Nope. MLB Network and other reporters, writers, and anylysts have mouths too.
Zambrano and Morgan are not remotely comparable. For one, Zambrano has almost $36M coming to him over the next two seasons, while Morgan will be heading to arbitration for the first time this offseason.
-meant to be a reply to SPAN
As a Padre fan, I wouldn’t mind Morgan on the Padres. I think a change of scenery is all Morgan needs. The Padres took a chance on Bradley a few years back and if not for Bud Black leg sweeping him, the Padres probably would have made the playoffs with Bradley being one of the main contibuters.
Morgans BA and OBP are down this year, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he got dealt and became the “little spark plug” he has been the last few years.
I think that could be a good deal for the Padres. There’s no question Morgan has behaved badly, I also don’t recall him having problems before this season. All kinds of bad actors have gotten second chances, but if I were the Padres, I’d want him to show some kind of sign that he’s going to put in the work to change his behavior on the ball field. I also wouldn’t give up too much for him either.
If Pat Corrales thinks Danny Espinosa is a better all-around player than Ryan Zimmerman, he’s probably high. Unless he meant the best all-around minor leaguer.
I disagree w/ just about every negative take I’ve heard about Morgan. Let’s take a look at things…..
First let’s have some background knowledge of the guy. He’s sports consomate little engine that could. He stand 5’7 and weighs a buck ’60. He played hockey and was a member of the World Junior division and he surfs. He’s FAR…FAR from being the thug that most people paint him to be. He obviously has a “little mans complex” and has probably felt he always had to prove himself to people in the hockey world as well as baseball. If anything that has probably spurred him to be a super aggresive guy on the field.
a) Incident where he tossed his glove. Plain and simple he went for the ball, botched the play and thought that he inadvertently turned a flyball out into a HR by knocking the ball over the wall ala Jose Canseco. Watch the replay and he obviously didn’t see the ball had hit the wall and was still in play. He absolutely overreacted but focus on what the intent was and not view it as him disregarding his duties. ABSOLUTELY CHILDISH but still, borne out of his competiveness.
b) Allegedly throwing a ball at a fan. I was unable to find any video on this as it happened prior to the game. I’ve read articles from fans who were allegedly at the game who said he was joking around with some of the fans that were riding him. We know how Phillie fans can be but from what I read he wasn’t cursing at them. Allegedly, from what a Phillie fan reported, he saw a kid who was asking for a ball and he attempted to throw the ball to the kid but missed and it sailed over his head and hit an unsuspecting fan in the head instead (read here @ voices.washingtonpost.com/nationalsjournal/2010/08/phillies_fan_defends_nyjer_mor dot html ). Was it stupid? Yes. Was he trying to hit someone on purpose ala Albert Belle? Doesn’t appear so.
c) Incident where he ran into the St. Louis C. Okay this one even I don’t get. Not sure why he felt he had to hit the guy but all it was, was a bump and the guy he hit and none of the other players made a big deal about or said anything about it. It was a stupid play because he didn’t touch the bad and it cost his team a run but it doesn’t appear as if he was trying to hurt the guy as much as he was just doing something stupid. For this he deserved to be dressed down by people and his teammates should’ve laid into him behind closed doors. Also, he owed the C an apology (was it Molina???).
d) The play against the Marlins’ C. NO WAY SHAPE OR FORM WAS THAT A DIRTY PLAY. I beleive the scored was tied and he was on 2nd base w/ a runner on 1B. He gets a good jump on the ball and Adam Kennedy hits a slow GB to SS which might turn into a double play for the 3rd out. Nyjer rounds 3b and makes a run for home. The C (Brett Hayes) who stands 6’1 and 210 lbs is STANDING ON HOMEPLATE IN FULL GEAR WAITING FOR THE PLAY AT THE PLATE. Nyjer, with all of 5 seconds to decide, make the choice that going thru the C on a hard collision at the plate, was a better choice that trying to go around him. Keep in mind that Hayes was already standing RIGHT ON TOP OF THE PLATE, and if he catches the ball 1 second earlier than he did, then all he has to do is drop to his knees and he would block the plate completely. Nyjer, who btw, is 4 inches and 50 lbs lighter than Hayes and playing w/ a helmet, pads or leg gear, bowls him over. Hayes, to his credit, holds on to the ball and Nyjer is out. Had he logged the ball from Hayes grasp then the Marlins go up 1-0 and might win the game. Unfortunately for Hayes his shoulder get’s seperated. It was a hard nose BUT CLEAN PLAY from, of all things, an aggressive 5’7 160 lb ex-hockey player turned baseball player. If Pete Rose, Brett Gardner, Chuck Knoblauch or any other little “scrappy”, “hard nosed” runt made the same play then he would get credit for being touch and competetive.
e) The brawl. Now the very next game…with the score 14-3 Voldtad decides to get even with Nyjer and plunks him with a 92 mph right on his hip. Nyjer doesn’t complaing. he doesn’t look at the pitcher or make any sort of reaction to being hit. He simply takes 1b and does nothing nor says a word. He then notices that no one is holding him on and he goes on to steal 2B and then 3B. On the next play he scored on a sac fly. Now people are actually getting mad at Nyjer because he had the audacity to steal two “gimme” bases and scores a run when his team is down 11 runs in the 4th inning? Are you serious? What stupid unwritten rule says your suppose to give up and NOT try to score? If someone hits a ball to the OF and he hustles and turns a single into a double is that a bad thing? If the Nats had runners at 2nd and 3rd and the pitcher was up to bat and RIggleman decides to PH and the PH hits a 3 run HR is that showing up the Marlins or breaking some stupid rule? Of course not!! Even though Nyjer was doing something risky that “could” have casued him to make an out he knew or felt he could steal both bases beacuse no one was holding him on. So HE SINGLE HANDEDLY CREATED A RUN W/O THE BENEFIT OF AN OUT and people have the nerve to blast him for that???
Ok, so he steals 2nd and 3rd. Next time up Voldstad throws at him again!!! Regardless of whether he hit him or not, he made the attempt to hit him and afterwards, no one hid the fact that that was the intent. DAMN right Nyjer had the right to step to him. Youks did it vs Porcello, Manny did it even when he wasn’t hit. So did Pablo Sandoval. No one…NO ONE bothered to call those guys idiots, bad for the game, out of control etc.
I will admitt that Nyjer made things worse when he threw his arms up to the crowd when he was being ushered of the field but keep in mind. The kid was hit once, thrown at a 2nd time, stepped to the pitcher and then BLASTED by the 1B and beaten up by 3 or 4 guys. I’ll give him credit for having the balls at 5’7 and 160 lbs for taking on the whole damn team and if no one sees anything wrong with Voldstad throwing at him the 2nd time (because he stole 2 bases) and if no one sees anything wrong with Sanchez blindsiding Nyjer and then double teaming him then I see nothing wrong with him doing a Rick Flair or Hulk Hogan impersonation as he was being led of the field.
Maybe this guys has too much aggression and maybe he does suffer from a “little man needs to prove himself” complex but all he did in those two games vs the Marlins was play hard and try to score runs for his team. Telling a player “I’m mad because you knocked out my C who was blocking the plate, then after I had intentionally hit you, you had the audacity to steal two bases instead of standing there like a good little boy so I tried to hit you again” is the EPITOME of what is wrong with baseball, the game I love. The fact that the Marlins scored 6 more runs and stood at 15-10 w/ 2 more innings to go should show to all that the game is never over until it’s over and Nyjer should be applauded for turning his anger/energy into 2 stolen bases and a run scored via sac fly rather than retaliating w/ his fists or with words that may have instigated a fight earlier in the game. The fact that Voldstad is looked at as innocent in all this is the real joke. Hitting Nyjer for stealing 2 bases and scoring on a sac fly after getting hit is as bad if not worse than a pitcher hitting a batter because he hit a HR off of him earlier in the game and he wants to send a message.
In conclusion, it’s obvious that in baseball there’s a thin line between being a “out of control thug” and a “hard nosed”, “scrappy”, “grinder” of a player. What “colors” that line I leave it up to others to speculate on. I won’t go all “Al Sharpton” on anyone but I just wonder what the next player who chooses to go thru a catcher rather than around him will be called? Will he be “hard nosed” or a “thug”? From what I know, he’s never been accused of beating his wife, getting into a bar brawl or driving w/ a DUI. Maybe he’s a thug because he wears his pants to baggy and his socks too high. (ugghh). I love this game but sometimes the idiotic rants of ESPN and MLB announcers is nauseating and completely absurd.
SORRY FOR THE LONG RANT…
I like Morgan and the way he plays. He’s had some great plays in CF this year. I think the media is overhyping alot of what has went down with him. Maybe players should go back on the juice, so the media won’t be scraping the barrell for stories. It’s absurd that you’re down 11 runs in the 4th and you’re not supposed to steal or play aggressive. There’s still alot of baseball to be played in my opinion. If the Marlins can’t handle that then they need to go back to playing bingo over coffee and strutels. I like Morgan’s competitive fire. Also, he where’s his uniform old school, which is cool. He doesn’t look like some slob with his bell bottom pants down to his shoes and a bunch of pine tar crap all over his helmet with his shirt untucked (aka Manny Ramirez)