Speculation
November 26, 2008
By AllStarsPlus
One of the fun things about being at the games and paying the price of admission is feeling like we earned the right to being an “armchair quarterback” know-it-all so in baseball the equivalent is “Do you think you are smarter than a Manager?”
We all like to second guess and we all like to speculate and it is part of being a fan so long as the thin line isn’t crossed into being abusive and mean-spirited. After the World Series, we speculate like we are in the shoes of GM Jim Bowden with a cash wad the size of Hal Steinbrenner!
You probably remember hearing, “The truth hurts”. It reminds me of the late Skip Caray who was the Atlanta Braves TV announcer for 33 years and was very opinionated especially in the tough years (Stan Kasten can tell you a few stories about Skip). Decades ago, his boss Ted Turner told him he was being too tough. Caray pointed out the team’s last-place record. “Good point,” replied Turner, then the Braves’ owner. “Say whatever you want.” And he did.
Nats fans have made many Caray type remarks this year. So the truth is that the Nationals didn’t have a great year and a few players underachieved and a few overachieved. We all expected and many speculated that 1 or 2 veterans may be traded soon. After the bold moves management made this year with Felipe Lopez, Paul LoDuca, and Johnny Estrada, not much would surprise me.
So, the most infamous person in sports history has to be the “un-named source” and a un-named source claims today that the Oakland A’s have examined Nick Johnson’s medical records. Could this be for a possible trade for Jack Cust who is a power-hitter for the A’s of which I speculated about as a possibility on November 1st?
The un-named source also said that several other teams have Johnson’s medical records. The Nationals would not confirm that such a transaction between them and the A’s took place.
Anybody who has met Nick Johnson only has nice things to say about him. When Nick plays, he is a producer and is a great clubhouse guy. It is hard to imagine NJ24 being gone from the Nationals.
Yesterday, I spent 20+ minutes talking with Keith Zimmerman who is Ryan’s father. A very nice man who has so much to be proud of. Tirelessly working towards finding a cure for Multiple Sclerosis, Keith in his spare time certainly follows the Nationals and Ryan’s career. We talked and I threw out names of Free Agents all in good fun as we all want to see this team get better. Keith and Cheryl and Shawn Zimmerman certainly have a real family stake in all of this. Just like the ups and downs of a team, we need to stay cognizant of how this affects wives and children and parents, etc. so I wish Nick Johnson and his family a Happy Thanksgiving with the hope that all turns out well for everybody.
In other news, reliever Ryan Wagner signed a Minor League deal with the Nationals and Tim Redding will have some surgery on Friday on his toe.
Happy Thanksgiving to all.
Posted in MLB, Players, Washington Nationals
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November 27th, 2008 at 7:49 am
Can’t say I agree with the statement “It is hard to imagine NJ24 being gone from the Nationals,” given that he has essentially been gone from the Nationals for 2 years. I would be sad to see Nick return to top form wearing another uniform, but I’d be even more surprised if he ended up being part of the Nats’ long-term future.
November 27th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Miss Chatter this is hoping that you will come back and continue having fun with baseball and the nationals. As much as I have always enjoyed your efforts, the self absorbed comments from allstarsplus is just too much to take. Every single article written by this person is ego stroked and has little to do with providing a forum for discussion of nats baseball. Please take your blog back before its too late. Many miss you.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Anon – Miss Chatter opened this Blog up to whoever wanted to write. You should give it a try.
I have spent hours on some of the Blogs I have written with a lot of research, so yes they are written from my perspective and ego stroked. I have a sports marketing business so I know many of the players personally and many of their agents as well as some of their families so that is the perspective I can write from. Considering many people that know me and told me they enjoy that angle, that is great, but I understand your perspective. Clearly you don’t like it so when you see a Blog written by me—-DON’T READ IT!
To give you perspective on this particular Blog, I was in Philadelphia in August during the long losing streak and after the 1st game of that series Manny Acta told Kory Casto that he was heading back to Columbus and his wife and baby had traveled up to the game not knowing his fate. It was really sad to watch and I will never forget it as they were saying their goodbyes. I said to Kory I am sure you will be back with the September call-ups (which he was), but it didn’t change that point in time. The families live it sometimes as much as the players.
So when you read the speculation about Nick Johnson, it is tough although Teddy is right that he hasn’t been around much, but tough nonetheless.
November 27th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
First, Happy Thanksgiving all! Second, I’m thankful someone is interested enough to try to keep the Nats baseball conversation going here when I don’t have time. Third, thanks for the sentiment about missing me and as I said in the last post, I will be coming back eventually.
AllStarsPlus has a unique perspective due to his line of work that is very different from the rest of us, and his writing style obviously differs from mine – not that that’s a bad thing. I know despite having business interactions with many in baseball, he also loves this team as a fan with passion. I thought it would be interesting to have varying voices/perspectives here.