Happy Thanksgiving to all our readers!
I am thankful for lots of things that are more important than arguing about rule-5 draftees and theoretical Nats trades: family and friends, good health, and the means to keep my family warm and fed.
But I’m also thankful for the great outlet for our little niche discussions, and I’m thankful for the great set of regular readers here who provide great commentary. When I look back on some of the comment sections in the blog i’m amazed when I see 50 or 60 follow-ups, each providing thoughtful comments and making this the first page I generally bring up each day, to see who else has commented.
So go get some turkey, watch some football, and spend time with loved ones.
ps: this is my 800th post! That’s a lot of baseball 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours, Todd! Cheers to 800 posts in one of my regular stops on the interNats!
John C.
27 Nov 14 at 1:17 pm
Thanks for your hard work Todd. Happy Thanksgiving!
Andrew R
27 Nov 14 at 4:39 pm
Your blog is a wonderful way of following and understanding the Nats for this (still novice) fan in the UK. Thank you for all the work that you do on it.
Natsfaninexile
28 Nov 14 at 5:24 am
Happy Thanksgiving Todd.
Great job this year, as always.
800 posts, AND you have a family too! Go figure.
Mark L
28 Nov 14 at 8:43 am
To be fair … 800 posts over 4.5 years. So that still is an average of 14 posts a month over 4.5 years. Some months I had slow periods at work and just banged them out. Other months I’ve struggled to do one a week. but yeah that’s a lot. I generally type out the bulk of posts on lunch hours and then sneak in time when I can.
Todd Boss
28 Nov 14 at 9:07 am
Yes indeed, happy 800th post! I’m too late for Thanksgiving, so Happy Black Friday. I wonder what Rizzo will be looking to buy at a deep discount . . .
For the deep, deep discounts, BA has a good piece reviewing the Rule 5-eligible prospects: http://ht.ly/ETqoG. The author has Skole well down the list, meaning he’s probably not much at risk. Canha would seem to be a much closer-to-ready alternative for teams in need of a corner infielder with some pop.
KW
28 Nov 14 at 10:39 am
Happy Thanksgiving!
Wally
28 Nov 14 at 12:51 pm
OK, this ruins my holidays – Josh Donaldson WAS available, and we’re not getting him. DRAT! Everyone told me I was nuts to think Billy would trade him.
I honestly don’t know what Billy is doing, signing Butler and Ike Davis and trading his best player. With Butler and Davis on board, though, you would figure that some elements of Moss/Jaso/Vogt/Norris would be available. Any of those would be an upgrade on the Nats’ bench.
KW
28 Nov 14 at 10:48 pm
The Nats have a 3rd baseman.
That said, it’s about time for another Nats/A’s trade.
Mark L
29 Nov 14 at 10:18 am
That was quite a haul for Donaldson …. Not sure I would have wanted Rizzo to match it. Also not sure that we could have (a MLB quality replacement, plus 3 good prospects).
DaveB
29 Nov 14 at 10:49 am
Damn; just saw the Donaldson move; agree with Ken, he would have made *perfect* sense for this team. Agree with Keith Law’s take: what the blue Jays gave up to acquire him seems incredibly light compared to what the Nats could have given up. http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/keith-law/post/_/id/2998/josh-donaldson-a-surprising-haul-for-jays?refresh=true
Todd Boss
29 Nov 14 at 1:43 pm
Dave Cameron at Fangraphs is a little more understanding: http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/so-what-are-the-as-doing-anyways/
John C.
29 Nov 14 at 5:18 pm
I doubt that Rizzo was unaware of Donaldson’s availability – that kind of flies in the face both of the A’s interests and ignores the amazing history of trading between the two of them. And it doesn’t matter whether the offer seems light to Todd, to Keith Law, or to me – what matters is what seems right to Billy Beane. If he believes in Lawrie, the deal makes a lot more sense. And the Nats weren’t really in a position to offer a player comparable to Lawrie. Beane may also be high on Barreto, the high end pitcher in the deal.
In other words, it’s quite possible that Rizzo was in on the discussions to a point, but ultimately Beane liked the pieces he was getting from Toronto better than the ones that the Nats had in play. And Beane may well have been wrong about that. But if so, that’s not Mike Rizzo’s fault.
John C.
29 Nov 14 at 11:56 pm
In brief to answer the “why Donaldson” comment, with Rendon’s flexibility, the Nats can consider both 2Bs and 3Bs. Of that cohort, Donaldson is probably the best player in the game right now, basically Rendon with more power and great range in the field. Add in that he makes peanuts and won’t be a free agent until 2019, and he is perhaps the best all-around value in baseball. For the Nats, in addition to solving the 2B/3B issue, he would have given them a cheap, controllable, better bat to let them allow Desmond to walk.
The downsize to Donaldson is that he was a late bloomer heading into his age-29 season. Cameron speculates that Beane thinks he is getting a close comp in Lawrie who is four years younger, and that Beane thinks Donaldson will be starting his decline. We’ll see. My take is that even in the rare times Lawrie has been healthy, he’s no Donaldson.
I agree with John C. that I would be shocked if Rizzo didn’t know that Billy was dangling Donaldson. If he got Lawrie in return from the Jays, he may have been asking for Rendon from the Nats, which was probably a nonstarter. Still, the Nats could have offered Souza, Detwiler, and a plethora of second-tier hurlers better than the ones the Jays got (Hill, Voth, etc.). But the Jays dealt from their core in Lawrie, something the Nats may not be willing do do at the moment.
So the quest for another quality infield starter continues . . .
KW
30 Nov 14 at 1:10 pm
Oops, last para. should say hurlers better than the A’s got from the Jays. Both look like Milone types at best.
KW
30 Nov 14 at 1:12 pm
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