Almost...

The Washington Post had two, yes, count 'em, TWO articles today on the Nationals. I think that's a new record for the paper. Anyway, beyond the relatively fluffy piece discussing the Nationals first major fan/press event, Post reporter Dave Sheinin has an interesting piece delving into just how close (or far) the Nationals were to acquiring slugger Sammy Sosa, now making his nest up north with the Orioles.

The most interesting thing about the article is the general frame of sanity it gives the Nationals front office. Even with a minor leagues mostly depleted from the prolonged MLB firesale, they were willing to stick with their young talent, specifically Wilkerson and Sledge, instead of going for a very cheap big splash in landing a virtually "free" Sammy Sosa. The proposed terms discussed in the Sheinin piece were far worse for the Nationals then the price the Orioles ended up paying, even though the Orioles are "paying" more in terms of actual money towards his contract.

The developments of the last few days have left me cautiously optimistic about both regional franchises futures. Hopefully that'll continue, at least until the Orioles manage to miss out on the next big free agent.

Sammy

Well, it makes sense to start this blog off with a big story, and the trade of Sammy Sosa from Chicago to Baltimore certainly qualifies.

What's fairly staggering about Sosa's fall from grace in Chicago is just how quickly it occured. It seemed like he went from hero-to-zero with Cubs fans overnight, even though it was a two year process for many of those fans. Sosa's more modest offensive production, and the lineup that surrounded him amplified any problems caused by character flaws, and he was suddenly the odd man out on the team.

But really, who cares about the Cubs (Wilbon excluded). Even with their pitching they're not going to be very good this year. Unless some substantial personnel moves are made they've got little to work with except hope that their pitching can carry their weak offense to some wins.

From the Orioles perspective, this deal makes sense, especially since they struck out on their list of targeted free agents. Packaging what are essentially surplus goods for a power hitting right handed bat with almost 600 career homeruns isn't a bad deal at all, especially considering how much of the salary the Cubs are picking up. Fontenot and Crouthers weren't important pieces of the Orioles minor league puzzle at the moment, and Hairston was stuck shifting positions just to find playing time between bouts on the DL. If Sosa can hit .270 with 40 homers and 110 RBI's it'll easily be worth it, and will round out their lineup well.