A New Stadium...

Well, they published the new DC Stadium designs a few days ago, and they look... ok. It's not anything that will really jump out and make me take notice, but they generally look decent. The 3D animation available on the washington post website is a bit more interesting looking, since it plays up the glass exterior of the park a bit. It's all a bit...federal, though, and not in the classical monument way. More in the office building way. It's got potential, but it may be a bit stiff for a sports venue.

A Good Gamble...

The Nats have signed Nick Johnson to a significant contract extension. Johnson has been plagued with injuries for most of his career, but this seems like a worthwhile, and relatively cheap risk for Washington. Before hitting some DL time last year he was one of the best hitters in the NL. We'll see if this pays off, but my gut says it's a smart move to have solidified both corners of their infield, with Zimmerman joined by Johnson long term.

Playball!

Spring Training and the World Baseball Classic are up and running. It's baseball time again, and that seems like as good a time as any to fire up this blog again and see how long I can keep up with both the O's and the Nats this year. I find myself kind of glad I didn't manage to actually follow through with this blog last year, since it was, to put it mildly, an insane season in Baltimore, but an exhilirating one for most of the year in DC. I think this year will be a bit calmer on both fronts, but we'll see...

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.