OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - A New Day in DC

glenn · 02-27-2009, 10:08 PM

The National Report - A New Direction
By Jim Davidson

Yesterday I sat down with the new General Manager of the Washington Nationals to get his thoughts about the state of the team, his plans for the future, and how he expects to turn around a team that lost 102 games last year. Our interview is below.

Q - How does it feel to be General Manager of the Washington Nationals?

I'm really excited about the opportunity. The last time the city of Washington, D.C. had a team that won the World Series was 1924. Obviously losing 100 games a year and finishing in last place isn't acceptable. I don't expect to win a championship this year, but my goals is to build the team from within - draft well, develop players, and change the atmosphere and attitude of the team.

Q - Does that mean you aren't going to go out and spend big money on free agents?

Well, obviously Manny Ramirez is out this year. We aren't one or two players away. Will we spend money on free agents? Yes, but only when it makes sense. Until we reach the point where we are one or two players away, it will be important to build the team the old fashioned way, through the draft, developing our young players, and trades.

Q - Have you had any trade discussions since coming aboard? Do you expect any trades to happen soon?

I've only been on the job about a day, so no deals are imminent, but if the right opportunity comes up I won't hesitate to pull the trigger and move some players, bring in some younger guys and see what happens.

Q - Is there anyone on the current roster that should be worried?

Everybody should be focused on doing their job on the field, and that is to help the team win. You should know I'm not going to say we are going to move this player or that player. Nobody should have to worry about hearing their names in the papers every day as the subject of trade rumors. The players no it is a business, but they also have families. That being said, our goal is to build a winning organization, and sometimes that means moving veterans for prospects, shedding payroll, and building from the bottom up.

Q - Is there any pressure to win now? Any goals that you have to meet to remove the interim tag from your title?

There is always pressure to win, and to get better. I've had good conversations with the owner and team president, and sometimes you have to get worse to get better, and go into rebuilding mode. Lucky for us, you can't get much worse than losing 102 games. Our fans will need to be patient, and they may not like all of the moves we make, but they should know we will work to improve the team and build a winner in Washington. As for the second part of the question, there are conditions that have to be met, but I'm not going to get into specifics.

Q - Ok. Fair enough. How do you feel about the current state of the team?

To be honest, we've got a ways to go before we'll reach our goal. Look at our rotation:
Shawn Hill, 27: 1-5, 63 1/3 IP, 5.83 ERA
Scott Olsen, 25: 8-11, 201 2/3 IP, 4.20 ERA
John Lannan, 24: 9-15, 182 IP, 3.91 ERA
Josh Towers, 32: Did not play in 2008
Jorge Sosa, 31: 4-1, 21 2/3 IP, 7.06

Yes it's a young rotation, but we've only got two guys who can potentially give us 200 innings this year. The innings have to come from somewhere. We expected Odalis Perez to contribute, but obviously that won't happen now. Can someone like Jason Bergmann, Daniel Cabrera or Gustavo Chacin come back and pitch successfully? Are any of the younger kids like Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detweiler, Shairon Martis, or Collin Balester ready? These are the tough decisions we will need to make.

Right before I was hired, the Nationals brought back closer Chad Cordero. There are some questions on whether he'll be completely healthy and ready to perform this year. Joel Hanrahan, Saul Rivera, and Mike Hinckley pitched well for us last year, and we need to get good years our of Jesus Colume, Yunior Novoa, and Wilfredo Ledezma.

Our line-up if we opened the season today would look something like this:
RF-Elijah Dukes
SS-Christian Guzman
1B-Nick Johnson
LF-Adam Dunn
3B-Ryan Zimmerman
C-Jesus Flores
CF-Lastings Milledge
2B-Willie Harris

We've got some guys coming off the bench like Corey Patterson, Austin Kearns, Dmitri Young, and Josh Willingham. If everyone plays like they are capable of, I think we'll surprise some people.

Q- We've got time for one last question. Is there anything you want to tell fans who are frustrated with the progress the Nationals have made over the past few years?

I'd love to tell them we are going to win a World Series this year, but they are too smart to believe that. I don't want to say 'be patient', because they have been patient. The Nationals have never won a World Series, finished in last place 3 of the last 4 years, and only managed to finish .500 once. Judge me by the progress we make going forward. I can't take credit or blame for the moves before I got here, but change is coming.

02-27-2009, 10:08 PM	#4
glenn Major Leagues Join Date: May 2006 Location: PA Posts: 407	3/1/2009 The National Report - A New Direction By Jim Davidson Yesterday I sat down with the new General Manager of the Washington Nationals to get his thoughts about the state of the team, his plans for the future, and how he expects to turn around a team that lost 102 games last year. Our interview is below. Q - How does it feel to be General Manager of the Washington Nationals? I'm really excited about the opportunity. The last time the city of Washington, D.C. had a team that won the World Series was 1924. Obviously losing 100 games a year and finishing in last place isn't acceptable. I don't expect to win a championship this year, but my goals is to build the team from within - draft well, develop players, and change the atmosphere and attitude of the team. Q - Does that mean you aren't going to go out and spend big money on free agents? Well, obviously Manny Ramirez is out this year. We aren't one or two players away. Will we spend money on free agents? Yes, but only when it makes sense. Until we reach the point where we are one or two players away, it will be important to build the team the old fashioned way, through the draft, developing our young players, and trades. Q - Have you had any trade discussions since coming aboard? Do you expect any trades to happen soon? I've only been on the job about a day, so no deals are imminent, but if the right opportunity comes up I won't hesitate to pull the trigger and move some players, bring in some younger guys and see what happens. Q - Is there anyone on the current roster that should be worried? Everybody should be focused on doing their job on the field, and that is to help the team win. You should know I'm not going to say we are going to move this player or that player. Nobody should have to worry about hearing their names in the papers every day as the subject of trade rumors. The players no it is a business, but they also have families. That being said, our goal is to build a winning organization, and sometimes that means moving veterans for prospects, shedding payroll, and building from the bottom up. Q - Is there any pressure to win now? Any goals that you have to meet to remove the interim tag from your title? There is always pressure to win, and to get better. I've had good conversations with the owner and team president, and sometimes you have to get worse to get better, and go into rebuilding mode. Lucky for us, you can't get much worse than losing 102 games. Our fans will need to be patient, and they may not like all of the moves we make, but they should know we will work to improve the team and build a winner in Washington. As for the second part of the question, there are conditions that have to be met, but I'm not going to get into specifics. Q - Ok. Fair enough. How do you feel about the current state of the team? To be honest, we've got a ways to go before we'll reach our goal. Look at our rotation: Shawn Hill, 27: 1-5, 63 1/3 IP, 5.83 ERA Scott Olsen, 25: 8-11, 201 2/3 IP, 4.20 ERA John Lannan, 24: 9-15, 182 IP, 3.91 ERA Josh Towers, 32: Did not play in 2008 Jorge Sosa, 31: 4-1, 21 2/3 IP, 7.06 Yes it's a young rotation, but we've only got two guys who can potentially give us 200 innings this year. The innings have to come from somewhere. We expected Odalis Perez to contribute, but obviously that won't happen now. Can someone like Jason Bergmann, Daniel Cabrera or Gustavo Chacin come back and pitch successfully? Are any of the younger kids like Jordan Zimmerman, Ross Detweiler, Shairon Martis, or Collin Balester ready? These are the tough decisions we will need to make. Right before I was hired, the Nationals brought back closer Chad Cordero. There are some questions on whether he'll be completely healthy and ready to perform this year. Joel Hanrahan, Saul Rivera, and Mike Hinckley pitched well for us last year, and we need to get good years our of Jesus Colume, Yunior Novoa, and Wilfredo Ledezma. Our line-up if we opened the season today would look something like this: RF-Elijah Dukes SS-Christian Guzman 1B-Nick Johnson LF-Adam Dunn 3B-Ryan Zimmerman C-Jesus Flores CF-Lastings Milledge 2B-Willie Harris We've got some guys coming off the bench like Corey Patterson, Austin Kearns, Dmitri Young, and Josh Willingham. If everyone plays like they are capable of, I think we'll surprise some people. Q- We've got time for one last question. Is there anything you want to tell fans who are frustrated with the progress the Nationals have made over the past few years? I'd love to tell them we are going to win a World Series this year, but they are too smart to believe that. I don't want to say 'be patient', because they have been patient. The Nationals have never won a World Series, finished in last place 3 of the last 4 years, and only managed to finish .500 once. Judge me by the progress we make going forward. I can't take credit or blame for the moves before I got here, but change is coming. Last edited by glenn; 02-28-2009 at 12:21 AM.