The Wizards won last night. Over the dreadful Timberwolves. Who were playing without Al Jefferson. Forgive me if I didn't go out and party the night away. Seriously, though, I think that there are some bright spots in this terrible season. I really like Javaris Crittenton. The kid can play. He does a lot of the little things, and he's just really athletic. I think that he can be a quality sixth man on a good team. For right now, I trust him to play big minutes (although when the other option is Mike James, I guess that's not saying much). He just plays smooth. Maybe that's not the most in-depth analysis, but I don't know. It's a gut feeling.
Also, Dominic McGuire definitely has a place on this team moving forward. He can also do a lot of the little things. He also possesses a talent that is something of an ancient mystery to the Wizards: HE CAN PLAY DEFENSE. I know, it's amazing. He rebounds, he can block a ton of shots. He's just very helpful.
On the other end, I really have been disappointed in Nick Young so far this season. You would think with the number of injuries that the Wizards have suffered, it would have left the door wide open for Young to play big minutes. Instead, he has been relegated to the second or third guy off the bench. So basically, exactly what he was last year. I still think he has some ridiculous talent. He can score a lot, and make it look really easy. But then again, so can most everyone in the NBA not named Ben Wallace. At some point, you have to put it all together. You have to be able to score CONSISTENTLY, and do the other things in the game. You can't be a constant defensive liability. You have to have enough vision to involve your teammates.
Finally, I'm not a big fan of Ed Tapscott. First of all, the team should NEVER have fired Eddie Jordan. I think everyone can see that it wasn't the coach's fault that this team is so bad. Secondly, Tapscott knows he has bad team that is going to nowhere (or at least I hope he does...otherwise he is in for a rude awakening). And yet Tapscott still plays Darius Songaila a ton of minutes. Why not play more of the young guys, and see what you have? I mean is it really going to make that much of a difference? Speed up the advancement of someone like JaVale McGee. And for the love of God, can we please see what Oleksiy Pecherov can do. I need to be able to label him. I need to know if he actually is a bust, or if there is something there. Because it's about time for him to either do something or get cut.
So there you have it. Just a few thoughts on the Wizards. They probably won't fix the team anytime soon, but eh, what the hell, why not right?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Nationals Situation Gets Worse
I don't know if you have seen or not, but SI.com reported today that Nationals prospect Esmailyn Gonzalez is not who he seems. "Smiley" is actually Carlos Alvarez Daniel Lugo. More importantly, Lugo is actually 23, not 19. In minor baseball, that difference is HUGE. A 19 year old would be on track for the majors if he just finished rookie ball (which is what Smiley did last year, winning the batting title of the Gulf Coast League). A 23 year old, on the other hand, should AT LEAST be in AA. And yes, there is a large difference between the two leagues. So, while Smiley may have been the 10th best prospect before this revelation, he probably won't even rank in the top 30 now. Remember that a lot of these rankings are based on projectability. The reason that he would be so much higher as a 19 year old is that we can project that he will grow into a bigger body. At 23, you're basically at your ceiling.
Needless to say, this leaves me a tad frustrated. This is an embarrasing situation for the Nationals. It also shows how wrong "The Plan" has gone. We all heard Stan Kasten and Jim Bowden's proclamations that the Nationals were going to be an international force in the market in an effort to rebuild their farm system. Now, that just seems like an ironic joke. Not only did the Nats not sign ANY big name international players this past year, but Bowden and special assistant Jose Rijo are being investigated by the FBI. And now the biggest haul of this era, Smiley, is a fraud.
But it goes deeper. Smiley signed for $1.4 million. The next biggest offer on the board was $700,000 from the Rangers. Hmmm...... Maybe the Nats just knew something that NO ONE ELSE in baseball knew. Or maybe they knew that Smiley wasn't 16. Maybe ol' Jimbo and Jose Rijo decided they would pay the $1.4 million, as long as they got a little bit back. I'm not saying....but I'm just saying....
Hopefully, this will wake everyone up out of the dream that the Nats are just going to magically be better in three years because Bowden repeatedly chants "Farm system, Farm system, Farm system..." The Nats actually have to make an effort if they want to make this "plan" work. Not signing Aaron Crow last year wasn't a great sign. But I was willing to chalk it up to some punk kid. Now not anymore. I think that the Nationals have no true direction right now. Trader Jim is making moves that are taking the team sideways, not forwards. He trades Jon Rauch for a young second baseman named Emilio Bonifacio. He proclaims him as the Nationals second baseman of the future. And then trades him the next off-season for Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen. Huh?
My point is that enough is enough. I think that at the bare minimum Rijo must be fired from this incident. I would advocate that this should be the end for Trader Jim as well. Let Kasten pick his own man (remember, Bowden was inherited when Kasten was appointed President by the Lerners). Get someone in here who will actually make a true commitment to building a farm system. I have had enough of Bowden's obsession with toolsy outfielders (see Dukes, Milledge, Hood, etc.).
The whole situation sort of makes you miss Odalis Perez's bitching, doesn't it?
Needless to say, this leaves me a tad frustrated. This is an embarrasing situation for the Nationals. It also shows how wrong "The Plan" has gone. We all heard Stan Kasten and Jim Bowden's proclamations that the Nationals were going to be an international force in the market in an effort to rebuild their farm system. Now, that just seems like an ironic joke. Not only did the Nats not sign ANY big name international players this past year, but Bowden and special assistant Jose Rijo are being investigated by the FBI. And now the biggest haul of this era, Smiley, is a fraud.
But it goes deeper. Smiley signed for $1.4 million. The next biggest offer on the board was $700,000 from the Rangers. Hmmm...... Maybe the Nats just knew something that NO ONE ELSE in baseball knew. Or maybe they knew that Smiley wasn't 16. Maybe ol' Jimbo and Jose Rijo decided they would pay the $1.4 million, as long as they got a little bit back. I'm not saying....but I'm just saying....
Hopefully, this will wake everyone up out of the dream that the Nats are just going to magically be better in three years because Bowden repeatedly chants "Farm system, Farm system, Farm system..." The Nats actually have to make an effort if they want to make this "plan" work. Not signing Aaron Crow last year wasn't a great sign. But I was willing to chalk it up to some punk kid. Now not anymore. I think that the Nationals have no true direction right now. Trader Jim is making moves that are taking the team sideways, not forwards. He trades Jon Rauch for a young second baseman named Emilio Bonifacio. He proclaims him as the Nationals second baseman of the future. And then trades him the next off-season for Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen. Huh?
My point is that enough is enough. I think that at the bare minimum Rijo must be fired from this incident. I would advocate that this should be the end for Trader Jim as well. Let Kasten pick his own man (remember, Bowden was inherited when Kasten was appointed President by the Lerners). Get someone in here who will actually make a true commitment to building a farm system. I have had enough of Bowden's obsession with toolsy outfielders (see Dukes, Milledge, Hood, etc.).
The whole situation sort of makes you miss Odalis Perez's bitching, doesn't it?
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