While we here in the D.C. area (not to mention lil' 'ol me, here in the Shenandoah Valley) wait out the massive snowstorm, it's time for me to catch everybody up on news pertaining to the Nationals.

     For starters, interesting to see Marco Estrada signing with the Brewers. I wasn't even aware the Nats had waived him, to be honest. Still, at least he'll get some starts (or come out of the bullpen, whichever way it goes).

     Ah, but now I get to the happy news. I kept screaming all bleeping winter how (IMO) Cristian Guzman was not going to be the 2B for the Nats...and how the brass needed to get a middle infielder here toot sweet.

     Today, the Nats announced Adam Kennedy signed a 1-year deal (pending a physical, of course), with a club option for 2011. Just like "Pudge" Rodriguez, this is a "bridge" signing...meaning, he's here until somebody in the minors steps up at the position to show they can man the job on a (somewhat) permanent basis.

     If nothing else, this shows me the front office understands the fans' frustrations these last 2-3 years.

     (I hope.)

     Supposedly, there's a poll on MLB.com asking who's the bigger acquisition @ 2B this offseason...and Adam Kennedy's name is on the list. Oh well...lol

     Spring training in a few weeks. Yippee.

     They just now got finished showing the "Top 50 MLB Prospects" special on MLB Network. Insightful, I will say.

     True, they listed Drew Storen at #40. I've got no problem with that. At least he gets mentioned in the top 50. But he wasn't the only Nationals prospect mentioned.

     Which is why this MLBlog.

     You're telling ME (not to mention Nationals fans) that some guy playing Single-A ball for Atlanta rates higher than this guy?

     What the hell were they smoking? Granted, "The Aztec Nightmare" had a leg injury that prevented him from pitching in the Arizona Fall League championship game. Granted, his ERA in the AFL (above 4:00) is a tad high...but let's point out he went 4-1 in AFL play.

     That oughta count for something. Shouldn't it?

     Here it is late January...and ALREADY these talking heads @ the MLB Network decide to pimp-smack Nationals fans. I can see I need to have a very intense discussion with the MLB Net people. Like, when would they get around to scheduling (for their "All-Time Games" show in the afternoons) this game?

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     Track down the tape of the Yankees broadcast. It's got to be somewhere. I want to see this guy, do you hear?

     (Like they listen to me...lol)

     Thanks to Mike at the Brooklyn Trolley Blogger (http://brooklyntrolleyblogger.mlblogs.com) for giving me a cheap excuse to edit my links list. Actually, I should say "list(s)", plural.

     It's because there are 2 lists for all of you to peruse, when you check out my blog(s). One is of the other places across the Internet you'll likely to find me...you know, my Twitter page, for example.

     The other list...well, that's for those of you who haven't yet followed this little MLBlog of mine to check out those MLBloggers who I recommend. You'll see who they are, when you look to the right-hand side of my page.

     I can't think of any more of an incentive for some of you who haven't bothered to read me, to do so as we get closer to spring training. I mean, how can I follow you if you don't get off the toilet follow me? Right?

     I hate begging...LMAO

     I was going to talk about how Anoldis Chapman slipped through the Nationals' fingertips, and wound up in Cincinnati.

     Instead, we're left debating the biggest non-story in baseball. NOW Mark McGwire cops to doing steroids? Big fricking whoop. Everybody knew this (more and less) back in '98, people.

     It's not so much that the "Big Mac" confirmed everyone's suspicions. Rather, it's this part of his statement that feels like the harpoon in the back of the whale:

"I used steroids in the '90s...including during the 1998 baseball season." (italics mine)

     That's right, folks. It was all a lie. The one thing that brought the fans back to baseball--after the debacle of '94, aborting a World Series and all that--and now we find out it was all an illusion.

     As, apparently, it was also an illusion that Mark McGwire hit a ball in batting practice @ RFK Stadium (before an exhibition game between the Cardinals and Mets) that hit the concrete just short of clearing the roof. There's tape from WRC-TV in Washington that shows it; certainly one of the TV stations in St. Louis has it somewhere.

     (Why do I bring this up? Simple. There's a reason why certain seats @ RFK are still painted white. Upper deck seats...where Frank Howard hit 'em.)      And I guarantee you, Hondo did it on brute strength ALONE!!! Anyone think I lie?

     So now, that Congressional hearing back in '05 is seen for what we always knew it to be: a glorified dog-and-pony show.

     Rafael Palmeiro pointing his finger and saying "I have never, ever used steroids!!": Sorry, they nailed you a year later.

     Sammy Sosa "conveniently" forgetting to speak English: Well, all we have on you (for now) is a corked bat. Still, there are suspicions...

     And then, of course, we have Mark McGwire. "I'm not here to talk about the past".

     Well, you could've fooled my a*s*s, "Big Mac". Shame you couldn't fool the rest of the baseball world, though. And I'm sorry to say, whatever shot you had at the Baseball Hall of Fame...well, let's just say there's a better chance of Bill Clinton getting another b.j. from an intern lipstick-wearing pigs flying.

     I'm just saying...

     Before I start, let me give thanks to Nats 320--a Washington Nationals Blog (www.nats320.blogspot.com) for the pictures you'll see in this piece. The full story is found in the piece entitled "The Day My Washington Senators Died", if you wish to read for yourselves.

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     September 30, 1971. The date which lives in infamy for my generation of Senators fans.

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     We played the Yankees. And beat them, 7-5. In the record books, you'll see it listed as a 9-0 forfeit win for the Bombers. I listened to this on the radio. And until now, all anyone ever had to go on was the film from WRC-TV in Washington showing the disaster scene.

     The following pictures (and commentary from me) can tell this story better than words alone.

     We had a Hall of Fame manager in Washington. (I'm pretty sure Julia will recognize him...lol)

     We had a guy who should be in the HOF, but isn't.

     And, sadly, we had an owner who screwed us over. But more on him later.

     (I should take a moment to point out that the article whence these pictures come from--read the top of this blog to see the name--clued me in to something I truly did not know. That is, that the man who would've owned the Senators...Bob Hope...got outbid. I'll never hear "Thanks For the Memories" the same way again after this.)

     I would've posted the scorecard from that night, but I guess you'll have to go over to Baseball Reference and look for it. (Remember, it's Yankees-Senators. 9/30/71. Or something like that. Anyway, it's www.baseballreference.com.) It was intriguing to read, actually. Toby Harrah at SS, Del Unser (the man who gave us the phrase...and thus the name of my MLBlog..."GO NASTY NATS!!!) playing RF instead of his regular CF position, Paul Casanova pinch-hitting late in the game (he was our catcher then), Dick Bosman starting (and getting a no-decision, had the game progressed the way it should have)...and on and on.

     But by the late innings, the frustration over the fait accompli masterminded by this skivosa...

...had begun to show.      In spades. (That's Dick Bosman on the mound, BTW.) The sign stayed up for a grand total of...10 minutes. Then security came along and made them take it down.

     (See why I have contempt?)

     Anyway, come the top of the 9th, all the Senators needed was one more out and the record would've been 63-95...or 61-95, I'm not sure. (I'm guessing 4 or 6 games were rained out and never made up.) But as the film shows, the crowd couldn't contain themselves.

     Thus, a 9-0 forfeit.

     And no baseball in Washington...for 34 years. Guess Denny McLain and Curt Flood wouldn't have made any difference anyway. (Read the Nats 320 article...the name, BTW, refers to Section 320 @ RFK/D.C. Stadium...to see what I mean.)

     So now, you know the real story behind the dark night of my Senators fandom. Happy now? LMAO

     But now that Matt Capps, "Pudge" Rodriguez and Josh Whitesell (minor league contract) will be at Spring Training come March...to join these guys...

     ...maybe now, that old battle cry of Del Unser's will ring true.

"GO NASTY NATS!!!"

     It was my brother who gave me the bad news. I hadn't had the TV tuned to any of the Washington stations...so when he told me George Michael died, the only word I could utter was, "Damn".

     Yes, people, it was that much of a shock.

     Most people outside of Washington knew George Michael only by the "Sports Machine" show on Sunday nights. It was here on Channel 4...that's WRC-TV, the NBC-owned station in Washington...from '85 to March of '08. Think how your Sunday night sports wrapup show (wherever you are) appears; it's because of the "Sports Machine".

     But as Keith Olbermann reminds us in his "Baseball Nerd" MLBlog today (See, Keith? I kept my word. I did mention you...lol), George was not only known for focusing on NASCAR or rodeo, or even wrestling. He was considered a historian when it came to baseball. (Read Keith's piece. You'll see what I mean.) And yet there's something even the man the "Can't Stop the Bleeding" blog calls "Non-Metallic K.O." doesn't know about George.

     But I do.

     Before MLB deigned to move the Expos to Washington, there were people trying to bring baseball back to D.C. after Bob Short shafted the city by moving the Senators to Texas (after the '71 season). One of those groups went so far as to take season ticket orders in the mid-'90s. And yes, there was George Michael proudly declaring on the air that he'd sent in his money.

     Alas, the money had to be refunded. But that didn't stop George. He kept lobbying anyone who'd listen that baseball NEEDED to be in our nation's capital. As we all know, it's here.

     The tributes still continue to roll in across the landscape here, as to the contributions he made to sports...not just sports broadcasting, but sports...in the D.C. area.

     George Michael was 70.

     He will be missed. Not just by us Washington sports fans/viewers...but by the broadcasting community.

     Enjoy your Christmas, everybody.

     But, after hearing the news Jason Marquis will sign a 2-year deal tomorrow with the Nationals, forgive me if I sound like the guy in the Verizon ads...you know, "Can you hear me NOW??".

     (Yeah, I know I said I was done for 2009 as far as blogging. But I just had to say something on this.)

     Anyway, I also noticed Saul Rivera signed with the Indians. Chalk this up as Manny Acta remembering something from his time here last year...what, I don't know...but who am I to say what goes on in Manny's mind?? I'm just warning Cleveland fans, if you start booing whenever Saul Rivera comes in the game...you'll understand the pain we Nats fans felt!!! LMAO

     (Note to MLB Network: when you do your list of "Third Basemen of the Decade"...THIS man had better be in the top 3!!! Comprende??

     Ahhhh..."Hot Stove" on in the background as I write this--and also as I wait for a (supposed) snowstorm to hit the Shenandoah Valley this weekend--so it's as good a time as any to allow me a few takes on this week in the (off-season) world of baseball.

     So here goes...

     1) Milton Bradley's in Seattle, no thanks to the Tribune Company. (You know, the Chicago Tribune...WGN-tv/AM/FM...and, oh yeah, the Cubs. Yeah, all that.) Let's face it, the Trib had a (pardon the pun) major-league vendetta against MB from the moment he put on a Cubs uniform. So this comes as no surprise to anyone, really. As to what happens in Seattle, I have no clue.

     2) NIck Johnson signing with the Yankees, I'm guessing, makes Johnny Damon a fifth wheel (as it were). Basically, Nick's signed to be the DH...so what of Damon? But while I'm on the subject of the Bombers...

     3) How will John Sterling describe Curtis Granderson's deposits into the seats? "A Grand-Slam-derson"?? (Hey, I had to think of something on short notice...lol) At any rate, I know Scott's happy.

     4) And so, apparently, is Jen (of AJRocksMyWhiteSox)...seeing as how Juan Pierre is now wearing (ChiSox) pinstripes. Yes, Jen, I do pay attention to Twitter once in awhile...lol

     5) Then there's yours truly...not to mention my fellow Nats fans...because of "Pudge" Rodriguez signing on. (They were running the "All-Time Games" on MLB Net before "Hot Stove", on the '03 NLDS between the Marlins and San Fran--where Pudge ended it on a knock--and who do you think was interviewing him?? The same Bob Carpenter who does the Nats games for MASN. This was for ESPN back then, BTW.) Cue the "Twilight Zone" music, people...doo-doo-doo-doo, doo-doo-doo-doo...

     (Yeah, it's the end of the decade. Loopy time...lol)

     Anyway, this beats what I had planned for this blog: a MLBlogs-centric version of "Santa Baby". Trust me, if I had gone through with it, you'd never hear Eartha Kitt the same way again...LMAO

     And there you are, gang. My last MLBlog for the decade, not to mention 2009. So on that note, enjoy your X-Mas/Hannakah/Kwanzaa...whatever. I don't know when I'll write the first MLBlog of the new decade (or 2010, whichever comes first...lol), so this one'll have to hold you all for awhile.

     Oh. My. Fricking. GOD!!!

     When you find out (watching the MLB Network ticker) that "Pudge" Rodriguez signs with the Nationals for 2 years and $6 million...you'd have the same reaction, too. Suddenly, the catcher position gets a mondo upgrade in a hurry.

     But to me, there's only one reason this happened. IMO, the Nats front office may believe Jesus Flores hasn't fully recovered from his injury this past season...that, or they think Wil Nieves isn't up to an everyday pounding behind the plate. Regardless, this deal shows me Stan Kasten and Mike Rizzo get it at last. Show the fans you're serious about the Nats contending, or doom this team to permanent mediocrity.

     (The first part of that sentence is what I'm convinced of. Contending, I mean.)

     A lineup of this guy...

     This guy...

     This guy...

     And "Pudge" catching these guys...

     It's like a wet dream. Isn't it, Shelley? LMAO

     (I thought I had a picture of Drew Storen. Turns out I don't. Oh, snap...lol)

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     Note to Scott: I thought the Yankees were high on Austin Jackson taking over for Hideki Matsui?? Yet his name's in this 3-way deal the Bombers have with the Tigers and D-Backs. But in the long run, you got Curtis Granderson. So I guess the CF question is settled...lol

     Give me an opening, folks, and I'll make anything funny...LMAO

     So, here's the deal. Brian Bruney, who (apparently) knows how to hold a lead, is now a National. Who we have to give the Yankees, is anybody's guess. (As long as it's NOT Derek Norris or Danny Espinosa...otherwise I scream bloody murder!!!) At least the upside of all this is, I don't have to put up with Saul Rivera any more. He got released as a result of this. YAY!!!

     Now, as to the other bit of news I read...

     I say this to Mets fans: Josh Willingham is NOT going to you. No way, no fricking how...uh-uh, it ain't happening!!! Not unless you want to give us some pitching in return...like, oh let's say, Johan Santana?? (Just to throw a name out there. LMAO) So give up that pipe dream right now, and be content with the mediocrity you have in the outfield...LMAO

     (My God. It's December, and already I'm trash-talking. That was too damned easy, you know??)

     Now time for me to peruse Julia's Rants...lol