Nats’ Rizzo hoping to sign Zimmerman to extension
Although Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman doesn’t want to talk about a contract extension after Friday, it will not stop general manager Mike Rizzo from talking to Zimmerman’s agent, Brodie Van Wagenen, about a new deal.
“It won’t stop me from talking,” Rizzo said.
Van Wagenen was seen at the Nationals’ Spring Training complex on Wednesday talking to Rizzo. It’s not known how much progress has been made when it comes to Zimmerman’s contract. Zimmerman has two years left on his current deal.
Van Wagenen is expected to leave Viera, Fla., on Thursday night.
Asked Thursday morning if he was confident that he could get a deal done with Zimmerman, Rizzo said, “I don’t want to gauge my feelings on it. We are working extremely hard at it. … I’m hopeful. … [If we sign him to an extension], it would take something off our plate for the future. We have Ryan for two years. It would put a punctuation on Zim, at least, knowing that he would be with us for the long term.”
Nats’ DeRosa ready to have injury-free season
Nationals infielder/outfielder Mark DeRosa arrived in Spring Training on Wednesday morning, determined to make a comeback after missing most of the last two years because of a left wrist injury.
Manager Davey Johnson was one person who wanted DeRosa to make his comeback in Washington. In fact, Johnson acknowledged that he called DeRosa during the offseason after it was learned that first baseman Chris Marrero would not start the 2012 season on time, after tearing his left hamstring while playing winter ball. Johnson managed DeRosa during the World Baseball Classic in 2009.
Reuniting with Johnson wasn’t the only reason DeRosa joined the Nationals.
“I really enjoyed my time with him,” DeRosa said about Johnson. “To be honest with you, [playing in Washington] is close to home. It was big. I was out in [San Francisco] the last two years with the family on the east coast. I wanted to get close to home as I could – give myself the best chance to win, be on a young exciting team. It seemed like a good fit.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of role DeRosa plays for Washington. He is expected to be a reserve first baseman and make occasional starts in the outfield, and also at second and third base. With Mike Cameron retiring earlier this week, DeRosa could find himself in a platoon situation in the outfield.
“I’m pretty comfortable playing wherever,” DeRosa said. “I always go back to the coach I had with the Braves, Glenn Hubbard. He said, ‘When in doubt, be an athlete.’ And that’s what I’ve always tried to do. I’m not going to fly by Carlos Beltran in the outfield and do the things that certain guys do out there. I can catch it and I can hit the cutoff man.”
The last time DeRosa played often in a season was in 2009 when he played for the Cardinals and Indians.
During that same year that DeRosa hurt the left wrist. After two surgeries, he continued to have problems with the wrist until he returned to action last September with the Giants.
“… After going through all I went through, it seemed to have settled down,” DeRosa said. “I guess the scar tissue in there seemed to have calmed down and allowed me to do my job without pain. That was the toughest thing. You can make up for lack of stability or lack of mobility or whatever you have to deal with. But it was just that knifing pain every time you went to swing, it kind of shut me down.”
DeRosa said the wrist feels great, but admits the big test will come once the season starts.
“It remains to be seen. The offseason is not the season,” DeRosa said. “It’s not grinding every day, it’s not hitting seven times a week. So I need these six weeks to get ready.”
Nats reporting to Spring Training
Excluding the catchers, all of the Nationals’ position players reported to Spring Training with the exception of Mark DeRosa and Xavier Paul, and DeRosa is expected to be in camp Wednesday.
Position players are not expected to report to camp until Thursday.
Reliever Henry Rodriguez is the only pitcher who has yet to report to camp, but was given an excused absence. He is expected to be in camp on Wednesday.
Nats pitchers, catchers have first workouts
Nationals pitchers and catchers worked out for the first time Tuesday and — by all accounts – it was everything manager Davey Johnson was looking for.
Before things got started, Johnson had a meeting with his players at 9:45 a.m. ET. He told his pitchers to throw only fastball and change ups. There wasn’t a need to throw breaking balls or try to impress the skipper on the first day. Johnson also told the players if they had a problem, always go to him or the coaches for answers.
“I want to institute things that I’m comfortable with,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to stress a guy’s elbow or shoulder too much,” Johnson said. “Those are the kind of things that I need to get across. They are all going to play. I know I have 10 starters and [some] are going to piggy back [the other starters]. They are going to get their innings and the relievers will follow them at least through the first two rotations.”
Left-handers Gio Gonzalez and Sean Burnett were unable to have bullpen sessions in front of Johnson. Instead, they threw at Space Coast Stadium with pitching coordinator Spin Williams observing. Gonzalez and Burnett had to deal with the Nationals production staff, who were shooting video for the Jumbotron at Nationals Park.
“It was a good camp even though we were interrupted a little bit with the photographers for the Jumbotron, whatever,” Johnson said. “I didn’t get to see Gio, but Spin gave a good report on him. He was throwing well. Burnett was OK and now they are done with that. We can now concentrate what we have to do.”
During one bullpen session, Johnson was seen talking to right-hander Stephen Strasburg. It marked the first time since 2010 that Strasburg wasn’t rehabbing his elbow.
Last year, Strasburg spent most of the season recovering from elbow reconstruction. According to Johnson, Strasburg was happy he could to be throw a bullpen session like the rest of his teammates.
“I asked, ‘It’s nice to be one of the boys, Isn’t it?’ He said, ‘Yeah,’ rather than be a rehabber. He is just one of the guys. He is and he likes that.”
Nats’ Marrero working hard to get back on field
Nationals first baseman Chris Marrero is walking without a limp, but he is not expected to play in a game until after the All-Star break because of a torn left hamstring he suffered while playing the for the Licey Tigers of the Dominican Winter League last November.
Marrero, who is considered a backup first baseman, hurt the hamstring stretching for a thrown ball. Marrero arrived in camp Tuesday morning and was able to jog, play catch and hit the ball off a tee.
“The hamstring is coming along. I have to do the therapy, do what I have to do. I’m not trying to speed it up and aggravate it again,” Marrero said.
Marrero, a first-round pick in the 2006 First-Year Player Draft, made his Major League debut this past season, hitting .248 with 10 RBIs and playing solid defense at first base.
Nats’ Rizzo proud of his staff
A few hours after the Nationals’ minor league system was named the best in Major League Baseball by Baseball America, general manager Mike Rizzo sent this e-mail to his scouting and player development staff.
From: Mike Rizzo
Sent: Wednesday, February 01, 2012 3:02 PM
Subject: Congratulations
Guys,
A few minutes ago it was announced that Baseball America has ranked the Washington Nationals farm system #1 in baseball. I want to congratulate each and every one of you because this honor belongs to you.
I am well aware that this achievement is the direct result of a Scouting & Player Development staff that is the best in baseball. I want to personally express my thanks for the grueling hours, endless miles, and huge workload you’ve taken on. Your dedication and commitment is reflected in this accomplishment!
I am very proud and enormously appreciative. It is an honor to work with each of you and I look forward to sharing great successes together. You have my respect and my thanks.
Mike
Mike Rizzo
EXECUTIVE VP AND GENERAL MANAGER
Harris: Buehrle would be great fit for Nats
It was learned recently that the Nationals have expressed interest in free-agent left-hander Mark Buehrle, and former Nationals outfielder Willie Harris said Buehrle would be a great fit for the Nationals or any other National League team.
Harris should know. The two were teammates with the White Sox for four seasons and won a World Series title in 2005.
“He knows what he is doing on the mound,” said Harris, who played with the Mets this past season. “He is not going to light up a radar gun, but he has been able to get people out for the last 12 years. He works fast. The defense behind him is always going to be on their toes. There is not a lot of times wasted when Mark Buehrle is on the mound.”
Harris said the year White Sox won the World Series, Buehrle was the guy the team went to for a big victory.
“Mark Buehrle was the leader of the rotation,” Harris said. “We had Freddy Garcia, Jon Garland, Jose Contreras, but Buehrle led the way. I’m not taking anything away from those other pitchers, but I just felt that Mark Buehrle was the guy. He was the ace for the White Sox for a long time.”
Joint statement from MLB and Nationals
Joint Statement from Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals:
Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time. Major League Baseball’s Department of Investigations is working with the appropriate authorities on this matter. Both Major League Baseball and the Washington Nationals have been instructed to make no further comment.
Wang, Nationals close to deal
Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang is close to an agreement with Nationals, agent Alan Nero said on Wednesday evening. Both sides are currently working out contract language.
The Nationals have exclusive rights to negotiate with Wang until 12:01 a.m. ET on Thursday morning. Even if a deal is not done by that time, Nero is confident that an agreement will be reached between Wang and the Nationals soon thereafter.
It has been known for weeks that Wang wanted to return to Washington because the Nationals stuck by him after missing almost three years with shoulder problems, which dates back to his days with the Yankees.
Wang was back on the mound by July of this year and was productive, going 4-3 with a 4.04 ERA in 11 starts in a season.
Wang said in September that money will not be an issue in terms of re-signing with the Nationals.
Nationals manager Davey Johnson made it clear in September that he wanted Wang back in 2012.
“There is no doubt about it,” Johnson said. “If I’m here, he could have my salary.”
Although he has accomplished a lot this year, Wang wants to be even better next year.
“I’ll try to work on my breaking ball more and hopefully get better and better again,” Wang said in September. “Every year, we have to deal with different conditions. I hope I can have a really good year, get all my good stuff and keep myself at the best condition. I want to do my best in the future.”
Johnson to manage Nats next season
WASHINGTON — The Nationals announced on Monday that they have exercised manager Davey Johnson’s option for the 2012 season.
Johnson took over the position on an interim basis on June 26, three days after Jim Riggleman resigned. Washington went 40-43 under Johnson, finishing third in the National League East — its highest finish since the team moved from Montreal after the 2004 season.
Johnson said being around people in the front office, the Minor League system and Major Leagues are the reasons he wanted to continue to manage the club. Johnson sees himself as a father figure to most of the young players.
“It’s just a great organization. It’s one of the better ones I’ve ever been in, if not the best,” Johnson said. “There is no question that I love baseball. … I thought everything worked pretty good together [with the team]. I think we accomplished a lot of things. I would say the last two or three weeks, when I had kind of mixture of talent that I wanted on the ballclub … that’s when I really felt that there is so much more we can do here, and I need to be here to help see it along.”
Johnson made it clear that his goal in 2012 is win the NL pennant. To do that, the Nats must improve offensively. Johnson felt that his position players struck out too much. He would like to see much more production out of his reserves. Last year, the bench was built on speed and defense. Johnson would like to add power to the bench.
“I wouldn’t have been able to say that last spring,” Johnson said about winning a pennant. “But after being there and seeing the progress the young players made, I think we definitely can contend. I would be sorely disappointed if we didn’t do just that. The talent is there. I like the way we stack up in our division. I’m not just sticking out my chest. My baseball instinct tells me that’s where we need to be. That’s where we need to go and we can get there.”
In 2011, for the second time in his career, Johnson took a big league manager’s job in the middle of a season. He did the same with Cincinnati in 1993, and one season later, his Reds finished atop the NL Central with a .579 winning percentage during the strike-shortened 1994 campaign.
Washington general manager Mike Rizzo said it was an easy choice to hire Johnson as the interim manager in June. Rizzo remembered how Johnson worked with the players during Spring Training.
“The only questions that I had about Davey taking over [were], ‘Did he want to do it? Was his energy level and his focus were going to be there?’ Even as early as Spring Training this year, I saw that he moved around better this year,” Rizzo said. “He always had the fungo in his hands. He was always pounding ground balls to the young guys.
“He had the energy and a bounce in his step that I thought to myself, “Wow, Davey is really into it. He is really fired up for the season.’ It couldn’t have been a smoother, easier decision for me to bring Davey on in midseason. It was just as comfortable and easy decision after the season to pick up the option and make Davey the leader of the ballclub.”
Johnson has skippered five clubs (Nationals, Dodgers, Orioles, Reds, Mets) in 15 seasons, compiling a 1,188-931 record and a .561 career winning percentage that ranks second to only Earl Weaver (.583) among living managers with 10 or more years of experience.
He is one of only six living men to have won a World Series ring as a player and manager, joining Alvin Dark, Joe Girardi, Lou Piniella, Mike Scioscia and Red Schoendienst.
Johnson joined the Nationals as a special assistant to the general manager on Nov. 18, 2009, after managing Team USA to a semifinal berth in the World Baseball Classic.
The Rocket
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