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Friday, April 24, 2009

Huh?

Last item in the "Mailbag" on Nationals.com:

Don't you think the Nationals made a mistake in not signing second baseman Orlando Hudson? He is apparently healthy and certainly hitting and fielding well. I think they blew it big time.
-- Peter R., Vancouver

I don't think the Nationals made a mistake in that regard because they have good enough second basemen in Hernandez and Belliard. The reason Washington didn't sign Hudson is because he failed a physical the club gave him before Spring Training started.


Say what?
A. Hudson is an upgrade over Hernandez and Belliard. He's more expensive for a reason. He's better.
B. But this is the real news. He failed a physical? Was that reported when it happened and I just missed it? I'd never heard about this. If it is indeed true, it damn sure should have been reported somewhere and I suspect it was and I just fell asleep on that one. Right?

Whatever was ailing Hudson, it appears to have been fixed. He's played in every game and is hitting .385 with two home runs and eight RBI. He's stolen four bases and hasn't been caught stealing. He has zero errors.

Yeah, Belliard and Hernandez compare. Granted, Nats.com never said they compared. They said they were "good enough." For what? Hudson would have been an upgrade and I'd like to know what was wrong with the physical that made him not worth signing?

Perhaps it was money? If so, let's just say that. The Nats didn't want to invest 10 or so million in a quality second baseman and leadoff hitter. Not when they have half of that invested in a DH who is too sick and out of shape to actually, you know, play. Not that he could play anywhere in a league that doesn't use the DH.

7 comments:

Chris Needham said...

The only place it was ever "reported" was in Ladson's mail sack.

He dropped that one a month ago or so, but never followed up with it in an actual article. And i've never seen it referenced somewhere else.

MikeHarris said...

Amazing. If true, that seems to me to be a pretty big deal.
The team was willing to spend but someone on the crack medical staff - which has such a tremendous track record - deemed him not healthy enough?
Christ a moly.

Of course, there's a chance it isn't true.

bdrube said...

I torn on this one. On the one hand, I find Ladson's reporting to be as reliable as the White House press corps. On the other hand, having an incompetent medical staff (probably hired on the cheap) would be par for the course for a team that cannot procure uniforms with the team name spelled right or to reimburse Metro so fans who sit through a night game rain delay won't be stranded at the stadium.

I know it's been reported the the Lerners are super rich, worth $3.2 billion. But they made their money in real estate, which is crashing faster than Lindsey Lohan's car. This economic crisis is destroying fortunes fater than anyone can keep up with it. I have a sneaking suspicion that it has caught up with our owners and they just haven't admitted it.

George Templeton said...

bdrube, if that is true then you wonder what is going to happen when the Strasburg situation comes up.

Chris Needham said...

"I know it's been reported the the Lerners are super rich, worth $3.2 billion. But they made their money in real estate, which is crashing faster than Lindsey Lohan's car."

Despite the crash, Ted Lerner was one of the few billionaires to MAKE money last year. His net worth is higher than it was last year.

An Briosca Mor said...

"Despite the crash, Ted Lerner was one of the few billionaires to MAKE money last year. His net worth is higher than it was last year."

That's because he no longer has to hire legions of high school freshmen to spend nights and weekends firing off spam comments to your blog, Chris.

Cheryl Nichols said...

Apparently Boz mentioned it in his WP chat on March 19. We were at spring training and I missed that one too.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/03/17/DI2009031701384.html

http://www.insidesocal.com/dodgers/2009/03/dodgers-release-1.html