Dunn to the Nats

[Peace21]

Good for Dunn. Glad he finally found a team with days before Spring training. So many teams were lined up to get him. Im not at all bummed that the O's didnt sign him.

[NewMarketSean]

Man... 2/20... I kinda wish we would have gotten him for that.

[lovetoaster]

The fact that there's any "rivalry" at all with them is just silly to me. And she has a point. Going to the "well, you guys suck" well for an O's fan is kinda ridiculous. I mean, they have had a winning season MUCH more recently than we have. Even if you hate them, pulling the "they suck at baseball" line is probably ill advised.

I am not saying she did not have a point, but I do not think anyone went the "well, you guys suck route." I think she was looking a little too far into the post that she originally referenced. It essentially said that the fans now have something to look forward to. And they do. No matter how good or bad the Nats are, they really do not have anybody that is necessarily exciting.

As good as Ryan Zimmerman is, I am not sure if there are many people that say, "honey, pack up the kids, we are going to go see Zim." Dunn will bring some excitement to the park that is sorely needed. The post that she quoted actually may have been a compliment. i do not think it was as much of a shot to the Nats (I almost typed nads) as was thought.

Well since you qouted me, I did not say that they suck. I said I did not like them, and I said that they have a poor fan base. Two things that I think are true. One that I am sure of.

And it is your prerogative to not consider them a rival, I do. Our opinions differ, no big deal.

Oh well, it is not really worth arguing over.

[Pedro Cerrano]

Man... 2/20... I kinda wish we would have gotten him for that.

Signing him would make no sense. All of our OF and 1B positions are filled and he doesn't want to DH -- if we made him DH he would have cost more than 2/20.

[KurtCDavidson]

So....no one seems upset that Dunn signed a relatively cheap 2/20 contract with the Nationals instead of the Orioles. And while it may not be a significant amount, Dunn's presence in the Nationals lineup is likely to draw away even more Orioles fans, especially those closer to DC.

While I agree that Dunn may not have been a perfect fit for the Orioles, he still would have looked great in the middle of the O's lineup....and bouncing balls off the Warehouse.

2/20 is a steal and a great deal by the Nats. I think that the Moneyball move for 2009 will be FA signings. They are undervalued in a depressed market - even Beane is signing them!

For Dunn, I would make room at 1B by DHing Huff and then shipping Scott off to ATL. I can't believe that we (probably) could have had Dunn for 3 years at <10MM per and we didn't do it. We're cool with 5MM for Uehara but not 10MM for Dunn - that's crazy!

[DrungoHazewood]

So....no one seems upset that Dunn signed a relatively cheap 2/20 contract with the Nationals instead of the Orioles. And while it may not be a significant amount, Dunn's presence in the Nationals lineup is likely to draw away even more Orioles fans, especially those closer to DC.

While I agree that Dunn may not have been a perfect fit for the Orioles, he still would have looked great in the middle of the O's lineup....and bouncing balls off the Warehouse.

No, not upset that the O's didn't sign a player who wasn't going to sign unless he was playing the outfield, and who would be the O's 7th- or 8th-best fielding outfielder on the 25-man. A Pie/Wigginton or Pie/Freel platoon in left will probably be equal to or better than Dunn's overall productivity at a fraction of the cost.

And it's probably not a good strategy to sign any and all big names just to block the Nats. If the Nats don't start winning more games Dunn's impact on attendance will be tallied up on Jim Bowden's fingers and toes.

[NewMarketSean]

So....no one seems upset that Dunn signed a relatively cheap 2/20 contract with the Nationals instead of the Orioles. And while it may not be a significant amount, Dunn's presence in the Nationals lineup is likely to draw away even more Orioles fans, especially those closer to DC.

While I agree that Dunn may not have been a perfect fit for the Orioles, he still would have looked great in the middle of the O's lineup....and bouncing balls off the Warehouse.

LOL.

Dunn wanted to play in the OF. He wasn't going to do that here. He didn't want to DH. As for stealing away O's fans, most pedestrian baseball fans don't even know who Adam Dunn is, much less travel down to DC to see him play.

I doubt it will even generate any excitement in DC, much less up the I-95 corridor.

[Big Mac]

I think the Nats will be much better this year than people expect, a .500 record by the Nats wouldn't shock me.

[fearthenoodle]

I think the Nats will be much better this year than people expect, a .500 record by the Nats wouldn't shock me.

Their team still isn't very good.

[Big Mac]

Their team still isn't very good.

I don't know, I think they might surprise people.

[DrungoHazewood]

Where does Dunn play on the Nats?

Looking at their depth chart before the trade they had Milledge in center, Willingham in left, Dukes in right, Pena and Kearns on the bench, and Willie Harris floating around somewhere. They still have Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young sharing first for the 80 or 90 combined games they'll be healthy. Obviously they didn't sign Dunn to DH in AL games and pinch hit, he doesn't want to play first, he clearly can't play center, or probably even right. Looks to me like there's going to be a Willingham/Dukes/Kearns/Pena/Dunn deathmatch in spring training. And given that the is the NL and there's no DH, I'm not sure Dunn deserves much playing time in that group.

He might get it because he's 40-homer guy, but I don't think the Nats got a whole lot better.

[HeatherC12]

And Jim Bowden's project to recreate the 2003 Reds team continues, LOL

Good luck to Dunn and I hope he has a great year. Just not against any of my teams, LOL :laughlol:

[Ruzious]

Well, money is an issue there, especially with Swisher and Swisher isn't the best defensively out there.

I don't know about that - He's played a lot of CF the last 2 years. The fact that he's played all 3 OF positions plus 1st base is a big plus for the Braves.

[BaltimoreTerp]

Where does Dunn play on the Nats?

Looking at their depth chart before the trade they had Milledge in center, Willingham in left, Dukes in right, Pena and Kearns on the bench, and Willie Harris floating around somewhere. They still have Nick Johnson and Dmitri Young sharing first for the 80 or 90 combined games they'll be healthy. Obviously they didn't sign Dunn to DH in AL games and pinch hit, he doesn't want to play first, he clearly can't play center, or probably even right. Looks to me like there's going to be a Willingham/Dukes/Kearns/Pena/Dunn deathmatch in spring training. And given that the is the NL and there's no DH, I'm not sure Dunn deserves much playing time in that group.

He might get it because he's 40-homer guy, but I don't think the Nats got a whole lot better.

The thing is, though, he's a much, much better hitter than any of those guys.

Anyone else waiting for Griffey to sign so Bowden can put together the entire Cincinnati Reds 2003 outfield (Dunn, Griffey, Kearns, Pena)?

[Frobby]

I think the Nats will be much better this year than people expect, a .500 record by the Nats wouldn't shock me.

They could be much better, because they suffered a ridiculous number of injuries last year that really made it hard for them to compete. I'd say they have almost no shot at .500, however.