Would you get fired if you lost 3.4 million at your company?

There are rumors all over the place that Washington GM Mike Rizzo will be fired.

Fired two days after signing Stephen Strasburg you say? Yes, and here’s why.

Austin Kearns was put on waivers (sounds reasonable - he's been a collassal dissapointment for 8 million) and then claimed (hard to see why anyone would do that - perhaps they should be fired too - given that the team would have to pay his salary.)

But the Nationals didn't wait to find out if anyone claimed him and put him on the DL retroactive to August 4th which in effect, annulled the claim!

Rizzo, obviously concentrating on the Strasburg signing showed that multitasking was not his stregnth. They could have saved 3.4 million by just letting him go to the other team! DOH!

For a team scraping money off the floor to come up with 15 million to sign Stephen Strasburg, that was pretty inept.

Being inept at your job will tend to get you fired. - David Fry

David Fry is an independent sports photographer currently covering Major League Baseball. David will be reporting on observations as he sees them in MLB stadiums throughout the year.

Was Strasburg really signed in time?

Alright, hear me out on this one. So Stephen Strasburg was signed by the Washington Nationals at 11:58 and 43 seconds. So when I do my Peter math, they had 1 minute and 17 seconds to spare.

Strasburg gets a four-year contract covering 2009-12. The exact amount depends on prorating his $400,000 salary for this year, based on the date the contract is official. Nevertheless, the deal is worth $15.067 million. Good for the kid, god for the Nat’s and good luck to all.

But back to that time of agreement, exactly how does that work? Is it like the time of birth where the doctor or nurse looks at the clock and calls it? They do that with time of death too don’t they? You always see them on TV on the operating room working on some poor dude and then when they see it’s a lost cause someone says “call it” and they call out the time of death. But no one breaks it out to seconds.

I once got a traffic ticket for going 67mph in a 65 (was the end of the month – I think he was trying to make his quota.) I argued that my tires may not have been inflated properly and that caused the calibration to be off. The officer actually agreed with me and said that it was actually probably the case, but gave the ticket to me anyway because:

1) It was my fault that the tires weren’t inflated properly
2) He could

My point is leaving only 1 minute and 17 seconds is cutting it pretty close. What clock did they use? Did they use the digital stadium clock at Nationals Park? It’s a new stadium, new clock – gotta be close to accurate right (assuming it was set correct to begin with)? Did Scott Boras whip out his gold train conductor pocket watch and call it? Did Strasburg look down at his Micky Mouse watch his grandmother gave him and yell 11:58:17!

Unless they used the official time kept by the government I would think it would be worth it for the Pirates, Padres, Royals, Orioles, A’s or anyone else that might have a chance to have the opportunity to get him with the 1st pick in the draft next year (The Nat’s can’t take him again unless he agrees and they will defiantly have the worst record and 1st pick again next year) to file a grievance questioning the official time.

You know those people who keep their clock 5 minutes fast so they are not late? (Never understood that, if you know it is 5 minutes fast then you would just take your time because you know your early?) Maybe Washington Nationals GM Mike Rizzo is one of those who keeps his clock 5 minutes slow – (executives always think it’s fashionable to show up at press conferences late – it makes them feel important. Like they were involved in some intense negotiation that made them late.)

I would file a grievance. Make them prove it.

On a separate note - I understand that the French have banned nude beaches! I can't believe the French of all people have become tightwads. What's next, is Amsterdam going to ban drugs and prostitutes?- Peter Costa

Pete is a serious Rotisserie participant playing the same league with the same guys for 17 years. Not only has Peter never finished in the money; he’s finished last 13 times and no higher than 10th (in a league with 14 guys). Join us in following Peter’s trials, tribulations and frustrations, as he attempts to navigate his way out of the basement in 2009.

Offered 17 million plus incentives supassing 20 million, if Strasburg doesn't sign the Nat's might draft him again!

Ok, I’m not looking to make this Stephen Strasburg day today, but the reality of the situation is that it is.

The Washington Nationals have till midnight tonight to sign No. 1 overall pick Stephen Strasburg and it seems like anybody's guess whether the deal will get done or not.

With less than 11 hours to go here is where we stand; MASN the network that has the rights to the Nationals and Orioles games are reporting that Strasburg and his loveable agent, Scott Boras, have a contract in their hands worth $17 million with easily reached incentives that would take the contract to more than $20 million.

Never the less, I don’t know anyone who expects a deal to get done, if it gets done at all, until the 11th hour….. literally.

Here’s the best part – While Scott Boras has attempted to stick it to the Nat’s telling them that if they don’t increase the offer (or the years or whatever the greedy bastard wants) that he might ship his client off to Japan for big money for 1 year instead of playing in the Independent League (which isn’t much of a bargaining chip although J.D. Drew did it). MASN now reports that the Nat’s have now turned around and said that if he doesn’t sign, they will attempt to draft him again next year!

I love it……. I haven’t seen anyone stick it to Boras yet, it’s usually the other way around…. But that would be funny. (Not sure about the MASN reporting thought – I think there is a rule that says Strasburg would have to consent.) Makes for an interesting storyline though doesn’t it?

Can you imagine walking away from $17 million your 1st year out of college? Wow. - Mike Gross

Michael Gross, in conjunction with a prominent sports agency runs a strength, conditioning and agility program that many agents send their “to-be-drafted” athletes, prior to being drafted. Many pro athletes have also used the facilities for rehabilitation after injury. Over 90 professional athletes including current MLB ball players have attended his institution during the past 3 years.

Strasburg going to Japan?

Sources requesting anonymity because of the sensitivity of negotiations are reporting that if the Washington Nationals and Stephen Strasburg do not get a deal done by the deadline that agent Scott Boras will have Strasburg renter the draft in 2010. Apparently, Strasburg will not sign for the amount currently offered.

But that’s not the news – apparently, rather than play independent baseball for a year, Boras is considering sending Strasburg to Japan to play for a year.

Washington's current offer has been on the table since the team's ownership group, along with president Stan Kasten and acting general manager Mike Rizzo, traveled to California last week to meet with Strasburg.

This has turned out to be the ultimate game of chicken. The specific amount of the Nats' current offer to Strasburg remains unknown, but it exceeds the $10.5 million awarded to Chicago's Mark Prior in 2001, still the record for an amateur pitcher.

The Nat’s apparently have taken the position that they are going to offer him the richest contract ever, however that number is not negotiable and is a take it or leave it offer.

I don’t know how anyone turns down a sum of money of more than 10.5 million dollars for their first job out of college, but that’s where they are. Almost all involved, to this point, expect the negotiations to go down to the final hours, if not the final minutes. Strasburg has until midnight on Monday to sign with the Nationals.

Boras often gets blamed for these things but he’s just doing his job. If the player really wants to sign, he has the right to tell Boras to just take the deal. So if this deal doesn’t get done – Boras shouldn’t get blamed. The ball is in Strasburg’s court. Tick-Toc-Tick-Toc – Josh Bolan

Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

Who will blink first?

The Washington Nationals have until midnight, August 17th to sign right-hander Stephen Strasburg or lose the rights to him. That’s less than one week away.

President Stan Kasten and acting GM Mike Rizzo have said they won't negotiate through the media. They've done an excellent job of keeping any talks between the Nationals and Strasburg's advisor, Scott Boras, quite.

It's been written that Boras is seeking a deal in the neighborhood of $50 million for his client, but I don't think it will take that much to sign him. The question is, how much should the Nationals offer to Strasburg? $15 million, $20, $30?

I don't have the answer to that, but this much I do know, I don't think Washington should break the bank for the 21-year old.

Let me explain, the kid has never pitched a day in the big leagues or in pro ball for that matter. Yes he throws over 100-MPH and has a knee-buckling breaking ball, but does that mean he deserves more money than anyone has even gotten before stepping on a Major League field? I say no.

I know Mark Prior received around $10 million when he signed and Strasburg is an once-in-a-lifetime prospect, but that's all he is at this point, a prospect.
Pitchers, of all positions in baseball, have the hardest time living up to their potential. Anyone remember the name Brien Taylor?

What I'm trying to say is, Washington should offer him $20 million and not a dollar more. More or less a take it or leave it offer. If he signs, great, if not, move on.

Will there be backlash if the Nationals fail to sign him? Of course.

But they shouldn't mortgage the future to sign him. If Washington doesn't sign him, they will get the second overall pick in the 2010 draft.

It's going to be interesting to see who will blink first.

If you ran the Nationals, what would you do? I'm interested to hear what, you, the fan, think. – Josh Bolan

Josh Bolan is a retired AP baseball reporter and now works as a freelance writer in Fresno California. Josh has been contributing to baseball publications as a writer since 1996.

More on the F. U.

Whoa!........... Lots of questions about the F .U. I certainly wasn't expecting that. Why is it that all fathers of young boys now feel that they have to be Tim Lincecum’s father?

Firstly, we here at Around The Horn take no responsibility for success, failure or injury for anyone going out and attempting to show their kid the pitch. It's just a blog post. Aside from any strain it might put on the elbow, forearm, fingers or any part of the body, the pitch clearly isn’t appropriate for children or midgets. Logistically a small hand just wouldn’t be able to grip the ball that way!

I would suggest that if you didn’t think it was appropriate for your child to start throwing curveballs yet, this probably isn’t a good idea either. Which brings us to another point; On Sunday the NY Times ran an article “Studies Show That the Curveball Isn’t Too Stressful for Young Arms”.

Uh……… I-don’t-know- about-that. I’m not going to call the article irresponsible because I have my own views on the topic and that doesn’t necessarily make them right, but I tend to agree with Dr. Andrews. It would seem to me while each kid is different, 14 or so would be the absolute earliest I would let a child do it. In all honesty, if you could teach your kid spot his fast ball, throw both a 2 and 4 seamer, and throw a change-up – that’s the way to go.

As for the F. U. and all the questions about how it works - the picture in this post shows the grip from the other side. You can clearly see how the index finger and ring finger pull down on the seams (like a split finger) countering the natural rotation of the middle finger. If you are going to show your kid the pitch, just a suggestion - Change the name so you don't sound like you have Tourette syndrome everytime you go out and have a catch.……………….. I’m sure you can come up with something. I’m sure the networks will. I doubt you are going to hear Ron Darling say that that Strasburg struck out David Wright with a 3-2 F. U. - Mike Gross

Michael Gross, in conjunction with a prominent sports agency runs a strength, conditioning and agility program that many agents send their “to-be-drafted” athletes, prior to being drafted. Many pro athletes have also used the facilities for rehabilitation after injury. Over 90 professional athletes including current MLB ball players have attended his institution during the past 3 years.

The F.U. - the next great pitch in baseball….

We’ve gone through different periods in baseball where certain pitches were popular and dominant.

There’s always been the fast-ball; they throw it 2-seam, 4 seam, no-seam. Then there’s the curve ball. They have the sinker, the slider, the slurve, the fork-ball, the split-finger, the knuckle-ball, the change-up. And off those they have endless variations combinations and permutations of each pitch depending on arm angles, finger pressure and leverage on the seams.

Remember when Bruce Sutter perfected and started throwing his devastating split-finger? You knew it was coming but you couldn’t do anything about it. You knew he was going to throw it, the umpire knew he was going to throw it, everyone watching knew he was going to throw it, the announcer said he was going to throw it, the batter knew he was going to throw it – but they couldn’t hit it anyway. For those of you who aren’t old enough to remember, the closest analogy I can give you is that it’s kind of like everyone knows Mariano Rivera is going to throw the cutter, but they still can’t get the sweet spot on it when they swing.

Well now we have the newest pitch. Thanks to modern science techniques used in laboratories and wind tunnels and tested on ball fields in actual game situations, kids in high schools and colleges all across this country will soon be throwing the hottest pitch to come along since the game was invented.

The pitch is known as the F. U. (Self explanatory – see photo)

Rumor has it that Stephen Strasburg the 1st overall pick in the 2009 MLB draft has perfected it …… (see success.)

When thrown properly the F. U. comes with the same arm action and speed of the fast ball, but the action of the knuckle-ball. Just imagine standing in the batter’s box and trying to hit a Nolan Ryan fast ball that is moving like a Tim Wakefield knuckle-ball.

The best way to describe how this happens is that only one finger resides on the top of the ball (less friction – more speed) so the ball comes out hot, but the index finger and the ring finger pull down on the 2 seams providing an unstable rotation countering the natural back rotation from the middle finger. The best way to describe the action it is a fast ball with knuckle-ball action.

The grip is unique to any other pitch and to date the MLB community has been hesitant to embrace it as it undoubtedly will come with an entire new group of injuries and side effects.

"If you could invest in Dr. Andrews practice, I would say that now is a good time”

said one MLB scout on the condition of anonimity.

Additionally as hard as the pitch is to hit, the pitch appears to be equally hard to catch. That’s a problem.

I can tell you this. If Strasburg has success with it and stays healthy, you will start to see F. U. specialists on every MLB team, MiLB team and in colleges and high schools across America. Basically, if the player big enough to grip it, he’s gonna try to throw it. - Mike Gross

Michael Gross, in conjunction with a prominent sports agency runs a strength, conditioning and agility program that many agents send their “to-be-drafted” athletes, prior to being drafted. Many pro athletes have also used the facilities for rehabilitation after injury. Over 90 professional athletes including current MLB ball players have attended his institution during the past 3 years.

The Washington Nationals are a "rudderless" organization

The Washington Nationals have roughly 24 days remaining to sign Stephen Strasburg, the pitcher they selected first overall in the June draft. As negotiations intensify in the coming weeks, the team's efforts to sign the high-profile pitcher could be undermined by several high-profile questions about the team's leadership.

Since March, the Nationals have been operating without a permanent general manager; since the all-star break, they've been operating with an interim manager. In recent weeks, those in the Strasburg camp have expressed concern to Washington's managing principal owner, Ted Lerner, about what the Strasburgh camp has called a "rudderless" organization.

Washington's system of interim leadership is a point of particular worry for Strasburg, particularly because the right-hander's development will be entrusted to a yet-undetermined pitching philosophy.

Since Jim Bowden resigned, Mike Rizzo has been running the Nationals' major league operations as the acting general manager.

Asked on Friday about the timetable for selecting a permanent general manager, president Stan Kasten said, "You know I'm not talking about any aspect of that search."

If Strasburg and his advisor, Scott Boras, are uneasy about the Nationals' direction, they have limited recourse. If a deal does not get done by the Aug. 17 deadline, Strasburg -- in the most conventional scenario -- can play a year of independent ball and reenter the draft in 2010. Though the Nationals will again have the No. 1 pick, Strasburg can deny permission for them to re-draft him.

If the Nationals fail to sign Strasburg, they would also receive a 2010 a compensatory pick -- "1B," if you will. But Strasburg, after missing the Nationals, could be selected by the next team, potentially the San Diego Padres, who have the second-worst record in baseball right now. Strasburg was raised in San Diego and attended San Diego State. - Robert Fairchild

Robert Fairchild is a professional sports gaming professional. He legally wages on professional and collegiate sporting events for a living. Robert is NOT suggesting that you quit your day job and try to wager on sports for a living. He is contributing his thoughts and experience to assist you in a recreational activity that you as an informed adult may choose to take part in. Robert will NOT give specific wagering advice on any particular proposition in this forum.

It's time to $hit or get off the pot

Just when you think the season couldn’t get much worse for the Washington Nationals, their fans (those left) will wake up today and realize there are only four weeks left to d-day. That’s right, the Nationals front office, which has apparently not even made contact with Stephen Strasburg’s high-profile agent Scott Boras, has only four weeks to complete a deal or risk failing to sign their number one draft pick for the second consecutive year. One creative blogger has even created a site where Nats fans can watch the countdown and torment themselves.

One can argue that the Nationals would be crazy to give in to Strasburg’s unprecedented contract demands (he is reportedly demanding a $50 million guarantee), but the Nats knew his demands before drafting him. They also knew that he was linked up with the combative Boras before they chose him. In June, Washington Post columnist Michael Wilbon made a convincing argument against picking Strasburg #1 and observed the numerous first round failures from the MLB draft. He claimed a Strasburg pick would be an insane gamble especially given the Nats had a laundry list of needs. Nonetheless, the time to debate whether or not the Nationals should have drafted Strasburg is over.

Right or wrong, the team has made the gamble and now needs to seal the deal. Failure to sign the 6′4 righty could be the end of the line for a fan-base short on patience. No one in DC expects the Nationals to be making a run at the playoffs any time soon but the squad seems to be heading in the wrong direction.

Washington is in the midst of one of the worst seasons in MLB history and their new post-All Star break Manager does not yet have a victory. Meanwhile, despite the talk that the front office is building a solid farm system, there are few indications their minor league system has made the great strides they claim to have made. Out of Baseball America’s top 100 Minor League prospects, the Nationals don’t have a single prospect in the top 20 and only 1 in the top 50 (RHP Jordan Zimmerman).

Maybe the gamble will pay off. While it was not the Bigs, a 1.57 ERA, 133 KOs in 97 innings, and a 100+ MPH fastball is impressive at any level of serious baseball. Strasburg will certainly get some fans out to the DC ballpark if he shows up some time next year (or even this fall) but more importantly, signing the prospect will show fans a real commitment to building a team that competes in the future. Right now, it just looks like empty promises. – James Morrison

Jim (no relation to the dead Door’s guy) is a self proclaimed rotisserie expert. Jim has been participating in an serious Ultra-Rotisserie league (you can protect some minor leaguers too) at $2,600 per team instead of $260 (similar to Ultimate Franchise Baseball ™) for the past 17 years and has finished in the money 14 times with 8 First place finishes and over $260,000 in total winnings over the 17 year period. While the world is full of institutions and people that come with disclaimers on how past performance is no guarantee of future results, Jim is brazen enough to claim that it will be in your best interest to follow his advice going forward. He’ll write it, we’ll publish it and we shall see………