Everybody say hello to third baseman Vinny Castilla and shortstop Christian Guzman, the first two free agent acquisitions of Washington's new National League baseball team.
Will they be Grays, Nationals, or Senators? Time will tell.
UPDATE: Local reaction is pretty negative, with Distinguished Senators sounding pretty livid, Capitol Punishment ready to throw a clot and Washington Baseball crossing his fingers. The most "positive" reaction comes from Ball Wonk who has some serious reservations about Mr. Guzman.
As for me, the thought of acquiring any hitter just one season after he's been moved out of a launching pad like Coors Field seems fraught with risk.
ANOTHER UPDATE: David Pinto gives a qualified OK to Guzman, and a decided thumbs down on Castilla (no surprise). Here's Aaron Gleeman:
The Expos just committed to two years of a 37-year-old third baseman who has hit a combined .247/.291/.423 away from Coors Field over the past three seasons, and he looks like Barry Bonds compared to the other guy they signed. Guzman has hit .272/.303/.379 over the last three years, including an absolutely miserable .259/.281/.351 away from the Metrodome and its turf. And for that -- for two guys who will struggle to get on base even 30% of the time -- the Expos have paid $23 million and given up multiple draft picks.
Looking on the bright side, maybe the new owners, whoever they may be, might give Expos GM Jim Bowden the heave-ho once they take over.
Great. You got a team and they go out and sign a bunch of crap. Granted that Castilla is an upgrade over Tony Batista, but his numbers will deflate without the Coors boost.
Actually, the Post will tell – Nationals is all but a done deal.
The Nationals? Congrats, MLB, you appear to have picked the one name even less exciting than Grays (and I was starting to warm up to that… at least it has some respectable history behind it).
But I’ll be buying a hat anyway, and probably a weekend ticket package once they release that info (especially given all the money I’m saving not going to Caps games or buying NHL Center Ice). I guess that makes me a sucker after all.
I like Grays much better than Nationals. Simply because it makes me think of the Homestead Grays.