The Baltimore Orioles

[Got Haggis?]

i bought partial season tickets this year, so will be at both opening day and opening night

[Frank Gallagher]

So where do the Washington Nationalists call home at the moment?

[sonickteam2]

hey hoya,
 
 quit talking about the Nationals in the Orioles thread, douchebag!

[shemptiness]

<img src="http://www.hardballtimes.com/images/uploads/Orioles2.gif" alt=" - " />

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
  So where do the Washington Nationalists call home at the moment?

mankie: washington, DC  
 
 (specifically, RFK stadium... until next year, when the new stadium should be completed, in anacostia)

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by le sonick:
  hey hoya,
 
 quit talking about the Nationals in the Orioles thread, douchebag!

i didn't start it!  d-bag!

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
 I know the Nats have some young players coming but it takes years of sucking to get a top notch stable of young players (see tampa bay and milwaukee, ignore the pirates)

an interesting take on the future of the nats

[Frank Gallagher]

Originally posted by sweetcell:
   

Originally posted by Roadbike Mankie:
  So where do the Washington Nationalists call home at the moment?

mankie: washington, DC    
 
 (specifically, RFK stadium... until next year, when the new stadium should be completed, in anacostia) [/b]

Who paid for the new stadium...and were they the Expos that relocated.
 
 BTW...did I see this on the t-shirt thread or on a bumber sticker down here.
 
 "CANADA....LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM, ONLY WITHOUT ALL THE VIOLENCE"
 
 I like it!

[ratioci nation]

Originally posted by Hoya Paranoia:
  an interesting take on the future of the nats

ALOT has to go right for it to happen the way he says it could, and he never says where all the money is coming from, new stadium isnt always the revenue maker people expect, have the owners committed to spending lots?  and he sure is reading a lot in to spring stats, people have been waiting for chris snelling to be a big league hitter for years

[mattedling]

just because a team gets a new stadium, doesn't mean the team is going to be rolling in money and able to go out and compete for high level free agents.  If it were then why has it taken the Brewers nearly 10 years to build a team with a chance to compete.  Or even Pittsburgh, PNC Park opened in 2001 and they haven't had a competitive team in a long time.  And with the crazy amount of money floating around in MLB with the revenue sharing and licensing from the DirectTV Deals, the Steinbrenners, and the wanna be Steinbrenners are gonna be throwing even more ridiculous sums of cash at people.  The only way for the Nats to compete is going follow the method of the A's and Twins and develop a good farm system, which requires a tremendous amount of luck, smart management decisions, and good coaching.  They need to develop a good core group of young players and then be willing to trade those players to the Yankees, Red Sox, and the other teams who still think free agency is the way to build a team.  I wouldn't look for the Nats to be competitive for at least 6-7 years.

[Venerable Bede]

Originally posted by med:
  just because a team gets a new stadium, doesn't mean the team is going to be rolling in money and able to go out and compete for high level free agents.  If it were then why has it taken the Brewers nearly 10 years to build a team with a chance to compete.  Or even Pittsburgh, PNC Park opened in 2001 and they haven't had a competitive team in a long time.  

it helps to have a competent GM.  this is melvin's 5th year as GM for the brewers, and they have been getting better each year, even if the record doesn't quite reflect it.  can't say the same for what the pirates have put upon the good citizens of pittsburgh though.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
  ALOT has to go right for it to happen the way he says it could,

i agree completely
 
 

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
  and he never says where all the money is coming from, new stadium isnt always the revenue maker people expect, have the owners committed to spending lots?  

boswell is one of the best baseball writers in the country, i assume he's done his homework on the nats' long-term spending plans
 
 

Originally posted by pdx pollard:
  and he sure is reading a lot in to spring stats, people have been waiting for chris snelling to be a big league hitter for years

agreed, the picture he paints is certainly a best-case scenario ... the tidbit about this season that i found most interesting, however, was the vegas prediction:  i'm a firm proponent of philosophy that vegas sportsbook futures sheets are fantastic predictors ... those handicappers really know what they're doing, and while the lines on many individual games are set to encourage equal action on both sides, futures odds do a great job of picking up on trends that many pass over, especially for teams that lack a large fan base who will always put money on them to win the championship ever year and are therefore get overrated odds (red wings, cowboys, yankees, etc)

[vansmack]

Originally posted by Venerable Bede:
  it helps to have a competent GM...can't say the same for what the pirates have put upon the good citizens of pittsburgh though.

I would do Littlefield's job for free, and win more games - I GUARANTEE IT!

[HoyaSaxa03]

Originally posted by med:
  just because a team gets a new stadium, doesn't mean the team is going to be rolling in money and able to go out and compete for high level free agents.  If it were then why has it taken the Brewers nearly 10 years to build a team with a chance to compete.  Or even Pittsburgh, PNC Park opened in 2001 and they haven't had a competitive team in a long time

wow, where do i start with this ... did Boswell ever imply that the only reason the nats will be spending more money is because of the new stadium?  are you really trying to compare the Washington, DC area and the Nationals to the Milwaukee Brewers and the Pittsburgh Pirates??
 
 

Originally posted by med:
  The only way for the Nats to compete is going follow the method of the A's and Twins and develop a good farm system, which requires a tremendous amount of luck, smart management decisions, and good coaching.  They need to develop a good core group of young players and then be willing to trade those players to the Yankees, Red Sox, and the other teams who still think free agency is the way to build a team.  

what?!?  this may be a strong way for a small-to-mid market team like the Brewers, Pirates, A's, or Twins to compete in this league, but the Nats leadership have indicated that their spending will be on par with the Cubs, Braves, and Mets ... so why the hell is emulating a small-market team "the only way for them to compete," when they have money to burn ??
 
 

Originally posted by med:
  I wouldn't look for the Nats to be competitive for at least 6-7 years.

i don't have a crystal ball, but i think i'll take boswell's word over your finely-honed analysis, it really seems like you're on top of things here

[vansmack]

The only real problem with Boswell's analysis, from my perspective, is that he is overvaluing the Nats draft positions.
 
 Their farm system is extremely light of big league talent, at last viewing I think they were in the high low 20's in farm systems.  To think that they can draft their way into a contender in one season is a little shortsighted.
 
 It takes more than money to buy high priced free agents to be a contender (something the cubs have never learned).  It takes a good mix of young talent and free agents, and I think the young talent for the Nats is not going to be their in 1-3 years - especially in the pitching department.