Come To Think Of It: Nats GM Jim Bowden Under Investigation By Feds

"I never had sex with that girl."
- Bill Clinton

"I am not a crook."
- Richard Nixon

"I'm innocent of any wrongdoing."
- Jim Bowden

SI.com's Melissa Segura:is reporting that Washington Nationals General Manager is under federal investigation into the skimming of signing bonuses for Latin American baseball prospects.

What he actually should be investigated for is, why does he continue to generally manage the Nationals?

Not necessarily because of this controversy, but just because he is bad. He was bad as the Reds GM, and he continues to be bad as the Nats GM.

Look, it is no crime to be bad. But it is a crime if he is found implicit in this scandal. His special assistant, Jose Rijo, is already on leave from the team. And, former White Sox senior director of player personnel David Wilder, has already been dismissed for allegedly pocketing money earmarked for player signing bonuses.

This quote is from MLB.com:

"I'm innocent of any wrongdoing. Besides that, I don't have any comment," said Bowden who is answering only baseball questions at the direction of team president Stan Kasten.

Baseball questions? If I'm Kasten, that would be the first place I'd muzzle the man.

For one thing, the Nationals’ farm system was recently ranked by ESPN Insider Keith Law as 29th in Major League Baseball.

And Bowden is not the kind of GM you want to hire if player development is your goal. Bowden has a history of trading away young talent for overpriced and washed up  veterans.

His teams have had seven consecutive losing seasons.

And for someone with a scouting background, Bowden has a poor track record in the draft.

Bowden has not embraced the newer, more advanced statistical analysis and metrics. His vision seems to be to try and win 70 games each year.

He also does not have many positive relationships among his baseball brethren. He has been accused of unethical negotiating tactics and a having a big ego.

As critical as I sometimes can be with regard to Cubs GM Jim Hendry, I am sure glad we have him and not Bowden leading our club. Cubs fans should count their blessings that, unlike Bowden, Hendry can indeed learn.

For example, he finally found out how important on-base percentage (OBP) is to a major league offense last year, and look what happened? We won 97 games, in no small part due to an offense that was tied for second in all of baseball in OBP (.354). Only Boston did better, and they had a pretty nice year, too.

So the feds are investigating Bowden? Nats fans are hoping this is the last straw that finally ends his reign of terror in Washington.

They ought to be investigating what compromising pictures Bowden must have of Nats President Stan Kasten, come to think of it.