Keeping up with the Nationals as Opening Day Approaches

With Opening Day about two weeks away, I thought now was a good time to cover a few stories that are important but haven't had time to work into a full column.

Steven Strasburg

Wow.

After dominating all of college baseball last year, he's gotten even better in 2009. In 34 innings, Strasburg has struck out 74 while walking just seven and has a 1.54 ERA.

ESPN's Peter Gammons reported on Saturday that Strasburg's agent Scott Boras may ask for as much as six years/$50 million, while Buster Olney reported that Strasburg may double the highest bonus ever paid for a top prospect and receive as much as $20 million just to sign his contract.

Let me be clear about this: acting general manager Mike Rizzo and team president Stan Kasten need to sit down with Boras on draft day with the Lerners' checkbook open and pen poised and simply say, "How much?"

No matter what happens, the Nationals will overpay for the 22-year-old, who is still months away from throwing his first professional pitch. Whatever he ends up getting, he's not worth it.

But they have to sign him for a couple of reasons. First, after not signing last year's first round pick, Aaron Crow, the team would be eviscerated if they lose Strasburg. I don't believe a team has ever not signed their top pick two seasons in a row.

Second, Strasburg is a very special pitcher who is as close to a can't-miss prospect as was ever created. Buster Olney said that a senior major league scout recently told him that Strasburg is the best amateur pitcher ever.

Olney called him the "LeBron James of baseball." He's saying that the stadium will fill with peripheral baseball fans every time he pitches. That means that he will (almost) earn every penny of that bonus.

If Strasburg was asking for all that money from the Nationals and the Nationals were a real 59-win team, that is, a team that was devoid of talent instead of leading the major leagues in lost player days due to injury, I'd say no, don't draft him. He's not worth it.

But the Nationals are a young and maturing team. Signing Strasburg might be that final piece of the puzzle that transforms a pretender into a contender.

And quickly.

Nick Johnson

I still don't understand why Manny Acta and Mike Rizzo think that having Nick Johnson at first in 2009 will make them a much better team.

Granted, Nick has shown that he is a very solid first baseman, but the only thing he does extraordinarily well is get on base.

His power numbers, especially his home runs, are sub par. Johnson's career high is just 23, and he's averaged just 21 in a 162-game season.

And while his defense has been very good, he committed 15 errors in his last full season (2006), and his .988 fielding percentage was a full eight points below the league average.

And don't forget that he's been available for just under 54 percent of his team's games since he joined the Yankees in 2001.

And don't forget that he's in the last year of a four-year contract, and regardless of how well he might do in 2009, there is no way that the Nationals are going to re-sign him given his history.

And don't forget that Johnson batted just .220 last year and is currently at .182 (6-of-33) with a .341 on-base percentage. Eventually, all those missed at-bats are going to take a permanent toll. Maybe we're beginning to see that now.

And Josh Willingham, the man who would be pushed to the bench if Johnson plays first, is beginning to warm up with the bat. Willingham, a notoriously slow starter, began the spring hitting 1-for-18, but since has gone .500 (6-for-12), with two homers, and has a fine .378 OBP.

The only way any of this makes sense is that it is all a ruse. The Nationals have no desire to keep Johnson, and are trying to increase his value by telling anyone who will listen that he is their first baseman, period.

I hope so. Josh Willingham is capable of hitting .260-25-85 and playing solid defense. He needs to be the team's left fielder.

Alex Cintron

Cintron, signed to a minor league contract last winter, is playing well this spring, batting .320 with an .887 OPS. And the 31-year-old has hit nearly that well throughout his career.

Cintron batted .286 for the Orioles last season and has a career .277 batting average. In 2003, he hit .317-13-51 for the Diamondbacks. That year, he made just eight errors at short.

He seems to be a Royce Clayton but with a little more pop in his bat. Why isn't he getting any love?

Other Notes

Ryan Zimmerman still hasn't hit a homer this spring. Two years ago, he hit eight. I hope his shoulder is sound.

Jordan Zimmermann finally gave up a run this spring, giving up five on Saturday. His ERA went from 0.00 to 3.14. Don't worry. It had to happen sooner or later, and besides, Zimmermann was still very ill; he was sent home Friday after barfing all over the clubhouse.