More cuts! Now, only 42 players (The Wash. Times) get to call themselves Washington Nationals.
Pitchers Emiliano Fruto, Beltran Perez and Chris Schroder were optioned to Columbus of the Triple-A International League. In addition, pitchers Colby Lewis, Winston Abreu and Arnie Munoz, catchers Brandon Harper and Danny Ardoin and outfielder Jose Macias were reassigned to minor-league camp.
Source: Florida Today.
There are unconfirmed reports of Harper saying, “so long and thanks for all the fish” on his way out.
Yesterday’s game with Cleveland in Winter Haven was rained out (The Post), disappointing one of the Metrobloggers. P Jerome Williams was scheduled to start (The Wash. Times) yesterday, but gets the call today instead.
It turns out that $42 million earned in baseball (The Post) was not the answer to life the universe and everything for Dimitri Young. Right now, Young is just happy to be in minor league camp. Manager Manny Acta expects Young in the big league camp soon, while Young goes even farther and expects to be the starting first basemen. Former Tigers players and officials are not real high on him:
Tigers left fielder Craig Monroe declined to answer a question about Young on Thursday, and another Tigers player interjected, “I think what [Monroe] is saying is, ‘If you don’t have anything good to say about someone, don’t say anything.’ “
One Tigers official, informed that the Nationals plan to play Young at first, said, “Believe me, they don’t want to do that.” Young’s last appearance there for the Tigers ended disastrously, with Young making three errors in a game July 31 at Tampa Bay. After that, Young would play only 23 more games for the Tigers — all of them as DH.
Detroit manager Jim Leyland was more positive:
He was no problem for me. I got along great with him. He just wasn’t there. We were counting on that bat. . . . I hope he gets himself straightened out, because he’s a good guy.
The ballpark is under the cost cap (The Wash. Times) so far. David Catania (I,At-Large) is still finding something to complain about though.
Acta spoke at Viera High yesterday (Florida Today).
Thomas Boswell of The Post notes that Bowie Kuhn endorsed Ted Lerner’s bid for the Nationals.
Deadspin really dropped the ball on their Nats preview. I’ll second (more like twenty-second) that call that Chris Needham would have been appropriate.