His uni won't change much from this photo
No. Shit. I’m stunned.
Not overly happy, mind you [he's no Mark Texiera], but that the Nats actually out-bid ANY team for the services of ANY MLB-quality free agent is just… well… shocking.
Wow.
And looks like Lastings will have to find a new uni #. Heh.
This also bodes really poorly for the future/health of both Nick Johnson and “Steak Grows On” Dmitri Young.
February 11th, 2009
I only find it mildly surprising since Dunn was another of the Bowden Reds… Court is still out on the other Reds we’ve acquired.
My bigger question is can the Nats create any market for Dmitri or Nick or is one heading for a DFA.
February 12th, 2009
The best thing about this signing is that the Red Sox are no longer tempted to sign him.
February 13th, 2009
Yano, that’s a really pessimistic thing to say. No, Dunn really doesn’t make a lot of sense for Boston when you have Bay/Youkilis at LF and 1B. But it’s quite a dig at the Nats. While the Nats aren’t your #1 team, you’re still a fan, and while he’s no Teixeira, he’s by far the Nats’ biggest (literally and figuratively) free agent acquisition ever, and the most important since Soriano – and perhaps more important, since he’ll be here for at least 2 seasons. The more I think about it, the bigger deal Dunn’s signing is – or could be – for the Nats. Even with a .240 avg, his 40 HRs, .900 OPS and 100 BB/H/RBI don’t come around all that frequently. Boston doesn’t even have a guy like that, unless Oritiz is healthy [and i don't really think one can compare an AL DH to an NL player, but that's besides the point].
While I didn’t want Dunn over Tex, the fact that the Nats actually went out and got a major power-hitting bat is quite an accomplishment, I think. Especially for a 100-loss team that’s EXTREMELY young. Dunn is by far their most threatening bat, and stabilizes and improves their lineup significantly and immediately. Presuming better health out of their other key bats who all missed significant time in 08: Nick Johnson, Ryan Zimmerman and Elijah Dukes, their regular lineup instantly becomes more-than-respectable with Dunn’s addition:
1B – Johnson (L)
2B – Hernandez/Belliard/Harris (S/R/L)
SS – Guzman (S)
3B – Zimmy (R)
LF – Dunn (L)
CF – Milledge (R)
RF – Dukes (R)
C – Flores (R)
Bench – Willingham, Belliard/Harris, Kearns?
That’s a potentially VERY good-hitting lineup. Pitching is still young/raw/questionable, but that lineup should be able to hang in most games