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Now and for the next couple of years, the Washington Nationals will jabber constantly about the improvements in their farm system, the high value of elite draft picks and their obsession with developing their own young stars. Fans may want to scream in frustration.
We waited 33 years for a team. Now we have to wait Lord knows how long for Chris Marrero and Colton Willems, both still 18, and Zechry Zinicola -- as well as players whose names aren't even known yet -- to work their way up from the Vermont Lake Monsters to the Hagerstown Suns to the Harrisburg Senators? Each day we're supposed to exhume box scores off the Internet from Rookie, A and AA ball to see who may get called to AAA Columbus? For this we waited a third of a century?
Actually, yes.
If we waited this long, we can wait three more years. Because that's how long it'll take. But it better not be more. Circle April 2010 on your calendar. That's when we'll find out if the Nationals know how to rebuild the dilapidated Expos farm system.
It's also the time frame in which we'll know whether the Lerner organization grasps that, these days, a fine farm system is never enough. You can't trust your fate to guessing the future of a bunch of kids, no matter how smart your scouts are. Over the long haul, nothing beats a fine flow of talent -- except having Yankees or Red Sox money. But in the near term, as the Nationals make up for years of Expos neglect, they simply must buy their way back into playoff contention at the major league level. And they can.
At least one major free agent signing a year is essential if the Nationals intend to be one of the game's elite teams. Why be a rich team in a major market with a publicly financed $611 million park if you don't use your advantages to crush middle- and small-market teams? Unfair? Absolutely. That's what's so great about it. The Senators could never do it. The Nationals can -- and must.
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I always have and always will believe that an organization is only as good as its farm system and the scouts that stockpile the prospects in it. I am always one to say "Come on, let the kid play, give him a chance." I love to see the kids play and i think that when this talent for the Nationals surfaces they will be a force to be reckoned with.
The article is absolutely right though, you can't rely solely on the farm system. Although i don't believe in big dollar, star signings if it keeps one of those young talented kids out of the lineup. Imagine how different the Nationals would look if they had kept some of their homegrown talent and fan favorites if they had forked over some cash and hadn't traded some to keep them with the organization. Just to name a few: Grady Sizemore, Vladimir Guerrero, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Carl Pavano, and Cliff Lee, amongst others. That would make a damn good team alone, along with what they have now.
The Nationals aren't too far off. They are like the '03 Tigers, i think, not much now but come back again in 2010 and see how we're doing.
Homegrown Talent Is Essential, but Free Agent Field Also Deserves Attention
Homegrown Talent Is Essential, but Free Agent Field Also Deserves Attention
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