Major League Baseball

Washington Post staff writer Dave Sheinin was online Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 1 p.m. ET to talk about the latest baseball news.

The transcript follows .

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Dave Sheinin: Hi everyone. Thanks for stopping by our chat. Let's do it...

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Bowie, Md.: It's almost 1:00pm, and it seems like the DC Council hasn't gotten around to the Stadium issue yet. Can we expect them to vote on this lease today?

Dave Sheinin: I'm told the vote is probably going to occur today, but probably not until much later.

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Alexandria, Va.: Dave, who are your picks for surprise teams in each league? I like the Rangers in the AL and the Brewers in the NL.

Dave Sheinin: I like both of those picks. I think the NL Central, in particular, is conducive to "surprise" teams, and I like what the Pirates have done this winter. They could be a lot better in '06.

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Washington, D.C.: If the Council refuses to approve the lease, the case goes to Arbitration, and MLB decides to move the Nats, what is the most likely City they would choose? Is there a viable stadium funding plan in any other City?

Dave Sheinin: Well, this is where the city has most of its leverage. There simply is not another market out there that is anywhere near as desirable as DC. I find it interesting, however, that MLB has blocked the Florida Marlins from having further discussions with Las Vegas about relocating there. The Miami papers attribute that to MLB's queasiness over the gambling issue. But I wonder if it has more to do with MLB wanting to keep Las Vegas open just in case.

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Rosslyn, Va.: Well it's been at least 48 hours and Jim Bowden hasn't signed another 2B/SS. What middle infielders should be expect him to sign next?

Dave Sheinin: I hear Mario Mendoza is available.

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Foggy Bottom Says No Slow Death: Dear Mr. Sheinin,

Can we take a moment and picture being a Washingtonian at RFK when the Orioles come to play at RFK this June...after the council votes baseball down?

It's going to be an awful experience, as fans from Baltimore mock DC's inability to honor the deal they approved in 2005. Baltimore could build beautiful stadiums in their city for football and baseball, but DC could not.

The Nats games at Camden Yards will be fun, too, as we get jeered for losing our team, and go from Inaugural Season to Farewell season, and experience the slow death of baseball in Washington.

DC will be an American laughingstock, and every home and away game will renew the mockery.

Matt in Foggy Bottom

Dave Sheinin: Whoa, Matt... I think your pessimism is a little premature. I still think this deal is going to get done.

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Washington, D.C.: I see that the Nats have Brian Lawrence projected as the #4 starter. Does this mean that (lack of) Arm-as is penciled as the #3? I need to know before I renew my season tickets!

Dave Sheinin: I'm not sure where you saw Lawrence projected as No. 3. Although this will all become clearer next week when folks start reporting to Viera, at this point I'm assuming spots 3-5 are open.

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Washington, D.C.: Has MLB commented upon the council's desire to impose an additional cap provision?

Dave Sheinin: No, MLB CEO Bob DuPuy's name has been conspicuously absent from the latest round of stories. I think MLB is waiting to see what is going to happen before they start taking a firm stance.

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Castleton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: With all of the political red tape, what does your gut instinct combined with your research for your reports tell you about an estimated sale date for the Nationals? How about who the owner will be?

Dave Sheinin: I think the ownership issue will be settled within a week or so of the lease agreement.

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Bethesda, Md.: Is any team interested in acquiring Alfonso Soriano for a decent pitcher? Or is there some reason to think he will actually cooperate and play the outfield for the Nats?

Dave Sheinin: Well, this is THE topic of spring training. No one knows exactly how this will play out. I think the Nationals are not going to do anything with Soriano until Frank Robinson gets a chance to sit down with him and get a sense of how adamant he is about refusing to move to left field. But I still think, in the end, either Vidro or Soriano will be traded before the end of the spring.

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Washington, D.C.: Did you catch Wilkerson sounding off to the Gainesville Sun last week (1/31/06): "I still don't know what to expect. But the way they have treated me so far, there's a big difference in the organizations. They're committed to winning. They've got some great hitters behind me."

Do you think Wilkerson's view that the organization is not committed to winning is common in the Nationals' offseason "clubhouse"?

Dave Sheinin: I had not seen that quote, so thanks for pointing it out. And yes, I think there is a general feeling in the clubhouse -- and rightly so -- that the Nationals franchise can never be fully committed to winning until it has real ownership in place.

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Adams Morgan, Washington, D.C.: Am I the only one who can't figure out how Tony Armas was dismissed all season as being an expensive flop and then got re-signed as a probable starter? Was this something that was inevitable following the loss of Loaiza and Currasco and no funds to shop for stronger arms? Nothing against the guy, but it seems to me that the only Nat who received more criticism last year was Guzman.

Thanks!

Dave Sheinin: I think the Nationals in general, and Frank Robinson in particular, still believe in Armas based on what they saw in the summer of '04, when he had a stretch of dominant starts -- and which, they hope, was the result of his being healthy. Me? I'm not sure he'll ever be that good again.

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Arlington, Va.: Are there any Nats playing in the WBC this spring?

And is anyone handicapping who the potential big name defect will be from Cuba this time around? It seems anytime they get on U.S. soil someone comes over...

Dave Sheinin: There are several Nationals players on the 60-man rosters of various teams, but that doesn't mean all of them will make the final 30-man teams. Forgive me if I leave anyone out, but I believe the Nats are represented at this point by Brian Schneider, Chad Cordero and Gary Majewski (USA), Luis Ayala (Mexico), Jose Vidro (Puerto Rico) and Jose Guillen and ALfonso Soriano (Dominican Republic). And yes, many observers expect there will be at least one defection among the Cuban team.

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Arlington, Va.: Dave,

Am I the only person who thinks that Jose Vidro should be given every opportunity to prove he's healthy before Nats nation throws him under the bus?

Yes, the Nats had a losing record with him in the lineup last season, but it's not fair to pin the blame squarely on him.

Vidro's career averages (per season) are a .302 BA, .364 OBP, 86 runs scored, 42 doubles, 17 HRs, 77 RBIs and 10 errors at 2B.

He was an All-Star in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

When Vidro was hurt in 2004 (when he played in only 110 games and had only 412 at-bats), his numbers dropped to a .294 BA, .367 OBP, 51 runs, 24 doubles, 14 HRs, 60 RBIs and 6 errors.

We're all writing him off based on a little more than a year of injuries and not giving him the due he deserves.

If I were in Bowden's shoes, I would go to Viera with the intention of having Vidro be the starting 2B on Opening Day and for Soriano to either play in the OF or be trade bait for, at the very least, a solid #3 starting pitcher.

Dave Sheinin: Arlington, this is a perfectly reasonable post. You're right on all counts. The problem, in my opinion, is that the Nats acquired Soriano ASSUMING he would amenable to a move to the OF. Jim Bowden even waved off pointed questions about the issue, essentially saying, "Players change positions all the time. It won't be an issue." Well, as it turned out, it IS an issue. And if both players are healthy, I don't think there is room for them both. That's why I say I think the end result will be Soriano being traded. However -- and this is a big point -- the Nationals see his value as being high enough to warrant a No. 1 or No. 2 starter, which is a big reason why he hasn't been traded already.

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Baltimore, Md.: Hey Dave: I just wanted to chime in with my thoughts about the World Baseball Classic. I think it is stupid. I think it is illegitimate if pitchers operate under absurdly low pitch counts. I think it also serves to devalue the regular season, the anticipation of opening day, the time-honored rites of spring that only baseball can provide, and constitutes overreaching on the part of Bud, who has been bouyed over the years by the success of expanded playoffs, and the initial, but withering novelty of interleague play. This, from a Milwaukee boy who has always liked Bud. Also, I think interest on the part of the public is negligible, and so, a likely result is a tournament that no on cares about and injuries to star players that season ticket holders and GMs will (rightfully) scream about.

(At this point, I am now supposed to ask "your thoughts?" to make this seem like a question, while in reality I want you to tell me and the world how insightful I am).

Dave Sheinin: Wow, Baltimore... You are so insightful. The only thing I'll add is this: If this tournament is a bust in the U.S. (which is a real possibility, given that it will be going head-to-head with March Madness), MLB won't spend a lot of time crying about it. The real goal with the WBC is to grow the game internationally -- which is code for "making gobs and gobs of money from the largely untapped international markets."

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Arlington, Va.: Have you asked the club whether they will move the fences this year at all?

Dave Sheinin: We haven't asked that question in a long time, but the last time it was asked the answer was no. I will ask it again soon, however.

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Springfield, Va.: At this point, to you think that MLB wishes it had moved the team to No. Virginia instead of DC? It might have saved a lot of people a lot of headaches (yes, I know the traffic issue would have been a mess).

Dave Sheinin: I think MLB preferred Northern Virginia all along -- they would not have been forced to cut Peter Angelos such a sweetheart deal, for one thing.

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HYATTSVILLE, Md.: Are the Orioles in the cellar in the AL east?

Dave Sheinin: Ah... Our first Orioles question, and it only took 38 minutes into our chat...

Personally, I think the Orioles will be a little better than most people think. The losses of Palmeiro, Sosa and Ponson are a case of addition by subtraction, and I think Ramon Hernandez was an excellent (though overpriced) signing. Teams that stay the course with young pitching are usually rewarded in the end, and I think Daniel Cabrera or Erik Bedard -- or both -- could have a breakthrough year.

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Metro Center: I don't get the problem here with Vidro vs. Soriano. In case anyone bothered to look up the numbers, Soriano's stats away from his homefield in Texas are TERRIBLE: 326 AB (15 more than he had at home), 11 HR, 42 R, 31 RBI, 74 K's (!), .224 BA, .265 OBP (!), .639 OPS. Some of his stats at home: 25 HR, 73 RBI, 1.011 OPS. Everyone knows that Texas' home field is a hitter's ballpark. Imagine how bad his home numbers will be once he's at RFK - then combine them with his standard bad road numbers.

Yes, Vidro is a bit of an unknown quantity given his health, but he'll be cheaper than Soriano, and you won't have to deal with this absurd attitude Soriano has. If the manager tells you you're moving to the outfield, YOU MOVE. Bobby Cox wouldn't put up with any of this garbage. Obviously the Nats need to dump Soriano as soon as possible and give Vidro his job back.

Dave Sheinin: I used those exact same road numbers in a story about Soriano two days after the trade. They are very alarming, to say the least. In fact, I quoted an executive as predicting that Wilkerson will have more homers in '06 than Soriano, because of the disparity between the two stadiums.

And since you bring up the Braves and Bobby Cox... well, I suspect the Braves would have never put themselves in this position in the first place.

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Washington, D.C.: Is it typical of GMs to scour the minors for players (like Bowden is doing now) or is it just that a spotlight shines with scrutiny over everything that he does now?

Dave Sheinin: It is not atypical for GMs to snatch up lots of minor leaguers to fill roster spots for spring training. But I think Bowden has turned it into an art form. True, most of these guys are headed to New Orleans by the end of March. But some of these signings are quite bizarre. I mean, George Lombard? How about Alex Nunez out of the independent leagues?

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Olney, Md.: Hi, Dave--have any decisions been made about expanded baseball coverage in the paper, either on Sundays or weekdays? Also, any plans to have a Gene Wang-type column weekly for fantasy baseball fans? The chats are great--keep them up!

Dave Sheinin: Hi Olney... As a matter of fact, yes, we've been discussing a new Sunday baseball package once the season starts, and we have also talked about having a fantasy baseball element. Not sure yet how it is going to shake out.

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Fredericksburg, Va.: So Dave, can we expect to hear you on WTWP prior to or after Nats games this year? BTW how is this going to shape up? Are we going to get a legitimate pre and postgame show (ie. Redskin type) or will this also be a sham, like everything else associated with the Washington Nationals.

Dave Sheinin: "Sham"? Ouch. We haven't actually heard any specifics about the new station's expectations of The Post's baseball writers, but I am assuming there will be some sort of pregame element. It would be hard for us to do anything post-game given our deadlines.

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Washington, D.C.: Given how unreliable and misleading Spring Training stats can be (and probably more so this year with the WBC proceeding simultaneously), what do yout think Clayton would have to do to win the starting job away from Guzman?

Dave Sheinin: I think the so-called "competition" between Clayton and Guzman is more about what Guzman shows the front office and field staff, as opposed to what Clayton shows them. They know what Clayton can do. They want to see Guzman in better shape and in a better mental state than a year ago.

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New York, N.Y.: Do you have any idea on what the batting lineup for the Nationals will be for this season?

Dave Sheinin: Just a guess at this point, but if they manage to convince Soriano to move to LF, it might look like this on Opening Day...

CF Watson

2B Vidro

1B Johnson

RF Guillen

LF Soriano

3B Zimmerman

C Schneider

SS Guzman

P Hernandez

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Dave Sheinin: OK, folks. We're out of time. Thanks again for stopping by.

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