The Washington Nationals

Barry Svrluga
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, April 19, 2006 2:00 PM

Washington Post staff writer Barry Svrluga was online Wednesday, April 19, at 2 p.m. ET to discuss the Washington Nationals and the latest major league baseball news.

Full Coverage: Washington Nationals

The transcript follows.

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Barry Svrluga: Greetings, Nationals fans. Another interesting week with this circus of a team. We'll get to Ryan Church's revival, the ownership situation, the GM's arrest and the extremely modest three-game winning streak in a moment.

For now, an announcement/reminder:

I have two upcoming signings of my book -- "National Pastime: Sports, Politics, and the Return of Baseball to Washington, D.C." -- in the next several days.

Friday, April 21 at 12:30 p.m. at the Borders on L and 18th Sts. NW, right downtown, and ...

Monday, April 24 at 7 p.m. at the Olsson's on 7th St. NW near Verizon Center.

Hope to see you there. Now, on to the questions ...

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Section 459, Center Field: Is Church back to stay? I liked him last year.

Any chance a Nat will hit a homer to 459?

Barry Svrluga: I think Church will stick around next year, but keep something in mind. He's still coming along. Both the grand slam last night and the second homer on Sunday against Florida would have been outs -- or, at best, doubles -- at RFK. He didn't scorch either pitch.

The results, however, should give him some confidence, and I'd say he stays in the lineup against righties for quite some time.

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Washington, D.C.: 48 hours until Friday. Do you really think we are finally going to have a Nationals owner by then? I say no. What says you?

Barry Svrluga: I agree with "no." I see it drifting into next week. But really, this time, I'm serious -- not much further than that.

This thing is amazing, isn't it.

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Bethesda, Md.: All baseball teams give their attendance totals based on number of tickets sold - and for every team, every game has unused tickets. Why do you and/or your editors insist on ALWAYS putting the word "announced" before the attendance figure for the Nationals game. For all other teams/sports, the Post follows the traditional custom of only doing so when their is a major discrepancy (i.e. - NIT game at Maryland has an announced crowd of 8,000 when it may have 1,500 at most).

It looks like you're trying to give a vibe of chicanery going on when it is traditional practice. I don't know why, but I find it very irritating.

What if book publishing sites insisted on putting "announced" before the number of customers who bought your book, knowing full well that many haven't actually read it?

Barry Svrluga: This is something I decided to do last summer, when team officials acknowledged that the number of no-shows per night was astonishingly high. I feel that saying "a crowd of 35,750" in the paper, when anyone who was there would know that there were, say, 27,000 folks on hand, is misleading. If the number they announced represented the number of people in the stands, then I'd lose the word "announced."

That said, the number of tickets sold speaks more to the financial health of the team.

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Bowden Must Go: So, Barry, tell me how he plans to spin his way out of this one. It's not quite as easy to do as it was when he lost Sunny Kim on waivers, failed to do an MRI on Lawrence, or blamed a backup catcher with 4 ABs for the slow start.

Barry Svrluga: Greetings, BMG. OK, for those who haven't seen, Nationals GM Jim Bowden was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol over the weekend. I'm sure our helpful producer Katie will link to the story in this morning's paper.

The situation is not a good one. Though Bowden, in a statement, said he plans to plead not guilty to the charges, the impending ownership decision means this is awful timing for the GM to be involved in what team president Tony Tavares called a "regrettable incident."

The moves, though, might ultimately be what decides Bowden's fate. Sunny Kim currently has a 19.80 ERA with Colorado, and I've never been convinced he was/is the answer. But add all those bodies up (Tomo Ohka, Claudio Vargas, Zach Day, Kim, Darrell Rasner) and look at what the Nationals got in return (Junior Spivey and Preston Wilson, neither of whom are with the team anymore), and there's a reason the pitching depth is depleted.

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McLean, Va.: Maybe I missed a chat, but whats the deal between you and Jorge, Jr.? Is this for real? Or just a good old Nationals columnist versus an O's?

Barry Svrluga: The latter. (Although the guy's a total loser. Ever met him?)

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Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.: Another example of MLB/Nationals front office incompetence for you to looking into: When you try to buy tickets for the Nats/O's series online, you get an error message saying that nothing is available. However, when you call the ticket office there are thousands of tickets available. This could be the reason that people arent going to the games, because they cant buy tickets online.

Barry Svrluga: The ticket system has been a complete mess to start this season, and as the team returns home for its first real homestand beginning on Friday, I'll check in on how this is all working out. Thanks for the reminder.

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Raleigh, N.C.: Loved your work in NC, brother. Is CF a strict platoon now with Church batting against RHP and Byrd playing against LHP? And what is the deal with Hinckley at Potomac - is his time as a prospect over?

Barry Svrluga: Hello, Raleigh. Loved living there, my friend.

I wouldn't call it a strict platoon. Byrd -- who came in late last night and had a walk and a hit -- has struggled to start this season, and Robinson played Church against one of the best lefties in the league, Dontrelle Willis, last Friday. Long-term, though, if both these guys stay with the team, I think it'll be mostly a platoon.

LHP Mike Hinckley had an injury-ravaged season last year, and the Nationals would like him to build some confidence and arm strength at Class A Potomac before moving him to Class AA Harrisburg.

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Burke, Va.: Hi Barry,

I appreciate your chats, esp. the number of Qs you accommodate. Very impressive and in contrast to Boz's chats. He takes a LOT fewer questions but goes very deep in his responses - almost like mini-columns. Anyway, my question deals with the Nats obvious unwillingness last week, when playing against Pedro and the Mets, to respond to being hit the week prior. I know a lot was made of the incident and MLB warned the teams etc., but I think that, at a minimum, the Nats starter (believe it was Ortiz or Armas) should have played a little chin music for Pedro. Brush him back once or twice to at least send a message. But nothing. I think that was a mistake.

Barry Svrluga: Hello, Burke. Boz is a much deeper thinker than I am. Thus, the lengthy answers.

I have mixed feelings about the retaliation from the Nationals. With all the eyes on that game last week, Armas would have been tossed instantly had he come in close on Pedro, especially near his head. I think this thing could be settled later in the year (the teams play May 1 and 2 at Shea Stadium) if there's still bad blood.

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Fairfax, Va.: I read "National Pastime" over spring break with my family and thoroughly enjoyed it. It caused me to ponder a few things like why don't we here more about the former Expos players. Why isn't Rusty Staub or Andre Dawson or Jeff Reardon (oh wait not him)invited to throw out a pitch or visit with the announcers or otherwise honored. The Nationals began in 2005, but the franchise records need to be recognized. Also, the Senators records are scarecly mentioned or reviewed in the Post or via broadcasts. I've only been here since 1980, but as a child I had Senators baseball cards I know a few of the names. This is all part of the marketing that the Nats don't have, but these are low budget projects to complete. For example the Post could run an article every sunday from their coverage of the Senators 30+ years ago. No cost but the ink and paper. The National's PR staff could pull facts from an old Press Guide and feed them to the announcers. (P.S., if I brought the book to the stadium could I get you to autograph it?)

Barry Svrluga: The problem: Ink and paper are pretty costly.

You bring up some interesting points, and it comes with the territory that a franchise like this would have a split history. When I say a player sets a franchise record, that deals with the team as it goes back to Montreal. There could be a separate section for Washington baseball records.

I would say, though, that the Washington fan base would have more of an emotional response to, say, Frank Howard then they would to Andre Dawson, as great as Dawson was.

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Anchorage, Alaska: Hey Barry:

Your book was excellent - I had it finished before I even got to Seattle.

MLB.com is reporting that the owner could be selected as early as NEXT WEEK. Seems to me that LAST WEEK, they were saying before the next homestand THIS WEEK.

Moreover, given the events with Vidro and Tavares about the dimensions of the field, it is becoming clear that MLB's ownership of the team is much more of a problem than just a stingy payroll and poor marketing, in that it is having a direct and tangible effect on the play of the players, and hence the outcome of the games.

How much of this delay is just bumbling on the part of Selig and MLB, and how much is a direct attempt to milk every last penny out of the Nats, bury them competitively for this season (and perhaps the next and the next) and generally make use of the conflict of interest that they have to serve their own interests?

Despite my vitriol and getting swept by the Mets, it was still fun to see three games in RFK...

Barry Svrluga: Thank you, Anchorage. Glad you enjoyed it. Pass the word on.

Seems to me we could go back to October 2004 and be reminded that Bud Selig wanted to sell the team by spring training. As I've said ad nauseum, this thing is well beyond deadlines, etc. When it's announced, then I'll believe it.

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Washington, D.C.: Can the Nats really afford to sign Soriano to a long-term contract, even if they wanted to? Next year the team will stil be playing at RFK (and very likely, the year after that), significant debt service expense related to the purchase of the Club will be a new burden, and the lousy TV deal is what it is. While I like Soriano as a hitter/base runner and appreciate his efforts in left field, won't he be gone by the trading deadline?

Barry Svrluga: I really don't believe they'll sign Soriano to a long-term deal, but as much because of him as them. He wants to play second base (though he had his third outfield assist last night), and with Vidro apparently on the mend, hitting .373 right now, that's not going to happen in Washington.

I still say Soriano's traded by the July 31 trading deadline.

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Fairfax, Va.: It seems that the home run has been a significant part of the Nationals current win streak, and their offense period - how much of a concern should that be for a team that plays its home games at RFK?

Barry Svrluga: I think it should be a significant concern, particularly because it took all of two games for Jose Vidro to pipe up about how hard it is to hit homers at RFK. This team needs to get that out of its head and just go out and shoot the gaps. Homers will come down the line at RFK, but they just need to not let it get to them mentally.

Easier said than done.

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Washington, D.C.: Just finished reading your book this weekend - it was great (though I cringed while re-living that horrible time when I knew they were out of it for good - listening to that Sept 17th loss on the radio was awful!). Any chance you will do an update at some point, maybe after the owners are chosen and the stadium building is at least underway? It really hit me how transient baseball teams are when I saw that the last moment of the book featured Brad Wilkerson! Not to mention the brief anecdotes about Jamey Carroll and Zach Day, just to name a couple. See, you really do need to write another volume of Nats history!!

Barry Svrluga: Thanks, Washington. I have to say, through two weeks of this season, it seems like there might already be enough for Volume II.

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Fairfax, Va.: Livan seems to thrive on pressure, do you think his disappointment after the Mets start bodes well for the Nats tonight?

Did Bobby Abreu have amnesia last night?

When is Guillen coming back? There may be no need to rush him since Ward seems quite comfortable in that launching pad of a ballpark.

Barry Svrluga: We'll see about Livan. I think it's a big start for him tonight, as he needs to win two out of three times for this team to have a chance of getting back to .500 for the long haul. But this is a tough place to pitch, and he's a guy who gave up four homers at RFK last week.

Abreu, who somehow won a Gold Glove, was horrible in the outfield last night.

Guillen should be in the lineup, I believe, tonight. But it'll be interesting to see how Robinson gets Ward consistent at-bats over the course of the season. He looks prepared every time he's up.

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Philadelphia, Pa.: Hey Barry, love your chats. I am heading to the game today and can't wait to see Zimmerman in person for the first time. How do you view his progress this year? And are the Nats starting to figure out how they are going to win games this year?

Barry Svrluga: Hey Philly. I'm sitting in the press box at the park now, looking back over your city's very nice skyline.

Zimmerman is fun to watch, particularly defensively. And he finally looked like himself last night, shooting a couple of doubles to right field. He's at his best when he takes that outside pitch and drives it the other way, something he hadn't been doing for a week or so.

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Eastern Market: Barry, were you at the Nats final game in Spring Training (Thursday afternoon, March 30)? The Nats brought in two guys to play shortstop and third base, but I have no idea of who they were. The guy playing shortstop was like 5 feet tall, if that, and they both were wearing mismatched uniforms with numbers that weren't theirs. One, I believe, was wearing Randy St. Claire's number.

This has been bugging me. By the way, stayed after the game and got autographs from Brian Schneider and my man Ryan Zimmerman. Both classy guys. I won't mention the few that ignored the cries from some of the kids.

Barry Svrluga: Hey, Eastern Market. Nice neighborhood.

One of those players was Josh Labandeira, a minor league infielder. The other, I believe, was Brendan Harris, who's back in the big leagues now. Labandeira is the short, stocky one.

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Ashburn, Va.: Any idea when Angelos/MASN/Comcast are heading back to Congress to be grilled about the TV deal? When are more games going to be on TV??????

Barry Svrluga: This is a toughy. It seemed to me that the whole proceedings on Capitol Hill was a way for Congress to say, "We're aware of this. We don't like it. Please fix it." But there's nothing binding out of it.

I don't think the Nationals' TV situation will improve until 2007. It's a harsh reality, but ...

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520 Foot Power Alley: Have any of the owners given any indication about whether they'd move the walls at RFK in? Specifically Kasten, since he's apparently the 'baseball guy' of the bunch?

Barry Svrluga: You can't move in fences or change dimensions in the middle of the season, so this year's out. I don't know anybody's plans for 2007.

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Arlington, Va.: I would think that the number of OF assists that Soriano currently has is more a function of other team's testing him at a new position.

Barry Svrluga: You would think correctly. Also, last night he got credit for one by throwing maybe 120 feet to Royce Clayton, who gunned out the man at the plate.

Still, at least he hit the cutoff man.

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Kensington, Md.: Last week on Boz's chat, somebody wrote in hoping Comcast doesn't give in and air MASN because if they do, the Nats TV deal will never get changed. I tend to agree. The only way change will take place is if there is chaos. And I certainly think we have chaos, as it relates to the TV situation. I'll take the short-term TV mess if it means a better TV deal in the long-run.

Barry Svrluga: The voice of reason, Kensington. I like that theory.

I've heard good things, by the way, about the new announcing team of Bob Carpenter and Tom Paciorek. You folks agree? (Of course, anyone who has seen them.)

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Washington, D.C.: Hi Barry:

In your opinion, who stays and who goes (in the front office) when the team is sold? Media speculation seems to have been all over the map on this. I've previously read that the Lerner group would get rid of both Tavares and Bowden. Today I've read that Bowden would probably stay if the Lerners win (at least before his arrest). Certainly Kasten would replace Tavares if the Lerner group gets it. I've also read at various times that the Malek group would keep Tavares and Bowden, then I've also read that they wouldn't.

Also, is it true that MLB is not planning on turning team operations over to the new owners until the All Star break (provided MLB actually names the owners by then)? With all the anger in the area over the lack of an owner and the effect that not having an owner is having on the franchise, isn't it important for MLB to turn things over faster than that?

Any insight on this soap opera?

Barry Svrluga: This is as important a question as there is concerning the franchise, once you get past the more fundamental "Who's going to own the team" question.

The thinking is this, but it's not written in stone:

If the Lerners get the team, Bowden has his best chance to stay (and it's still to early to tell how the DUI episode will play into it). Tavares, though, would almost certainly be out, because Stan Kasten would serve as the team president, and there's no need for two of them.

If Fred Malek gets the team, Bowden doesn't have as good a chance to stay, but Tavares might remain at least for the rest of the season just to keep the ship steady.

As for Frank Robinson: That's a tougher thing to predict. That's the GM's call, really, and we don't know who'll be the GM.

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Atlanta, Ga.: You've heard good things about Carpenter and Paciorek? From who? Talking to them?

Barry Svrluga: No. Heard some friends say they did a good job.

Not saying I have personal knowledge they're doing a good job.

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Washington, D.C.: Paciorek has nothing on my man Ron Darling! And I am serious!

Barry Svrluga: I really like Ron, and miss having him around. He was always good for a few stories about the '86 Mets.

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Natsville: Barry, seems to me that the attendance concerns you raised for the Nats are misplaced and that it should be a topic for Jorge because the attendance figures for Baltimore are horrible. Also, Angelos claims Baltimore outdrew Washington last year, I believe that is not true, what say you? By the way loved the book!

Barry Svrluga: Natsville:

Washington outdrew Baltimore last year, though they were back-to-back in the standings.

When I say the Nationals have attendance concerns, I'm not linking it together with concerns in Baltimore. But it is worth noting those crowds of around 16,000 and 13,000 in the Orioles second and third home games.

Still: Aren't Nationals fans concerned that the team didn't sell out its home opener in just its second year in town?

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new talent from AAA: When are the new reliever( a lefty - name?) and new starter (Trabert?) due to report from AAA?

Barry Svrluga: Lefty Billy Traber is due to start tomorrow's game against the Phillies, essentially taking Ryan Drese's spot in the rotation. He'll remain here for a while.

The reliever you're thinking of is Bill Bray, former first-round pick from William & Mary. He's at Class AAA New Orleans, but he's not likely to come up unless (until?) there's an injury in the bullpen.

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BoughtYourBookSoPickMyQuestion, Va.: How much longer is Alfonso Soriano going to bat leadoff?

Barry Svrluga: That's a really nice area of Virginia. I love it there.

Soriano has hit leadoff off and on for the Nationals, and was first moved there when the team was struggling last week. It's his favorite spot in the lineup.

However, long-term, Frank Robinson doesn't believe that's the solution for this team. They don't have enough pop lower in the order to justify hitting Soriano first.

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Fairfax, Va.: Barry-

The idea of Stan Kasten building the Nats is an exciting one, when I consider the job he did with the Braves. Still, I think I need a reality check, because just getting an owner will be exciting:

1. When did Kasten work for the Braves? How much credit does he deserve for their long-term success?

2. Who are the minority owners he brings to the Lerner family? It would be difficult to outgun the Malek group for high-profile DC African-American partners.

I noticed that the official web page for the Nats says that the owner could be named next week, so again baseball misses another understood deadline.

Barry Svrluga: Kasten is an intriguing personality because of his past success in Atlanta. And while John Schuerholz gets, and deserves, credit for building the Braves minor-league system and making prudent signings for the major-league club, Kasten was an important part of that operation. One of the most important things he did was help with the transition to Turner Field, an experience that would help him in dealing with moving the Nationals to their new park.

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Savala, Ga.: Even when the new owner is named, what's the timeline for actually transferring ownership? Have you seen any guidance on that?

Barry Svrluga: The thinking I've heard most is that the actual transfer would take place at or around the all-star break (mid-July).

However, someone with knowledge of the situation told me last week that it could happen much more quickly after the owner is named, perhaps as soon as three weeks later.

Isn't this guessing game fun? And to think, it's only lasted 18 months.

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Bethesda, Md.: Wouldn't it be great if Selig announced the new owner through your chat today?

Barry Svrluga: I hadn't thought of that. I'll check about doing that next week.

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New Orleans, La.: Regarding Bray not getting called up until there's an injury in the pen: are you saying that Eischen's NOT injured? Because there can't be any other explanation for his lack of basic command.

Barry Svrluga: You are extremely perceptive. I would expect that if Eischen has another poor outing, they will rediscover tendinitis in his elbow and put him on the DL so he could recover.

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Washington, D.C.: I'm concerned that the Nats didn't sell out the home opener in Year Two. To me, it's unconscionable. The pollyannas will claim lack of marketing and Spring Break for their kids, but the fact remains that this is Metro area is home to over 4 million people (up to 7 million if you include our friends up in Balmer), and to not sell out Opening day is really nothing short of a complete embarrassment.

Barry Svrluga: Thank you, DC.

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Chatterville, Va.: While not selling out the home opener is a bit disappointing, we have to remember the capacity of RFK is far larger than many ballparks. So saying we didn't sell out when so-and-so team did isn't exactly apples to apples as so-and-so team's stadium may only have 25-30k seats and be far easier to fill. Plus, the team had little to no positive marketing over the off-season and people may have forgotten we even have a team (if they managed to miss all the Soriano, TV, etc news). Missing a sell out by less than 5,000 seats doesn't seem too terrible.

Barry Svrluga: Capacity of roughly 45,000 is much smaller than Yankee Stadium and basically in line with other parks.

As I've said before: I'm very interested in how attendance will be all year. We have only a three-game sample right now.

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Washington, D.C.: Ryan Zimmerman is certainly getting warmer, but he has struck out 17 times already. That's 4th in the NL. Is he/the coaching staff concerned? Addressing it?

Barry Svrluga: They don't think this is a concern long-term, but as with any rookie, pitchers are going to learn quickly how to exploit Zimmerman's weaknesses. He has been swinging at too many pitcher's pitches lately, and once he learns to lay off breaking stuff out of the zone, the strikeouts will go down.

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Hains Point: Ward's consistent sucess and maturity thus far raise a key question: what happens when (if?) Robert Fick comes off the DL? Is there a chance that he won't be put on the 25-man roster? Assuming he is, who gets demoted/waived?

Barry Svrluga: I think Fick will end up on a rehab assignment, likely catching quite a few games in the minors. But you're right: When he's ready, they could have some tough decisions to make.

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Alexandria, Va.: Barry,

The Nats are currently in 12th place among attandance in MLB. Those 3 games were during the middle of the week. Lets see how they draw this weekend

Barry Svrluga: This weekend against the Braves -- as well as next week against the less-attractive Reds -- will give us more of a measure.

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Purgatory, Washington, D.C.: Recently, the impression I got from various sources was that there would probably be an owner announced by the end of this week. Now, MLB says "as early as next week" (a deadline that, like "tomorrow", conveniently never comes?). How long is this nonsense to continue?

Barry Svrluga: There's no telling, Purgatory. Simply no telling.

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Woodley Park, Washington, D.C.: Barry, I've had it. Last season I bought a few Nats games online to watch on my laptop seeing as the WDCA schedule just wasn't cutting it. Seeing as the WDCA schedule is actually worse this year, this weekend I purchased the MLB TV online package only to discover that the Nats games are of course blacked out. Why on Earth would Bud and the boys care if I see Nats games online, so long as I've given them my $80? Did I mention I spent 52 minutes on hold with MLB 'customer service' trying to cancel my subscription.

Everytime I think it can't get worse, it does.

P.S. Really liked your book...except I think you could have, and should have, been much harder on D.C. Council and MLB for the shabby way they continue to treat Nats fans.

Barry Svrluga: Very, very frustrating, Woodley Park. That actually has to do with the league-wide blackout policy which is meant to protect the local broadcasting networks that pay money for the right to broadcast games. MLB Advance Media gets the money for on-line subscriptions to watch in the computer, and that could hurt the prospects of the local carriers.

The problem, of course, is that anyone with Comcast cable service in DC can't watch the local carrier, MASN. It's so frustrating it hurts my stomach to talk/write about. I feel your pain, Woodley Park.

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RE: Lerner Group: Who are their partners in this?

Barry Svrluga: We -- and by "we," I mean Post sports business writer Thomas Heath -- are trying to figure that out. Heath is completely on top of this stuff and will keep you informed as best he can.

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Abreu the gold glover: Hi from Philly, Barry... as one of our talk show hosts up here (Al Morganti) put it a couple weeks ago, "Abreu shows why he won a gold glove last year. You can't make errors if you don't go after balls."

I know you've gotta be in Philly for this series, so may I recommend a Schmitter from the outfield food court... or a Tony Luke's cheesesteak. Try either of those and you will never eat a "Philly cheesesteak" outside of Philly again.

What do you think of the Phillies' ballpark as compared to other new parks you've seen, and are the Nats going to incorporate any of the design elements (open concourses with views of the field, outfield promenade with local vendors) into their stadium?

I'll hang up and listen!

Barry Svrluga: Good line from Morganti.

Citizens Bank Park: I think it looks nice enough when you're sitting in it, but I have a couple of gripes. The power alleys, first of all, are simply not deep enough. Ryan Zimmerman broke his bat on one swing last night and Pat Burrell made a catch with his back to the wall in left. Ridiculous place for pitchers.

The other problem: I like baseball parks that are in or near downtown. This place is out in a sea of parking lots where the Flyers, Sixers and Eagles play. It's a nice sports complex, but no one working in downtown Philly can walk to the park. In DC, people on Capitol Hill should be able to do that, and if everything works out right, it should be an easy Metro ride for those working in Northwest.

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Leesburg, Va. and RFK Section 320: Barry...

I'm enjoying Carpenter and Paciorek, though the latter has to stop being lazy with silly slang, such as "jammage" and the like.

What I really enjoy about Carpenter is his scorebook that he created for broadcasters and fans. I've had it for years and each time I order a new one from his site, he responds directly and with appreciation. Good guy, it would appear.

Now, about getting Screech to take its hat off during the national anthem...

Barry Svrluga: Good to hear. And yes, I've noticed the Carpenter scorebook. It has received favorable reviews.

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Washington, D.C: Hi Mr. Barry,

An ownership related question. Mayor Williams had said several times now in public (i.e. to the media) that the Lerner family never gave him a call. Given that no politician means what he says, could you please decipher what Mayor really meant? Thanks.

Barry Svrluga: I wouldn't venture into what the Mayor meant. I know that he has long supported the Malek group because of its efforts to land the team in the first place.

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Medford, Mass.: Barry,

Do you think this Bowden incident has any affect on when MLB will announce the owner? Wouldn't they want to push this off the sports pages with coverage of a new owner? Or will they go the other way and wait for it to resolve itself...which could take weeks....

Barry Svrluga: I don't think the Bowden incident will have any effect on the timing of the owner. It could have an impact on his future, but not on the timing.

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Regarding MASN: The TV announcers are serviceable. Nothing special (i.e., no Jon Miller), but not terrible. But MASN itself is a joke. I'm in Fairfax County, where MASN is conveniently located on channel 102. For all but about 15 hours per week, it's nothing but a blue screen -- doesn't even have a logo! And, since as we know 1/4 of the MASN games are also aired on Channel 20, that means MASN provides only about 12 hours of unique programming per week. Small wonder Comcast hasn't felt compelled to air this channel. If MASN were a serious enterprise, it would air at least 8 hours of programming a day, e.g., include game reruns (even WTWP has figured out the value of rebroadcasting Nats games), historical highlights, call-in shows, minor league games (hello, MASN the Potomac Nationals and Bowie Baysox are not only in the "mid-Atlantic" but in the DC area), etc. Like Home Team Sports did in its early days. MASN's programming illustrates it's nothing but Angelos's scheme to withhold the product from the market.

Barry Svrluga: I've referred to it as a one-trick pony. You're correct.

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15th & L: What was up with the absence of WaPo Express free programs during the Mets series at RFK?

Barry Svrluga: Don't know. I have little/no contact with the Express, and really don't know how they work.

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Washington, D.C.: I absolutely without a doubt know why Opening Day did not sell out so the bickering can stop now. Opening Day did not sell out because people don't like paying for games that are more expensive than others. Especially when your teams gets like 3 hits, and you are paying 15 bucks a hit.

Barry Svrluga: That's a good point. It'll be interesting how the Nationals' "premium" ticket plan will work out. The Yankees, Orioles and Cubs games are also more expensive than the others. My bet is that the fans of those teams will gladly pay more to get in and root against Washington.

I love the $15/hit line.

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Harrisburg, Pa.: Any chance that Brendan Harris will be seeing some starts at SS? Although Clayton is outperforming Guzman circa April '05, he's not exactly Jeter. It'd be good to see the kid get a chance.

Barry Svrluga: I'd say there's a chance. Clayton chipped in last night, but there are some in the organization who feel like he's basically at the end of his career, and they'd be fortunate to get Guzman type numbers out of him this year.

Harris, though, doesn't have very good range at short. He's better suited for third or second.

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Washington, D.C.: So let's assume Lerner gets the team (you know, some time in late 2012). Tavares is definitely out because of Kasten, and I imagine Bowden will be right behind him seeing as he doesn't seem to mesh with how any of us expect Kasten to want to run the team.What about Frank? It's tough for a new owner to force out a respected legend, but it's also tough to keep him when he's widely perceived as a lousy in-game manager. And then there's the fact that several of the veteran players (Guillen and Vidro to name two key guys) have shown a really strong loyalty to Robinson. What do you think the new owner does?

Barry Svrluga: My theory -- and it's only a theory -- is that whoever's in charge, Robinson will be given the opportunity to have a graceful exit following this season. Whether he's offered another position within the organization, I don't know. But unless things get very, very bad this summer in terms of how the team plays, I'd say he rides out this season without a problem.

It'll be great to have that new owner in place for the start of the 2013 season, won't it?

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Austin, Tex.: Please, please, please tell me that Jim Bowden's DWI arrest has turned the key to his jalopy out of town. What an awful GM -- horrible roster moves and then threatening his players with their jobs after a two-week slump? That's Steinbrenner, circa 1980's. Despite his wooing ownership groups like the Lerners, is there anyone who would possibly consider him to stay on after this season?

Barry Svrluga: As I said earlier, it'll be interesting to see what the outcome of Bowden's case will be and, subsequently, what impact it'll have on his future. The baseball moves, as I've said many times before, are the subject of great debate, and if these chats are any indication, Bowden doesn't exactly have a groundswell of support from the fan base.

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MASN question: So Comcast doesn't want to air MASN because they don't want to legitimize the network because MASN is going to take the Orioles from CSN next year, correct?

So, umm ... how is MASN going to air Nationals -and- Orioles games on the same network, when 90% of the time the games are at the same time??

Barry Svrluga: They could create joint channels, almost like ESPN and ESPN2. Remains to be seen, though.

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Arlington, Va.: Barry...I want to read a baseball book. I've read Moneyball, and your book of course, but I want another recommendation. Got one?

Barry Svrluga: I have on my list to pick up, but have not yet purchased, "Juicing the Game" by Howard Bryant, who was with the Boston Herald when he wrote the book about steroids but is now on the Post's sports staff. It's been reviewed as a very readable explanation of how/why/when/where steroids have impacted baseball.

After that, I'd read any baseball book by David Halberstam, if you haven't already. And I'm anxiously awaiting Leigh Montville's new book on Babe Ruth.

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The Bullpen: Barry-any idea why the team switched bullpen locations from last year?

Barry Svrluga: Yes. The left-field bullpen is in the sun most of the day and early evening, and the relievers were baking out there. They prefer the shade.

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Barry Svrluga: Folks, thanks so much for taking the past hour to hang out. Get back to work!

And don't forget about the book signings Friday at Borders and Monday at Olsson's. Hope to meet some of you there.

Have a great week.

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