Kuzul

This past week the Washington Nationals announced the signing of Rick Ankiel to a minor-league deal.  Along with Mike Cameron, Ankiel gives the Nationals some depth (albeit aged depth) in the outfield heading into spring training.While neither name will shake the Capitol building, both stand a chance of making the opening-day roster.While general manager Mike Rizzo has not found his long-term option for center field, this spring could provide for a pretty interesting competition for that spot.Ankiel's deal involves an invitation to spring training, and one can assume that Rizzo would like to at least retain Ankiel's services in the minor leagues, where he would be ready for major league call-up.  Ankiel, after all, possesses the strongest arm of all the Nationals outfield options.Camerson also has signed a minor-league contract with an invitation to spring training.  Cameron's deal includes a $1 million bonus if he makes the Opening Day roster, ...

Opening Day 2011 is less than a week away, and the Washington Nationals have yet to officially name their starting center fielder. Unofficially, the Washington Post is reporting that Rick Ankeil will get the nod, essentially banishing Nyjer Morgan to Syracuse to start the season. Apparently the Nationals have chosen power over speed, which does not exactly jive with what they have been doing in the offseason. If this was the plan from the beginning, couldn’t they have kept Josh Willingham and played either Jayson Werth or Mike Morse in center? I know Morgan had a terrible season in 2010, but Rick Ankeil actually played worse.(And for those of you who aren’t statistically inclined, bare with me.) Morgan sported a WAR (Wins Above Replacement) of .9; Ankeil’s WAR was at .7, which basically means that Morgan contributed .9 more wins to his team compared to a “average replacement player” (think ...

This past year presented Atlanta Braves fans with plenty of moments to relish.This was the first time the Braves had reached the playoffs since 2005 and was the final season for venerable manager Bobby Cox.But, I'm staying away from those topics for this slideshow.Instead, I'm focusing on singular moments over the course of the calendar year that Braves fans will be talking about for years to come rather than events that involved a culmination of years/months of dedicated work to draw their fanfare.So, without further adieu, my top-five moments for the Atlanta Braves for 2010.Begin Slideshow

The Washington Nationals have agreed to terms with former Cardinals Starting Pitcher and OF Rick Ankiel, reports Sports Illustrated's John Heyman.  The deal is worth $1.25 million dollars for one year.  He can earn another $1.25MM in performance bonuses. Ankiel has a great baseball story to him. Rick attended Port St. Lucie High School in Florida, where he went 11–1 with a 0.47 ERA during his senior season, striking out 162 batters in 74.0 innings pitched, and was named the High School Player of the Year by USA Today in 1997. He was also a first-team high-school All-American pitcher.  He was so good he didn't even need to be drafted.   Ankiel signed with the Cardinals out of high school for a $2.5 million signing bonus, the fifth-highest ever given to an amateur player. In 1998, he was voted the best pitching prospect in both the Carolina and Midwest leagues, and was the Carolina League's All-Star ...

This offseason marks a turbulent time for Major League Baseball, as several key names around the league are free agents, and many of them have already begun the steps towards a new team and a new beginning.  By now, experts and analysts everywhere are already buzzing about the possibilities of blockbuster trades and big-name free agent signings.Los Angeles Dodgers GM Ned Colletti has leaked to the media his plan to add starting and relief pitching, and maybe acquire a power bat if the price is right. With this in mind, let's explore the possibilities no one is talking about.Begin Slideshow

In my Atlanta Braves-San Francisco Giants NLDS preview, I thought the Giants bullpen would be the difference in this series. For the Giants, their bullpen was the difference in Game 2 of this series, but not in a good way. The Giants bullpen blew a three-run lead as the Braves came back to beat San Francisco 5-4 in 11 innings. Their best-of-five series is now tied at one game apiece.   Ankiel's HR in the 11th tied the series at 1-all After Braves starter Tommy Hanson was relatively ineffective for four innings (five hits and four runs), the Braves turned to their bullpen to try to keep them in the game. Not only did their bullpen keep them in the game, but they really won the game for the Braves. Mike Dunn, Peter Moylan, Jonny Venters, Craig Kimbrel, Billy Wagner, and Kyle Farnsworth held the Giants down for seven ...

When Atlanta Braves reliever Billy Wagner stiffly lunged off the mound to field a groundball hit by Andres Torres and immediately grabbed his side upon throwing to first base, I had a terrible feeling this would be the last time one of the greatest closers in history would grace a major league mound. The 39-year old, who was crouched on the ground in agony, was joined by the medical staff and catcher Brian McCann, and then was gingerly ushered into the dugout and towards the clubhouse. The injury, which I estimate to be a strained oblique, did not appear to be something Wagner can shrug off. Given his desire to retire at season's end, this was most likely the end to his Hall of Fame-worthy ...

The Atlanta Braves couldn't get anything started against the San Francisco Giants' vaunted pitching staff, so the home-standing Gents took an admittedly unorthodox approach. They decided to start the Bravos' offense themselves—not the wisest thing to do for your World Series aspirations, but it sure makes for an exciting night of baseball. And another significant challenge for emerging southpaw Jonathan Sanchez. A Pat Burrell bobble in left field helped give Atlanta its first run in 14 divisional-series innings, though Bobby Cox' squad would have to wait a little longer for its first earned run. That rally two innings later was also aided by an error as a wayward throw from Pablo Sandoval allowed Melky Cabrera to reach and eventually cross the plate as the tying run. Extra innings were needed to settle the affair, a feat accomplished in the 11th inning when Rick Ankiel exorcised his personal playoff demons with a Bondsian blast into ...

Although the Atlanta Braves have been leading the NL East for some time now, they made a number of trades to try and strengthen their team for the stretch run. With the Phillies getting key players back in their lineup seemingly every day, the Braves were looking for guys like Rick Ankiel, Derek Lee, and Kyle Farnsworth to fill in some holes that the team had. The Braves did well by not giving up any major prospects (although Tim Collins could be great, his value is limited by the fact that he is a reliever; the best prospect they gave up was Robinson Lopez, who has a high ceiling but is unpolished as of right now) and seemingly improved their ballclub. However, if the Braves are going to be playing throughout October, the new arrivals will need to step up their play since they haven’t exactly set the world on fire since joining ...

For Jesse Chavez, Gregor Blanco, and Tim Collins, the Braves acquired the now infamous converted-pitcher Rick Ankiel and an old friend (save the 2005 NLDS) in Kyle Farnsworth (as well as come cash from the Royals). That's a right-handed reliever with a straight fastball, a AAAA outfielder (as much as we loved him in Atlanta), and a 5'7" lefty with a huge ceiling and awesome stuff (308 Ks in 202.2 career MiLB innings) for two more-than-serviceable Major Leaguers. Braves fans may be screaming the curses of Frank Wren for not acquiring a Josh Willingham or Cody Ross at this year's deadline...but by acquiring a more-than-solid right-handed reliever and decent center fielder, Atlanta's GM did the team a great service. Regardless of what expectations might have been, this isn't an awful trade by any stretch of the imagination. Farnsworth gives the Braves a fresh-ish (44.2 innings in 2010) arm that has been very solid for ...