(Photo by Getty Images. With apologies to Ryan Zimmerman, meet the new face of the franchise.)
"He's chomping at the bit to get on the mound. And I think he was getting a little tired of sitting around the house."
(Mike Rizzo, via Washington Post, 8/18/2009)
Holy F**king S**t! They did it!
Nationals, Stephen Strasburg, Agree to 4 year, $15+ M deal.
At long last, there's joy in NatsTown: and nothing worth ridiculing! Everyone wins!
According to Ken Rosenthal, the money breaks down like this:
Strasburg will receive a $7.5 million signing bonus, payable in three installments — $2.5 million 15 days after his deal is approved, $2.5 million on Jan. 10, 2010 and $2.5 million on Jan. 10, 2011.
He also will receive salaries of $400,000 this season (pro-rated), $2 million in '10, $2.5 million in '11 and $3 million in '12.
Washington Post says Rizzo was the lead negotiator. Well done, Mike. Time to take the "Acting" tag off your job title, don't you think?
Welcome to Washington, Stephen Strasburg. See you in September?
The Nationals feel strongly that Strasburg can make an immediate impact in their rotation, maybe joining the team's Major League roster sometime in September.
(via Nationals dot com)
Thank you, Mr. Lerner.
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As much as I can enjoy the bad, I can also appreciate the good. And Rizzo has been very good. From the emergency retoolings of the bull pen, for the inspired trade for Nyjer Morgan, and now bringing in Strasburg. He has earned the job IMO. Its
time for someone to start the "Hire Mike Rizzo" blog site!
Posted by: DMan | August 18, 2009 at 12:24 PM
DMan, we agree that Rizzo deserves a shot as real, not fake, GM. From published accounts, it sure sounds like he played a key role in these negotiations, and while I'm still only lukewarm on the trades he's pulled off, I think he's done a good job scanning the trash heap and moving pieces around until a better fit could be found. I hope you don't mind, but we're cooking up a "Hire Mike Rizzo" post as we speak!
Posted by: The Nationals Enquirer | August 18, 2009 at 03:38 PM
Go for it! Maybe Nyjer and Burnett aren't the greatest (though I love Nyjer's hustle), but to get them for Gascanrahan and Lostings Milledge - score one for Rizzo. I had to give up my tix for tonight's game. Wish I could be there - should be the first geniune buzz at the park in years.
Posted by: DMan | August 18, 2009 at 07:09 PM