But he did sign up that superstar Dimitri Young to a new deal! these teams get stuck in the middle and don't want to admit defeat, especially in a new market.

I think he consciously held on to the players. Last year he had enough trouble as it was to fill RFK; doing it without Soriano would have been impossible. As for Cordero, I think Bowden doesn't want to give up his only star with any sort of name recognition with an eye on the new ballpark opening next season. Stocking up on prospects is all well and good but without any ticket revenue you're not going to be able to pay players even the league minimum.

Bowden was a jerk when he was here in Cincinnati, but he did like to land the big fish (Griffey, et al). Maybe that style has something to do with his inability to see the value of a decent farm system. The tactic really didn't hold up well in this little market (you can't spend a bunch on one guy, and then nothing on the rest).

Also, they say he wore leather pants to the office all the time when he was here. That's just not allowed in baseball.

Pete, please attempt to know what you are talking about. Jibberish in meaningless and boring.

Bowden is an idiot. Why does he feel like he needs all the old reds on his team that are not that good. The list of Kearns, Jiminez, Young, Lopez. I feel bad for the fans in Washington, because those guys really wern't anything in Cincinnati. And for whatever reason Bowden wants to keep trying to win with them. Thought it would have been funny if he tried to win with Dunn because it seems like all he's doing is trying to win with a team he had in Cincinnati that got him fired in the first place.

First, I am a Nationals fan, and I'm not the only one. I agree that Bowden missed a great opportunity with Soriano, but he did get a lot of value from the Livan Hernandez trade (Matt Chico and Garrett Mock) and the Gary Majewski trade (Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez). Plus, he's trying to field a halfway watchable team for next year's opening of the new stadium, which explains resigning Da Meat Hook. So cut the guy some slack. Plus I guarantee Kasten is behind him 100% on these trade demands.

Pete: Is Bowden supposed to give away Cordero for second rate minor leaguers i.e. Mets just to make a deal?

The Nats are going to have a ton of money to spend in the off-season. Let's wait and see what happens next season before we jump the gun. It was MLB that destroyed the Expos. The team was raided of all of the talent it had, and was in shambles. It's only the third season. And it is better to have a losing team than to not have a team at all. And I will also admit it was nice to beat up on the Reds tonight. Go Nats!

Should someone point out to this guy that Cordero and Rauch arent going to leave as FA any time soon, since they arent eligible for a couple years. Why trade them now for guys a couple years away when they have them at a reasonable price?

A closer is as useful to the Nationals as teets are to a boar hog. Bowden blew it last year with Soriano and proved how much he learned by blowing it this year with Cordero. BRILLIANT GM (HA HA!)

The key reason the Nats are not losing 120 games this year is precisely because of their bullpen. Getting some iffy prospects in return for either Cordero or Rauch is not going to turn this team around. They were not going to get either real arms or any studs in a deal; that will only come with spending money in the off-season since the only real prospects they have in the minor leagues are still a few years away at best.

Bowden didn't blow it by keeping Cordero. He's not a free agent after the season. When you see guys like Danys Baez making $19 mil over 3 years, Cordero's $5 mil per year looks cheap. Teams not wanting to break the bank on average relievers will still be interested in him come winter.

As far as I've heard, the best offer the Nats got for Cordero was Philip Humber. Not bad, but Humber has had TJ surgery in the last few years, so that's something to worry about.

This all being said, I still hate Jim Bowden and want the Nats to fire his ass.