The Nats sent this around the other day; my paragraph-by-paragraph analysis is in blue.
LETTER
FROM THE PRESIDENT
To All Nats Fans:
Happy New Year! With the
holidays now behind us, we can look forward with great anticipation and
excitement to spring training... which is just around the corner. I know you are
as eager as I am. Pitchers and catchers report to our spring training complex in
Viera, Florida on February 13. The first full squad workout will take place on
February 20, followed by the first game on March 2. Spring Training will
conclude with an exhibition series against the Baltimore Orioles, including a
doubleheader on March 29 at the home of our new AAA affiliate, the Columbus
Clippers, in Columbus, Ohio. On March 31, we'll return home to RFK for our final
exhibition game against the Orioles. The Nationals Dream Foundation will host
its first-ever black tie Welcome Home Gala fundraiser on the evening of March
31.
Opening Day is Monday, April 2. I hope you'll be on hand to welcome your
team back to Washington.
IF CONGRESS ENACTS A LOBBYING-REFORM BILL, WE
MIGHT NEED YOU TO FILL SOME SEATS.
More than eight months have passed
since I arrived on the Washington scene, yet my level of excitement remains as
high as it was on Day One. I love DC, as I knew I would, and I see a future for
this extraordinary city that shines brighter every single day. Since our new
ownership group was named last May, we've experienced a time of great
change.
With that change, I am proud to say, has come enormous progress.
Having bought ourselves a last place team that had been without dedicated
ownership for several years, we faced significant hurdles both on and off the
field.
Nevertheless, with passionate leadership, a dedicated staff and, most
importantly, a devoted, loyal fan base, we find ourselves on a sure-fire path to
success, having an awful lot of fun along the way.
LAST PLACE IS SO TOTALLY OURS AGAIN.
First on our long To-Do list was a total
reformation of our team. Building on a new foundation of young pitching and
extraordinary coaching, our team has been transformed into one of youth, energy,
enthusiasm, and determination.
The amateur draft last June, in many ways, was
an official new beginning. The evolution continued through the mid-season with
trades for young stars like Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez, and prospects like
Garrett Mock, Matt Chico, Jhonny Nunez, Shairon Martis, etc. It's no surprise
that Baseball America's new rankings include 12 of our top
15 prospects --
new additions who joined our organization last summer. It's a clear sign of how
far we've come in such a short time.
PAYROLL = DINKY
The next vital step taken was the hiring of Manny
Acta.
Manny will lead the Nats this year as the youngest manager in Major
League Baseball, and the only one from the Dominican Republic. His experience,
energy, work ethic and unyielding demand for maximum effort make him the perfect
choice to lead this young team forward. I think that energy will be reflected by
our players at every single game. Manny's enthusiasm is infectious, and he will
be making personal appearances throughout DC, Maryland and Virginia in the next
weeks as the Nats conduct their preseason caravan.
I hope you take advantage
of these opportunities to meet Manny personally. If you do, I'm sure you will
share my confidence in our future.
IT'S TOO BAD MANNY CAN'T PLAY
THE GAMES FOR US.
As I know you've heard me say in the past, the
key to a successful baseball team is its player development system. Here again
it's been an offseason of many moves.
The change in our affiliates from New
Orleans and Savannah to Columbus, Ohio and Hagerstown, Maryland brings our whole
system to a nearer and more efficient geographical structure. Manager and
coaching changes accompanied these moves as well. And, our scouting department
has undergone the most dramatic change of all. We've had a complete overhaul as
we brought in proven veterans with decades of scouting success and world
championships. In addition, we've increased our numbers to put us on track to
achieve our goal of having the finest scouting operation in all of baseball.
STEAKHOUSES NATIONWIDE WILL SEE AN UPTICK IN SALES.
As we prepare for Spring
Training, we recognize that we still have much work to do. But even though we
are clearly still in a building phase, we also have some very important elements
in place. From my standpoint, I believe our team is already very competitive
offensively and defensively.
In addition, we have the making of a very good,
young and deep bullpen. We all acknowledge, though, that we will need to
solidify our starting pitching if we hope to achieve our goals.
OUR BULLPEN WILL HANDLE EVERY
GAME FROM THE 3rd INNING ONWARD.
As I'm sure you've followed our moves
these past months, you know this has been a frustrating offseason for teams that
had expectations of acquiring veteran starters through free agency. Frankly,
some (though clearly not all) of these free agent signings were expected and we
feel strongly that to pursue premium free agents or even second-tier pitchers in
this year's market would have been unwise. So for now, we have signed young
free-agent Minor League pitchers with potential, and, together with some of our
own young veterans, we expect to have the most robust competition for pitching
staff openings that I've ever seen in a major league spring training camp. We
can't be sure who will emerge, but we're certain with the number and quality of
prospects we're bringing in, the quality of our rotation as we begin the season
will pleasantly surprise many observers. I think it will be great fun and I
really can't wait.
BUY SEASON TICKETS IN THE OUTFIELD. YOUR KIDS WILL CATCH A LOT OF
BALLS.
As we continue our building process on the field during 2007, the
news off the field is every bit as exciting.
Construction progress on the new
ballpark has been breathtaking. I hope each of you gets a chance to take a quick
drive down South Capitol Street and see how far our new home has come along.
They're already into the upper deck and one can clearly see the outlines of the
ballpark taking shape.
IF YOU GET IN AN ACCIDENT ON SOUTH CAPITOL STREET, PLEASE DON'T CALL US.
In addition to construction, planning for the interior of the ballpark is moving forward every day. The Nats will be adding a slew of improvements to the basic stadium that the District is building. Please go online at www.nationals.com and click on the New Ballpark Page. I'm sure the latest renderings will have you as excited as I am.
IF YOU ARE AN ARCHITECT WHO SPECIALIZES IN MAKEOVERS, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME
AT THE BEEP.
Many improvements were made at RFK in 2006, such as enhanced
customer service, a new food court, better audio and video offerings, and of
course our ever popular President's Race, and more are on the way for 2007.
There will be plenty of places to eat, drink, watch video, play games, buy
merchandise and, in general, have as good a customer experience at a ballgame as
any fan can have in any city in this country. But by the time we get to the new
ballpark in 2008, we expect the game experience to reach a whole new level. This
will be a fitting complement to an ever improving team on the field that
benefits from the increased revenues which accompany a new ballpark.
That's
all just one short year from now.
OK, FINE, WE'RE BEGGING YOU TO SHOW UP THIS YEAR.
I know you've also
heard a lot about parking and access to the new ballpark. I'm very pleased to
report that all the work that the many concerned parties have been devoting to
this effort has yielded very positive results. By Opening Day 2008, I am
confident that there will be a number of parking lots within walking distance to
go along with the 1200 plus spaces in parking decks adjacent to our grand entry
plaza. Most exciting though is the news that plans for expanding the Navy Yard
Metro are now in place.
The groundbreaking this week for the new station
ensures that when we open we will have a rapid transit system not simply closer
than the current station is to RFK, but perhaps the closest of any baseball
stadium in any city.
YOU'LL STILL HAVE TO WAIT ON A PLATFORM CROWDED WITH CRANKY KIDS AND DRUNK DUDES.
This
is such an exciting time to be a Nats fan. I believe we have all the elements in
place to become a significant marquee franchise that can have sustained on-field
success for many years. Personally, it's why I came to town: To help build a
world class team, in a world class ballpark, in the most important city in the
world. At the Nationals, we pledge you our passion, a hard-working and exciting
performance, and the kind of dedication to the national pastime that you would
expect in our nation's capital.
Thanks for being part of this dream and a
part of this effort. Together we're going to have a lot of fun for a very long
time.
FUN IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WINNING.
As always, if there's anything we can do for you, please let us know. Contact your representative, or the Nats at 202.675.NATS (6287). And if you see me as I'm walking the concourse at RFK, please stop me and say hello.
HA HA HA HA -- I WON'T HAVE TO PAY $10 FOR *MY* BEER.
Stan Kasten
President, Washington Nationals
am I mistaken, or has this place turned into firejoemorgan.com?
Posted by: tooch | January 26, 2007 at 16:45