No longer the man
Submitted by Jeff on Sat, 08/18/2007 - 9:04am.
- Less than a week ago, after a rough start in Arizona, manager Manny Acta stood behind starter Matt Chico, proclaiming that he wasn't "ready to jump on the Chico bashing that has been out there" and that "I don't think I'm going to be changing my mind [about Chico] because some guys come up here and have two or three good outings." Acta, though, was willing to change his mind after Chico had another bad outing, allowing four runs on five hits and five walks in 4.1 innings; Chico was optioned to Triple-A after the game. "You gotta do what you gotta do," Acta said after the loss. "And right now, he needs to go down there and throw some strikes." Nats lose to the Mets, 6-2. (Box score)
- The decision to send Chico down was a roster move the team had to make after the Nats traded for Red Sox outfielder Wily Mo Peña earlier in the day. Peña, traded for a player to be named later, will join the Nats today and will platoon in left with Ryan Church.
- According to the Boston Globe, the "player to be named" is Triple-A first base prospect Chris Carter. Never heard of him? That's because Carter is in the Diamondbacks organization, meaning that the Nats will have to carry out another trade to send Carter to Boston.
- The deal puts pressure on Ryan Church, who has underperformed in the eyes of Nationals officials. "This isn't about Ryan," Jim Bowden insisted. "He wasn't traded. They both will have opportunities the rest of the year to earn a position on this team."
- Peña is the latest former Red to join the Nats under the tenure of former Reds GM Bowden, but Bowden insists he's not trying to put the band back together. "Sometimes, it happens if the price is right and you know what you're getting, but it's not by any design."
- A fellow former Red, Felipe Lopez, predicts Peña will do well in DC. Lopez went so far to say that Peña will not be intimidated by the spacious dimensions of RFK and "will have tape-measure home runs similar to what Frank Howard did in the late 1960s and early '70s."
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