Nationals Sign Mackowiak, Harris

Both good bench options, but unnecessary for the Nats.

I was hoping to get atleast one them back.

How many outfielders does one team need?

Do the Nats really need more OF'ers? I know they've said Kearns isn't going anywhere, but all the facts point to him being moved

willie harris can play some second base as well...

im not racist by any means, in fact very very far from it, but it seems liek the nationals have more african american players than any other team easily.... does anyone think its anythign to do with there market, or fanbase strategy??

Renegade - guess that means they will be cancelling " dog the bounty hunter" night huh.

Renegade: Nope, not at all. Just going after young talent.

Ozzie: Relax, mate, he's not.

Land-man: Apparently we need about 50...never mind there's only supposed to be 25 on the roster. I think Bowden might want to try Milliedge on the mound.

Just kidding of course...only Kearns, Pena, Milledge and Dukes can REALLY be considered OF's that are the Nats roster at the moment. Langerhans, Harris, Mackowiac, etc...these guys will end up being our pinch runners...I'd be surprised if anyone but the four I mentioned as OF's get more than 20 starts this season, in any position. Oh, and Maxwell will be in AA to start the season with marrero.

ha, i didnt knwo they had that.. well if u remeber, tori hunter said that the DC population had a small influence on his decision..
plus MLB is very focused on getting young black males interested in baseball

It might have something to do with that, but while I feel the same way as yourself, I've noticed that in the past two or three years, Tampa Bay has had a lot of black players. Notables include: B.J. Upton, Delmon Young, Carl Crawford, Elijah Dukes, Edwin Jackson, Damian Rolls, among others, It's a very small percentage of the roster but how many black players have played for the Yankees, Red Sox, etc. over recent years? Very, very few.

NYY notables (that I can think of):

Rondell White
LaTroy Hawkins (in '08)
Matt Lawton

BOS:

Carl Everett
Damian Jackson
Dave Roberts

NYM:

Lastings Milledge

i think they're stocking up on utility type players. both mackowiak and harris have played multiple IF positions as well. and i think this pretty much seals langerhans fate as a AAA player this year. not to mention the OF the nats picked up in the rule 5 draft.

that said, i wouldn't be surprised to see either of these guys traded in spring training or early next season. i have to wonder if they each knew the other was signing as well.

NYM:
Moises Alou
Carlos Beltran
Jose Reyes
Marlon Anderson
As you say, Lastings Milledge (before trade to WSH)

BOS
Ortiz
Manny
WMP (before trade to WSH)

NY
Cano
Soriano

What does it matter what color skin a player has, or where he comes from? If he plays the game the right way, clean, and plays his heart out, there's nothing that makes him any different from any other player in the majors.

BOS = ramirex is latin, im pretty sure big papi is as well

NYM = beltran, reyes, ans alou are all latin

yeah, most teams have maybe 1 or 2, but the former rays team and now nationals have 6 or 7... just a higher percenatge than the other teams

id be pretty excited if i was a nationals fan,,, there team has some things to look forward to in the future

Not that it matters, but I think Marlon Anderson is the only African American player you just named...

yeah bignatsfan , most of those guys you named are latino , which is very different from african american....nice try though , I would try to look at the last names....you know ramirez , ortiz , reyes yeah

Anderson, I forgot him.

the yankees have had a few african american players:

gary sheffield
tom gordon
terrence long (if you consider him a player)
tony clark
kenny lofton

also lets not forget that the captain himself, derek jeter, is half black

Sorry - I was just pointing out the minorities/non-white players in those teams, and the fact that they are in fact huge contributors to their teams...guess I should have clarified that.

The important part of what I was trying to point out is that it doesn't matter what the skin color of the player is, or what the fan base is, but how they play the game that ultimately matters. I personally do not identify more with a player of my own skin color than I do of another, but I know I'll root till the end for the guy that barely beats out that throw, or drives in the winning run...

That was rather the point I was driving at.

Curtis Pride, Matt Lawton.

It's a struggle when the overall percentage in the majors is down to what 7-8%?

I think the Nationals definitely take demographics into account when it comes to seeking out young black players. Obviously it's not a we have to go get Elijah Dukes because he is black scenario but it stands to reason the marketing aspects play a role in their decision.

Why not? They come cheap and can fill in when inevitable injuries occur, or when one of these young guys doesn't pan out. Willie Harris can definitely be good, especially in a platoon as shown by his LF situation in Atlanta (well, for most of the season).

Dave Roberts is Japanese.

Alfonso Soriano,Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz are from the Dominican Republic.

Carlos Beltran is Puerto Rican.

Moises Alou and Jose Reyes are also not African American.

Latin players are not the same as African Players. Just as good but not the same.

Booby17: I know, read my second comment. I didn't mean to say that they were black, just that they are a minority representing a fan base as well, but specifically that their nationality and color or ethnicity DOES NOT MATTER.

Yea i understand, I was just stating for the purpose of knowledge.
I agree with on alot of points. Not too sure I understand what you are trying to say in what players you identify more withbut im not here to debate your own opinion.

bignatsfan: Obviously, no one is arguing any ethnic superiority or inferiority when it comes to playing the game of baseball. But it does matter in terms of the desired ethnic diversity that all organizations should be attempting. Latinos are a minority but have a much higher percentage of players in MLB than Blacks. One issue is that there just isn't as much interest in baseball among young black athletes as opposed to basketball and football and something needs to be done to generate more interest.
I really don't care what my players look like, but when you have such a large portion of the population that just has no interest in baseball it severely drains the talent pool.

Black players? Wouldn't know. I'm a Braves fan.

If race didn't play a factor in personnel decisions, Vinny Castilla wouldn't have been a Padre for half of 2006.

Also interesting to note that last off-season, when the all-white Astros were at the peak of criticism for their lack of diversity, it took approximately 1 year to bring onboard Carlos Lee, Michael Bourn, Kaz Matsui, Miguel Tejada and promote Cecil Cooper to manage.

It's great to see that kind of effort, but it's clear that a paradigm shift for McLane had him focus his FO on diversifying the staff.

"Langerhans, Harris, Mackowiac, etc...these guys will end up being our pinch runners"

Langerhans and Mackowiak combine for less than 20 SBs in their last combined 1400+ ABs! These guys are going to be your pinch runners?! The etc. means that the Nationals are going to have more than 3 pinch runners... and they have less speed than Langerhans and Mackowiak otherwise you would have listed them first?!

I'm just giving you a hard time, but that's a hilarious situation to think about.

Anyone take a look at Washington's current 40-man roster. I'm guessing they have a serious logjam. I can't wait to see the comedy.

FIRE SABEAN!!! FIRE SABEAN!!! FIRE SABEAN!!!

Let's not seel either Mackowiak or Harris short. Both can play all three outfield positions, while Harris can play second and Mackowiak can play three of the four outfield positions. I believe he was the Pirates emergency catcher at some point during his time in Pittsburgh. All Bowden might need is a middle infielder and a backup catcher and he's got his bench wrapped up.

Teams recruit players from different ethnicities all the time. The Yankees cater to more of an upper class population while the Mets tend to target the New York Latino population. The Cubs and White Sox have had similar strategies. The Seattle has a large Japanese-American population. They have been leaders at recruiting Japanese baseball players for a reason. Toronto, although with less success, has recently tried a similar tactic to recruit Canadian players.

That does not mean that these teams are trying to put together an all-Japanese or all-Black team. They are trying to put together a team that draws fans. By nature, fans like to see players who are similar to they are. Fans also like to see their team win. If a franchise can assemble a team that fits those categories, they will do so. Otherwise, they will find the balance that will make them the most money.

I am not sure how well the DC market is known. Yes, Washington is predominately African American, however, it only has a population of 650,000. Northern Virginia is predominantly white - Fairfax County alone has almost a million people and is one of the two wealthiest per capita in the country. Montgomery County is very similar in Maryland and is usually in the top three or four in per capita income. These, along with Prince William County, Alexandria, Arlington, and Loudoun County, which are predominantly white, will be the demographics that will fill the ballpark. Prince Georges County in Maryland is predominantly African American and will also be a natural draw for the Nationals although for some in that county there may be an allegiance to the Orioles.

When the Washington Capitals were first formed they drafted an African American player with the second overall pick named Mike Marson. He was a gritty and hard nosed player but hardly the player that would be taken second overall. The thought at the time was that it would attract the African American population of Prince Georges County, where they played and from DC. I had season tickets the first eight years the Capitals were around and did not see the Marson pick as accomplishing that.

I thoroughly believe they are trying to put the best team and farm system together and race has nothing to do with which players are signed. That is the way it should be.

Players that are the same race as a large portion of a team's fan base have a little bit better of a chance to sign with said team, but team's won't just sign guys because of their race for no other reason.

Following up with what Iron Nat said, there is a very large latino population on the Virginia side. The soccer games at RFK have tons of Puerto Rican flags and others. The population has been growing for years, esp south Arlington.

Affluency wise, African Americans don't necessarily have the money to go to expensive games like the wealthy suburbs, at least not in proportion to their overall population.

I doubt the moves are racially driven. I *really* doubt it.