Durham Turns Down Offer From Nationals

Yeah enjoy retirement Ray. You're not going to get a better offer than that. I lost sympathy.

lol players rather retire than play for the Nationals.

Red, Jon Daniels in Texas signed Vizquel to a minor league deal. Does that mean he's a terrible GM too? Look at guys like Lofton last year. They wouldn't take a minor league deal, and ended up sitting the year. Veterans need to swallow their pride and take whatever contract they can get, because more and more, teams are putting emphasis on younger players, and so the older veterans begin to get squeezed out.

I gotta agree with the other guys here. Durham shouldn't have refused that offer right away. He should have looked around and see what other offers are out there. I'm sure Bowden wouldn't have minded.

Well, if its between playing for the Nats and not playing/collecting a check at all....

Especially when the Nats would probably give Durham a starting job, which he can then use as leverage next year to get a better deal in what is hopefully a better economic condition.

Durham doesn't want to play for the worst team in the National League - why be critical of him for that? The Nationals have no clear direction - Bowden is an AWFUL G.M. - he destroyed Cincinnati, and all he has accomplished in Washington is to bring in every former Red he could pick off the scrap heap. No decent free agent will sign with the Nationals.

if all these players like Dunn and Durham actually took the Nats offer and God forbid they got manny they'd have a halfway decent team. They need bullpen help as well as rotation but beggars can't be choosers.

I hear the Mexican league is always looking for an average second baseman.

Durham is an older guy who feels like he deserves a spot in the bigs as well as the chance to compete for a championship. Money's great, but you have to be realistic: does he really want to move his family to Washington in the hopes he'll land on the 25-man roster at this point in his life? Does he want to be part of a club that's a LONG ways away from competing, much less shooting for .500? He's probably fine money-wise, otherwise he wouldn't be mulling retirement. My whole point is that for the Nationals to attract 'name' players, they have to make an above-average offer. The benefits to the player have to outweigh the risk. Lofton over-values himself, and Omar Vizquel wants to continue playing. Durham is probably tired of playing in a different city every year, and doesn't want to finish his career on the worst team in baseball. I realize I'm making a lot of assumptions, but I can't imagine too many veteran players who'd jump at the chance to compete for a job on the Nats.

I would really doubt Durham would move his family to DC for a six months top stint there.

If he's looking to be a backup on a contender then good luck to him. If he wants one more year in the sun, then let's make a deal.

It doesn't hurt for Bowden to ask, but obviously what the Nats have to offer - come play and mentor our kids - doesn't mesh with what he wants - a shot at a winner, and maybe a ring. Could be the money too, vets have pride, but in this economic climate more and more vets are either going to sit at home or fight for spots on the roster that would have been given to them in past years.

pas493, you beat me to it. I was about to make the same post, but I am glad I am not the only one thinking this way.

Granted I am a Nats fan too, but I don't understand why there is this perrenial loser stigma attached to the Nats. Yes, they were terrible last year. I know I watched a lot of games. BUT...so were the Mariners, and they paid a lot more to be bad. Up until last year, the Nats worst season was when they lost 89 games. Obviously thats nothing to brag about, but its no worse than the Rays/Royals/Pittsburgh have been in the past. Even the Giants have stunk up the West for a couple years.

Plus we have to remember Omar Minaya destroyed this teams minors system. Which they are having to completely rebuild now.

I wouldn't mind seeing JimBo get the boot, but I do trust Stan Kasten, and I see brighter days for this ball club in the near future.

Why on earth would a contending team want him now?

He should take the deal from the Nats and OBP .380 again to prove it wasnt a fluke. Then his value would be at a point where a contending team would take him for insurance at the deadline (kinda like his 2008).

Poor decision RayRay.

Durham got his best offer this offseason from the Nats. He did not like it. So be it. Let him sit. He doesn't bring much to the table. No power, SBs or ability to catch the ball. So he is more of a pinch hitter/back up now. As most guys so far his ego is going to keep him at home.

But it is not like he needs the money. So let him retire.

if you can't play second base well anymore, you won't be a PH, and you don't hit for power, I don't really know where your worth is. Durham's options are limited at best and I can't imagine a contending team wanting his services. Can anyone name a contending team that doesn't have a better defensive option at 2B?

"I don't understand why there is this perrenial loser stigma attached to the Nats"

When the team finishes higher than 4th place one time in the last 12 years, you are a perrenial loser.

Posted by: PL | February 10, 2009 at 10:03 AM
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I am judging the Nationals on what they are trying to do as an organization since they got an owner, not under the watch of Mr. Selig.

And, most of the comments left about the Nationals (media and here) are of the opinion "they are bad now and will always be bad, so why bother". While they are not close to competing in the next year or two, who is to say they aren't improving. While they haven't spent a lot of money on FA's they have put a lot of money into scouting and the minor league staff. They are setting up the same Kasten-style system that one the Braves 14 consecutive NL East titles.

I’ll side with Durham here. He is going to be 37 this year and for the last 18 years he basically leaves home at the end of February and returns in October. Until last July he had spent the last 4 years toiling on sub 500 clubs. 2 of the 4 division winning squads he has been on were because of mid season trades. He has never been on a league champion. He has been a starter almost every year tell last July and now he has to decide if it is worth being a part time player and if so under what conditions.

Knowing all this and people want to rip him for not leaping at the chance to play on another sub 500 squad that should be doing a youth movement with what might be his last chance to play MLB level ball? Best of Luck Ray.

"Well I mean if Keith Law said it then it must be true and set in stone. You can really see the Blue Jays reaping the benefits from hiring him now"

Because Keith Law was the head honcho in that front office, and made all the decisions.

Law's established himself as one of the best mainstream scouts available in the game, so although his reports aren't set in stone (nothing with prospects is ever set in stone, ever), he's a pretty good judge of raw, amateur talent.

And the Nationals, frankly, have a crap farm system. Marrero, Detwiler and Smoker didn't develop like they were expected to, and outside of Jordan Zimmerman they don't have a single upper level prospect. Guys like Nieto, Hood, Gonzalez, Norris and Burgess have upside, but this is far from a good farm system.

"Keep comparing the Nationals to the Expos"

Im not comparing them, they are the same franchise, a franchise that has 1 second place finish in 12 years and 11 4th or 5th place ones. They are not a good franchise. When they start finishing higher than 4th place then they will lose that tag. Its as black and white as that. Win, and people will respect you.

To clarify: The Nationals are in a stage where they're a team at the bottom of the league. Veteran players will only go there if they get a paycheck well beyond what they'd get from a contender, or if it's close to home, or something along those lines. Nobody who's used to playing meaningful baseball wants to be playing in an empty park in mid-May. The only way a team like the Nationals is going to woo a name player is by over-paying for them. I think it sucks, but for now, that's how it is. That's why the Royals paid what they paid for Gil Meche. They needed a starter who could give them quality starts, and they didn't have the farm to do it - and wanted someone from the free agent market. They couldn't really afford to get the top guys, and to nab an average guy, they had to draw him in with top money. Once their farm catches up, and the team improves, good players will take sensible money to play there. It's the same concept as buying a house in a bad neighborhood, but you pay a low price for it. The Nationals wanted a decent house in a decent neighborhood for a handful of pennies. Sorry, but Jim Bowden did nothing but insult Ray Durham.