According to the depth chart on Yahoo! Sports, Willie Harris is supposed to be our starting center fielder where Nyjer Morgan is slated to be the back up left fielder. I think they're a little confused.

Splitting time between playing centerfield in Washington, and both left and centerfield in Pittsburgh, Morgan was the second most valuable fielder in baseball registering 27.8 runs above average. First was Seattle Mariners outfielder, and former Cleveland Indian prospect Franklin Gutierrez (29.1), and third was Rays shortstop Ben Zobrist. (26.4).  Nationals third-baseman Ryan Zimmerman finished fifth with 18.1 runs above average.

During my first week of college freshman year at Ohio Wesleyan I sat in the common room of my suite with my three roommates. One of my roommates, Mark, from Ohio, was flipping through the channels late one night until Colin, from Massachusetts, stopped him.

"Wait, go back," Colin said. "There, it's The Sports Machine."

I rubbed my eyes and gave it a double-look. But my eyes didn't deceive me, still in 2005, Michael was being syndicated across the country. I was hundreds of miles away from Washington, and there on my T.V. was a little bit of home, George Michael's infectious personality and electric broadcast. As we sat and kindly mocked his old school approach, we appreciated the importance of his career, and for the first time we all bonded and grew a little bit closer.

For me, that will always be my memory of George Michael. For countless others it will be something similar, whether it be sitting on their father's lap watching The Sports Machine when they were a boy, or learning something new when watching his weekly weekend sports panels. Michael's influence spread far and wide over his illustrious career, and impacted all of us in some sort of way.

One can't help but notice how that influence spread to the creators of ESPN. The Sports Machine simply showed the highlights, without any overbearing commentary, and brought sports video to the masses across the country. Nearly 30 years after his first broadcast, ESPN makes it's living off of Sports Center, which revolves around highlights from across the Nation with energetic commentary from its personable hosts. Sound familiar?

In the end, however, Michael's impact on sports broadcasting fails in comparison to the impact of his character. In 2006 Michael's contract was up for renewal. Due to station-wide budget cuts Michael was offered a raise, but as a result others in the sports department would be laid off. In the end the legend chose to resign in order to spare the jobs of others. Character over money, integrity over career.

Michael signed off after 27 years in 2007 with these parting words:

"I close every show every Sunday by saying 'Thank you for letting us be a part of your weekend.' Well tonight, for the final time, we say, 'Thank you. Thank you for letting us be a part of your life'. From everyone at the Sports Machine, have a great weekend everybody. We hope to see you somewhere down the road of life. Thank you."

Thank you, George, for everything you have done for this aspiring sports writer. We'll see you sometime down the road...

MLB.COM's Bill Ladson tweeted tonight at 1:16 that the Washington Nationals and former Pittsburgh Pirates closer Matt Capps have agreed to a one-year deal. The deal will put Capps in a position to compete for, and likely claim Washington's closing role in spring training.

Capps was courted by as many as 10 teams after being non-tendered by Pittsburgh this winter, but narrowed the field down to the Cubs and the Nationals on Dec. 17. From there the righty had to decide whether he wanted to be a closer for Washington, or a set-up man in Chicago. In the end, Capps wanted to be a closer.

"[I liked the Nationals because of] the way Mr. Rizzo has treated me throughout this whole process," Capps told Bill Ladson. "The Nationals organization has been first class. They expressed their interest from Day One -- the moment I was non-tendered. They wanted me to become a Washington National. That means a lot."

A one-year deal represents a perfect opportunity for the Nationals as it gives Capps a chance to re-prove himself as a closer, and the Nationals the opportunity to 'rent-a-closer' until last years first round draft pick, Drew Storen, is ready to take over the role. Capps will be able to rebuild value for 2011 free-agency, when he will be only 27, and the Nationals can exploit that value to their benefit. A true win-win.

Capps, 26, is coming off the worst year of his career after posting a 5.80 ERA, 4.90 FIP, and a 2.71 K/BB on the way to saving 27 games. While Capps performed poorly in 2009, his 2006-08 was stellar. Capps posted ERA's of 3.79, 2.28,  and 3.02 while saving 18, 21, and 27 games for the lowly Pirates. While Capps 2009 performance was a concern for many teams, his .340 BABIP and his steady velocity have led many to think that maybe he just got unlucky, and just needs to get his accuracy under control.

Today was a busy day for Nationals General Manager Mike Rizzo, as well as Nationals MLB.com beat writer Bill Ladson's twitter account. Only several hours after introducing starting pitcher Jason Marquis as a new member of our rotation, Fox Sports' Jon Paul Morosi reported that the Nationals were close to a one-year deal with long time bullpen hand Eddie Guardado:

"The Nationals are nearing a one-year deal with left-handed reliever Eddie Guardado, multiple major league sources told FOXSports.com.

Guardado went 1-2 with a 4.46 ERA in 48 relief outings for the Rangers this year. His role in the Washington bullpen isn’t yet clear, but he is expected to pitch in the seventh inning or later.

His signing won’t preclude the Nationals for signing closer Matt Capps, one source said. The Nationals are among the finalists to sign Capps after he was non-tendered by Pittsburgh earlier this month."

Analysis: Let's make one thing clear, at the age of 39, Guardado's arm is just about useless. His 4.46 ERA last year is deceiving when you look at his overwhelming 6.10 FIP (Fielder Independent Pitching), and his rather low .260 BABIP. So really his 4.46 ERA was a product of luck, and good defense behind him. However, this likely isn't why the Nationals signed Eddie. As Morosi points out in his report, Guardado has long been considered one of the better bullpen mentors in baseball. He's been around, and he knows a lot about being a professional, and apparently about teaching pitchers how to

John Paul Morosi reported tonight that according to league sources, the Nationals are very close to signing a one-year deal with the former close. Guardado made 48 appearances with the Rangers last year, posting a 4.46 ERA. Guardado is 39 years old.

Washington Nationals Headed to Playoffs in 2010, The Hardball Times

“Having a mentor to work with the young pitchers can be valuable, and Marquis is young enough himself to do just that while furthering his career. This signing brings to note a common refrain repeated yearly: why spend the money on Marquis if they're going nowhere? If the Nationals are a 77-loss team, why spend the money to bring them to a 75-loss team? Answer: It's not that simple. You still need bodies out there to compete. What if their internal options were lousy? How about signing cheaper alternatives -- they're cheaper because they're riskier. Maybe they're not projected to be a good mentor (Erik Bedard would scare me in that role) or just not good, period.”-Evan Brunell

Nationals Sign Jason Marquis, Fangraphs

“But here’s the rub. What exactly is the point of spending $4 million for a win when you’re the Nationals? The team currently has maybe seventy-something win talent and they’re well on their way to becoming basement dwellers in the NL East yet again. Signing an innings-eater such as Marquis to a contract like this makes zero sense; all he does is makes the Nationals slightly less bad than they were a year ago.”-Erik Manning

Thoughts on Marquis Signing, Nats Journal

The deal for Marquis – two years, $15 million – fits quite squarely under the category already established this offseason for respectable (but occasionally perplexing) veteran starters. Brad Penny received a one-year, $7.5 million contract from St. Louis. Rich Harden received a one-year, $7.5 million contract from Texas. Marquis gives you more consistency and less upside than either, but for a team in need of innings/reliability, that’s probably a worthy trade-off.- Chico Harlan

Nationals sign Jason Marquis…Matt Capps Next?, Federal Baseball

“The second big signing of the winter for Washington, following close on the heels of the much-maligned two-year deal extended to future Hall of Fame catcher Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, the Nationals' deal with Marquis has already drawn similar scorn, with most of it the "why sign players when you won't compete this season" variety, which is usually in reality the bitter rant of a fan who thinks (most often incorrectly) that his or her own team is just one pitcher away from competing with the game's elite, and thus doesn't want to see any player "wasted" on a perennial doormat like the Washington franchise. This makes Nationals fans happy! (ed. note - "Some who don't like the deal think Marquis walks too many...His 3.3 BB/9 ranked as the 10th highest amongst starters in the NL last season, these folks might have an argument.")”- Ed Chigliak

Jason Marquis to the Washington Post

"Just coming to an organization that started making moves to brighten their future, I feel like being part of that could be something special," Marquis said. Stephen "Strasburg could be something special. [John] Lannan has been great the last two years. Pudge [Rodríguez] to mentor. I just wanted to be a part of something where they were showing they were going in the right direction, and also something where they wanted you to be a part of it."

The Nationals announced today that they will sign 31-year-old right-handed-pitcher Jason Marquis to a two-year, $15 million dollar deal. The signing fills one of the needs General Manager Mike Rizzo established at the beginning of the off-season; to acquire a top of the rotation starter.

Marquis earned $9.875 million last season at the back end of a three-year $21 million contract that he signed with the Cubs in 2006. Assuming Marquis makes $7.5 million next season (half of his 15 total), he will be taking 24% pay decrease with the Nationals a year after earning his first all-star appearance and tying his career high in wins with 15. It’s interesting that Marquis would sign a decreased deal the year after his career year, especially since pitching is at such a premium this winter.

This could have happened several reasons. First, he may have just genuinely wanted to pitch in Washington. Marquis has had a history of pitching poorly in the second half for teams that are in contention, pressure can get to some people, and he wouldn’t have to worry about that in D.C.. Or, secondly, it’s possible that other teams just saw something they didn’t like, even in what was a good year for Marquis.

UPDATE 3:50: MASN'S Byron Kerr spoke with Nationals Pitcher Jason Bergmann,  who said:

"I am excited that we are able to add a starting pitcher of his caliber. It is a good day for our team and our fan base. It shows the league that the Nats are serious about getting better and contending. Marquis is a top of rotation starter that can go deep into games. He was an all star last year and is a ground ball pitcher. He is a veteran presence on our pitching staff and can be a mentor for our younger players."

UPDATE 3:36: Mark Fiensand tweeted the Nationals signed Marquis for two years, $15 million, pending a physical.

These numbers, if true, represent a very interesting change from conventional thought and the belief in the "Nats Tax." Once news broke that Marquis had chosen the Nationals, the immediate belief was that the club must have offered him the third year that other suitors, like the New York Mets, had not. Instead, Marquis genuinely chose to go to Washington over other teams, which certainly is a big development here. Things are changing in D.C.

2:15: MASN Sports reported this afternoon that the Washington Nationals have reached an agreement with free-agent starting pitcher Jason Marquis. Marquis, 31, went 15-13 for the Colorado Rockies last season while earning his first career All-Star appearance.

Marquis pitched 213 innings in 2009, a number that the Nationals found attractive as they were in the market for a pitcher who could eat up innings in their rotation. Jason finished the season with a 4.04 ERA and struck out 115 batters while allowing 80 walks. Marquis had the best FIP of his career last year at 4.10, and the highest ground ball percentage at 55.6%.

Marquis numbers as a whole can be deceiving however. His first half of 2009, which earned him the All-Star appearance, was much better than his second.

1st Half: 11-6, 3.65 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, .264 BAA
2nd Half: 4-7, 4.56 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, .284 BAA

Projections for 2010:

Bill James: 4.37 ERA, 12-11 W-L, 202 IP, 3.43 BB/9, .268 BAA
CHONE:   4.73 ERA, W-L PNA , 177 IP, 3.65 BB/9, PNA
ZiPS:          4.44 ERA, 11-12 W-L, 184.1 IP, 3.25 BB/9, PNA

Each year GM's from across the league come together and meet in one place and talk hardcore baseball, these are the Winter Meetings. It's the Black Friday of baseballs shopping season, and the springboard that leads into MLB's Hot Stove offseason.

The meetings wrapped up last week and to review the action The Nats Blog is going to get reviews from top blogs across the league. Today will be the NL East, here will be the schedule for the rest of the week:

12/16-NL Central, 12/17-NL West, 12/18-AL East, 12/19-AL Central, 12/20 AL West, American League 12/19

According to a tweet from Ken Rosenthal:

"Nats making a strong run at Garland. Wants 3 yrs. Nats would prefer two. Other possibilities for the Nats: Marquis, D. Davis"

Earlier this month, now former Nats beat-writer Chico Harlan wrote in Nationals Journal that Nationals GM Mike Rizzo had interest in Garland:

"Regarding Garland, the free-agent pitcher. GM Mike Rizzo this afternoon admitted that his team was in the running. "Yeah, we have interest in Jon Garland," he said. "We've had it the whole time. He's one of the 10 names we've been talking about throughout the whole winter."

Analysis: Garland, 30, will be entering his 11th year as a starting pitcher in the league in 2010. Breaking into the league at only 20, many considered Garland a good prospect for the White Sox, but it seems that he hasn't made much progress over the years. In his last 8 MLB seasons, Garland has won between at least 10 games each year. He has had an ERA above four all but one year, and an ERA below five every year.

His K/9 has ranged between 4.12 and 5.23, his K/BB between 1.35 and 2.73, and his BAA between .257 and .299. He has pitched no less than 192.2 and no more than 221.0.

Quite simply, Garland has been the epitome of consistency, however mediocre that consistent level may be. Thats a trait that is attractive to the Nationals in their current state of the franchise. Last year they had trouble depending on anyone on their pitching staff outside of John Lannan. Their young pitchers were erratic and often injured, and the Nationals would like to strive for some sort of consistency to help anchor the youthful staff.

The crux of this deal seems to come down to how many years will be put on it. Garland wants a three year deal, but the best he could muster last season was a one year $7.25 million contract with Arizona. Considering Randy Wolf just signed a three year deal worth $9.5 million a year, Garland probably wont be able to get more than $7 million a year in a multi-year deal. The Nationals could probably clinch this deal by offering him two years, and as long as they don't throw too much money at him, it wouldn't be a terrible idea for them to secure their rotation.