Can we take a moment to lament how the beat writers covering the Nationals once again got beat to their own story?

This time, it was by a newspaper 120 miles away. The Harrisburg Patriot-News' Geoff Morrow broke the news that Nationals Director of Player Development Bobby Williams had been fired in the last sentence of his recap the Senators' 7-3 win over Bowie last night. "The Washington Nationals' director of player development, Bobby Williams, was fired Friday after three years on the job," it said.

That was 10:30 Friday night. Brian Oliver, whose Nats Farm Authority blog covers the Nationals' farm system better than any media outlet in the country, saw the Patriot-News report and blogged it at 9:15 Saturday morning (though had apparently heard about the firing Friday afternoon).

It was another five hours before the Washington Post's Chico Harlan reported it on his blog -- more than 15 hours after it was first reported. The Washington Times, Nationals.com, MASNSports.com, and WTOP.com have all yet to report the news.

So, let's take a moment to wonder what other important Nationals news stories are slipping through the notebooks of the accredited media.

      

A few weeks ago, while discussing with Hendo his latest column where he did an exceptional job making a case for the conclusion of Manny Acta's tenure as manager of the Nationals, he asked me where I stood on the question.

In our podcast the day before, I had said I believed it was too soon to talk seriously about firing him. What I didn't say -- but what I told Hendo later -- was that though I did believe Acta's ultra-calm demeanor was counter-productive, it was too soon to pass final judgment.

I still believe that to be the case.

Here's what I told Hendo in my reply that evening:

My feeling is that it needs to wait until the off-season. There ought to be three complete miserable seasons where the team has actually gotten consistently worse before a decision is made. Unfortunately, I'm not sure anything about the Washington Nationals' major-league club has gotten reliably better that can be credited to how Acta has managed. The hitting has gotten better this year because of a trade -- not because of coaching.

This year, we've identified the two major problems -- pitching from the bullpen and defense. I don't hold Acta responsible for the bullpen pitching (though I have questioned some of the substitution strategies, you can't make them throw strikes). But the defense is something that can be improved through coaching and practice. We're a third of the way through the season. If by the two-thirds mark the Nats haven't reduced the frequency of their errors, then we'll know the staff isn't coaching correctly and they ought to go on notice. And if by the end of the season they're still not better, then clearly they're ineffective and need to be replaced.

So yes, I say wait until the end of the season to start thinking about it. Three full seasons is enough time to expect some kind of progress.

So here we are, potentially on the brink of Acta's termination, just 60 games into the 162-game season and the Nationals well on their way to their worst season yet.

I still believe it's premature to fire Acta, thus I hope Ken Rosenthal's report is inaccurate. Regardless, someone inside the Nationals front office or the MLB brass needs to learn to keep their mouth shut.

This kind of leak is busch league -- the kind of stuff that was supposed to ended when Jim Bowden left town. If it was meant to be a shot across the bow, so be it. There's no way Acta and his players couldn't have received the message loud and clear (though obviously it made no impact on today's game play).

I often don't like the way Acta runs this club, but the current state of the franchise is not his fault. He deserves to be measured while managing a real team with real players -- or at least given the opportunity to make demonstrable progress in areas within the reach of managerial influence.

      

Former Nationals General Manager sat down for an interview with WUSA's Brett Haber where he talked about his firing and his tenure with the Nationals.

WUSA has made the full interview available online, but in five parts. I haven't watched them yet and since my Comcast digital cable spazzed out last night (it's still not really back), I haven't seen what the parts they showed on television either.

The story on WUSA9.com doesn't reveal much that we haven't heard before. How sad he was about being fired, how embarrassing the Smiley Gonzalez case was, and denying his involvement in the signing-bonus skimming scandal.

The videos: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

      

Mike, Jeff and I recorded a new podcast on Wednesday night while watching the Nats-Marlins game. It's available to download here, or click on the button to play it right now in your browser.

In this week's (month's?) episode of the Pridecast, we look at what effect Jim Bowden's resignation has had on the Nationals and the league. We look at his last big deal -- the signing of Adam Dunn -- and how the Nats' outfielder-rich lineup is shaking out.

Jordan Zimmermann has had a great spring, but Jeff and Mike explained to me why the Nats should NOT let him start the season on the Major League roster.  Additional love was shown to John Lannan, Shairon Martis, and Stephen Strasburg.

Have feedback on the podcast? Leave a comment here or send an email to pridecast@nationalspride.com. Send us your questions and we may respond to it during the next podcast!

UPDATE: If you're viewing this post on the front page and listening to the inline podcast player, you'll notice the page refreshes after 10 minutes... interrupting the playing of the podcast. Oops. If you want to listen inline, please click on the headline and go directly to the blog post.

      

Assistant General Manager Mike Rizzo is getting some pretty good press these days. His effort to shut down the Nationals' old Jose Rijo-created presence in the Dominican Republic and start up a brand new one in just a matter of days is being hailed as an epic success.

The Post, Times, and Nationals.com all feature Rizzo and his work today after days of positive chatter from team officals trickling through in stories and blog posts.

Stan Kasten's move to make Rizzo the point person in the Dominican clean-up had the added benefit of being exceptionally good positional politics. Though Rizzo has always been looked at as a strong potential successor, his management of a major project is a way of cementing that status in the organization.

It happens in politics all the time. Move the successor out in front just before the incumbent is cut out to make the transition seem smooth.

By the time the Nationals cut ties with Jim Bowden, they'll have us not just content to have Rizzo, but grateful.

Smart politics from the baseball team of the nation's capital.

      

Being the reigning Nationals guru in my office, it keeps happening the same way. Someone pokes their head in my office and then, with a big smile on their face, pops the question.

"So when do you think it's going to happen?"

They're talking about the firing of Jim Bowden, of course. The Nationals played their first Spring Training game yesterday but the buzz in Washington (at least as it pertains to baseball) is about the accusations against the general manager.

The news yesterday that Jose Rijo was being shown the door only intensified the buzz and amplified the mystery. Why hasn't Bowden been fired yet?

It turns out, despite this omnipresent sense of inevitability, I don't have an answer.

Without actually taking a position as to whether he should or should not be fired, I'll say I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet. I'm surprised the Lerners haven't yet sat with Bowden and presented two options -- be fired, or resign by saying "I don't want to be a distraction to the team."

To me, that's the real problem right now -- the distraction. This big dark cloud shadowing the otherwise hopeful scene in Viera right now is a major, major distraction. This whole criminal investigation is a major embarassment for Washington. As was getting duped by Gonzalez. As was the DWI in Florida. And the questions about the Majewski deal. And the Cordero radio announcement.

I'm tired of being the laughing stock of the league. I'm tired of reading about other front offices bad-mouthing ours. I'm tired of being embarassed to reveal I'm a Nationals fan.

The Nationals can not afford to begin the 2009 regular season with this cloud following them back up north.

So, for the record, I don't know when he'll be fired. For that matter, I really don't know IF he'll be fired. All we can really do is wait... the story of Nationals fans' lives.

      

Just a heads' up - you can watch the press conference introducing Adam Dunn live on MASN at 3:00. Mark Lerner, Stan Kasten, Jim Bowden and Manny Acta are expected to participate.

      

First of all, NatsFest today was pretty cool.  Far more people showed up than I expected and, despite the long lines, it seemed like the Nationals staff really planned well and managed the flow of people as well as could be done.

The most impressive thing I saw, though, was Jim Bowden in a question-and-answer session in the Diamond Club. It's not often that I say positive things about the Nationals' general manager, but I was somewhat taken aback by the session. The questions asked by fans were largely inteligent, well thought-out and well posed. Bowden's answers were direct, candid, and interesting.

Honestly, the whole thing was impressive. Jim Bowden is not most Nationals fans' favorite person these days, but he sat there and answered questions like a trooper.

A few photos from the event:

Jim Bowden, with radio announcer Charlie Slowes, takes questions from fans.

Fans packed the Diamond Club to participate in the Bowden Q&A.

The lines of fans waiting for autographs and photos with players stretched far. Here, in the Stars & Stripes Club, fans grab a bite to eat and get autographs from Negro League players.

      

Given that slightly large news event that Washington hosted earlier this week, you'd be forgiven for not noticing just how interesting today's Inaugural NatsFest apparently will be.

The Nationals are essentially throwing open the doors to Nationals Park today, inviting fans to get autographs, photos, and participate in question-and-answer sessions with a handful of Nationals players including Ryan Zimmerman, Terrell Young, Josh Willingham, Steven Shell, Scott Olsen, Garrett Mock, Willie Harris and John Lannan. Front office staff including Stan Kasten, Jim Bowden, Mike Rizzo, and Manager Manny Acta will also participate.

Political columnist and baseball aficionado George F. Will, historian and Examiner columnist Phil Wood, and Nationals broadcasters Bob Carpenter and Charlie Slowes will also be involved.

Most of the events will be held in the Presidents Club, Diamond Club, Stars & Stripes Club or the Conference Center.

Fans will also get a tour of the clubhouse and the opportunity to hit in the Nationals' batting cages for $1 to benefit the Nationals Dream Foundation. There'll also be a "Kids Zone" setup with carnival-like activities for the little ones.

I have to give credit where credit is due and say this is a pretty cool thing they're doing. I've always been a fan of the team's "Winter Caravan," (despite my growing concern of the attention paid to remote locations while the more target-rich immediate suburbs go largely untapped), but I love the potential today's NatsFest event has.

Right now, the team has to do whatever it can to get fans interested in the Nationals... and special access to players and the more exclusive areas of the ballpark certainly qualify.  Yes, if you're not a season ticket holder who got his or her passes earlier, it'll cost you $10 to get in ($5 or kids), plus concessions and souvenirs, etc, but it's a pretty interesting way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

NatsFest runs from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Nationals Park. Tickets can be purchased at the door. MASN will broadcast a one-hour special with interviews from NatsFest tonight at 8 p.m.