Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2010 16:35:38 GMT -5
The National Times
By: Cameron Taylor, Sports
Date: April 4th, 20010
V1. Issue 1
Malibu, CA -- It was no surprise that when the Washington Nationals chose entrepreneur Adam Olson as their General Manager they were going to get a little more exposure to the organization that in recent years. Successful at all stages of his life, Olson had always coveted Major League Baseball. Growing up he wanted to accomplish only a few things in life. The first was to be a Hall of Fame baseball player. The second? A very rich man.
I was flown across the country to Olson's beachfront villa in Malibu, CA to sit down with him to discuss the future of the franchise.
"I am extremely excited to come into Washington and turn things around for this franchise. It wont be easy, and it wont happen tomorrow but I guarantee that down the road there is going to be a winning product on the field, and they are going to be wearing Nationals gear." - GM Adam Olson
Adam Olson
He could never hit a curve ball. He could never throw a big time heater. It was because of these things that Olson never could become a professional baseball player. He accepted the fact that he never could live the dream of a Hall of Famer but that did not keep him from becoming a very successful person by the age of 29.
Olson graduated from MIT with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, while also minoring in Economics. Do not be fooled into thinking he is just a brainiac however. He was recently touted as one of the most eligible bachelors in early 2007 and has been featured in several magazines as one of the fastest growing entrepreneurs in America.
So why would a successful businessman from a small town in Northern California want to be the general manager of the Washington Nationals? Well since they moved from Montreal in 2005 they have only had 1 winning season ('05) when they went 81-81. They have finished dead last in four out of the five years. Losing a ton of money, the Nationals needed to bring in some new blood to turn the franchise around.
It was a brief conversation but I left extremely excited about the upcoming years. I was excited to be able to see him outside of the office. I figured that some moves would be in the mix but was totally shocked when I was browsing www.MLBTradeRumors.com on my new Iphone4 Olson gave to me as a gift. I had just taken off and was skimming through articles by ESPN's Buster Olney and Fox sports Ken Rosenthal. It was here that I first read some rumblings about a possible deal involving Nationals power slugging outfielder Adam Dunn.
Moments later it was confirmed that the Nationals would be sending Adam Dunn, along with prospect Stephen Lombardozzi, to the New York Mets for Gary Mattews Jr., and two highly touted prospects in SS Wilmer Flores and SP Jenrry Mejia
Gary Mattews Jr., Wilmer Flores, Jenrry Mejia
It was an exciting deal seeing as Dunn was in the final year of his contract and everyone knew that he was not interested in signing an extension to stay in Washington. By taking on Matthews' horrid contract, GM Olson was able to acquire two prospects who have very high ceilings. And so we finally know the direction of the Nationals....it was time to rebuild.
As I landed in Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. I was greeted by my driver, whom Olson provided for me. My driver asked me if I had heard the big news. I gladly stated that I heard the news and was very excited. He then said that a lot of fans around the airport are disgusted by the trade. It was at that moment I looked at one of the TV's in the airport cafe and saw that the Nationals had just traded phenom Stephen Strasburg.
I was floored. I had no idea GM Adam Olson would do something so drastic that it would reshape a whole franchise in a matter of minutes. I quickly reached a few contacts with the details of the trade. To my surprise, the deal was with NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves. I was sweating and asking everyone around who we received in the package. A few people at the airport didn't know but they said Ryan Zimmerman was included in the package as well.
I almost tumbled over. I was mad, shocked, devastated and scared all at once. Ryan Zimmerman was my favorite player to cover through my years with the Nationals. I was sick to my stomach. With what seemed to be lightyears later, I finally got my hands on the "return." The return included arguably the best prospect in the game in Jason Heyward and included multiple pieces that can be solid, if not great MLB players in the future in Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, and Christopher Masters.
Jason Heyward, Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, Christopher Masters
A great haul of talent was returning to the organization. It is tough to see Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman leave but by adding a top hitting prospect, two top pitching prospects and a solid young reliever in return helped ease my ways.
Olson was not done however, he flipped both Nyjer Morgan and Matt Capps to the New York Yankees for Nick Swisher, Nick Johnson, Zach Mcallister and superstar catching prospect Jesus Montero. This trade was one of my favorites of the day. The Nationals get clubhouse favorite Nick Swisher for a few years to help the young guns blossom and also add the best catching prospect in the game. Montero will be a development project but his ceiling is amazingly high.
Nick Swisher, Nick Johnson, Zach McAllister, Jesus Montero
You would think that would conclude the trades for the days leading up to Opening Day the but you would be doubting the General Manager. In an attempt to continue the trend of getting younger talent in the system, the Nationals sent newly acquired Jair Jurrjens to the Tampa Bay Rays for 22 year old starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and Nick Barnese. Hellickson, whose potential is at or better than Jurrjens is two years younger. Adam Olson feels that they will be able to compete for a divison title in a few years and the Nationals believe that Hellickson will be a front of the line starter for them at that time.
Jeremy Hellickson, Nick Barnese
Phew! What an offseason! The Nationals look to do battle against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, April 5th @ 1:05 p.m.. The world knows that the Nationals will not be competing for the division for a few years so keep checking back with us when we update the production of the prospects throughout the season!
A look ahead in the Next Issue: A preview of the Nationals top 10 prospects
By: Cameron Taylor, Sports
Date: April 4th, 20010
V1. Issue 1
Malibu, CA -- It was no surprise that when the Washington Nationals chose entrepreneur Adam Olson as their General Manager they were going to get a little more exposure to the organization that in recent years. Successful at all stages of his life, Olson had always coveted Major League Baseball. Growing up he wanted to accomplish only a few things in life. The first was to be a Hall of Fame baseball player. The second? A very rich man.
I was flown across the country to Olson's beachfront villa in Malibu, CA to sit down with him to discuss the future of the franchise.
"I am extremely excited to come into Washington and turn things around for this franchise. It wont be easy, and it wont happen tomorrow but I guarantee that down the road there is going to be a winning product on the field, and they are going to be wearing Nationals gear." - GM Adam Olson
Adam Olson
He could never hit a curve ball. He could never throw a big time heater. It was because of these things that Olson never could become a professional baseball player. He accepted the fact that he never could live the dream of a Hall of Famer but that did not keep him from becoming a very successful person by the age of 29.
Olson graduated from MIT with a degree in molecular biophysics and biochemistry, while also minoring in Economics. Do not be fooled into thinking he is just a brainiac however. He was recently touted as one of the most eligible bachelors in early 2007 and has been featured in several magazines as one of the fastest growing entrepreneurs in America.
So why would a successful businessman from a small town in Northern California want to be the general manager of the Washington Nationals? Well since they moved from Montreal in 2005 they have only had 1 winning season ('05) when they went 81-81. They have finished dead last in four out of the five years. Losing a ton of money, the Nationals needed to bring in some new blood to turn the franchise around.
It was a brief conversation but I left extremely excited about the upcoming years. I was excited to be able to see him outside of the office. I figured that some moves would be in the mix but was totally shocked when I was browsing www.MLBTradeRumors.com on my new Iphone4 Olson gave to me as a gift. I had just taken off and was skimming through articles by ESPN's Buster Olney and Fox sports Ken Rosenthal. It was here that I first read some rumblings about a possible deal involving Nationals power slugging outfielder Adam Dunn.
Moments later it was confirmed that the Nationals would be sending Adam Dunn, along with prospect Stephen Lombardozzi, to the New York Mets for Gary Mattews Jr., and two highly touted prospects in SS Wilmer Flores and SP Jenrry Mejia
Gary Mattews Jr., Wilmer Flores, Jenrry Mejia
It was an exciting deal seeing as Dunn was in the final year of his contract and everyone knew that he was not interested in signing an extension to stay in Washington. By taking on Matthews' horrid contract, GM Olson was able to acquire two prospects who have very high ceilings. And so we finally know the direction of the Nationals....it was time to rebuild.
As I landed in Dulles International Airport in Washington D.C. I was greeted by my driver, whom Olson provided for me. My driver asked me if I had heard the big news. I gladly stated that I heard the news and was very excited. He then said that a lot of fans around the airport are disgusted by the trade. It was at that moment I looked at one of the TV's in the airport cafe and saw that the Nationals had just traded phenom Stephen Strasburg.
I was floored. I had no idea GM Adam Olson would do something so drastic that it would reshape a whole franchise in a matter of minutes. I quickly reached a few contacts with the details of the trade. To my surprise, the deal was with NL East rival, the Atlanta Braves. I was sweating and asking everyone around who we received in the package. A few people at the airport didn't know but they said Ryan Zimmerman was included in the package as well.
I almost tumbled over. I was mad, shocked, devastated and scared all at once. Ryan Zimmerman was my favorite player to cover through my years with the Nationals. I was sick to my stomach. With what seemed to be lightyears later, I finally got my hands on the "return." The return included arguably the best prospect in the game in Jason Heyward and included multiple pieces that can be solid, if not great MLB players in the future in Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, and Christopher Masters.
Jason Heyward, Jair Jurrjens, Julio Teheran, Arodys Vizcaino, Christopher Masters
A great haul of talent was returning to the organization. It is tough to see Stephen Strasburg and Ryan Zimmerman leave but by adding a top hitting prospect, two top pitching prospects and a solid young reliever in return helped ease my ways.
Olson was not done however, he flipped both Nyjer Morgan and Matt Capps to the New York Yankees for Nick Swisher, Nick Johnson, Zach Mcallister and superstar catching prospect Jesus Montero. This trade was one of my favorites of the day. The Nationals get clubhouse favorite Nick Swisher for a few years to help the young guns blossom and also add the best catching prospect in the game. Montero will be a development project but his ceiling is amazingly high.
Nick Swisher, Nick Johnson, Zach McAllister, Jesus Montero
You would think that would conclude the trades for the days leading up to Opening Day the but you would be doubting the General Manager. In an attempt to continue the trend of getting younger talent in the system, the Nationals sent newly acquired Jair Jurrjens to the Tampa Bay Rays for 22 year old starting pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and Nick Barnese. Hellickson, whose potential is at or better than Jurrjens is two years younger. Adam Olson feels that they will be able to compete for a divison title in a few years and the Nationals believe that Hellickson will be a front of the line starter for them at that time.
Jeremy Hellickson, Nick Barnese
Phew! What an offseason! The Nationals look to do battle against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, April 5th @ 1:05 p.m.. The world knows that the Nationals will not be competing for the division for a few years so keep checking back with us when we update the production of the prospects throughout the season!
A look ahead in the Next Issue: A preview of the Nationals top 10 prospects