5 Questions with Brian

Well, my key still works, so Brandon hasn't changed the locks. I've been away most of this offseason covering the Redskins for The Curly R, our blogtwin, and now it's time to start ramping The Curly W back up to daily Nationals coverage. Before we go hog wild, we have a little unfinished business to do in our offseason 5 Questions circuit with our fellow Nationals bloggers. Our latest victim is Brian from Nationals Farm Authority, your one-stop shop for Nationals minor league news. You can find my answers to Brian's questions here.

And now, our questions.

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Ben: Why the focus on minor leagues and the farm system? Your readers are no doubt very grateful for your insight, and as the Nationals become more of a Washington institution, a wider range of readers will become accustomed to the players you write about today appearing on the major league roster later. But how did you become a devotee of minor league baseball? Are you a minor league baseball wonk that happens to focus on the Nationals system, or are you a Nationals baseball wonk that happens to cover that team's farm system? Were you covering or following the minor leagues before the Nationals arrived in Washington?

Brian: My interest in the minor leagues stems from a couple of events. Back in 1993, I was going to the University of Delaware when the Kansas City Royals relocated the Peninsula Pilots to Wilmington, DE. My roommates and I spent quite a few evenings at games. In 1993-94, I got to watch guys like Jon Lieber, Michael Tucker, Sal Fasano, and Johnny Damon play as unknowns. It really caught my attention. The second part was starting to play fantasy baseball. I immediately saw the value of watching the minors for the future guys who could be had cheap, it led me to following minor league information closer.

My focus on the Nationals farm system started when they arrived in Washington. I knew enough about them from the Expos day. Primarily that most everyone of "prospect"y value was either in the majors or traded away.


Ben: How did you get started blogging and why do you do it? Has NFA been your project from the beginning or has your work changed over time? Do you have any changes planned for your site, or for new features, expanding/refining coverage? What can we expect from NFA in 2007? You've landed some serious interviews lately and NFA has a decidedly 'straight journalism' feel. What are your plans or aspirations for this outlet? Where do you want to go with this?

Brian: It got started innocently enough after the 2005 draft. I started to track how the players the Nationals had selected were doing in their first exposure to professional baseball. I asked around on-line if anyone would have any interest in looking at the same information on a daily/weekly basis. The response was stronger than I expected. I figured that I'd have 5-10 people/day who might be interested, but it ended up with 40-50 people/day from the get-go and now it's around 170-200/day. This might not sound like a whole lot of hits, but it was the type of hits I was getting that surprised me. I saw that there were visits from MLB team servers and more interesting, I started to hear from the relatives/acquaintances of the Nationals prospects. I apparently offered them access to information they couldn't or didn't find elsewhere. I tried to act as a sort of clearinghouse for Nationals minor league news/analysis. And when Nationals minor league pitcher Shawn Hill agreed to answer some questions for me, it actually added something I didn't expect, direct access to the source.

In 2006, Scott of NFA went down to Nationals spring training where he ended up asking for and receiving media credentials. This was a really cool development. It encouraged me to try and reach out to the Nationals and their affiliates for increased access. I made some contacts with the Nationals who graciously added me to the Nationals MLB transaction/news distribution list, giving me access to the news as they released it rather than waiting to stumble on it by chance. Additionally, the minor league affiliates were nice to enough to give us credentials in Potomac and Harrisburg. It was access I never thought that a blogger would get (hence the ongoing "citizen journalist" jokes).

But the thing I will remember most about 2006 was the access the Nationals gave me to the press conference announcing their 2006 draft picks. It was actually really cool to sit in on a press conference with Jim Bowden, Bob Boone, and Dana Brown; and actually getting to ask a question.

Thanks for the compliment regarding the 'straight journalism' feel. That's what I was going for. (ed. note: sorry fellas no such luck here. We're shitdisturbers. -Ben) There are plenty of sites out there that are primarily opinion driven, but I wanted to try and do something a little bit different. As for 2007, yeah, my plan is to try and branch out some more with interviews and ideally more in person reporting from the minor league games. Right now, the interviews are with the off the field people. I have some stuff planned with another affiliate's GM, a couple of the radio guys from the affiliates, and one with another guy who does prospect analysis. I have plans to head down to spring training this year where I hope to get some interviews with the Nationals prospects. Ideally, talking to some of the guys that don't typically draw the interest of the Post or the Times.

This is a cliche, but NFA is a labor of love. I really don't see this turning into anything more than it already has. I've told my wife that I'll keep doing this as long as it's fun.


Ben: If you could give unvarnished farm system advice to the Nationals brain trust, what would it be? What is the brain trust not doing now with the farm system that they should be doing? Where would you tell the team to start looking for talent, why and what advantage would that give the team?

Brian: I'd tell them to keep doing what they are doing. The hiring of Mike Rizzo was great. It added a guy with a proven track record to assist in the rebuilding process. The trades of Stanton, Majewski, Ward, Anderson, and Livan were all really good moves to add talent to the farm system. And the addition of the slew of scouts definitely will allow the Nationals to improve over the shoestring staff they had before.

There are two things that jump out at me that I'd hope management would do. One is to forgo MLB's unwritten aspect about slotting bonuses in order to acquire the premium talent later in the draft. As an example, in 2006, it would have been nice for them to land Dustin Dickerson (drafted in the 15th round). I don't know whether he was willing to sign but it would have been a boon for them to try and convince him to skip Baylor and join the Nationals. The other thing I'd hope they do isn't my idea originally. Doug Chapin, one of the few of us in the Nationals on-line community who doesn't have a blog, came up with this. I'd seriously consider buying the Pulaski franchise in the Appalachian League. I know the Nationals might not have enough warm bodies to roster it, but such a commitment could be used to both expand the Nationals presence into southwestern Virginia as well as allow for the addition of more players in an effort to expedite the rebuilding process.

The one thing that Stan Kasten said when the new owner were selected was that he wanted to capitalize on their presence in Washington DC to make the Nationals popular around the world. I'd hope the Lerners would be willing to spend the money to turn over rocks in places that MLB is still in its developmental stages. Places like Europe or South Africa or China. Try and find the next pipeline like the Astros did in Venezuela.


Ben: What is your take on the Nationals' new ownership and management? Are we seeing the beginning of a solid MLB franchise taking shape, or are the games before us this year fodder for so much excuse-making?

Brian: I am cautiously optimistic about the new ownership and management. They are saying the right things from a developmental standpoint. But I'd caution that words are one thing but actions are more important. They've re-established themselves in the Dominican Republic with the signing of Esmailyn Gonzalez, but they cannot stop there. Keep working to put the Nationals in the same class in the DR with teams like the Yankees or Red Sox. They had a strong 2006 draft. But it cannot stop there. Draft premium talent not signability picks in 2007 and out and sign them. They've brought in more scouts. But they need to ensure they utilize them to their maximum, make sure they understand the organizational philosophy and listen to them if they have ideas. I honestly believe 2007 is going to be tough at the major league level. A rational investment in a few arms for the major league team really should not be ignored to focus on the rebuilding effort. Both can be done concurrently.


Ben: What are your expectations of the Nationals vis a vis the farm system for 2007? 2008? The health of a farm system is the barometer of the team's health, so give it to us straight: is it getting better or worse for the Nationals?

Brian: It still is going to be an uphill battle in 2007. The Nationals had only one affiliate with an above 0.500 record in 2006 (New Orleans was 72-71). While wins are not necessarily an indicator of overall organizational strength, it matters some. They have started the rebuilding process, but there is still a ways to go. The Nationals know there are no quick fixes, that a steady rebuilding effort takes time. I think there will be flashes of the future in Hagerstown in 2007 with reportedly Chris Marrero, Colton Willems, Glenn Gibson, and possibly Stephen King or Esmailyn Gonzalez. I hope that 2007 will also allow guys like Clint Everts and Ian Desmond to bounce back. 2008 seems more likely for stronger overall on the field performances. If they've put the right instructors in the right locations, it should begin to pay dividends. The Nationals are getting better. From when they arrived in Washington in 2005 until today, they have made tremendous strides. But there are many more to go.


Ben BONUS QUESTION: Almost half the newspapers in the world are printed in the US and Canada. Does it ever seem like half the baseball blogs in the world cover the Nationals?

Brian: I've noticed that. Part of it is the newness factor. But it is mostly the fact anyone can come up with a clever blog title containing with the word National(s).

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Thanks to Brian for playing. I'm a little sore from this post, but hey, spring training is for getting back into gameshape, right?