MLNB

Washington Selects C-Bryce Harper

Washington Nationals select Bryce Harper with first pick in MLNB draft

The man who runs the Washington Nationals was sitting inside of Angel Stadium Tuesday night, watching the 2010 MLB All-Star Game, yet when MLNB Commissioners Mike and Carl announced via email that the 2010 MLNB Draft was underway, Matt Eisenberg soon realized what everyone else around the MLNB likely assumed.

General Manager Matt Eisenberg has made his career as a draft expert for numerous Fantasy Umpire Ejection Leagues, but when he first watched Bryce Harper play Eisenberg knew what he had to do.

"It was," Eisenberg said, "a decision I hopefully won't regret. He's a special kid with special talent."

The Nationals,selected 17-year-old Harper, a power-hitting phenom from the College of Southern Nevada, with the first overall pick in baseball's First-Year Player Draft.

The Nationals became the first team to choose first overall in consecutive years -- until 2006, the first pick alternated between the teams with the worst records in each league. The Nationals, losers of 205 games over the past two seasons, not only picked first twice in a row, they picked Stephen Strasburg and Harper, two players widely regarded as possessing once-in-a-lifetime raw talent.

The focus now will shift to the process of Harper officially becoming a National. He is a client of super-agent Scott Boras, who is notorious for long and tough negotiations that brush up against the deadline for draftees to sign. Rumor has it that Harper is seeking a contract with a bonus of upwards of ten million dollars.

Eisenberg is optimistic the negotiation will not be an ordeal. The Nationals, of course, have recent experience with such a negotiation. Last August, they struck a record $15.1 million deal with Strasburg, another Boras client, minutes before the midnight deadline.

"We have hopes of getting him out and playing before Aug. 15," Eisenberg said. "We're going to put our best effort forward. We know that we have a player who wants to play. We've got a representative that we've dealt with successfully in the past. We're going to give our best effort on all sides."

"From this point forward, we would like to pick 30th every year," Eisenberg said. "And not 1."

Last Updated ( Wednesday, 14 July 2010 07:17 )

Opening Day 2010

There was much building up to the start of Opening Day in MLNB.  First was the furry of transactions around the league as GMs were working around the clock fine tuning their squads before their first game.  Among some of the players moved were the likes of Zach Greinke, Jose Reyes, and Johan Santana.

Top performers for opening day were led by Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones who already has 4 homeruns over the first 4 games.  Also, possibly triggered by his team bringing in other thirdbasemen causing him some concern for his job, Colorado's Ian Stewart has already put together 10 RBIs on the young season.  There was much building up to the start of Opening Day in MLNB.  First was the furry of transactions around the league as GMs were working around the clock fine tuning their squads before their first game.  Among some of the players moved were the likes of Zach Greinke, Jose Reyes, and Johan Santana.