Lo Siento, Soy Veintetres Anos
So the Nationals have their own little medical mystery of their own. In July 2006, the Nationals signed Esmailyn Gonzalez as a 16 year old shortstop prospect. However it has been revealed that he has aged to 23 and is really Carlos David Alvarez Lugo as si.com reported Tuesday.
Team President Stan Kasten has called it a deliberate fraud. The juicy details are showing several connections to the Nationals front office, as the team's own website is reporting. It goes as far up as Jose Rijo, special assistant to GM Jim Bowden. Given this little tidbit, I don't think it's a stretch that Bowden is on the hot seat. Rijo and Bowden are being investigated for skimming money designated for development of Dominican players and Bowden's previous drunk driving accusation in Florida are not making this situation easier. Also that Bowden was an MLB hire by previous team president Tony Tavares when the team was still owned by the league and not a Kasten/Lerner hire.
To me, they shouldn't do anything until his contract expires or he is officially charged with said crimes, if he is involved in this Gonzalez Lugo debacle. While his hands have been somewhat tied by a non-public salary cap, his performance as a GM is not the brightest. Not the worst, but not the best. I hope he is clean from all of this and the Nationals can make a clear decision based on his work as the GM.
Comments
It seems to be making a mountain out of a molehill. In the internet and tabloid journalism era, everyone is so quick to jump to conclusions.
Before jumping to a rash judgement it would be wise to let the investigation conclude. Stan Kasten runs great organizations everywhere he's been. If the outcome is that he'd need to sever ties with Vizcaino, Rijo, or even Bowden I'm sure Stan will make the correct decision.
By merely reading the more insightful articles already published, the Nationals image may become more of a joke but there's no reason to create conspiracy theories of front office personnel and improprieties.
The National submitted the paper work for legal review of the documentation and nothing was found. Its no different than any other team. If MLB didn't discover more dirt on the paperwork than how much more could the Nats really have done?
As for the amount of the signing, the Post articles hit the nail on the head. It was about letting the league and baseball insiders know the Nationals are in town and are legitimate players. If anything it's just as much a disgrace if not more for MLB than the Nats. MLB should work more effectively before clearing credentials.
Posted by: The Sports Freak | February 20, 2009 1:31 PM
Maybe I failed to make it clear, but there are two separate incidents. This fraud of a player and the skimming of funds. Yes, for Gonzalez Lugo, Bowden is not at fault. They player and his Dominican representatives, including Vizcaino, may have put one over all of Major League Baseball.
However, Rijo is a very close with Vizcaino. Bowden has worked with Rijo on and off for nearly 2 decades. The stink of Vizcaino is too close to Bowden. Put that on top of the money skimming allegations, BTW for Dominican player development, then Bowden himself looks bad. He could be completely innocent of all of this, but people have been fired on much less.
Posted by: Big Money Tony
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February 20, 2009 1:49 PM
Point #2 (You mentioned):
The Nationals aren't the only ones and considering that from the top down the Nationals have been first class about things it's too early to jump to conclusions. As stated above, ties would most likely be severed but the fall would more likely fall on Rijo and not as much on Bowden (unless there was a role played on his part). It's also interesting to monitor the articles written about this and the Nationals appear to be coming out clean at this point.
It's simple - cooperate with the investigation & let it conclude and then let the chips fall where they may.
A better way for MLB to gain a handle on all of this would be to verify all credentials and either include these players in the draft or have a seperate draft. Then MLB santioned agents would be involved.
Posted by: The Sports Freak | February 20, 2009 3:46 PM
If you have me pegged at jumping to conclusions, you are reading me wrong. I will not make judgement on Bowden for the Lugo incident until the investigation is complete. However, one judgement we can make immediately is his relationship with Rijo. My speculation only runs that he has been in the news in bad light much more than most GM's should be. Calling him a bad GM is one thing, but the accusations are not about his GM abilities.
You said ...Nationals have been first class. If they want to maintain that, all this bad light on Bowden can not be good for his image.
Posted by: Big Money Tony
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February 20, 2009 3:57 PM