So That's It

According to Baseball America's John Manual:

The Nationals signed 15th round pick J.P. Ramirez, a lefthanded-hitting outfielder with a smooth stroke and a Tulane commitment, for $1 million.

Ramirez is a solid consolation prize, but the Nats missed on their top pick. Washington failed to sign Missouri righthander Aaron Crow, according to industry sources. One source indicated the Crow camp, led by his agents the Hendricks Brothers, dropped their demands to $4 million from the $8-$10 million range, and that the Nationals came up from slot to $3.3 million, but that the two sides ran out of time and wiggle room and couldn’t work out a compromise.

So the Nats didn't sign their #1 pick, their prized possession, over $700K? Shocking. This ought to be a heck of a press conference trying to dance their way out of this one. Simply incredible.

"Be patient," they said.

"Our guys know the draft," they said.

"Crow's a front-line, once a generation pitcher," they said.

"Build through the draft and spend once we're competitive," they said.

They lied.