Jim Bowden Player Quotations

I felt it was in the best interest of the organization to go in a different direction on the player development side, ... I felt it was in Adam's best interest to do it now to give him an opportunity to get a job with another club.

He's going to play left field. He needs to be out there now the next couple of weeks to play, and if he's not going to play for us, we need to know so we can go forward. We obviously will field offers, but we're not going to give the player away. If we can make a deal that makes sense, we will.

He is not a player I like to compete with on the free agent market because he is so special. This is a deal that needed to be done. I don't think it could have waited. It's good for all the parties involved.

It depends on his history. If a guy has a history at all or lack of durability or those kind of problems, we do it, or if we see something in his arm action that says we should do that. We saw every single one of his starts the last couple months, and the player looked healthy.

We have compassion for his position on where he's coming from, but we have a job to try to win baseball games with the team we have. We're not going to give the player away.

We had great discussions. I think it's important to understand where each side is coming from. I think we had an opportunity to look at each other eye-to-eye and go through the issues of the club and the issues of where Alfonso is coming from. We have a lot of respect for Alfonso as a player and as a person. And he understands our situation and where we're coming from.

We respect Sammy and what he has accomplished in the game. We wish him well and hope that he is able to come back and perform like he did a couple of years ago. As long as he is not in our division, we'll be rooting for him to win Comeback Player of the Year.

We respect the arbitrators' decision. We feel that it's a good salary for the team and a good salary for the player given his talents.

The player refused to take the field, which we believe is a violation of his contract.

We are very pleased to be able to lock up Nick Johnson, who we view as one of the core players who will take the Nationals to the next level. Nick is a complete player both offensively and defensively, and we appreciate his positive influence in the clubhouse. He is the type of player and person that the Washington Nationals are all about.

In the future, a player that has surgery should be blocked from participating in the Classic the following year.

Anybody that has gone through an arbitration case knows that it is a horrible process for a player and the team. Nobody wins in arbitration. We may have won the case but you really don't win.

It's not that simple to ask Soriano to change positions. This is a player that has been an All-Star for several years. He has had as many All-Star votes as any player in baseball the last few years. He has pride and he is a sensitive guy.

I consider Marlon like Lenny Harris. He has adjusted from being an everyday player to a guy coming off the bench.

He's not a player I'd like to have to compete on the free agent market for, because he's so special. So I think this is a deal that needed to be done. I don't think it could have waited.

I never pay attention to errors in the Minor Leagues. Derek Jeter made 43 errors in the South Atlantic League, and I didn't care. With his hands and his range, I don't worry about that with Zimmerman. He is a good defensive player.