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Two quick, unrelated things before I go to bed, grouped in this blog post only for the sake of convenience:
Catcher Wil Nieves and his wife Yormarie welcomed their first daughter into the world on Wednesday. Marie Isabel Nieves, born at 5:28 p.m., measured 20.5 inches and weighed 7.06 pounds. Both mother and child are doing well, according to the Nationals' PR staff. Nieves could rejoin the team sometime this weekend in Philadelphia, though it wouldn't surprise me if the team gave him until it gets back home on Monday.
If you haven't seen it already, here's a great read on the Nieves family from the Washington Post's Dave Sheinin. It had been a long struggle for them to conceive, and for much of the pregnancy Yormarie Nieves had been on bed rest. When she came to her first game in three months on Aug. 13, Wil Nieves hit his second home run of the season - the first time he'd ever hit multiple homers in a year.
The Denver Post's Troy Renck reported tonight that the Rockies are set to release right fielder Brad Hawpe after trying unsuccessfully to trade him. He has struggled this year after four strong seasons with the Rockies, hitting .252/.341/.430 with seven homers and 37 RBI. Earlier this season, I happened to ask a Nationals executive about Hawpe, and the executive said general manager Mike Rizzo would "take him in a heartbeat." But Hawpe is a poor fielder, and wouldn't make much sense for the Nationals in right field.
He'd probably merit a longer look if the team didn't resign Adam Dunn and was looking for a first baseman, and there are sure to be a number of contenders interested in Hawpe as a bench bat if he is indeed released. He hit at least 22 homers every year from 2006-09 (apply all necessary Coors Field caveats) and has a career OBP of .374. It seems like there would be better fits for Hawpe than the Nationals, at least for the remainder of this year, but it's worth keeping in mind if he is indeed released.
