Hindsight didn't need to be 20/20 on the Abreu-Stocker deal.  I remember hearing it announced during the Expansion Draft coverage on ESPN and howling about it at the time.  There was no good reason to deal a Five-Tool/Seven-Skill prospect like Abreu for a steady but mediocre vet like Kevin Stocker at that time, especially considering the Rays were in the business of building an expansion team, not a contender trying to solidify a position for the stretch drive.  Look at it this way - if Arizona offered Tampa Bay Craig Counsell for Delmon Young, would it be a defensible deal?  No way at all, even if "we don't know who good Young will be". I'm sorry, that deal would have stunk even if Abreu turned out to be a bust.

... waiting until the offseason wouldn't save Bowden's job, so obviously he's not even considering that.

The contortions he's going through to solve the very problems he has created are driving me nuts.  He's already divested the team of a lot of its surplus (albeit marginal) talent for guys like Preston Wilson and Junior Spivey.  I'm just scared of what he'll do if he gets really desperate.  It would almost have been better for this team to fall completely out of the wildcard race in July than to have this lingering, faint hope.

that he'd be more valuable and that he probably has the athletic ability to do it, but you almost never see players making a move in that direction across the defensive spectrum, and there is a reason for it.  Shortstop requires somewhat different skills than third -- less reliance on quick reaction/hands and more on a good/quick first step and overall range, and the ability to get to second and turn the double play smoothly.  Obviously, I'm not saying that the positions are completely different, but the balance of skills is somewhat different, and there's a lot more to think about and a lot more ground to cover at short than there is at third.

And even if the Nats did think that he could play short and would be more valuable there, why only make the switch now?  Why not start him off at short in Savannah and let him adjust at a lower level?

The overall idea is not totally impossible or totally without merit, although I still think it's unnecessarily risky (and it's not like the Nats don't also need help at third, given Castilla's bat and gimpy knees), but the way it's being carried out is totally half-assed and reflects desperation rather than any well-considered plan.

I'm not saying that Zimmerman doesn't have the athletic ability to play SS.

Having him move to the position for 2 weeks in AA with plans to have him play it in Sept in the Majors is utterly ludicrous.

If, as another poster suggest further down this thread, the Nats drafted him with the intent of moving him to SS, then they should have played him there all year.

I'm not saying it will affect his bat either, but saying he has "caught up" with AA pitching is a bit of a stretch.  He has a grand total of 184 ABs in 50 AA games.  10 walks.  If he's not "Ryan Zimmerman, First Round draft pick" no one would be saying he's ready for AAA, let alone the majors.  Not to mention at SS!

Even if he manages to pull it off, it will be a testament to him, and not a validation of this horrible idea.  In fact, it's such a ridiculous notion that I am skeptical that it is actually a plan.

Kory Casto, who is lighting up AA, could probably platoon w/ Vinny next year if Zimmerman moves to SS. I know a lot of people are high on Casto, even though he is a little older for AA...

I haven't seen him play, so don't jump on me for this, it's just a thought.  IF Zimmerman can play well at short, move Vidro to 3B and put Spivey at 2B.  Sounds like a better infield that way.

Bowden writes a weekly article in the Washington Examiner http://www.dcexaminer.com/articles/2005/08/17/columns_sports/jim_bowden/001_col_bowden.txt Today's article, and I quote, "With Vinny Castilla's knee injuries and the horrific year Cristian Guzman is having, I may have no choice but to bring Ryan to the big leagues in his first professional season. He wouldn't come to Washington as the solution to get us to the playoffs. But instead he would provide insurance in case of injury with Castilla or if Guzman doesn't snap out of his year-long slump." and "If Zimmerman can prove he can play shortstop, then he would give us good protection for Castilla and Guzman in September."

doesn't mean they're making it up... that's their political coverage you're thinking of ;-)

Seriously, though, he's speculating, but he's not pulling it out of thin air -- Bowden has been talking about calling Zimmerman up for weeks now.

Another link I found (this one from the Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star) has actual quotes from Bowden:

Zimmerman began playing shortstop at Double-A Harrisburg yesterday, Bowden said, and could be a potential late-season replacement for struggling shortstop Cristian Guzman. [...]

"That protects us at both positions as we head into September," Bowden said. "He's a very special defensive player with great hands and a good arm. He is going to hit, hit with power and probably be rushed to the big leagues. That's life."

Zimmerman was hitting .315 with seven home runs and 27 RBIs in 49 games entering play yesterday and had made just four errors in the field. Bowden watched him play last week and reaffirmed his original opinion that the 21-year-old could play both third base and shortstop.

"I saw him take infield at shortstop before we drafted him and I came back and on my written report I said I thought he could be Cal Ripken at shortstop and somewhere between Scott Rolen and Brooks Robinson at third base," Bowden said.

You will get absolutely no argument from me. As a fan of the Nationals, I can only hope the new owner will quickly dispose of Bowden

Zimmerman went to UVA. Another top5 draft pick named Ryan Braun went to U of M.

I'm not sure why Zimm played 3B in college instead of SS if he could handle SS. Have to plead ignorant on that one.

Here's an interesting tidbit:
"Perfect Game scout Bobby McKinney points out that Washington first rounder Ryan Zimmerman played on the same AAU team as a teenager with B.J. Upton (Tampa Bay) and David Wright (NYM).  Zimmerman, an acclaimed defensive third baseman, played second base.  That must have been a heck of a team."