Chat With Stan

Team President Stan Kasten will be chatting at the Washington Post this morning at 10. Get yer questions ready.

What I'd ask him (and maybe I will) is:

1) From the impression you've given, the team will not be pursuing anything but the bargain bin for free agent acquisitions. How does pursuing some free agents (Padilla, Lilly, etc), as you've put it, "hurt" the team when 1) they would not be taking away development time for any upper-level prospects and 2) the money 'saved' by not re-signing is unlikely to be directly reinvested in the team in other ways.

2) Is the franchise's accounting structure set up such that a dollar saved in one account (by not signing Sean Black, for example), can't be spent in another.

3) The signing of all those scouts the other day is terrific, but how does this rank the Nats, with respect to other teams, in number?

4) The team has no intention of signing Soriano at the price he's talking, and has very little interest at the 5/$75 figure that's been floating around for a few months. Why do you continue to play coy with this lack of interest?

5) Do you still hold that sports agents are too good at their jobs and that they should be banned from baseball?

6) What's a reasonable estimate of the team's payroll in 2008 when the new stadium opens up (and no, payroll is not a proxy for team quality)?

7) Given how two years ago MLB was admitting to a profit if $20-$30 million per year, and even acknowledging that it was likely down due to attendance and capital investment in RFK, how can you justify a flat-lined payroll this upcoming season, especially with media rights fees paid to the team increasing?

8) Dominique Wilkins for Danny Manning? What the hell were you thinking?