The Hagerstown Suns, one of the Nats' low-level Class A affiliates, today announced their 2009 staff, which includes a new manager, Matt LeCroy, whose name might sound familiar. Indeed, LeCroy, a big leaguer for eight seasons (2000-07) spent 2006 with the Washington Nationals, where he appeared in 39 games, mostly as a catcher and first baseman. This is his first managerial job. He replaces Darnell Coles, who earlier this week was named as a hitting coach with Class AAA Syracuse.

Here's how the rest of the staff shapes up...

Tony Tarasco is coming back for his second year as the hitting coach.

Rich Gale, who spent the previous three years in the Florida organization, is the new pitching coach.

Jeff Allred will be returning as the trainer.

And Ramon Aviles will join the team in early June in a coaching role after managing the organization's spring training program in Viera, Fla. Aviles last year managed the Class A Vermont Lake Monsters.

Since we all seem to be of the mind that the Nationals are the longest of longshots to win the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, it may be useful to look - as the Nationals have been doing, I'm told -- at what else is out there on the marketplace in terms of first basemen, as a Plan B (or C or D).

The short answer: not much.

The next-most desirable free agent first baseman after Teixeira? Depending upon your tastes, it could be Eric Hinske, Richie Sexson, Kevin Millar, Sean Casey, Rich Aurilia or Tony Clark. In other words, yuck, yuck and yuck.

Now, if you believe there is a reasonable chance that the injured (or make that perpetually injured) Nick Johnson - who remains under contract to the Nationals for $5.5 million in 2009 - will be ready for spring training, and can remain healthy for a large portion of the season, it could make sense simply to supplement him with a low-cost veteran from that list. But it appears as if the Nationals don't believe it, and we would tend to agree that it's always very risky to assume full health for Nick Johnson.

A second group of possibilities exists on the trade market - where some attractive first baseman are at least theoretically available -- but it is difficult to locate a good match for the Nationals among those teams. Here are four possibilities:

Well, mlb.com is reporting that Mark Teixeira would like to have a new contract by Christmas. Here's what he said when interviewed by ESPN on the sideline during the Georgia Tech-Miami game Thursday night:

"I don't want to put a timetable on it, but Christmas morning, I want to know where I'm going to be for the next couple of years, so hopefully, by Christmas it will be done."

Of course, it matters more when Scott Boras wants it done, but we'll see. He also said this:

"I want to go where I can win and my family is happy. Whether it's the East Coast -- that's where I'm from -- but I loved playing in Anaheim, too, so we'll see what happens."

Want more Tex news? The Sox have "lust" for him -- ewwww.

I spoke today with Scott Boras, who represents Mark Teixeira, the top offensive player on the market -- and indeed, Washington's greatest target in the free agent market. The super-agent was predictably coy about the what's in store for Teixeira, but that's mostly because neither he nor Teixeira really knows yet.

"The one thing I'll say," Boras said, "is that the interest in Mark Teixeira is widespread, and it's something we'll have to narrow here as we work through the process."

One source outside the organization today familiar with those proceedings reiterated that the Nats have indicated extreme interest in Teixeira, who is 28 and a Maryland native. The market for Teixeira hasn't quite taken shape yet, but the Yanks, Red Sox, Orioles, Angels and Nats all figure to be key players. New York and Boston especially have been tight-lipped about their potential pursuits of the first baseman, who could command a contract somewhere in the neighborhood of 8 or so years, $20 million annually.

Teixeira right now is in the process of meeting with owners and exploring his options. The latest rumors have the Angels ready to make an offer of some 8 years, $153 million, which would be the first real step in what could be a long dance.

With last year's manager, Randy Knorr, now a part of the Washington coaching staff, Class A Potomac knew it would need a new manager for 2009. The team today announced that Trent Jewett, a long-time minor league manager with the Pittsburgh organization, will take the job.

Rounding out the staff is Jerry Browne (hitting coach), Paul Menhart (pitching coach) and Atsushi Toriida (trainer).

Jewett, 44, has managed for the last six years at the Class AAA level, first with Nashville (2003-04) and then with Indianapolis (2005-08).

John Lannan was one of 10 players named today to the 50th Annual Topps Major League Rookie All-Star team, which recognizes the best rookie from each position, plus one left-handed and one right-handed pitcher. Lannan, who went 9-15 with a 3.91 ERA in '08, took the left-handed pitching spot.

Here's how the rest of this roster plays out...

C -- Geovany Soto (ChC)
1B -- Joey Votto (Cin)
2B -- Alexei Ramirez (ChW)
SS -- Mike Aviles (KC)
3B -- Evan Longoeia (TB)
OF -- Jay Bruce (Cin)
OF -- Denard Span (Min)
OF -- David Murphy (Tex)
RHP -- Brad Ziegler (Oak)

First of all, let me ask you this: Does Teixeira news (or non-news, as the case may be) belong here -- or over in that other blog? In other words, do you feel strongly enough about the Nationals' level of interest in Mark Teixeira to want to read about other teams' pursuits of him in this space?

For now, I'm making the executive decision that we'll discuss all things Teixeira here at NJ, at least until we determine whether the Nationals are true players in this market, or just in it for show, or not in it at all. (Frankly, at this point I'm not sure which is the case -- though I suspect different people at different levels of the Nationals' hierarchy view it differently based upon how close they are to the franchise's purse-strings.)

Here's the thing: I think the Teixeira sweepstakes will go deep into December, if not January. Already we're nearly a week into free agency, and to the best of anyone's knowledge there have been no offers made. In fact, teams are going out of their way to say they are not actively pursuing Teixeira, even though we know better. This is all part of the annual dance that is free agency.

Scott Boras, Teixeira's agent, is notoriously methodical when it comes to his biggest clients. Usually, his hope is that, by waiting, he can get the New York Yankees (or in their absence, some other big-money team) involved. That might be a particularly good strategy this winter, as the Yankees clearly have a lot of money to spend, and may not be able to use it to entice their top choice.

The Boston Globe's Tony Massarotti has this to say about the Red Sox and Mark Teixeira:

Here's a prediction: By the time this is over, win or lose, the Red Sox effectively will have made Mark Teixeira the largest contract offer in the history of your storied franchise.

Discuss.

The Harrisburg Senators, Washington's Class AA affiliate, will keep much of its coaching staff intact for 2009. John Stearns is returning as manager, Troy Gingrich is returning as the hitting coach, and Beth Jarrett will again serve as the trainer.

The one difference? Randy Tomlin replaces Rick Tomlin (no relation) as pitching coach. The younger Tomlin, 42, spent the previous two seasons in a similar role with Class A Potomac, where he worked with (to name a few) Ross Detwiler, Jordan Zimmermann and Zech Zinicola.

For both Gingrich and Stearns, 2009 will mark their second consecutive year with the Senators. But Stearns also managed the team in 2006, before taking a one-year detour to Class AAA Columbus and returning to H'Burg for 2008.

Good news for Roger Bernadina -- and for the Bravos de Margarita, his team in the Venezuelan Winter League. It looks like Bernadina's recent injury, diagnosed as a right calf strain, will require a two-week strength and conditioning program. After that, Bernadina is expected to return to el Bravos and finish up the Venezuelan season. Bernadina had traveled to DC to be examined by new Nats medical director Dr. Wiemi Douoguih.

So far in Venezuela, Bernadina is hitting .175 (7 for 40). Washington's outfield, at this moment, looks a bit crowded for Bernadina to have a strong shot at making the roster out of the gate; he'll probably start at CF in Syracuse. But at least Bernadina will be fully healthy by spring training.