-Early this morning there was a report from ESPN's Tim Kurkjian that the Nationals were very close to agreeing on a deal with Orlando Hudson. While breaking news isn't exactly Kurkjian's thing, he's certainly a respected reporter and the fact that he even released terms (one-year deal with a club option for a second year...which would be for $3 million with incentives that could easily reach $4 million for 2010) made it seem all but a done deal. Then chaos broke loose. Federal Baseball has the scoop:

"A little later in the morning, however, came two reports via Twitter, from MLB.com's Bill Ladson and from Mr. Kurkjian's ESPN colleague Buster Olney, both of which reported that the Nationals were not the only team in the Hudson chase. MLB.com's Bill Ladson's Twitter post read, "I was told the #Indians, #Rockies and another American League team -- not the Twins -- are also in the mix for 2B Orlando Hudson," but, Mr. Ladson's next Tweet read, "Orlando Hudson wants to sign with #Nats real bad," though, the last in the series of messages read, "Hudson appears unwilling to play for the #Nats at a discount, according to the source."

Analysis: We'll have to wait and see how this one pans out. It's not clear why there was confusion on Kurkjian's part, and hopefully for the Nationals it isn't because Hudson had a change of heart after hearing better offers. Regardless, those terms listed by Kurkjian sound great. Hudson is not a player worth more than four million dollars or two years on a contract, but for a one-year deal at 3-4 million the Nationals should get a solid bang for their buck. To put that in perspective, it's half of what Cristian Guzman makes.

- Last week Drew Storen chatted live on ESPN.COM to baseball fans about his offseason and the season to come. Some highlights:

Mike (Laurel, MD): What do you like most about Washington, D.C.?

Drew Storen  (1:27 PM): I like all of it. The history and the historical landmarks. As a child I never visited Washington, D.C. so it's pretty cool to see the White House and other historical places.

Noah (Nebraska): Drew, do you hope to be the top closer of the future in the MLB, or do you expect to maybe start for a team?

Drew Storen  (1:32 PM): It really doesn't matter. My goal now is to be a lay in bullpen guy. I think I have enough pitches in my arsenal that I can start if the Nationals wanted me to.

Matt (Cotuit, MA): How well did your time on the Cape prepare you for being a professional?

Drew Storen  (1:33 PM): The biggest thing I learned is how to play baseball everyday. The Cape really wasn't that much different from pro ball meaning we played ball almost everyday which was very different coming from college where we played only three or four games a week.

-Finally, fangraphs has been doing a running piece on MLB draft reviews where they go back and review the last three drafts for each team. They did the Washington Nationals today, and it's a really good read:

"Strasburg is obviously the Nationals’ No. 1 prospect and you’ll read more about him tomorrow. Storen could beat Strasburg to Washington, though, as he’s already produced some very good numbers in the minors. The right-handed future closer pitched a total of 37.0 innings in pro ball in ‘09 and allowed just 21 hits with 49 strikeouts. He did, though, walk six batters in 12.1 innings at double-A as his control got progressively worse as he faced better hitters. In other words, a little more minor-league seasoning will probably help."

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