2005 Record: 81-81, 5th in NL East
The first couple of months of the ‘05 season were a great time to be in DC-Baltimore. Not only had baseball returned to the nation’s capital for the first time in about 35 years, both the relocated Nationals and their Oriole neighbors were winning. But any dreams of an I-95 Series were eventually quashed when Baltimore plunged down the AL East ranks in late June and Washington fell out of the NL East race beginning in late July.
Any thoughts of such this year will once again dreams unfulfilled.
Washington has some nice pitching with Livan Hernandez and John Patterson at the top of the rotation and Chad Cordero closing things out. I really like Hernandez, aka Quarter Pounder, and Patterson appears fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery. But the rest of the rotation is a bit up in the air. The 3-4-5 starting nods will be decided this spring between Ramon Ortiz, Tony Armas Jr., Ryan Drese, Pedro Astacio and Billy Traber, the only lefty in the entire group. Chances are that all will see action at some point since each and every darn one of ‘em has health concerns. Jon Rauch and Michael Hinckley are probably next in line if all of them succumb to injury.
Cordero might be the best young (24 by Opening Day) closer in the game today, and you have to like his dedication after the asthmatic swore off his inhaler recently just to pass the drug tests in the WBC. Talk about silliness, MLB let steroids go on and on for a decade but now has cracked down to the point someone like Cordero can’t follow his prescribed health care [roll eyes]. Preceding him from the Nats’ pen is an assortment of right-handers and southpaws. Luis Ayala had minor elbow surgery in the offseason and, if healed, should get most of the 8th-ining chores. Gary Majewski has bounced around since being a 2nd-round pick in 1998. He throws hard, but he also has bouts of control trouble and will likely see his ERA rise unless his WHIP rate drops this season. Lefty Joey Eischen has pitched pretty well in relief roles, but like the bulk of the starters he has built a rather thick medical folder over the years. Veteran lefty Mike Stanton should still be fairly effective as he enters his 18th MLB campaign.
Middle relief roles likely land in the laps of right-handers Felix Rodriguez and Kevin Gryboski. I look for Gryboski to rebound in 2006 now that he’s back in the NL.
The offense that ranked dead last in the majors in 2005 with just 639 plate crossings doesn’t look to be any better this time. Slugger Jose Guillen is already iffy with a bum wrist. Alfonso Soriano, acquired during the winter for Brad Wilkerson, Termel Sledge and a minor leaguer, has thrown a tantrum about shifting from second base to the outfield. You’d think he’d be more concerned with a lousy .639 OPS outside the confines of North Texas last season. Jose Vidro, who the club does want at 2B, has bum knees and has been on a slide for a few years now. Nick Johnson, who might have the best plate discipline in the NL, simply can’t be counted on for a whole season.
Cristian Guzman, just about the opposite of Johnson as far as plate discipline goes, will be pushed for the shortstop job this spring by Royce Clayton. Infield backups include Marlon Anderson, Daryle Ward and Damian Jackson. Robert Fick is also in camp with his assortment of infield, outfield and catcher mitts.
Brian Schneider is an underrated receiver, and he has a big battle behind him for backup backstop between Matt LeCroy, Wiki Gonzalez, Alberto Castillo, Mike DiFelice and the fore mentioned Fick.
Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Church represent the brightest hope for Washington’s offense in the future, and maybe this year as well. Zimmerman, less than a year removed from Virginia where he was a top collegian, will be at third. He is outstanding with the glove and has the potential to pop 20 flies and drive in 80-90 runs a season. Church will be in center, which isn’t his outfield spot, and has been overmatched at the plate by even the weakest of left-handers. He has 20+ HR pop as well, but his time could be running out with the Nationals. Marlon Byrd and Michael Tucker enter camp with the #4-#5 OF jobs to lose. George Lombard and fleet-footed Brandon Watson are in the wings.
Manager Frank Robinson and his team won’t have the luxury of sneaking up on anyone this time. The Braves continue to roll year after year with their system, the Mets are stacked on offense with two of the game’s top starters and a solid closer, and the Phillies have an imposing lineup with at least average pitching. The Nats should thank the Marlins for their latest sell-off; otherwise, Washington would be digging up their old battle cry, “First in war, last in the NL East.”
Key Performer(s): The two Ryan’s, Church and Zimmerman, and keeping Vidro and Johnson healthy.
Camp Question(s): Solving the Soriano dilemma, most likely by giving him more cash or trading him off, and deciding between Guzman and Clayton for shortstop.
My Play: When I sat down and ran my calculations a couple of weeks back, it came out to 75 wins for the Nationals. That was before the injuries to both Guillen and Lawrence were announced. Pinnacle currently has the o/u line for DC at 74.5. Under sounds good for the moment. Another under to watch for is how long GM Jim Bowden lasts in his job if and when the club is sold.
The first couple of months of the ‘05 season were a great time to be in DC-Baltimore. Not only had baseball returned to the nation’s capital for the first time in about 35 years, both the relocated Nationals and their Oriole neighbors were winning. But any dreams of an I-95 Series were eventually quashed when Baltimore plunged down the AL East ranks in late June and Washington fell out of the NL East race beginning in late July.
Any thoughts of such this year will once again dreams unfulfilled.
Washington has some nice pitching with Livan Hernandez and John Patterson at the top of the rotation and Chad Cordero closing things out. I really like Hernandez, aka Quarter Pounder, and Patterson appears fully recovered from his Tommy John surgery. But the rest of the rotation is a bit up in the air. The 3-4-5 starting nods will be decided this spring between Ramon Ortiz, Tony Armas Jr., Ryan Drese, Pedro Astacio and Billy Traber, the only lefty in the entire group. Chances are that all will see action at some point since each and every darn one of ‘em has health concerns. Jon Rauch and Michael Hinckley are probably next in line if all of them succumb to injury.
Cordero might be the best young (24 by Opening Day) closer in the game today, and you have to like his dedication after the asthmatic swore off his inhaler recently just to pass the drug tests in the WBC. Talk about silliness, MLB let steroids go on and on for a decade but now has cracked down to the point someone like Cordero can’t follow his prescribed health care [roll eyes]. Preceding him from the Nats’ pen is an assortment of right-handers and southpaws. Luis Ayala had minor elbow surgery in the offseason and, if healed, should get most of the 8th-ining chores. Gary Majewski has bounced around since being a 2nd-round pick in 1998. He throws hard, but he also has bouts of control trouble and will likely see his ERA rise unless his WHIP rate drops this season. Lefty Joey Eischen has pitched pretty well in relief roles, but like the bulk of the starters he has built a rather thick medical folder over the years. Veteran lefty Mike Stanton should still be fairly effective as he enters his 18th MLB campaign.
Middle relief roles likely land in the laps of right-handers Felix Rodriguez and Kevin Gryboski. I look for Gryboski to rebound in 2006 now that he’s back in the NL.
The offense that ranked dead last in the majors in 2005 with just 639 plate crossings doesn’t look to be any better this time. Slugger Jose Guillen is already iffy with a bum wrist. Alfonso Soriano, acquired during the winter for Brad Wilkerson, Termel Sledge and a minor leaguer, has thrown a tantrum about shifting from second base to the outfield. You’d think he’d be more concerned with a lousy .639 OPS outside the confines of North Texas last season. Jose Vidro, who the club does want at 2B, has bum knees and has been on a slide for a few years now. Nick Johnson, who might have the best plate discipline in the NL, simply can’t be counted on for a whole season.
Cristian Guzman, just about the opposite of Johnson as far as plate discipline goes, will be pushed for the shortstop job this spring by Royce Clayton. Infield backups include Marlon Anderson, Daryle Ward and Damian Jackson. Robert Fick is also in camp with his assortment of infield, outfield and catcher mitts.
Brian Schneider is an underrated receiver, and he has a big battle behind him for backup backstop between Matt LeCroy, Wiki Gonzalez, Alberto Castillo, Mike DiFelice and the fore mentioned Fick.
Ryan Zimmerman and Ryan Church represent the brightest hope for Washington’s offense in the future, and maybe this year as well. Zimmerman, less than a year removed from Virginia where he was a top collegian, will be at third. He is outstanding with the glove and has the potential to pop 20 flies and drive in 80-90 runs a season. Church will be in center, which isn’t his outfield spot, and has been overmatched at the plate by even the weakest of left-handers. He has 20+ HR pop as well, but his time could be running out with the Nationals. Marlon Byrd and Michael Tucker enter camp with the #4-#5 OF jobs to lose. George Lombard and fleet-footed Brandon Watson are in the wings.
Manager Frank Robinson and his team won’t have the luxury of sneaking up on anyone this time. The Braves continue to roll year after year with their system, the Mets are stacked on offense with two of the game’s top starters and a solid closer, and the Phillies have an imposing lineup with at least average pitching. The Nats should thank the Marlins for their latest sell-off; otherwise, Washington would be digging up their old battle cry, “First in war, last in the NL East.”
Key Performer(s): The two Ryan’s, Church and Zimmerman, and keeping Vidro and Johnson healthy.
Camp Question(s): Solving the Soriano dilemma, most likely by giving him more cash or trading him off, and deciding between Guzman and Clayton for shortstop.
My Play: When I sat down and ran my calculations a couple of weeks back, it came out to 75 wins for the Nationals. That was before the injuries to both Guillen and Lawrence were announced. Pinnacle currently has the o/u line for DC at 74.5. Under sounds good for the moment. Another under to watch for is how long GM Jim Bowden lasts in his job if and when the club is sold.
