Location: Washington, D.C. | Ballpark: Nationals Park (41,222) | Spring Training: Viera, Fla.
Managing Principal Owner: Theodore N. Lerner | GM: Jim Bowden | Manager: Manny Acta | World Championships: 0
The franchise is a bigger mess now than it was before 2008, and before 2008 it was the baseball equivalent of a clogged sewer grate ... That 1-9 sprint to the finish netted them the first pick in next year's draft. Perhaps the Nationals will even sign their guy this time around. To dreeeeam the impossible dreeeeam ... I know we're all supposed to love Manny Acta, because he's funny and he thinks before he speaks and he keeps a copy of Baseball Prospectus on his bedside table. But is there a single thing we can point to that he did well this year? While injuries and bewildering personnel moves contributed heavily to the damage, Acta didn't exactly distinguish himself as a master strategist or motivator.
09/23/2008
29
29
I pity baseball fans living in or around the D.C./Northern Virginia/Baltimore region. They have a pair of wonderful houses, so to speak, but no furniture or indoor plumbing ... While it feels like the ExpoNationals have been consistent 100-game losers since the 1994 strike, the franchise hasn't hit the century mark since 1976. That'll change by Sunday.
09/16/2008
29
28
Elijah Dukes is in midseason form, flashing silly-good skills on the diamond and silly-bad judgment off it. Here's how the AP described a Dukes encounter with Mets fans last week: He "incited already-booing fans behind the Nationals dugout ... with a series of arm gestures." Arm gestures! Revoke his parole! ... Talent-wise, I'm sold on Dukes and Lastings Milledge for 2009. ... John Lannan has quietly done a passable Kenny Rogers impersonation this season.
09/09/2008
28
27
If they were a film, they'd be From Justin to Kelly 2: From David to David. If they were a virus, they'd be H5N1. If they were a President, they'd be James Buchanan (just look it up). Please God, let something happen with or to this team so that I'm not reduced to generic they-suckisms again next week ... Oh, wait: Elijah Dukes has been mashin' since coming off the DL (.351, six walks, 10 runs, four dingers, 10 RBI and three steals in 10 games) and Dmitri Young is due back mid-week to strike fear into the hearts of clubhouse buffet attendants. So there's that.
09/02/2008
27
30
Whoo! Seven straight wins, bitches! Put that in your Collin Balester and smoke it! ... Congrats to Cristian Guzman for joining Chad Moeller and Neifi Perez atop the list of "least transcendent players to hit for the cycle" ... Am I overreacting by jumping them up four spots? Probably. But those of us who do this for a living need Jim Bowden to keep his job, if only for the copious amount of column fodder he provides. Let's go Nats!
08/26/2008
30
30
They're last in geographic alphabetical order and last in everything else. Their godless brand of baseball can only be appreciated by masochists and coma patients.
08/19/2008
30
30
Small humiliation number 5,337,435 for the 2008 Nats: They couldn't sign their No. 1 pick. Who's in charge here? ... Twenty-seven of their final 37 games come against the Mets, Marlins, Phillies, Cubs and Dodgers, so things are going to get worse before they get better.
08/12/2008
30
30
Watching Ronnie Belliard attempt to play first base –- in particular, watching him maneuver his drumstick legs on and around the bag –- is like watching a rhinoceros attempt to play Hacky Sack. ... Meanwhile, Nats pitchers issued 13 walks in 13 innings against the Brewers on Sunday. I appreciate the symmetry, if not the discipline.
08/05/2008
30
29
A sweep! A sweep after nine straight losses during which they scored 19 runs total, but a sweep all the same! ... And then they open their four-game visit to Coors Field by scoring nine runs in the opener! Will they score 15 before the series is through?! Maybe!
07/29/2008
29
28
They scored nine runs last week in six games against the Giants and Dodgers. In a word: Yuck.
Preseason Power Rankings
Date
Ranking
Previous
02/28/2008
23
-
Moving into a new ballpark should help attendance and interest in the team, but that's merely because no one would care about them otherwise. They lack star power and have a slew of pitchers many have never heard of legitimately competing for rotation spots.
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