Is it Time to Panic for the Nats?

After getting swept by the Cardinals this afternoon, is it time to panic for the Washington Nationals? Granted it is still only April, but the defending NL East champions only scored four runs in the three game home series. Here are some quick stats and trends that need to change if DC is going to live up to this year’s lofty expectations: 

• They have lost four straight and have gone 3-9 in the past 12
• They are 8-1 against the Marlins and White Sox (who are a combined 12-28), but 2-10 against the rest of the league
• They are below .500 now, which they avoided all last season
• They are already 5 games back of Atlanta and New York in the division
• They are 23^rd in the MLB in batting average, 20^th in runs, and 22^nd in on base % (after being 9th, 10^th, 12^th last year)
• They are 17^th in era, 21^st in opponent batting average, and 13^th in quality starts (2^nd, 2^nd, 5^th last year)
• They are worst in the league in errors and second to last in fielding % (8^th and 8^th last year)
• Meanwhile only Bryce Harper, the 20 year old, has produced at the plate, leading the team in average, hits, home runs, RBI’s, and total bases
• On the mound, Stephen Strasburg is 1-4 and Gio Gonzalez has a 5.85 era in four starts

On the bright side, if the Caps have taught us anything, it is that DC teams can recover from a rough start. 

DC Sports Team Falters in the Playoffs Again

After winning the division for the first time in over a decade, Washington’s playoff run ended in the first round. After taking an early lead on an experienced playoff tested opponent, DC fell apart defending their home field. Washington got to this point riding a rookie of the year candidate who was barely on the depth chart to start the season. Their prized recent free agent even contributed down the stretch despite missing the middle of the season. Even the big trade which involved mortgaging future prospects for one player worked out, since he was an All-Star this season. DC was all a buzz, with increased attendance, record TV ratings and even a popular Twitter hashtag. Now their former champion coach must field questions during the off-season second guessing his handling of their star player’s injury down the stretch and what might have been in the playoffs. 

Wait, I was talking about the Nats.

Either way, despite the rough playoff exits for the Redskins and Nationals, the future is bright for both franchises.

 

Nat's at the All-Star Break

Now that the MLB season is at the All Star break, here is a look at some nuggets about the National’s much publicized successful season so far:

• DC has the best record in the NL at the All-Star break for first time since 1933
• The franchise has four players in the All-Star Game for the first time since 1994
• TV ratings are up 50%, 28% increase in attendance, “likes” on Facebook are up 30 percent, and Twitter followers are up 139 percent
• Bryce Harper became the youngest position player All Star ever
• The Nat’s pitching staff has the best ERA in the majors, best opponents batting average, best walk/hit to inning ratio, and fifth most strikeouts
• Home attendance is in the top half of the league, where they haven’t finished since 2005
• They’ve had all this success while battling injuries. Ryan Zimmerman missed 14 of 83 games, while LF Michael Morse missed 50. RF Jayson Werth has missed 56, but will be back in August as well as closer Drew Storen who has not pitched a game yet. Catcher Wilson Ramos only played in 25 games before going out for the year. That’s 24% of the ideal starting lineup starts missed from a first place team. 

Let's hope the Nationals keep this up instead of choking like in 2005 or the MLB striking like in 1994.

Nationals Opening Day with Expectations

With Opening Day just hours away, the Washington Nationals will start a season with high expectations for once. Here are a few of the reasons why there are high hopes in DC for this season:

• The Nat’s finished last season just one game below .500, their best record since 2005, going 14-4 to finish the year.
• Phenom pitcher Stephan Strasburg returns for a full season after recovering from Tommy John surgery.
• Over the winter break, DC traded four of its top prospects (from Baseball America’s #1 farm system) for All Star pitcher Gio Gonzalez. The 26-year-old has won 15+ games the past two seasons and is slotted as the #2 pitcher.
• 2010 1^st overall draft pick Bryce Harper will start in the minors, but might be brought up in the summer to fill in the centerfield slot. The 19-year-old slugger could provide a boost to the lineup, especially if they are in a playoff hunt.
• Davey Johnson returns for a full season as the manager of a club in need of an experienced leader. The World Series winning skipper has won over 1,100 games with a .564 winning percentage.
• $126 Million Dollar outfielder Jayson Werth has nowhere to go but up this season, after only batting .232 with 20 homeruns last year.
• Lastly, MLB changed the playoff rules this year, allowing for an extra wild card team. Therefore, the Nationals can make the playoffs even in the stacked NL East.

All these factors create optimism in DC and have been noticed around the league. Experts from ESPN made predictions for the upcoming season, and 15 of the 49 picked the Nat’s to make the playoffs. Some even have them making the World Series. This is all just talk for now, but it is encouraging to have optimism for a team that has not had a winning record since being in Montreal.

Know Your Washington Nationals

With the spring sports now finished, we are entering the dog days of summer sports. With the NFL and even the NBA locked out now, we are left with only baseball of the major sports on SportsCenter. With MLB at the all-star break, there’s no better time to catch up with the Nationals.

Washington enters the second half of the season at .500 after being a couple games above this late in the season for the first time since 2005. They are winning due to their pitching, which is 10^th in ERA, and fielding, which is 12^th in the majors. The Nat's batters need to improve in the second half though, since they are 27^th in average, 23^rd in runs, and 25^th in OBS. As for the stars, Werth and Zimmerman are only batting .214 and .254, while fortunately Strasburg might be pitching next month and Harper was promoted to AA.

In the days before play resumes on the team’s bright future, try to test your knowledge of the team’s past to pass the time. Can you name the Nationals all-time stat leaders in 5 minutes? Can you name the Nationals opening day lineups in 8 minutes? Or you can just read up on these guys.

Indians and Nationals are Winning?

Usually during this time of the year I focus my attention on NHL and NBA playoffs, while I barely notice that baseball season has started. But do not look now, because the Indians have the best record in the American League while the Nationals are above .500.

At 12-4, Cleveland is tied for the best record in the majors, ahead of last year’s division leader Twins and perennial power Red Sox who are both struggling at 5-10. The Tribe are third in the majors in homers, fifth in ERA, and second in opponents batting average. Cleveland’s hot start can be attributed to the healthy returns of Travis Hafner, Asdrubal Cabrera, and Grady Sizemore, as well as contributions from youngsters Michael Brantley, Justin Masterson and Josh Tomlin. After being above 500 for only one game in the past two seasons and picked to finish fourth their division, hopefully the Indians can keep this up and give Cleveland fans some much needed hope.

Meanwhile, the Nationals are turning heads as well. In a season without Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, Washington is currently above .500. While that might not seem like much, keep in mind that since their inaugural season in 2005, the Nat’s have been above .500 for only 33 games. Of the 810 games has DC taken the field, only 4% of the time have they had a winning record. Three of those seasons they never had a winning record at any point, and the longest they lasted before turning south was May 28^th. Despite subpar batting (27^th in average) fielding (22^nd) and Ryan Zimmerman on the DL, the Nationals are getting by due to four starters with sub 3.4 ERAs. Hopefully Washington can keep glimmers of hope alive in upcoming series against Pittsburgh and NY Mets before facing San Francisco and Philadelphia in early May.

Not bad for two teams in the bottom eight in salary in the league.

Hopeful Days for the Nationals

June 7th and 8th are going to be two key dates for the future of the Washington Nationals franchise. Not only is Stephen Strasburg making his major league debut on Tuesday, but the Nats have the first pick in the draft on Monday.

This time a year ago, Strasburg was drafted first overall and eventually signed at the deadline to the highest rookie contract ever. After going 6-2, with 1.30 ERA in his 11 starts in the minors, “Baseball Jesus” is making his long awaited debut on Tuesday, or Strasmas. Once his starting date was announced last week the game was sold out before it had a chance to go on sale. Cities are even trying to change their names to him, and his last minor league start was nationally televised on Versus. With the Nats only a couple games under .500, only 6 games out of first, and have decent run support this year, Strasburg’s 100 mph arm will be needed on a possible wild card push this season.

Meanwhile on Monday, Washington will be making another #1 overall pick, due to back to back 100 loss seasons. The runaway favorite choice for the Nationals is 17 year old power slugging catcher Bryce Harper, who took the GED early in order to play sooner. He has been highly touted since SI dubbed him the Lebron of baseball last year, but comes with some baggage of being an immature teenager. DC already has the polite face of the franchise and a silent hurler, so a cocky slugger might be needed.

Hopefully Harper will be catching the first pitch from Strasburg in a World Series in a couple seasons.