I have been reluctant to post anything about the Nationals because of all the uncertainty surrounding the team since last season ended, but it looks like things are starting to settle down a bit and there is now some reason for hope for the 2006 season.

Things couldn't have looked much worse for the Nats just one week ago today. There was (and still is) no new owner for the team. MLB hadn't agreed to the stadium lease and several news sources were reporting that baseball might just push the whole deal to arbitration. MLB was (and still is) embroiled in a lawsuit over whether the Nationals can keep their name. We lost pitcher Brian Lawrence. It looked like we were going to lose Jose Guillen for several months. We didn't know (and still don't) where Alfonso Soriano is going to play or even if he will play for the team. The TV situation still stinks. Most people in the DC area were going to get less than 40 televised games the whole season.

Some things have changed in the past week though. As of Tuesday night we finally have a lease and construction will likely begin next month in Southeast. The mayor says that stadium design plans will be revealed next week. With the lease done most people expect MLB to announce a new owner sometime in the next 30 days. A second opinion suggested that Guillen won't need surgery after all, and hopefully something can be worked out with Soriano. And finally, Cox cable announced on Wednesday that they will show nearly all of the games to their subscribers in most of Northern Virginia.

So far the Nats have been stinking it up in spring training, but at least a lot of the other questions surrounding the team have been cleared up or are close to being resolved. First game at RFK is an exhibition game vs. the O's on the 31st, and Opening day is the 11th.

Mayor Williams announced the new stadium design this morning. I'm not sure what I think about it. I wasn't terribly impressed at first look. The architects were specifically told that DC wanted to break from the retro red brick designs that have been popular the past ten years. The design uses much more glass than other stadiums and will offer views of the Capitol Dome and the Anacostia river.

Washington Post story on the design.
Proposed Nationals Stadium Design Views

In other good news, MLB settled its lawsuit with Bygone Sports. This means that the Nationals can keep their name.

Great..a new baseball stadium in D.C. The politicians will never get any work done.

I still think an older looking park with a granite facade would have looked more in tune with the surrounding city...not crazy about the design, but at least they got the ballpark through...

I haven't been encouraged by the upcoming season for the Nats, especially since they still don't have an owner (and the season is only two weeks away) and spring training has not been what one would call a success. Today's game was televised and the team did actually show some hitting that they rarely displayed last season so that was encouraging. Unfortunatly, we lost Ayala for the season so now they've got more pitching problems than they already had. During the telecast, they talked about all the players we lost and having so much uncertaincy really hurt the team. And now most DC viewers will see even less games than last year. But at least we won't lose the team and they get to keep their name. It's a start. It's just a shame that it took them until now to finally settle on things that should've been handled last year. Despite all that, I'm still thrilled we have the Nats.

Anthony

Nats lose a close game in the season opener against the Mets. Washington had twelve hits but were only able manage two runs. I listened to most of the game on the radio, and the Nats announcers claimed that replay showed that the ump made a bad call against Soriano at the plate in the seventh. I'll have to check it out the TV highlights later tonight.

sori was safe. lo duca dropped the ball.

Yes, it was pretty clear that the run should've counted, tying the game. At least they were able to come back tonight and win. I was happy about that (though I thought they were pretty much done early on). However, it's clear that while the bats are actually starting to come alive (late in the game anyway), the pitching is a serious concern. Still, the Mets are a much better team than last year and it's good that thus far, the Nats are keeping things close and not getting blown out. My biggest frustration, of course, is not being able to see the games on television. A pox on everyone making it difficult to get a TV deal so that the people who actually live in DC can see the games.

Anthony

Anthony

[ April 05, 2006, 08:02 PM: Message edited by: Anthony D. Langford ]

Washington Post article: Ballpark Blues. Tears are shed as gay bars make way for new stadium.

Just got back from the home opener. About the only highlight of the afternoon was the loud booing of Dick Cheney. Crooks and Liars has the video.

It was all downhill from there. You know it's not going to be good day when the Met's starting pitcher has as many hits as your entire team until the seventh inning.

Still it was a beautiful day. Placido Domingo sang a great National Anthem. Baseball is back for another year in the nation's capital.

It's going to be a really long season for the Nationals. frown

Lost to the Marlins. How much worse can it get?

I agree that it's going to be a long season; I don't think we're going to get another winning season out of the Nats (though last year they just broke even). But at least we have small (very small) moments like winning these past two games. The next two series are going to be very tough though, facing the Phillies and then Atlanta. But, I'll be in the stands cheering for them when they come home Friday night!

Anthony

Zimmerman and Church on fire tonight. Lookout .500, here we come.

It was an exciting game, pretty close until the end. The Nats do seem to be pulling together in these last few outings. The team is hitting better and Church is really on fire, especially (the pitching is still a real concern though). I couldn't believe it when he hit the grand slam, cementing a game they'd pretty much had in the bag. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it can continue, especially when they face Atlanta this weekend.

Anthony

Our lefties going up against left-handed batters, lost the game for us tonight!

So frustrating! Last night was a game we should have won. Argh!

Anthony

Yeah, I think Joey Eischen's days may be numbered. He hasn't pitched well at all this year. (5IP 9H 10ER 9BB 8K so far in 2006)

The Nats are hitting well, but still not getting as many runs as they should off those hits. Nice to see the cute Ryan Church finally doing as well as he is after his call-up from N.O.

I was reading today that Eischen had a meeting with Robinson during which tears were shed. Robinson is behind Eischen and already saved him from being traded once. But the pitcher is aware that unless he improves soon, his days are numbered. I hate to see anyone lose their job, but he's awful, I hope they get rid of him soon.

And I'm so glad to see Church doing so well and back in the line. He's the only really cute player the Nats have, though Zimmerman's not bad.

They do seem to be hitting better than last year when they couldn't get runs to save their lives. Still, however, there are too many innings going by with men left on base. They could be doing better.

And, it was nice to see them win an easy one tonight. I'm surprised that they took two from the Phils and by such commanding leads. I thought the Phillies would be much, much better. They only won last night because the Nats defeated themselves.

Well, the Nats will have a tough time against Atlanta, I think. Tomorrow's game with Smoltz and Patterson pitching should be a good one.

Anthony

GO NATIONALS!!

Not too often that the Nats pretty much win the game in the first inning. These are not the Nats we saw the first couple of weeks of the season. Hopefully they can keep it up this weekend, but I'm not holding my breath with them playing Atlanta and in the vast fields of RFK.

Ryan is definitely the cutest Nat. Zimmerman's cute too, but I also think Brian Schneider's pretty cute.

Hopefully the rain will hold off tonight.

Crazy game tonight after a long, long rain delay. There was one longer last year though when the Nats played the Cubs. They won that game (I was very conflicted as to who I wanted to win with my two favorite teams playing each other), and if I remember correctly, Patterson was pitching that night too.

Anyway, Patterson was great tonight and the Nats were swinging the bats very well again, so it looks like they'll keep it up. Amazed that Soriano hit 3 out of the park tonight. That was just incredible. Smotlz was obviously off his stuff though as the Nats were getting hits off him from the start of the game. Guess that's why he left so early.

But again, it's those little mistakes, the kind that cost us the game with the Phils the other night that turned what had been an easy win into a nailbiter, at least until Soriano came to the plate again and hit the three run homer.

Let's hope the weather is better tomorrow.

Anthony

I'm, officially, in love with John Patterson. It is unbelievable with the night he had tonight, that he didn't get the win.

And Soriano, well he may not have wanted to play outfield (but he's getting better at it), he certainly can hit that ball!

Friday night's game was great. I was stupid enough to stay through the two hour twenty minute rain delay, but the delay left a lot of good empty seats close to the field when most of the crowds left. It was good to see Patterson pitch another good game and to see Soriano get his three homers. That sort of output usually comes from the opposing team. Zimmerman had a couple of great defensive plays too. The Saturday WaPo had a great picture of one of them.

It was tough to see Majewski blow the lead with Atlanta's three run homer in the eighth last night, but, once again, the Nats left too many runners on base.

One of the problems I'm learning and dealing with as a sort of new baseball fan are the highs and lows of following a team day to day. The highs from a great win such as late Friday night are followed too quickly by frustrating lows a day or two later.

Tonight the Reds are in town. Last year we struggled hard with the Reds. I think it's a Jim Bowden curse.

Yes, that is definately one of the 'unique' things about baseball. You can be so excited about your team one day and 24 hours later, be upset by a tough loss. And the Nats are giving us plenty to be uspet about. The poor pitching is just killing us. The offense is better (but they are still leaving way too many men on base; we're actually out hitting teams, but still losing), but it's the pitching that puts us in a hole by the end of the first inning. And today's game looks woeful as they are using their best pitcher, who can also hit. Ours? Not so good. Then, it's off to face the Cardinals, who always beat up on the Nats. Sigh.

Anthony

WUSA Channel 9 is reporting that the Lerner group will be named owners of the Nationals this Friday, but MLB is denying that they have made a decision on ownership yet.

Wow. What a solid outing from the Nats tonight. Good hitting, solid pitching and great offense (for once they didn't strand a lot of men on base --- though they did leave them loaded in one inning). To beat one baseball's best teams so soundly has to be a boost for the team that has seen a lot of woes over the past week. I didn't even mind the home run by Pujold's late in the game. Let's hope they can carry it into tomorrow's game.

OTOH, it sucks to lose Patterson, who's on the DL. He's the Nats best pitcher and someone they can ill afford to be without for any considerable length of time.

What is up the rest of this division? The Mets are the only team with a winning record. I don't expect much from Florida (or the Nats, sadly), but the poor start from the Phillies (who got beat by Pittsburgh tonight) and especially Atlanta is really surprising.

Anthony

Washington Post has a front page (above the fold) story saying that MLB has decided to award the Nationals to the Lerner group. The WaPo Story The whole thing continues to get uglier and uglier, but any story involving Marion Barry usually is ugly.

When is Selig going to get his head out of his ahem....posterior...and name the owners? This jack..posterior...cannot retire soon enough. Frist the courage to address steriod abuse 10 years later, and now dicking around with naming the Nats owners for another 10?

I think everyone is expecting an owner to be named before the stadium ground breaking on Thursday, but everyone was sort of expecting an owner to be named before opening day last month, so I've given up on expecting anything from the incompetent and shameful Mr. Selig.

What's really infuriating about this is that the effect of how shabbily the team has been treated by being kept in limbo for so long shows on the field. The Nats are going to have a tough year and were seriously hampered in an attempt to be competative thie season. I still watch the games when I can, yet I keep wondering when the team is going to win one game, much less string several of them in a row. I doubt if the new ownership (when and if they are finally named) can do anything to salvage this season, but maybe they can lay some groundwork for future ones.

Anthony

On the day the Nationals break ground for their new stadium in South East, and Ted Lerner and family attend their first game as the new owners, the Nats play one of worst games I've ever seen. The game was essentially over in the first inning. Livan was as bad or worse as Armas was the night before. For as bad as they are playing (only one win at RFK this season!) the crowds are still pretty good. (Over 20,000 last night, 21,000 the previous night.)

Thank god for beer and cocktails.

What a nice solid win for the Nationals tonight against the Reds, especially after they swept us when they were here in DC. It was good to see. Armas pitched very well (except for loading the bases, but it only cost us 1 run) and the offense was alive with 6 homeruns. The game would've been a blow out, but except for one, all the runs were solo homers. That last one with Soriano was a real blast. Livan is pitching tomorrow and he's been very shaky of late. Let's hope he pulls himself together for tommorrow's game.

Anthony

After a rough road trip for the Nats, (3-6) Washington returns to RFK for interleague play against the hated Peter Angelos and his Baltimore Orioles.

Hopefully this will be the start of good rivalry, and I hope there is a loud and proper response from Nats fans tonight when the O's are introduced and when the O's fans do that annoying and disrespectful "O" slur during the National Anthem.

In other news, MLB owners unanimously approved the sale of the Nats to the Lerner group and the Lerners announced that on the 21st of July they will hold a Grand Re-Opening of RFK ushering in a number of improvements to old RFK.

Man, I thought our pitching was shaky, but it seems the Orioles have worse starting pitchers than we do. And the bullpen was just terrible. We actually got two runs in two different innings because the bases were loaded and the pitcher threw four balls to bring a run in. It was an ugly win tonight, but we'll take what we can get. Tomorrow Livan is pitching and he's been shaky as of late, but not as shaky as the O's pitcher, who's ERA is 8.53. Ouch! The Nats should definately be able to take advantage of that. Well, at least I hope so!

Anthony

I don't want to interrupt but I just read that the Nats are pondering the possibility of trading Alfonso Soriano and Jose Vidro when trading season opens next monrth. They're looking at trading Soriano to the Yankees who need an outfielder, and, Vidro to the Mets, who need a second baseman. Why would the Nats even be considering something like this? Seems the answer is Soriano and Vidro have quite a high trade value. Trading them now could bring in a ton of young talent. Maybe you guys understand this, but I don't. I thought they were trying to build around the few good players they alreay have. Why would they want to start over?

The Nationals desperately need pitchers. Almost across the board, most of the ones we have now are painful to watch. Our best pitcher, John Patterson, has been on the DL for a long while and they keep pushing back his return. In most games (tonight behind a perfect example as the Astros put 4 on the board early on), the Nats start from behind because the pitchers are giving up so many runs in the early innings. You can't be competative that way no matter who is batting for you. Yes, losing Soriano is tough (the same with Vidro), but it was highly unlikely he'd be staying here at season's end. If they can trade him for some talent that truly will be part of the team's future, it sounds like a good idea to me.

Anthony

I was looking at your team stats. Jeez, you guys got pitching problems, from start to close. Even if the trades are successful, you're still gonna need more good pitchers. Most teams look first to their farm system for this kind of help, and from what I've seen, there's several pitchers that could use some work in the minors to fine tune their skills.

I thought our local team, The New Orleans Zephyrs, was affiliated with the Nationals. I can't remember his name now but there's a pitcher here (I don't go to any of the games; like so many, I live outside the city now) who has been putting up major league like numbers (a very low ERA). I'll let you know his name later. Maybe they can call him up?

I do know that one pitcher is being called up this weekend to play against the Dodgers on Saturday afternoon (which airs on FOX -- and the Nats have never won a nationally televised game), but I can't recall his name right now. But, yes, the pitching problems are woeful, though the last two nights, we were able to hold the Astros, a very good team to just a run each night.

Last nights game was just odd. Roy Oswalt was the Astros pitcher and he was just mowing the Nats down. Our pitcher Mike O'Connor was actually doing very, very well. Except for a home run he gave up early on, he was on his game. But it looked like we'd lose 1-0, until the sixth inning. We were able to manage a double against Oswalt and then move the runner over to third. Then Oswalt did a balk and the runner came home. Game tied. Eventually, the Astros were forced to take Oswalt out because it was hit turn to bat they didn't need a guarenteed out late in a tie game. We got into the Astro's bullpen (including their closer Brad Lidge) and the offense suddenly came alive. Score was 5-1 when all was said and done. Today's game against Andy Pettite is going to be tough and the Dodgers are coming to town starting tomorrow on a 7 game winning streak. But this homestand has been looking so far, so good for the Nats. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Anthony

5-1 in last six games. Is the Nats annual run to the All-Star game beginning?

The pitcher I was referring to is closer, Santiago Ramirez, but I see he's already on your active roster. In 19 starts for the New Orleans Zephyrs, he had seven saves, but it was his 0.99 ERA that turned heads in Triple A. I also see that you guys called up both Saul Rivera and Shawn Hill from the Zephyrs. I see that Shawn is scheduled to start this weekend against the Dodgers, so good luck. Glad we could help you guys out of your pitching problems.

Think you guys will do well against the Dodgers too. Soriano, Vidro, and company (still can't believe you guys want to trade those two guys) roughed up Tomko pretty good. If the bats stay hot, you might have a chance to win all three against the Dodgers. Lowe and Seo (the scheduled Dodgers pitchers for games two and three of the series) are not as talented as Tomko. Plus, I thought the Dodgers seven game win streak was made possible by beating up on inferior competition (even though I love the Dodgers). But I don't know what to make of Shawn Hill (scheduled to start for the Nats on Saturday; guess I'll find out today), just not enough experinece.

I know this has nothing to do with the Nats, but congrats to Jeter on his 2000th hit, and, congrats to the Royals for ending their second losing streak. In case you wondering why I've taken an interest in the Nats, I live just outside New Orleans (and follow the Zephyrs), and, my sister lives in DC and is a huge Nats fan.

[ May 27, 2006, 12:06 AM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I am so glad for the Royals. I tend to root for the underdogs (which explains why my two favorite teams are the Nats and the Cubs) and I was pleased to hear they finally won a game, especially against the Yankees. And congrat to Jeter as well.

Let's hope the new pitcher, who is debuting to a national audience (the game is televised on FOX) does well. The Nats have never won a game that is nationally televised. And I want to see the momentum continue. They played great last night.

As for the Dodgers win streak, I had heard the same thing concerning that, meaning they beat up on a bunch of lesser teams. Still, it was a delight to see. I'm looking forward today's game.

Anthony

Anthony: Your favorite teams are The Nats and the Cubs? You might as well be a Saints fan. The Cubs' play this week reminds me of the Saints; get a lead, then fiddle it away with bone head plays. The Saints usually fumble the ball when the game is on the line, but the Cubs are unique; they get to blame the sun, the wind, the umps, and the injuries; and, you know what? These excuses are real.

P.S. Way happened to the hot bats the Nats were swinging last week? Sorry Hill didn't pan out for you, but Louisiana did its part.

Apparently the Nats were waiting until Sunday to start swinging again, since they went on a tear in the closing game with the Dodgers. That game, like Friday's and most of the games on this homestand were exciting to watch. I just hope the team can take this momentum on the road, though they've got a grueling road schedule ahead of them.

As for Hill, I was pleased with his performance. He only gave up one run. He just didn't have the run support. If he can keep pitching like that, he'll be just fine.

I wish I could be shocked by the implosion of the Cubs, but I'm not. Though at least with yesterday's game they gave it a valiant effort against a very good team. They play the Dodgers today so maybe they can get something going.

And no, I'm not a Saints fan. I think I suffer enough already.

Anthony

All I've been reading lately about Soriano and Vidro in the box scores is this: struck out, grounded out, flied out, fouled out. What's wrong? Seems like Armas gave you guys a quality start tonight, so can't blame this loss on your pitching problems , even though they are real. Armas, like Hill and O'Connor, got no run support. Is Soriano and Vidro back to swinging at anything they feel like again? They were more disciplined hitters two weeks ago. What happened?

Ho do you guys do it in D.C.? You send out a starting pitcher, then sometimes three or four innings later, you send out a bevy of other pitchers, middle relievers, late relievers, set-up guys and closers, even when you're not leading. I don't get it. Is it "Desperate times call for desperate measures"? Honestly, from what I've seen, the Phillies are a better team than the Nats. Sorry, man, I know you love the Nats, but I had to say it. But if you're losing with your ace, Armas, on the mound, and, your big hitters are unproductive, how are you going to win games? Particularly if you're giving up eight runs in three innings?

[ May 30, 2006, 10:51 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

Hey, I couldn't agree more. These last couple of games with the Phillies (who are a much better team than the Nats, that's true), the problem hasn't been the pitching so much that there is no run support. None. Frankly, I don't know what happened between that last game in DC and the first one in Philidelphia. The Nats are suddenly non-competative. I watch a lot of baseball. I watch other teams and see how they win consistently games and I notice the Nats, for the most part, don't do those things. For example, it's not often they string together a bunch of singles, doubles, triples to produce runs like most teams do. The Nats are either hitting ball out of the park or not scoring at all. It's frustrating.

Anthony

Anthony , here's something for you Nats fans to ponder. This is an excerpt of today's post by Foxsports.com's Ken Rosenthal:

"The Cubs, who face the Cardinals on Saturday on MLB on FOX (4 p.m. ET) needed a hitter like Nevin to replace Lee a month ago, but just to get a chuckle out of the billy-goat crowd, let's take the optimistic view:

Lee and Co. will get healthy, then Hendry will trade for Devil Rays shortstop Julio Lugo; move shortstop Ronny Dedeno to second, and - boom! - cap it off by obtaining Nationals' left fielder Alfonso Soriana.

Of course, such a flurry of moves would make little sense unless the Cubs, 20-32, got to .500 in a hurry. And even then, it would be a reach, considering that Lugo and Soriano are potential free agents and that the Cubs still would be chasing the Albert Pujols Cardinals and Roger Clemens Astros."


As for me, I don't think Derrick Lee will ever be healthy, nor will Kerry Woods, and I certainly don't see the Cubbies reaching .500 anytime soon.

I know you said a month or so ago that trading Soriano and Vidro was likely to happen, but are you positive the Nats won't even try to re-sign Soriano?

[ June 01, 2006, 11:01 PM: Message edited by: Thomas ]

I dunno and the Nats folk aren't saying. They insist they are keeping their options open. The other Nats players likes him and many of them hope that the new owners do whatever they can to keep him. There's an article in today's Post that discusses the players who might be traded and what the possibility of that is. And there will be an interview with Soriano in this weekend's paper that might give some insight. I'd like to see him stay, but if trading him can relieve some of our other woes, like pitching, then I'd understand if he's sent somewhere else. I don't think the Cubs are a serious option though. Adding Soriano would be helpful, but like the Nats, their problems are much deeper than that.

Anthony

The Nationals are going to try to re-sign Soriano.

They're certainly not going to give him away for nothing. So many pundits are already to bury the Nationals despite the fact that they've won 11 of 16. They've also played the fewest home games of any team in baseball. Playing so many road games, so early in the season gives the impression that they're worse than they really are. When this current road trip is over the Nationals will have played 14 more road games than home games.

Also, the pundits seem to think the Nationals are going to give Soriano away for table scraps, for example to the Yankees. Some of the pundits think the Nationals will "trade" Soriano to the Yankees for whatever the Yankees can scrape together, which ain't much. I doubt the Cubs have much to offer, either, otherwise, they wouldn't have a worse record than the Nationals.

[ June 03, 2006, 09:35 PM: Message edited by: PCC ]

Oh, I certainly don't expect the Nats to give Soriano away for nothing, he's much too valuable to them. I would prefer that they keep him, unless we can get something great that he really need in return. And you're right, the Yankees and the Cubs have little, if anything to offer. And yes, the Nats have played a lot better lately. They had a good homestand and this road trip is looking better. However, when they come home, it won't be easy. They've got the Phillies, the Rockies and then the Yankees to contend with.

OTOH, they've always played the Phillies tough, they've always beaten the Rockies soundly. The only team that really concerns me are the Yankees. Even injured, that team is very dangerous. Those will be some very interesting games to watch.

I haven't buried the team by no means, but I do realize they are a team in transition. We have no idea what they'll look like or who will still be here in the next few months, much less at years end. Frankly, I'd like to see them have a winning season if nothing else. I'd be more than happy with that. I also would like to be Patterson back, but it looks like it's going to be longer than anyone thought.

Anthony