MLB 2007 Preview – Washington
#28 Washington Nationals
2006 WL 71-91
2006 OR 85-72-5
Coming off a promising 81-81 record in his first year in Washington, the Nationals had hopes of competing in the NL East in 2006, but couldn’t overcome an incredibly slow start. Washington went 13-27 in its first 40 games and, while a respectable 58-64 the rest of the way, cleaned house. Manager Frank Robinson was fired while superstar Alfonso Soriano brought his skills to the Cubs. However, there is now an owner and general manager, so management is heading in the right direction. It’s rebuilding time for Washington, and while the future looks bright, it will take a while.
Money
Washington was an average road team as it dropped 6.5 points on the season. Most of that damage was done during that initial 40-game stretch when the Nationals lost 12.9 points in that span. As of May 18, Washington was +6.4 units, so it wasn’t all that bad over the summer. The Nationals were a game over .500 at home and posted a slight gain of 1.7 points, but it was the lousy play on the road that hurt sponsors. Washington was favored too often, 34 times in fact, losing 11.9 points in the process. Taking on the Nationals in the big underdog role wasn’t wise either, as they went 0-6 when they got a money line of +200 or more.
Washington was near the bottom of most offensive statistical categories, but finished 13 games over .500 in over-total contests. This is in contrast to going 23 games down on the previous year. It certainly wasn’t luck as the Nationals had the worst ERA in the National League at 5.03. The bullpen was decent, but the starters, all 11 used at some point in the season, were inconsistent. RFK was a pitcher’s park in 2005 and in 2006 saw 41 of 81 games go by. With an even more suspect starting rotation this season, we could see the disparity get even bigger in 2007 and see a ton of games go by.
Insulted
The loss of Soriano is a blow to an offense that wasn’t very good to begin with. Production will now fall on the shoulders of Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns. Zimmerman has a lot of potential and is coming off a very solid season. Kearns was average coming out of Cincinnati and will need to show more in his first stint as an everyday player. Kory Casto is a rookie outfielder who has a huge advantage after winning the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year award twice. His transition to major league pitching could be difficult. Nick Johnson, who seems to be hurt all the time, needs to stay healthy for this team to score enough runs.
Pitching
This is where the real problems lie. John Patterson is the “ace”, if he can be labeled that. He missed most of last season with a forearm injury and if he can show off any of his 3.13 ERA from 2005, he’ll have a good foundation. The problem is that there is absolutely nothing after that. Mike O’Connor is the Nationals’ returning leader in wins with 10, but along with that has a 4.81 ERA. Former prospect from other organizations, Joel Hanrahan Colby Lewis, is getting looks. The bullpen will be the bright spot, as Chad Cordero is one of the best closers when given save opportunities, while the return of Luis Ayala, who missed all of last season, will further strengthen the unit.