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2009 MLB Preview: #29 Washington Nationals

Anthony Stalter — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 19:30:37 +0000

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Offseason Movement: Perhaps the Nats’ biggest addition was 1B/OF Adam Dunn, who will add some pop to the lineup, as well as a fair amount of strikeouts. Washington also acquired OF Josh Willingham and LHP Scott Olsen in a trade with the Marlins and signed free agents Daniel Cabrera, Alex Cintron and Javier Valentin. In the deal to land Willingham and Olsen, the Nationals agreed to send 2B Emilio Bonifaci, INF Jake Smolinski and RHP P.J. Dean to Florida.

Top Prospect: Jordan Zimmerman, RHP
Zimmermann is a serious Rookie of the Year candidate and is turning in a fantastic spring. As of this writing, he has allowed only six hits, two walks and has struck out 16 batters over 12 1/3 scoreless innings. He seems to be over shadowed on a national level, but that’s mostly because the Nationals have yet to officially hand him a spot in the starting rotation. But that should change soon and as long as he doesn’t let the bright lights of the Big Leagues eat him alive, the 22-year old could be a future star.

The Big Question: How bad will the bullpen be?
Take a gander at these names: Joel Hanrahan, Saul Rivera, Steven Shell, Garrett Mock, Jason Bergmann, Julian Taverez and Mike Hinckley. None really strike the fear of God into any hitter do they? Hanrahan, Rivera and Shell are average at best and Taverez is better at delivering quotes than he is on the hill these days. If the Nats get anything out of former starters Mock and Bergmann, maybe this unit can survive the season. But that’s a huge “if”.

Outlook: This club is actually filled with potential, but that’s about it at this point. Shortstop Cristian Guzman raked last year, hitting .316 with nine home runs and six stolen bases at the leadoff position. Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes have a ton of talent, but they can’t seem to keep their heads on straight. Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman should complement each other well hitting 3-4 in the lineup, but there are some major question marks at the bottom of the order. Can Nick Johnson stay healthy? The starting pitching isn’t terrible, with John Lannan, Scott Olson and Daniel Cabrera leading the way at the top of the rotation. And if Jordan Zimmermann develops like everyone expects, Washington could have an above average starting five. But the pullben is a major weakness and there just seems to be too many question marks surrounding this club. It’s safe to expect some improvement out of the Nats, but it probably won’t be anything earth shattering.

Projection: 5th NL East

Will The Mets Collapse Again?

Mike Farley — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 15:21:54 +0000

I’m a lifelong Mets fan, and while they have been in four World Series and won two, they have been good enough to get there numerous times and have not. Most recently, the Mets were eliminated from playoff contention in 2007 on the season’s final day–to complete an epic collapse in which they were leading the Phillies by seven games with 17 to play. I remember those days vividly. My wife had just had our first child so I was up in the wee hours at least once a night, and every time I turned on ESPN News the Mets had lost while the Phillies had won. I get a sick feeling in my stomach when I think about it. It doesn’t help that the year before that, 2006, the Mets were painfully beaten in a Game 7 in the NLCS by the upstart (and annoying) Cardinals.

Now, it appears that recent history will repeat itself. Despite that the Mets replaced Willie Randolph with interim skipper Jerry Manuel in June, and had that amazing run in July to get back on top of the division, they continue to build 3-4 game leads only to have the Phillies catch them. Right now they sit 1/2 game behind in the NL East, and 1/2 game up in the wild card standings only because Milwaukee has had their own collapse.

Is this a repeat of 2007? How can you say it’s not looking that way? Jay Schreiber of the NY Times parallels some eerie things from last year to this year in his blog.

Me, I just feel it. The middle of the order has stopped hitting, though they did wake up last night against Washington. Still, the Mets had an 8-2 lead and won 9-7. The bullpen is maybe the worst in baseball, and are responsible for a minimum of 10 losses already. And even the starting pitchers have started slipping a little. Not even Johan Santana makes you feel like they are going to win for sure.

Throw in the fact that guys like John Lannan look like Cy Young against the Mets, and guys like Anderson Hernandez, Jorge Cantu and So Taguchi look like Ted Williams against them….and you just can’t feel good. Oh, and every day I look at the morning paper and the Phillies have won.
Seriously, do they ever lose in September?

Despite all of my negativity here, there is a good chance the Mets wind up as the wild card. They would face the Dodgers, who they match up well against. Well yeah, but don’t think someone like Casey Blake won’t hit .800 in that series. Plus, they haven’t face the Manny Ramirez Dodgers yet.

If the Mets do wind up choking here down the stretch, I won’t say I told you so. And if they make it, I’ll root for them like crazy. But I still don’t feel very confident.