Jim Bowden, The Examiner
2007-09-13 07:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

The final major league baseball homestand ever at RFK Stadium will start Friday with 10 straight games against divisional rivals Atlanta Braves, New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies.

All three opponents are in a playoff race — either for the divisional title, wild card or home field advantage. They will be must-win games for the Braves, Mets and Phillies.

The Braves are all but knocked out of the divisional race, but still have a chance for the wild card. Their terrific acquisition of Mark Teixeira at the trade deadline improved the Braves’ powerful offense. But their recent slump reminded us all that their 14 consecutive divisional titles was mostly due to the starting rotation that always included Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine in their prime, and then was supplemented by a Denny Neagle or Steve Avery. The rotation was deep and solid. Without it, they have become a contending team rather than a divisional championship team.

The Mets have the league’s highest payroll and are supposed to win. And, they will. The young nucleus of position players, including Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran, is the best in the league. If Pedro can be Pedro in October, they should be favored to reach the World Series.

The Phillies come to RFK for the final four baseball games ever at RFK. They are a team of gamers from Chase Utley, Jimmy Rollins, Shane Victorino and Aaron Rowand to the power bats of Ryan Howard and Pat Burrell. They have an outside chance of beating the National League West’s second-place team for the wild card.

For our club, it will be important in a different way. We get to see how far we really are from contending while facing the division’s best trio. Also, individual players need to solidify their position with the Nationals next year. We have played with a lot of heart and character since May 11, accomplishing a winning record with the third lowest payroll in baseball and a starting rotation filled with rookies. Now let’s see how we do against the competition that matters most.

Who will be the last Washington player to ever homer at RFK? Will Zim or Wily Mo change a yellow seat to white one more time? Will (Justin Maxwell) “JMax” hit another slam? Will Shawn Hill continue to establish himself as team ace? Will Chad Cordero continue his scoreless streak? Come to RFK one more time and find out.

The new ball park will open next year with the first homestand in April at Nationals Park. However, for now, let’s cherish the memories of Washington Baseball at RFK Stadium for one more homestand.

As told to The Examiner’s John Keim.

Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden provides an exclusive column to The Examiner each week, ranging on topics from the Nats to the state of Major League Baseball.