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End of the Season Part II: Hope for the Future

Jim Riggleman should give NatsTown some hope, as the team went a half-decent 33-42 under his control. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

Earlier in the week, I wrote about all of the ugly truths from the 103-loss season turned in by your hometown Nationals this year. The saddest thing is that despite all the mediocrities I pointed out, I did not even have space or the heart to mention the historically bad bullpen, pathetic team defense and speed and absolute lack of a farm system. The biggest joke of all coming out of Nationals Park this whole year may be the current “All-Time 9” Poll being held right now, which is an excellent reminder that this franchise has never really been good (let’s put it this way, according to the poll, one of the contenders for best season by an outfielder was Lastings Milledge’s 2008, when he hit .268). Notwithstanding all the facts being thrown in my face, I am an optimist after all, and I firmly believe there is hope for this franchise in the near future.

 

For the first time since we took Les Expos out of Major League Baseball’s foster care, the team actually fielded a somewhat respectable lineup. After some early season shuffling, the 3-4-5 hitters that the team settled on (Zimmerman, Dunn, Willingham) combined for 95 homers and 272 RBIs (a lot of those RBIs are due in large part to the addition of a table-setter in the form of Nyjer Morgan). Are those numbers eye-popping, or make the Nationals one of the premier power teams in the Bigs? No, but they are competitive. For the sake of comparison, the hitters in the same spots for the Braves (Larry Jones-Adam LaRoche-Garret Anderson), a team in the Wild Card race into late September, produced 55 homers and 212 RBIs. Yes, the periphery of the lineup is not there yet (without Flores, the dropoff after the five-hole makes Stallone’s stunts in Cliffhanger look childish), but at the heart of if it all, the Nats have some talent. 

 

So, work needs to be done, and it looks like the team is ready to take some of it head on. Improving team defense, speed, and top-to-bottom production is at the top of the list this offseason. The Nationals appear to recognize that free agency may not work for pitchers, but is a good approach when building the lineup.  As last year showed, even without a big move besides bringing Dunn (which turned out to be a pretty big move), the front office is willing to be fairly aggressive in the open market. With Flores’ availability still in question, Guzman preparing for surgery and Desmond unproven, and the team still waiting on Elijah Dukes to break out, catcher, middle infield and corner outfielder are big positions of need. This weekend, I will tackle the offseason issues facing the team head-on.  

 

Before we get too caught up in next year, let’s wrap up this year first. The best thing that could have happened to the Nationals in the last couple of weeks in the season did: they finished strong. Even if less than a fifth of the fans believe the team can be winners next year, maybe the players do. Winning the last seven games of the season will give the Nats a little bounce in their step this offseason, especially for the younger players. Thankfully, some of the younger players actually played a nice part in the late surge.   Apparently listening the my calls for some young blood to be brought in, the fresh faces did some good things. Ian Desmond started with a bang, and still finished with a solid .280 average. Justin Maxwell made a case that he may have more to offer than a good glove and popped off some big hits, including a walk-off grand slam. Those are the kind of players that will reap the most benefits from some late-season confidence.

 

In reality, the whole second half of the season was a step in the right direction. In the second half, under Jim Riggleman, the team went 33-42, a marked improvement from their 26-61 start. When Nyjer Morgan was in the lineup, the team was above .500, and its second half record may have been, too if Morgan had not have gotten hurt. With him on the shelf, they finished 13-21. Regardless, what all of these numbers mean that the first thing this team must do is bring Riggleman back (as I have lobbied for all along). For whatever reason, he breathed some life into the team, and while it may not be possible to recreate that next season, it’s worth a shot.

 

Finally, an archaic rule in Major League Baseball is possibly the biggest reason why Nats fans should be happy. Unlike the NBA, who uses a lottery system, the number one pick in the First-Year Player Draft goes to the worst team in the league the season before. We in DC know this rule well, as it landed us Mr. Strasburg earlier this summer (who, even if his arm is doomed to explode, has at least generated some national interest in the Nationals). Next year, it looks like a similar prize awaits them. 

 

While Strasburg may have been the best pitching prospect to come around in years, his hitting counterpart may be available this June in the form of Bryce Harper. Now, Harper’s case is a little different as he has yet to turn 17, and therefore is much more unproven and many years off from making a Major League impact. Still, Harper’s promise is hard to ignore. As chronicled by Sports Illustrated, Harper is as legit a 5-tool prospect as they come, and as a catcher and pitcher last spring hit .756 with 28 homers for his high school team (although, let’s hope he avoids the SI cover curse recently bestowed on the Tigers and Oklahoma State football). As I said, Harper is only 16, and should still be in high school, but he graduated a year early and is now taking classes at the College of Southern Nevada, making him draft-eligible in 2010. Yes, Harper’s age makes him a wild card, but no one can deny the excitement that would come with the Nationals having control over two of the top prospects of the last few decades. If you want to see Harper’s exploits with your own eyes, watch this highlight video of him busting off 500-foot homers at the Trop, or for more legitimate journalism check out the E:60 piece on him.

 

 

 

 

Yes, the Nationals were bad this year. Their bullpen was historically putrid, their starting rotation was a continual merry-go-round and their lineup had bigger holes than Elijah Dukes’ swing. Still, despite their best efforts, the Nationals could not quell my hope for the future, and I believe for good reason. With the pieces they have started to put together, and with a little positive momentum from this fall, they might make a run in the next few years. After all, it is the National League, and as the Rockies and Marlins have recently proven, a young, hungry team can take home the crown.

 

Be sure to check back this weekend as I continue to discuss the end of the season, this time focusing on the needs for the off-season.

 

Small notes from around the Bigs: What did I tell you? One-game playoffs are always exciting, and the Twins-Tigers turned out a beauty on Tuesday. Thanks to the 5:07 ET starting time, us Eastern seaboarders came home from work and were treated to some late inning-drama. The Twins pitching out of a bases-loaded jam, the Tigers turning a 7-2 double play to keep the season alive – great, great stuff. Unfortunately for the Twins, their already thin pitching staff was stretched even thinner by the 12-inning affair.  Because Scott Baker was forced into starting duty in Tuesday’s playoff game, the Twins had to turn to Brian Duensing, a rookie with only nine career starts, to start Game 1 against the Yankees the following night. The weary Twinkies started strong, going up 2-0, but faded and now find themselves in a 1-0 hole. It may only be one game, but with the five-game format in the ALDS, it may prove to be a hole too deep to dig out of.