Let The Offseason Begin!
But for a few cities in flyover country the baseball season is effectively over, and the rest of the nation has turned its full attention to the gridiron. In Washington, the story is no different, this being the peak of the D.C. sporting year, and the Post is in full Skins swing, plastering banner photographs on Monday editions above war news and natural disasters. For real baseball towns, however, the offseason is an art in and of itself. It will be a while before we can rock it New York style, with full page daily scoops on the back office goings-on of one or another local club, but you've got to start somewhere. DCist wants to help inaugurate the inaugural offseason with a nod toward the season's highlights.
The Nats finished at at 81-81 (much better than some of the preseason predictions we asked people for), a 14 game improvement over last season, and the team drew over 2.7 million fans to the loveable, clunky spaceship by the Anacostia. The team finished in last place in the NL East, nine games back of the infernal Braves, but had a better record than 14 other teams and wasn't eliminated from the playoffs until the last week of the season, despite scoring fewer runs than any other team in the majors.
Now here's the complete wrap-up:
Best Moments of the Season:
3) First franchise victory - It was a warm Wednesday night in early April when in their second game of the season, the Nationals beat the Phillies 7-3 in Philadelphia, behind Brad Wilkerson's cycle.
2) First home game - After a prolonged opening road trip, needed to prepare RFK for baseball, the Nats roared into Washington and rocked the Diamondbacks 5-3 in front of a star-studded (politically) sell-out crowd.
1) On June 12th, the Nationals defeated the Mariners 3-2, completing a run of ten straight victories and a 12-1 homestand. The crowd of 37,000 gave the team a standing ovation (which was reciprocated), as the players walked off the field.
Low Point:
There were more than a few ugly moments in the second half of the season, but the most heartbreaking of the bunch had to have come on September 17th, at San Diego. Leading the Padres 5-0 in the ninth and looking to move to within two games of the wild card spot, the Nationals gave a up a game tying grand slam before dropping the game in the 12th.
Bright Spots in the Lineup:
3) Ryan Zimmerman - Although he played relatively little, and mainly once the season was all but over, the National's first round draft pick out of the University of Virginia ended the season hitting .397 and showed himself to be a capable fielder at third base. With time running out on Vinny Castilla, Zim shows promise as a fixture at the hot corner.
2) John Patterson - Given an opportunity to be a regular starter this year, Patterson outdid the modest expectations the club had for him, pitching around injury and without much offense to a 9-7 record and the ninth lowest ERA in the league.
1) Chad Cordero - The chief was nothing short of stunning this year. One of the few stars to emerge from the National's beleaguered farm system, Cordero made the closing role his to keep, setting records for most saves in a month (15 in June) and youngest ever with a 40 save season.
Let Down:
Christian Guzman in a landslide. Gooz, who collects the fourth highest salary on the team ($4.2 million this season) was brought in to be the solution at shortstop for the Nats. Instead he spent most of the year below the Mendoza Line before crawling his way to .219 by year's end. The poor hitting seemed to affect his glove, as well, as he put together his highest error total since 2001.
Things to look out for:
3) The Nats will need to make some changes this offseason to stay competitive in the NL East. Foremost on their list will be some big bats to support Guillen, Johnson, and Wilkerson in the middle of the lineup. A starter or two will also be sought, and the club will try to keep a very successful bullpen together. Of course all of this depends upon...
2) The men at the top. Everyone, Team President Tony Tavares, GM Jim Bowden, and Manager Frank Robinson, have expressed desires to stay involved with the Nats, but that may not end up being the case. Bowden is being recruited heavily by other clubs, and Robinson endured his share of criticism this year for his un-Moneyball style of intuitive managing. Ultimately, the top guys will stay or go depending upon...
1) Whose team it is. MLB has been telling us a sale is imminent for months, but with the season over, real ownership seems to be more likely to occur. Despite the price tag ($450 million, most ever for a baseball team) there are eight groups remaining as possible contenders. Part of the delay has stemmed from difficulties MLB has had in securing a ballpark lease for the new stadium, which they had hoped to confer with the sale of the team. Look for new developments in this area in mid-November.
Best RFK Snack:
Those italian sausages were untouchable.
Best Giveaway:
Still using our Miller Lite six-pack cooler.
Best Fan Quirk:
Fan drops a foul ball, stadium boos.
Most Obnoxious Visiting Crowd:
Philly, easily. The Cards had more visiting fans, but they swore at us a lot less.
Most Peculiar Between-Inning Recurring Feature:
The one where a Nats player recites a movie line on screen, and the crowd has to guess what the movie is. Nats need to learn to speak from the diaphragm.
Ceremonial First Pitch Honoree Greeted With Most Indifference:
"Treasury Secretary John Snow" was a close second to "Official From Papa John's."
Weirdest Thing Ever:
Sudden appearance of stadium WiFi during a game against the Marlins.
So long for the winter, Nats. Let us know if we missed something particularly special.