November 13, 2007
Nats Off-season: The Field Is Done
Exciting things are happening to the Nationals this off-season. As you can see from Clark Construction Camera, the new baseball field is complete. The grass is Kentucky Bluegrass, which "is cut a bit longer and slows the ball." Hopefully the team didn't choose this type of grass because they refuse to acquire a quality center fielder this off-season.
According the Mayor Fenty, the new stadium is both on time and on budget. Season ticket holders can expect to receive their seat assignments to arrive in their mail in the next few days. The first game in the new stadium will be an exhibition game on Saturday, March 29, 2008 against the Orioles. Tickets will not be sold for the game, but instead the will be given to season ticket holders and the construction workers who built the stadium.
As for news regarding the team actually improving the quality of the product on the field? Well, there isn't any of that yet. After a surprisingly mediocre season, we have yet to see if the Lerner's are willing to open up their purse strings and field a competitive team. It is going to be tough to stomach a sub-par small budget team while sitting in a brand new, beautiful, publicly-financed stadium.
Photo by Scott Abelman
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interesting that they give tickets to the construction workers... is that a tradition? either way its a good idea.
OK for it to be a subpar team for one or two years, but is there any hope on the horizon. Doesn't seem like I have heard a ton about good prospects or any trades recently that have netted any. Worry that this could be a bad team for a long time to come.
Huge free agent signings? I doubt it. This management is committed to building through the draft. So it might be a couple of years before the team is any good. But as the Rockies and others have recently proved, you don't need to spend a ton of money to be good, you need to draft smart and develop players well.
Despite pre-season forcasts for being ahistorically bad team (ie worse than the '62 Mets) the 2007 Nats were only a medicore team, beating prognosticators by about 30 wins. They finished in the lower third, but were generally competitive night in and night out, after April.
Their 2007 draft is certainly among the top 5 in the majors, if not the best, particularly since they actually signed a larger percentage of the guys they picked, many of whom anchored a pretty robust Class A Vermont team.
This team will be competitive this year, in terms of being a .500 product, particularly if they get some of the starting pitching back that was lost to injury in 2007.
Playoffs in 2009 is my prediction.
No need to pursue free agents this offseason. The free agent market stinks this year. There might be some trades out there, though.
DC guy, that's what I wanted to hear. Glad to know it was a good haul. I hadn't seen a lot about it so I sort of figured...
DC Guy, I agree with your assessment. The Nats had a very good draft. But I'm not convinced the pitchers who went down with injuries in 2007 are the answer. At best, those guys are 2 and 3 starters in the rotation. It would be nice to see the Nats acquire an ace...