Photo by Danielle Scruggs

The soaring expectations for the Washington Nationals to be the best team in Major League Baseball and win the World Series were just raised again. And this time, not from any sports publication, but from one of D.C.’s elected officials.

Add Councilmember Vicent Orange (D-At Large) to the list of prognosticators calling on the Nats to win it all. In a news release, Orange said he expects the Nationals to be hoisting the Commissioner’s Trophy in October.

Orange is the sponsor of two ceremonial D.C. Council resolutions scheduled to be presented tomorrow in celebration of accolades bestowed on the Nationals after last season. One is for Bryce Harper, who was named National League Rookie of the Year; the other for Davey Johnson, for winning National League Manager of the Year.

Harper is off to a decent start in the Nationals first six games, hitting for a .360 batting average and three home runs, two of which came in his first two at-bats of the season. As for the team at large, the Nationals, at 4-2, are tied for second in the National League East with the New York Mets. They swept the Miami Marlins at home to open the season, but struggled to take just one out of three games last weekend from the Cincinnati Reds.

But Orange expects them to win it all. “Not to add any extra pressure to Davey Johnson and Bryce Harper but hopefully we repeat this event next year,” Orange said in his news release. “After winning the World Series!”

After all, why would Orange call himself “the best” if he can’t surround himself with the best?