A Whole Lot of Nattitude

At the beginning of the year, I thought the Washington Nationals would be a lot like the Milwaukee Brewers circa 2007.  A ton of young talent, but not quite ready to carry their team for the entire year.  Wrong like I have been before as the Nationals are sixteen games over .500, and currently hold the best record in the National League.

Everyone clicked at the right time for the young Nationals' players, and also their few acquisitions in the off-season have made them a playoff contender that could possibly make it to the World Series despite the large gorilla that looms in the distance.

Bryce Harper is a phenom.  The guy says the right things like wanting to be an offseason firefighter, and he plays the game hard.  The people who called Harper a 'tool' or still call him that, have never watched the guy play.  He works his ass off every day and night he is out on the field.  Barring any injury, Harper is probably a runaway favorite to win the National League Rookie of the Year.

While the hype surrounding Harper is massive, people forget about the season that Ian Desmond is having for the Nationals.  Many Major League Baseball teams lack a shortstop that can both hit and play solid defensive. Rightfully, Desmond made the National League All-Star team with the season he is currently having.  Desmond is hitting .282 15 HR 48 RBIs, which are all way above his numbers in the first two years. Desmond has hit his stride as the prospect that the Nationals expected when they drafted him.

The pitching is somewhat similar to the hitting except they have a four-headed monster. There is the big ticket item, Stephen Strasburg.  The key acquisition from the Oakland A's, Gio Gonzalez. Free agent pickup Edwin Jackson. Then Jordan Zimmerman who is having a great season as well as the fourth pitcher in their rotation.  All four pitchers have ERA's under 3.75, they all have WHIPs around 1.10 range, and opponents are batting around .195 to .252 against these guys.  It's fair to say that Gonzalez and Strasburg could both be considered for the National League Cy Young right now.


The only thing stopping the Nationals right now is the awkward stance the Nationals' management took at the beginning of the year saying that Strasburg will only pitch 200 innings this year.  They are moving Strasburg to the fifth spot in the rotation so he does not have to pitch every five days, and there is also some suggestion about the bullpen. I personally think they should just go for it with Strasburg. 


Here's the thing, will the Nationals have a better chance than they do right now? Maybe.  But the National League is wide-open, and there is no reason why the Nationals cannot take the National League right now.  Strasburg needs to be the ace of the staff, not the fifth stater. 


The Nationals have arrived whether they are ready or not for it.


Charlie.