{"id":1768,"date":"2009-12-29T14:04:26","date_gmt":"2009-12-29T21:04:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/?p=1768"},"modified":"2009-12-29T14:04:26","modified_gmt":"2009-12-29T21:04:26","slug":"nationals-sing-new-song-for-2010","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/29\/nationals-sing-new-song-for-2010\/","title":{"rendered":"Nationals Sing New Song for 2010"},"content":{"rendered":"

Washington baseball has been a Leonard Cohen song, a suicide dirge\u00c2\u00a0with dark, seductive overtones.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0With free agent signings like Jason Marquis, Matt Capps\u00c2\u00a0and Pudge Rodriguez, and the trade for Brian Bruney, the\u00c2\u00a0search\u00c2\u00a0for textural complexity\u00c2\u00a0in\u00c2\u00a0100-loss seasons may be over.\u00c2\u00a0 We are switching to Bruce for 2010,\u00c2\u00a0“praying for\u00c2\u00a0a\u00c2\u00a0savior to rise from these streets.”\u00c2\u00a0 Hit a big strong guitar chord and bring on Stephen Strasburg for the New Year.<\/em><\/p>\n

The Nationals’ morbid theme of\u00c2\u00a0loss will\u00c2\u00a0be buried quietly by the banks of the Anacostia as\u00c2\u00a02010 looms scant months from now increasingly full of hope.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0After 75 years of baseball depression, the slumbering giant in the Nation’s capital may be awakening and shaking off the cob webs.<\/p>\n

The Nationals have been one of the most active franchises in the off-season so far.\u00c2\u00a0 Washington ownership\u00c2\u00a0has lured talent young and old with a commitment to invest much-needed\u00c2\u00a0capital in the team.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Pulling in both Marquis and Capps in the same week–and for market rates–should convince other free agents the franchise is sincere about changing directions.<\/p>\n

The biggest marker on DC’s baseball landscape is what Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus\u00c2\u00a0recently called “the pitcher most likely to win three Cy Youngs in the upcoming decade,” Stephen Strasburg.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Hopefully that will come to pass, but Strasburg is not the only young pitching talent in DC.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe a unique one, but there are others.<\/p>\n

Jason Marquis will start the season at the head of a very young rotation in Washington likely to include John Lannan (25), Scott Olsen (26), JD Martin (27) and Ross Detwiler (24).\u00c2\u00a0 Newly signed closer Matt Capps is only 26, but Brian Bruney (28) wants a shot at closing as well.\u00c2\u00a0 If you look at the numbers 23-year old closer in waiting Drew Storen put up in Harrisburg in August–nine saves in ten appearances without allowing a run, then a bullpen emerges with\u00c2\u00a0as many reasons for optimism as the rotation.<\/p>\n

The Nationals want to leave Strasburg pitching in the minors for what everyone hopes will be a very brief stint.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0The Nationals have enough talent to bridge to Strasburg, pitchers like John Lannan and Ross Detwiler who should benefit from having Marquis at the front of the rotation.<\/p>\n

Lannan said the signing of Marquis takes the pressure off him to lead the young starters.\u00c2\u00a0 It takes even more off Strasburg who can now find his way in his own time.\u00c2\u00a0 He can still pitch his way onto the starting roster in spring training.\u00c2\u00a0 No one will argue if he does, but with real\u00c2\u00a0competition for\u00c2\u00a0the Washington rotation, allowing him a month or so of seasoning at Harrisburg or Syracuse could pay dividends for the young phenom in the longer term.<\/p>\n

Putting it all together for the Nationals in 2010 would mean that the young pitchers blossom.\u00c2\u00a0 It would be a surprise to see it all fall into place,\u00c2\u00a0but there are early, budding seeds of hope.\u00c2\u00a0 The Nationals have bred rational skeptics.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Inveterate losers are\u00c2\u00a0endemic to Washington.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Some would even say “it’s a town full <\/em>of losers.”\u00c2\u00a0 Which makes what Ryan Zimmerman has done in Washington all the more impressive.<\/p>\n

Zimmerman is likely to have his best supporting cast yet in 2010.\u00c2\u00a0 Mike Rizzo still has the end game to play out.\u00c2\u00a0 He is still\u00c2\u00a0shopping for a middle infielder–maybe\u00c2\u00a0Adam Kennedy.\u00c2\u00a0 He needs another outfielder and Randy Winn has been mentioned, but there are plenty of bargains that can still be had.\u00c2\u00a0 Confidence that Rizzo will make the right moves is growing as is the optimism that the Nationals will field their best team since 2005.<\/p>\n

Washington\u00c2\u00a0won’t beat the Phillies, but the talent gap will narrow significantly.\u00c2\u00a0 The Nationals will leave Viera, FL\u00c2\u00a0in March with a legitimate chance to exit the basement in the NL East.\u00c2\u00a0 “The door’s open, but the ride ain’t free.”\u00c2\u00a0 Ownership has taken that sentiment to heart.<\/p>\n

The result is that the Nationals are cranking their engines and heading out on a road in 2010 that will cheer the hard core fans who have been waiting now through four tough seasons.\u00c2\u00a0 The signs say it’s going to be a happy new year, one where we are finally “pulling out of here to win.”<\/p>\n

Thanks to Bruce Springsteen for “Thunder Road” and 40 years of great music.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Washington baseball has been a Leonard Cohen song, a suicide dirge\u00c2\u00a0with dark, seductive overtones.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0With free agent signings like Jason Marquis, Matt Capps\u00c2\u00a0and Pudge Rodriguez, and the trade for Brian Bruney, the\u00c2\u00a0search\u00c2\u00a0for textural complexity\u00c2\u00a0in\u00c2\u00a0100-loss seasons may be over.\u00c2\u00a0 We are switching to Bruce for 2010,\u00c2\u00a0“praying for\u00c2\u00a0a\u00c2\u00a0savior to rise from these streets.”\u00c2\u00a0 Hit a big strong guitar […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1768","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-view-from-the-capital","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t