Washington Nationals
2004: 67-95 5th in the NL East

Projected Lineup:
LF Brad Wilkerson
CF Endy Chavez
2B Jose Vidro
RF Jose Guillen
3B Vinny Castilla
1B Nick Johnson
C Brian Schneider
SS Cristian Guzman

Projected Rotation:
Livan Hernandez
Esteban Loaiza
Tony Armas, Jr.
Tomo Ohka
Zach Day

Projected Closer:
Chad Cordero

Outlook:
Goodbye Stade Olyimpique.
Goodbye Montreal nightlife filled with strippers and escorts.
Goodbye crazy Canadian money (complete with beavers and hockey games!).

Hello RFK.
Hello D.C. nightlife filled with Capitol Hill interns living off daddy’s money.
Hello stalwart, boring American dollar.

Yes, 2005 marks a new era for our lovable Montreal Expos, the bastard child of Major League Baseball. They packed up their things and moved to D.C., taking up residence in RFK Stadium, one of the few stadia that could replicate the complete boringness of Olympic Stadium. Along the way they picked up a hitchhiking Jim Bowden to be the team’s new GM, fresh off of running the Reds straight into the ground. Upon arriving in Washington, the team took on a new nickname, but in typical baseball fashion, couldn’t even be counted on to come up with something very original. Thus was born the 2005 Washington Nationals.

Upon first look, the lineup for the Washington Nationals doesn’t look all that bad. OF/1B Brad Wilkerson put up a solid .872 OPS season in 2004, his third straight season above .840. There are rumors that Manager Frank Robinson wants to move Wilkerson down the order to take advantage of his bat, but that would necessitate moving Endy Chavez to the top of the order. Chavez has said all of the right things about taking walks and needing to get on-base at a high rate to be a successful leadoff hitter. Unfortunately, Chavez has never been that hitter. He’s a slap hitter with no power and no plate discipline. By all rights, Chavez should be the 4th outfielder on this squad, with Termell Sledge taking his spot in the order, but short of a complete Chavez implosion, Sledge will have to be satisfied with waiting for Wilkerson to move to 1B when Nick Johnson somehow breaks a rib while, ironically, ordering a McRib sandwich. Johnson is finally primed for his breakout season, which is the same thing that has been written about him for the past few seasons. If he can’t manage to stay healthy and in the lineup, 2005 will likely be his first and only season in Washington. 2B Jose Vidro wins this year’s “Most Likely to be Wearing Pinstripes at the Trade Deadline” award. Vidro’s a good hitter for a 2B and is easily the Nationals’ most sought after player.

The rest of the batting order is filled out by Jim Bowden acquisitions. New SS Cristian Guzman might be the best defensive SS in the game, while simultaneously being the worst hitting SS in the game (ok, second worst—you still win Pokey). Bowden decided to help set in motion the insanity that was the free agent market for shortstops by signing Guzman to a deal that even Cristian himself was surprised by. Even worse for the Nationals, a bunch of Guzman’s value was tied up in the Homerdome; Guzman is universally abysmal away from Minnesota. Bowden then, rightfully, decided that Tony Batista did not deserve the 3B job in Washington. So he signed 37 year old Vinny Castilla. Castilla still has some power, but all of his other offensive skills have atrophied. He was a pure Coors mirage in 2004, putting up a line of .218/.281/.493 away from the Mile High City. Jose Guillen was brought into be the RF, fresh off of him throwing a nutty in Anaheim in the middle of a playoff race. Guillen should be a decent upgrade over Juan Rivera, the man he was traded for, but comes with the added risk that he’s completely and utterly insane. Still, this was a positive move for the team. This offense didn’t score a lot in 2004 and doesn’t look like it will do much better in 2005. The Nationals are completely dependent on the oft-rumored breakout from Nick Johnson and a return to 2003 levels by Jose Guillen. Even then, this is a rudimentary offense.

The Nationals’ rotation is actually a moderate bright spot for the team. Livan Hernandez continues to buck all the rational thought and logic that says throwing 1 billion pitches will hurt your arm. I bet Dusty Baker masturbates to thoughts of having Livan Hernandez again. New acquisition Estaban Loaiza was acquired on the cheap, coming off a pretty awful 2004. Loaiza was actually pitching ok for Chicago before being traded, so that bodes well for Washington. Tony Armas, Jr. is never going to be the pitcher many expected him to develop into, but if he can stay healthy, he should be “good enough.” The same can be said about Tomo Ohka. He’s been a pretty decent pitcher when healthy, but unlike Tony Armas, Jr., Ohka isn’t the second player in baseball history to have four body parts in his name. Zach Day rounds out the staff, though he’ll be pushed by Jon Rauch. Both Day and Rauch pitched pretty well to close out 2004 and in Spring Training. With Rauch (who’s still only 25), the Nationals have a legitimate #6 starter, which should serve them well. Hell, the Nationals actually have John Patterson around as a #7 starter. That’s decent depth.

The Nationals bullpen is lead by Chad Cordero. Cordero is young, has a good fastball, and a filthy slider. He should continue to improve and be one of the best relievers in baseball. Luis Ayala is also young and was probably better than Cordero in 2004. Ayala and Cordero is as good a young core to a bullpen as you will find. T.J. Tucker, Claudio Vargas, Gary Majewski, and Antonio Osuna will probably join Ayala and Cordero in the pen. Majewski and Tucker are two more young arms with good upside. Osuna was a solid offseason pickup by Bowden, as he’s been a good-to-great bullpen arm for his entire career.

The Washington pitching staff is a good enough staff that they’ll be able to help overcome some of the shortcomings of the offense, but not enough to help this team compete for the NL East or even the NL Wild Card. The Nationals offense is seriously flawed and there’s not a whole lot of help in the pipeline. With Bowden now running the show, his proclivity for acquiring toolsy players over productive players could simply mean that the Washington minor league system is going to fill up with lots of guys who look great playing baseball but don’t actually ever help the big league team. So Orioles fans shouldn’t jump ship just yet.

RIP Youppi. You will be missed.

Prediction: 69-93

Top 10 Prospects:
1. Mike Hinckley LHP
2. Ryan Church OF
3. Larry Broadway 1B
4. Brendan Harris 2B-3B
5. Clint Everts RHP
6. Bill Bray LHP
7. Darrel Rasner RHP
8. Daryl Thompson RHP
9. Collin Balestar RHP
10. Kory Casto 3B