The first month of the baseball season is coming to a close, and it could have gone much better for the Washington Nationals. They lost nine of their first 12 games before winning four games last week against the lowly Marlins and Phillies.
Off the field, Nationals general manager Jim Bowden was arrested and charged with driving while under the influence in Florida. Although he has publicly apologized for that incident, Bowden has not yet apologized for having the worst offseason in baseball, as he failed to address the team's biggest weakness and made the most baffling trade of the offseason.
Bowden was the architect of the biggest trade of the offseason, trading outfielders Brad Wilkerson and Termell Sledge to the Rangers for second baseman Alfonso Soriano. However, prior to trading for Soriano, nobody in the Nationals organization asked if he would switch positions and play outfield. Soriano publicly resisted the move, refusing to play left field in a spring training game.
Although Soriano finally agreed on playing left field and has played well offensively (six home runs, .333 batting average), it is impossible to know Soriano's impact on the team. His selfish actions during spring training, demanding the position of team leader Jose Vidro, had to have created some bad blood in the locker room.
Also, Soriano has made playing left field look effortless, but not in a good way. During the home opener against the Mets, Soriano failed to hustle after two balls in the gap, allowing runners to advance an extra base. This season, Soriano is nothing but an expensive rent-a-player, waiting to cash in during free agency.
Much like Bowden's Cincinnati Reds teams of a few seasons ago, the biggest problem for the Nats last year was starting pitching. After leading the division for the first half of the season, the starting pitching fell apart in August and September, with Livan Hernandez, John Patterson and Esteban Loaiza as the only reliable starters. Loaiza signed with Oakland during the offseason.
Bowden attempted to replace Loaiza by signing Ramon Ortiz and Pedro Astacio and trading for Brian Lawrence. However, Ortiz hasn't been an effective pitcher since 2002, when he won 15 games, and has shown nothing so far this season to prove that he can be (0-2, 7.11 ERA).
The acquisition of Lawrence was Bowden's only good pitching move, as he has proven to be a decent starter. However, he tore the labrum and rotator cuff in his pitching arm and will not pitch this season, leaving the Nationals very thin in the rotation.
Bowden's terrible offseason moves look even worse when compared to the rest of the division.
The Mets opened their pockets yet again and so far it has paid off, with slugger Carlos Delgado (eight home runs in 17 games) and closer Billy Wagner (four saves) leading them to an early four-game lead in the division.
Meanwhile, the Atlanta Braves traded for shortstop Edgar Renteria (.365 batting average), who looks like the same player who helped lead St. Louis to the World Series two seasons ago.
Even the Marlins, who slashed their payroll in half, had a better offseason than the Nats. While they will almost certainly finish last in the division, they acquired a lot of young prospects who are a solid foundation for the future.
After last week's DUI arrest, Bowden's days with the Nationals are almost surely numbered. Hopefully after his performances in Cincinnati and Washington, Bowden will never be a candidate for a general manager job again.
