The chirping birds, the popping leaves and the warming air mean only one thing: spring has returned and the Major League Baseball season has begun. For most fans across the country, this is a time of hope and optimism, to cheer on their teams as they begin a push towards the ultimate prize of a World Series championship. However, for those of us living inside the Capital Beltway, the Washington Nationals do not give us any reason to be excited for baseball season.
The Nats, now in their fifth season in D.C., come off a 2008 season in which the team lost a league-high 102 games. This season has not started off any better, as they have dropped 10 of their first 11 contests, their sole victory coming against the defending World Champion Philadelphia Phillies. No matter how you spin it, having a winning percentage of .090 is never good.
Not that the Nationals should play this badly. They went out in the off-season and picked up one of the biggest free agent acquisitions in Adam Dunn, a slugger that has many people remembering the glory days of Frank Howard of the first Senators incarnation - the one that later moved on to become the Minnesota Twins. Dunn has already launched three home runs into the warming spring air and it looks like their will be plenty of long balls throughout the rest of the season. Combine him with newly resigned Ryan Zimmerman and the Nats' hitters are a force to be reckoned with.
However, while the Nats' offense has improved, their pitching staff has been down right atrocious. The hurlers rank either last or second to last in every major category, including 15th of 16 teams in ERA with 6.32 and opposing batting average of .290. When you give up nearly three hits to every 10 opposing batters and more than six runs a game to the other team, you are not going to win many ballgames.
As much as the team has suffered on the field, it has also been struggling away from it as well. Despite a two-year-old ballpark, one of the best in the country, the team has never been able to draw fans to the games. Even Opening Day, one of the calling cards for many Major League squads, was a majority of Phillies fans who had driven down from Philadelphia. While the Nationals will never be confused with the Redskins or even the Capitals for support here in Washington, they are still a professional franchise that can use all cheering that it can get from its hometown fans.
You can reach this staff writer at jhall@theeagleonline.com.
