The Washington Nationals 2007 Season Thread

I renewed my 20-game season ticket package for this year. And while I'll attend a lot of games (I probably went to 2 dozen last year), it was more to save my spot in line for the new park than anything else. I hate to say it, but the team is going to be historically bad this year. I think 115 losses is a very real possibility. That doesn't particularly bother me, as I am first and foremost a Braves fan, but I'm definitely in for a long summer at RFK.

Still, it's baseball, and I'll be in the stands, beer in hand! Plus, it doesn't hurt that the Lerners actually lowered ticket prices for this year. So I get to go to 20 games for $100! That's a hell of a deal.

Oh, and for what it's worth, I actually kind of like the "Pledge Your Allegiance" slogan...

I don't think they're going to be historically bad. Zimmerman, Kearns, Schneider, Lopez, Church, Johnson (if he returns), Belliard, and maybe Young won't be a historically bad offense. And the bullpen is servicable.

That starting pitching though is just awful though whn you get past Patterson. The big ballpark may hide some of that awfulness, but they're going to get hit around a lot on the road. I'm thinking right around 100 losses, but I could see the bullpen collapsing under a too heavy load and pushing that to 106 to 110 losses.

I hope you're right, man. But without Johnson, that lineup is strictly mediocre unless Church and Lopez break out.

But the real problem is the pitching. Patterson may only make a dozen starts, and the rest of that bunch is truly bad. And the pen would be serviceable if the team had 3 legit starters, but they're going to get overworked in a hurry.

Add those problems to playing in a very tough division, and I have a bad feeling about the season.

Oh, we're going to get crushed all right. Even so, there's still nothing like a Sunday afternoon at the ballpark.

Agreed. If I wasn't the only person in the office today, I'd be at the park this afternoon. I'll just have to go tomorrow instead. I am so amped up about baseball starting up again -- my favorite time of year!

Oh my, that didn't go well. That Cabrera homer was an absolute monster blast. Hats off to him for that.

Guzman and Logan both left with injuries. Losing Guz is an upgrade, but who knows about Logan? It's just one game, of course, but what a way to start the year...

The Washington Nationals are a disaster. If they were in the AL East or AL Central, they'd lose 125+ games. As it, they're going to be flirting with 110-120 losses.Christian Guzman is out there starting at SS? For a major league ballclub? What, was Neifi Perez not available? John Patterson is the number one pitcher, and there is a significant drop-off after him? Poor Ryan Zimmerman. How many years is he going to be shackled to this organization?

Oh, 7-1 with our "ace" on the mound. This does not bode well.

Well, I was at the game last night, and it was even uglier in person. The team looked just as bad as it did the last 2 months of '06, which is not a good sign. Shawn Hill obviously wasn't good, although wasn't nearly as bad as his line suggests-- home-cooking scoring ruled only one horrible defensive play an error, when it could easily have been 3.

Anyway, I was wrong about Guzman's injury being an upgrade (and I can't believe I'm saying that). Josh Wilson was flat-out horrible in the field. He alone should have been charged with 3 errors in the game. Let's hope these guys can get it together, or it's going to be an even longer year than I imagined.

RFK report: Small crowd, just over 20,000 paid, maybe a fourth of which remained at the end of the game (maybe). Many of the upper-deck concession stands were closed up, which is pretty sad for the second game of the year! The sound system appeared to be messed up, as well. I thought they'd ironed out those problems last year, but I guess not, as I could barely hear anything over the PA. I lost a dollar betting on Washington to win the President's race (Jefferson took it; Teddy is as hapless as ever).

All that aside, it was a beautiful evening for baseball, and I was happy to be at the park. Go Nats!

Ow. I couldn't watch past the first inning.

Well, I'll still go for the hot dogs. Go Bethesda Big Train! And Baysox!

Come-from-behind win today! Woohoo!

Jorge "Fantasy Killer" Julio and A.J. Burnett managed to really ruin my day yesterday.

Yes, they are dreadful. And apparently Jim Bowden's idea of improving the team is trading for Ryan Langerhans! That's what I call a WTF, right there.

We got Bethesda Big Train season tickets this year. I think we chose well.

Well, I just got back from a nice little "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" at the ballpark. A beautiful afternoon, and surprisingly big crowd.

Unfortunately, with the game tied at 2 going into the 9th, Manny Acta employed the "bring in the closer to shut them down in the top-half, then win it in the bottom-half" strategy, and it backfired spectacularly. Ugh.

I see our ex-team still suck as much as before....

What are you talking about? While I wouldn't characterise the Nats as stellar, I wouldn't consign them to Suck City, either.

Yeah, they've actually been better than I expected. I mean, they've sucked, but they haven't sucked catastrophically. I really thought the team was going to be historically bad. As it is, it's merely run-of-the-mill bad.

Anyway, I got my relocation guide for the new park, and tickets are pricey! Assuming I can get a 20-game package in the $10 section, though, I'll still be renewing. The new park looks pretty darn cool.

The Expos were always an average team. The only year the had the talent and would have won the World Cup, something like 1994, the League went on strike. Since then, they never recovered.

The move to Washington gave me the impression they would grow better than in Montreal. They're not atrociously bad, but the result looks the same as before. I still check out how they fare.

The franchise needed a ground-up rebuilding movement, which couldn't really start until they got the ownership issue resolved, which didn't happen until mid-2006. They'll eventually be competitive, but it's going to take some time. They can only hope that they get there before the fan base loses interest. The new park next year will give them a nice shot in the arm, but the clock is definitely ticking.

As for the Expos, it's amazing how many great players circulated through that organization in the 90's. Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, Larry Walker, and Vlad Guerrero, just to name a few. If they could have held onto some of those guys, they could have been something special. But Montreal, for all its fine qualities, just isn't a baseball town.

Well, I went to the game last night only to witness Jason Simontacchi get beat about the head and face for 4 innings. Then the bullpen got beat about the head and face for 5 innings. The team has been playing a lot better, but not yesterday!

And I've had it with RFK. I was an apologist for the first two years, but no longer. It sucks, and I can't wait until they move into the new park!

I had a great experience during the Reds series - my company's CEO let me use his season tickets, and my wife and I sat in the "Rich old guys / hot chicks with fake boobs" section right behind home plate. It was like minor league ball - had we run into some of the players at a bar later, we actually would have recognized them.

All that, and the Nats won, too. Awesome. Acta for Manager of the Year!

I was there on Tuesday to see them blow it. A beautiful night, and great pitcher's duel, but lousy outcome.

I also sent in my request for season tickets to the new park a couple weeks ago. I'm trying to get the $10 seats (cheapest available) in the upper deck with a view of downtown. Those would be pretty great seats at that price, I think. And I ought to get my first choice, having been a ticket-holder since all three years.

Hey, this thread deserves a bump. Hats off to the Nats for putting together a very respectable season, all things considered. Is it possible to vote for Randy St. Claire for MVP?

BTW, I plan to catch a game in Philadelphia tonight. It's against the Braves, but I'm looking forward to feeling the energy in the park as the Phillies look to unseat the Mets.

I'll be at the game as well, Frank. Should be a fun evening -- probably the "most important" baseball game I've attended in my life, if baseball were actually important.