National Record

2011 WASHINGTON NATIONALS PREVIEW

Prediction: 5th in the NL East

Team Strengths: Exciting infield, led by team mvp, 3B Ryan Zimmerman… Very good bullpen, led by 7th and 8th inning tandem of RH Tyler Clippard and LH Sean Burnett… Corner OF spots should produce 50+ home runs with free agent signee RF Jayson Werth joining break thru candidate LF Mike Morse…. 1B Adam Laroche’s glove at first will cut back dramatically on the ML high 127 errors the Nationals made in 2010…. Picked two great years to have the 1st overall pick in both 2009(RHSP Stephen Strasburg) and 2010(OF Bryce Harper)… Manager Jim Riggleman leads a top flight coaching staff while GM Mike Rizzo has added talent each year in DC… Love the young up the middle tandem of 2B Danny Espinosa and SS Ian Desmond

Team weaknesses: Washington’s opening day battery of RH Livan Hernandez and C Pudge Rodriquez might be 150 yrs old….. Rotation is among the worst in all of baseball. Lots of  #4 and #5 starters…. Loss of slugging 1B Adam Dunn…. Little or no fan support at games…. Strasburg will not pitch til after the all star break if at all in 2011…. Closer Drew Storen, a major talent, is unproven and in this division, he faces 4 quality lineups… Love  Werth but he was the 3rd or 4th wheel in Philadelphia.  Lets see how he responds to being game planned for and being the “man”.

STARTING LINEUP

1B  Laroche

2B  Espinosa

SS Desmond

3B  Zimmerman

LF   Morse

CF  Rick Ankiel, Jerry Hairston Jr.

RF  Werth

C  Rodriquez

ROTATION

RH  Hernandez

LH John Lannan

RH Jason Marquis

RH  Jordan Zimmerman

LH Tom Gorzelanny

Closer

RH Storen

2011 Season Predictions

MVPs

AL: New York Yankees 3B Alex Rodriquez

NL:  St Louis Cardinals 1B Albert Pujols

CY Young

AL: Boston Red Sox LH Jon Lester

NL: Philadelphia Phillies RH Roy Halladay

Rookie of the Year

AL: Chicago White Sox LHP Chris Sale

NL: Atlanta Braves 1B Freddie Freeman

Manager of the Year:

AL: Oakland A’s Bob Geren

NL: Milwaukee Brewers Ron Roenicke

Post season teams

AL: Boston, Minnesota, Oakland, Chicago(Wild Card winner)

NL: Atlanta, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Philadelphia(Wild Card winner)

Speedy CF Nyjer Morgan was traded to the Milwaukee Brewers for a prospect(Cutter Dykstra, son of ex ML all star Lenny Dykstra) and 50K cash  by the Washington Nationals Sunday(March 27th). This move clears the way for pure tool talent Rick Ankiel( an ex pitcher with a nuclear arm) and versatile Jerry Hairston Jr to play center for the Nats. Morgan, who stole 34 bases(51 attempts), has talent but his volatile nature led to several on-field incidents hi-lighted by a bench clearing brawl vs the Florida Marlins. On the previous night, he seperated the shoulder of  a Marlins catcher at home plate ,  he was then hit and thrown at before charging the mound the next day. Last Friday(March 25th) he told mlb.com he did not expect to be with Washington on opening day. Sad to see him go, Morgan made things interesting. Best wishesto him in Milwaukee, he is joining a team that has post season aspirations!

OF-1B Michael Morse appears to have won the everyday left fielder job for the Washington Nationals with his plus bat and strong spring training. Thru March 23, Morse is hitting .345 with 6 home runs and 13 rbi in 55 grapefruit league at bats, he should combine with off season free agent signee RF Jayson Werth to greatly improve the Nationals offense from the corner outfield slots. Meanwhile, the centerfield competition appears to be very tight between incumbent speedster Nyjer Morgan(76 steals combined in 09-10) and rocket armed Rick Ankiel. Look for OF Roger Bernadina to be the 4th or 5th outfielder while getting some looks of the bench. The outfield position boasts  both talent and depth entering 2011, could a trade be in the works?

Other camp notes: RH SP Stephen Strasburg(Tommy John surgery in right elbow ) was placed on the 60 day disabled list today(March 23) but remains on schedule to return sometime in September. The #1 overall pick in the 2009 draft is now throwing from 90 feet on flat ground and rebuilding his arm strength…. OF Bryce Harper, the #1 pick in the 2010 draft, hopes to return to the field by this Friday(March 25th) after injuring his left ankle in a minor league intrasquad game Monday(March 21st). The super talented Harper remains likely to be ready for opening day with the Nationals single A club in Hagerstown…. Washington signed LHP Oliver Perez to a minor league contract Wednesday March 23. Recently released by the division rival New York Mets, he has won only 3 games and posted an ERA over 6.00 in the last two campaigns.

Nationals 3B Ryan Zimmerman will miss at least 5 games with a left groin injury he describes as minor. Washington’s silver slugger says ” The injury is not bad. We want to try and get rid of it before the seasons starts. We are being cautious. We have 2 1/2 weeks down in Florida. It’s really not a big deal.” The injury is the all star’s 2nd of the spring, Zimmerman  also missed some time with abdominal strain.

The Washington Nationals catching situation should be very interesting in 2011. Although the club has announced future hall of famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriquez will open the season as starter many around the team feel super prospect Wilson Ramos is ML ready now. Neither backstop has hit the cover off the ball in camp with Ramos having a higher average(.250 to .238) while Pudge leads in rbi(3 to 1).  While the  Nationals plan to start Ramos post all star break, Rodriquez has been battling leg cramps in camp and will miss a couple of days. Opportunity knocking for Ramos?

Other Nats notes: Both 2B Danny Espinosa and LHRP Sean Burnett are ok after being hit by foul balls in separate incidents in games Tuesday(March 15th) and Wednesday(March 16th)…OF-1B Michael Morse has 5 home runs and 11 rbi in 35 spring at bats. Washington needs to find at bats for this young man!… Comeback candidate RHSP Jason Marquis has posted a 0.75 ERA over 12 innings(3 starts). Meanwhile, youngsters and  RHSPs Jordan Zimmerman(0.00 in 11 innings,3 starts)  and Yunesky Maya(1.04,8.2, 3 games) continue to impress. Nationals  pitching particularly starting pitching could be much improved!

Updates on several Washington Nationals pitchers , both good and bad, stole the show this week at Spring Training. Pitching phenom Stephen Strasburgh(September 2010 Tommy John surgery) continues to make good progress on his recovery and  with his throwing program. He will start the season on the 60 day Disabled list and should return sometime after the all star break. The news on RH RP Cla Meredith was not as positive. After an MRI revealed torn ligament in his throwing elbow, he also underwent Tommy John surgery. Meredith, an off-season free agent signee, had bone chips removed after the 2010 campaign but reported to camp without an further issues. Meredith will miss the entire 2011 season. Luckily, the Nationals bullpen has options and numbers with both veterans and young arms able to fill his role. RHP Chien-Ming Wang(Right shoulder surgery) had a simulated game stopped March 4th when the joint became stiff. The club views the set back as minor and hopes to have him pitching sometime in May. Wang has not thrown since July 2009.

Several notes from week 2 of Washington Nationals Spring training.

1- OF Bryce Harper was assigned #34 by the club. Interesting because it is very rare for a major league club to grant a first year pro such a low number. Also got to see what made the young man tick when you see his reaction to playing vs the New York Yankees, a team he has dreamed of playing for since youth ball. Asked if he wanted to talk with Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriquez and CC Sabathia, he said ” I’m trying to beat ‘em, That’s what I am. If we’re off the field, I’ll go say hello. You van be my best friend off the field, and I’ll hate you on the field. That’s how I am.”

2- 1B Adam Laroche appears fine after dealing with a sore left shoulder early in camp. He has resumed throwing to bases and should be fine. Good sign for someone who is going to be counted out to replace the bat of departed 1B-OF Adam Dunn.

3- Nationals manager Jim Riggleman is not concerned about CF Nyjer Morgan’s early camp struggles(1 for 16 going into Sunday March 6th). The skipper defended his speedster pointing out that he is asking Morgan to bunt one at-bat per game and preached patience.

4- Pitching: LH Ross Detwiller looked outstanding in his his first start of the spring(Sunday March 6th), allowing one hit and an earned run over 3 innings while striking out 5 vs the Atlanta Braves. Washington’s opening day starter veteran RH Livan Hernandez pitched 4 shutout innings in a minor league game vs the Astros March 6th. Good outings for two key cogs in the Nationals rotation.