Well, 2007 is almost in the books and while I didn’t quite get the hang of this blogging thing, I’ll just say, like Nationals fans that have some hope, wait until next year. This was team that many thought would give the 2003 Tigers a run for their money but at the end of the season, they’re not even last place and they’ll barely go over the 90 loss mark. Not that you can hang your hat on that, but it’s something Nationals fans can build on especially if you buy into the whole bottom up approach that the new ownership is spouting.
Ryan Zimmerman proved that he’s the future of this team and the guy to build around. Once again he topped 40 doubles and 20 homers and while his .267 batting average is down from last year, he should end the season with more extra base hits then had last year.
Dmitri Young was a pleasant surprise. When motivated, he’s been a good hitter. His .880 OPS was his best season since back he had a .909 back with the Tigers in 2003 and his 38 doubles are the second most he’s picked up in a season. The guy can rake, it’ll be interesting to see whether he can do it next year.
Even the pitching wasn’t that bad. Nobody has more then eight wins but the team’s ERA of 4.56 puts them in the second half of the league, but not anywhere close to the bottom.
Regardless, the Nationals closed the books on RFK today and next year, we’ll get a bright, shiny new stadium. We’ll also see if ownership opens up the pocket book a bit and gets us some help. I’ll be watching these last few games, but I’ll be more concerned about what happens this offseason.