Washington Nationals Preview

Washington Nationals Preview

Summary: Contenders for much of before finishing ., Frank Robinsons Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos) were the talk of the National League East prior to the all star break.

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Article Body: Overview:

Contenders for much of before finishing ., Frank Robinsons Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos) were the talk of the National League East prior to the all star break. The D.C. community embraced the Nats as the team was happy to find a permanent home stadium after splitting much of their games in between two different stadiums in Montreal and Puerto Rico. Despite holding onto first place in the National League East through the month of July, Washington fell quickly finishing their season with an - record and ended their year games behind the first place Atlanta Braves.

The starting lineup was led by the newly acquired outfielder Jose Guillen (. ) and st baseman Nick Johnson (. ). Outfielders Brad Wilkerson (. ) and Preston Wilson (. ) joined catcher Brian Schneider (. ) to provide the team with the rest of their offense.

Starting pitchers Livan Hernandez (- .) and former NY Yankee Esteban Loaiza (- .) joined John Patterson (- .), Tony Armas (- .) and closer Chad Cordero (- . saves in games) to stabilize the pitching staff as the team greatly improved on their losing - record.

Off Season Moves:

The Nats lost Esteban Loaiza to the Oakland Athletics and traded away Brad Wilkerson for Alfonso Soriano (. ) to help improve their offensive production which was the lowest in baseball in . Washington also traded for San Diego's Brian Lawrence (- .) and the signed free agent Ramon Ortiz (- .) in order to help bolster their rotation. The Nationals will also have a newcomer at third since Vinny Castilla (. ) was traded to the Padres in the deal for Lawrence. Veteran Mike Stanton (- .) was also added to help strengthen the bullpen as he was signed as a free agent late in the off season.

Analysis:

The loss of Loaiza will hurt the teams starting pitching. He provided the Nationals with innings in and the Washington has yet to make any significant moves that will replace those innings. While Washington did acquire two additional starting pitchers there is little chance that either will prove as reliable as Loaiza did last season. Brian Lawrence had a terrible , despite pitching in pitching friendly Petco Park, and Ramon Ortiz was released by Cincinnati Red who became frustrated with his ability to deliver any quality innings. Soriano should prove to be a great pickup, but he will not go quietly into the outfield with Jos Vidro (. ) or newly acquired free agent Marlon Anderson (. ) expected to start the season at nd base.

The Nationals bullpen was very good last season with Chad Cordero establishing himself as one of the games best young closers last year after compiling saves. Stanton should also be a nice addition. The starting pitching is weak but Washington should be expected to score more runs in .