What If Jim Bowden Had Been Gagged and Thrown in a Broom Closet in 2005?

We Nationals fans have been ringing are hands and gnashing our teeth for some time now. We keep waiting for the team to get better and yet the wins have become more elusive since that 81-win inaugural season in 2005.

Most of us believe in "The Plan", but we have grown weary of waiting for it to make a difference in the team's record.

Jim Bowden, General Manager of the Washington Nationals, has carried the nickname "Trader Jim" because he has never seen a trade offer he didn't like, which leads to massive roster changes each year.

The 2005 and 2008 Nationals might as well be two wholly different teams. Cristian Guzman and Nick Johnson are the only opening day starters still with the organization, and Johnson's status is shaky at best.

All those trades and roster changes were supposed to have made the team better.

Have they?

Lets take a look at how the Nationals 2008 lineup would have looked if their roster had remained intact since the moment Youppi's costume was sold to the Montreal Canadiens and that dorky hat emblem was replaced by the current stylish "curly W."

The former Nationals players' statistics are based on what they have averaged since they left Washington, usually encompassing one or two seasons. If injuries cost players significant time, I've expanded their stats to what they would have been in a full season for comparison purposes.

1B: Nick Johnson: .220-20-80

Johnson played just a quarter of the season due to yet another serious injury. His actual numbers were .220-5-20. He was both the 2005 and 2008 starting first baseman.

2B: Brendan Harris: .275-10-50

Since being traded to the Reds as a throw in for Austin Kearns and Felipe Lopez, Harris has batted .286-12-59 for Tampa Bay in 2007 and .265-7-49 for the Twins last season. Since he was traded, the Nationals have had Jose Vidro, Felipe Lopez, Ronnie Belliard, Emilio Bonifacio, and Anderson Hernandez play second base for the Nationals. I think the team would have been much better with Harris playing there every day

SS: Maicer Izturis: .276-3-37

Shortly after taking over the Nationals, Bowden traded Izturis and Juan Rivera to the Angels for Jose Guillen. That did not work out too well as Guillen was a clubhouse cancer in 2005 and was injured most of 2006, his last year with the team. Izturis was considered the classic "good field-no hit" shortstop when he was traded, but he has become much better with the bat. He has had four good seasons with the Angels compared to Cristian Guzman's one good one.

3B: Ryan Zimmerman: .284-21-94

This is what Zimmerman would have hit had he not been injured, and these numbers are right in line with his career averages. Vinny Castilla was signed to play third in 2005, but Zimmerman took over in September of that year.

LF: Marlon Byrd: .305-10-62

Byrd was acquired from the Phillies in 2005 for Endy Chavez.  He played well that year but slipped in 2006 and was released. The above numbers are what he has averaged with the Rangers the last two seasons in just 409 at-bats per year. He is not an everyday outfielder but could have been part of a potent platoon for the Nationals if he had stayed.

Though Elijah Dukes' .264-13-43 2008 stats are not far behind those of Marlon Byrd, there is no question that Dukes is the better player and will consistently hit 30 or more homers every year for Washington, production far out of the reach of the competent, but limited, Byrd.

CF: Ryan Church: .276-21-90

Because of reoccurring problems due to a concussion suffered early in the year, Church was limited to 347 at-bats in his first year with the Mets. The above numbers are based on a full season, and are better than Lastings Milledge's .268-14-61. However, Milledge is much younger and has more tools than Church, so I would give the nod to the current Nats outfielder in the long term. That said, if Church were to ever get 500 major league at-bats, he would likely hit 27 homers and drive in close to 100 runs. He has the talent, just not the luck.

RF: Juan Rivera: .284-21-81

These numbers are what Rivera would have averaged with the Angels over his four seasons, but injuries cost him large parts of the 2007 and 2008 years. He hit 23 homers for the Angels in just 448 at-bats in 2006, his last full season with the Angels. He has certainly outplayed Nationals right fielder Austin Kearns.

C: Brian Schneider: .257-9-38

Though his batting average and home runs are higher than the Nationals' Jesus Flores, Flores had more RBI and is eight years younger. I'd rather have Flores at this point to be sure. A mature and more polished Flores could hit close to 20 home runs for the Nationals one day, while playing defense nearly as good as the trusted Brian Schneider.

I think it's safe to say that if Jim Bowden had never made any of those trades, the 2008 Nationals would have been a better team, but there is no question that the young players the Nationals are counting on, players like Jesus Flores and Lastings Milledge and Elijah Dukes will (hopefully) become dominant major leaguers, unlike Schneider, Byrd, and Harris.

Right now, I would take the gag out of Jim Bowden's mouth, dust off his expensive suit, pat him on the head and point him in the direction of the Nationals' front office. His personnel moves have made for a poor product today, but the team could be a real contender by 2011.

Thank goodness he didn't listen to the lyrics of the Grass Roots song when he was a kid that said, "Don't worry about tomorrow, lets live for today."

I did, and I'm a 52 year-old senior in college.

See what happens?