Washington Nationals: Keep the Train Moving

In almost any case, when you miss important pieces of your roster like the Nationals have experienced, you would like think they would be at the bottom of the food chain.

Michael Morse, Drew Storen, Jayson Werth, utility man Mark DeRosa, Brad Lidge, Wilson Ramos and Chien Ming-Wang are all on the DL.

Ramos tragically tore his ACL last week. (What a rough six months for that guy. I feel terrible for him.) They are also without a closer, and fill-in Henry Rodriguez is causing me heart palpitations.

Well, the team is surviving anyway. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez appear destined for the All-Star Game in Kansas City. Adam LaRoche, who was once a notorious “slow starter,” has been singlehandedly carrying the team’s offense, and phenom Bryce Harper is already the talk of the town.

The first place Nationals are doing this with their $100 million man Ryan Zimmerman batting .222 with only one home run.

I know it’s early, and this isn’t a “we’re going to win the NL East!” type of column. This is just a simple observation. Despite everything this young team has endured, the Nationals are enjoyable to watch and more importantly, winning ballgames.

Obviously, this team has been carried by their dominant pitching staff, who are finally getting the credit they deserve. I will predict one thing: We will see a no-hitter at some point this season. I've got my money on Jordan Zimmerman.

The biggest question is, can they keep this up? Two years ago they had a record of 25-20. As soon as the fan base was starting to get excited, and the Nationals were being mentioned nationally, they took a nosedive.

Well, the team is two years wiser, and the talent has since then skyrocketed. So to answer my previous question, sure they can keep it up. When you pitch this well, the possibilities are limitless, but they can’t do this throughout the season.

Soon enough Ryan Zimmerman will climb back up to his .280-.300 batting average. Michael Morse is set to return in less than a month, and Bryce Harper appears to be getting better every game. If big bats like those three hitters start doing what they are paid to do, then I’ll start talking playoffs.

I’m waiting for the Phillies to catch fire. The Braves are going neck and neck with us already. The Mets have been overachieving thus far, and the Miami Marlins have been steadily improving after their slow start.

In other words, they’ll have company and competition. Those are the series that will need to be taken care of. They need to beat the Phillies away with Roy Halladay pitching. They have to prevent from trailing against the Braves with their incredible bullpen, and they can’t let Miami get on base.

Of course that’s all easier said than done, but what do the Nationals have that the rest of the divisions don’t? Davey Johnson. That’s right, I would take Davey over any of the other managers. His experience, patience and in-game strategy has kept the train moving.

Let’s wait until the All-Star break (a little over two months from now) and see where the team is at. There, we can realistically start making some accurate projections. As of now, just staying the course is what is important.

They have to play smart baseball, continue their timely hitting and maintain their pitching dominance.

I would be remiss if I didn’t talk about the continuing apathy I have noticed towards this franchise. I know I’m being impatient because I’m finally starting to see positive results, but the city of Washington is easily amused and the ballplayers deserve to play in front of a crowd that cares a little bit more.

There are not enough Thomas Boswells in the area to educate us on the beauty of baseball. (He’s a writer for the Washington Post, and the best baseball writer in the country. He is also my journalistic hero.) That being said, this is a difficult task for the Nationals' marketing team and owner.

The team was left for dead in Montreal and pretty much avoided in Washington until three years ago. How can we expect 40,000 people to show up to over 80 games?

Well, a few things: It is widely known that baseball is not played in urban areas, which is exactly where the ballpark is built. So that’s one difficulty. Additionally, I believe baseball is not “cool” anymore to young people. If you live in the Maryland, Virginia and DC area, that should make sense to you.

Lacrosse has surpassed the national pastime in this area, as young Washingtonians seem more likely to pick up a lacrosse stick than to learn how to swing a bat.

While I’m not demeaning the sport of lacrosse, it’s sad to see that. Baseball is unlike any sport that we watch in this country. The tradition, unwritten laws, history and superstition of the sport make it beyond interesting to me.

A team sport that is so individually oriented makes it a perfect paradox, yet watching a small ball launch over 300 feet is one of the most exciting plays to witness in any sport.

To quote one of my favorite sports movies, Moneyball, “It’s hard not to be romantic about baseball.” I couldn’t agree with that statement more. I just hope more people realize that soon.