Eight-Game Winning Streak Brings Questions for Washington Nationals

It took two-thirds of the season, but the Washington Nationals have finally joined the ranks of major league baseball teams.

Not that I’m surprised, mind you; I predicted a 75-win season last March for the then young-but-talented Nationals. But the team lost big out of the gate in April and the losses piled up as quickly as the manure in my uncle’s cow pasture.

Losses by less than seven runs and fewer than four errors were soon considered moral victories.

And yet I remained true to my belief that it was bad luck that was pushing the Nationals towards the precipice of the baseball damned.

Well, bad luck and bad pitching and bad fielding.

And bad timing.

I admit that there are pieces of the team puzzle that are missing, but the pieces that they do have are superb.

So it came as no surprise that, after beginning the Jim Riggleman era 0-6, the Washington Nationals are now 12-6 and have won their last eight in a row.

Now that they have rebounded, and are playing solid defense, and are again in the top three in National League hitting, and have revamped their bullpen into one of the National League’s best, I have come to the conclusion that the Nationals are...

...in trouble.

Well, not trouble exactly. But I am concerned.

The Nationals’ potent offense should return in 2010. With the exception of second and short, the players that are starting now will start next year.

In fact, with the return of Jesus Flores from the disabled list and Elijah Dukes from the Twilight Zone, they should be even be better.

And the bullpen should return “en mass” (that’s a foreign language that means they all should be back). And that’s a good thing. Check out the Nationals bullpen version 3.0:

Mike McDougal: 0-0, 2.54, 11 saves

Jason Bergman: 2-1, 4.82

Jorge Sosa: 1-0, 1.42

Sean Burnett: 1-0, 1.72

Tyler Clippard: 2-1, 2.42

The sixth man in 2010 just might be the best. I wouldn’t be surprised if Drew Storen, the Nationals “other” first round pick this past June, takes over the closer role.

In 24 innings with Hagerstown and Potomac this year, Storen is 1-1, 2.92, with 37 strikeouts and just two walks. He’s the Stephen Strasburg of the bullpen.

The bullpen, and the offense, will be fine. The concern I have lies squarely with the starting pitching.

Before the season began, the Nationals had a cadre of up-and-coming starting pitching, about the only positive remnant from the Bowden era. There were so many quality arms that the Nationals weren’t exactly sure what to do with them.

They all had shown the ability to pitch at the major league level, but they had yet to succeed, or fail.

Five months later, they’ve done more of the latter and less of the former.

John Lannan (8-8, 3.39) is every bit as good as we had hoped. He’s a No. 3 starter on a good team, but as we all know, the Nationals aren’t good, so he’s our ace.

But after him, things get a little murky.

Jordan Zimmermann (3-5, 4.63) has shown that he is the future ace of the team. That said, for the past month, Zimmermann has had a five-alarm fire in his elbow. Maybe it’s nothing, but maybe it is.

We can’t count on him, at least at this point.

It wasn’t too long ago, remember, that John Patterson and Shawn Hill were to be the foundation of the Nationals’ pitching staff.

Then both of them had “elbow discomfort.”

And that was that.

Shairon Martis (5-3, 5.25) looked like Superman right up until he was demoted to Syracuse because the only strikes he threw was when he went bowling. Maybe he’ll be back, but maybe he won’t. Maybe he’ll dominate, but maybe he won’t.

Craig Stammen (3-6, 5.40) started slow for the Nationals but he quickly acclimated to the major leagues, lowering his earned-run average down to 4.06 before giving up 16 runs in his last 11 innings.

Colin Balestar (1-1, 5.21) has looked good at times, but that isn’t enough.

Ross Detwiler (0-5, 6.40) gave up fewer than three runs in just three of his 10 starts.

Garrett Mock (1-4, 6.14) has recently returned from the bullpen—and the minors—but has had one quality start in his five outings.

J. D. Martin (0-2, 7.16) had his first decent outing on Sunday, but really, he’s little more than a placeholder for the Nationals until something better comes along.

And Scott Olsen, well, who knows? He was really bad, then went on the disabled list, then had two good starts, then was lost for the year. I doubt the Nationals will tender him in the offseason, making him a free agent.

Nine starters, one with an ERA under 4.00, one under 5.00, and the rest are 5.21 or higher. Not exactly the stuff that breeds miracles on grass.

Those young pitchers were given every opportunity to show that they had the talent and moxie to pitch in the major leagues.

Wait a minute. You don’t know what “moxie” means? Take a peek in the dictionary and under “moxie” you’ll find “see John Lannan.”

Going into 2010, the Nationals will have one proven starter, Lannan, followed by one tender elbow and a bunch of ERA’s over 5.00.

If the Nationals are to completely rebound from this very difficult season, they are going to have to find at least one proven major league pitcher and hope that Jordan Zimmermann comes into spring training healthy.

If they can fill the first three spots in the rotation with real pitchers, they should be able to make do with two of the kids as they continue to learn on-the-job.

This is why Stephen Strasburg is so important. The Nationals have until the 17th to sign him. If they manage to tame the bucking Boras, the Nationals will have hope.

If they don’t, or if they don’t use the money Boras turns down to sign a proven free agent pitcher, they will be in trouble.

And as the losses mount in 2010, the stars will become trade bait for prospects and the Nationals will become (shudder) the Pittsburgh Pirates.

And if that happens, the world will stop spinning, the space-time continuum will collapse and life as we know it will cease.

So, c’mon, Nationals. The fate of the world is resting on your shoulders. Sign the kid.