Everything a Catch-22 for the Washington Nationals These Days

As a Washington, DC native and avid baseball fan I am often mistaken for a rare but sympathetic breed; a Nationals fan.  While I am not a fan of the team, I do find their situation intriguing. 

Although, as I eluded to above, there don't seem to be many Nationals fans these days, the ones that are seem to be enjoying this current team.  No, they aren't competing for anything, and since neither Florida or Philadelphia are extremely big rivals playing spoiler isn't that appetizing, but they are winning.

In fact that's all they are doing.  Riding an eight game winning streak coming into their August 11 game, they seem to be the team that fans in visioned hovering around .500 this year.  

Ryan Zimmerman is on pace for his first 30 home run year (a plateau some analysts were skeptical he could reach) and hitting .300.  Adam Dunn is on pace for yet another 40 home run and 100 walk season, only this year he's hitting with runners on base. 

Even Josh Willingham, an afterthought in the Nationals offseason trade to acquire Scott Olsen, is having a big year. 

So, whats the problem?  This should be an elated fan base.  A young team with a great core, the top pick in the draft (who coincidentally is the best pitching prospect in the draft era), and the possibility of the possibility for the top pick in next years draft (which also has a once in a generation player). Yes, everything seems to be on track.

Talking to Nationals fans, however, you wouldn't feel that way.  Although few and far between (sorry to beat the dead horse, but honestly there really aren't many), Nationals fans are quite knowledgeable.

Perhaps it was the absence of baseball, allowing them to focus on more than the hometown team, that lead to their perspective.  Regardless of the reason, this fan base knows there is more going on then meets the eye.  Talking to a friend of mine today he broke his concern down into three major points.

1. Stephen Strasburg.  Strasburg is the pitcher who the Nationals selected with the top pick in this years draft.  Topping out in the triple digits with great off speed pitches he is unlike anything scouts have ever seen.  While this translated well for the Nationals on the field, it does not translate well in the negotiating room. 

Knowing that the Nationals need to sign Strasburg in order to salvage its relationship with its dying fan base (still annoying about the teams failure to sign their 2008 first round pick Aaron Crow), agent Scott Boras is going in for the kill. 

It's a forgone conclusion that when Strasburg signs (whether it is this year with the Nats or next year with another team) he will break the record for money inked by a draft pick, but Boras is out to shatter it. 

Although unlikely, Boras has expressed interest in a contract offer close to what Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka received to come over from Japan (around $50 million).  So, the concern for the Nationals is that if they don't pay they lose out on an extraordinary talent, but if they overpay then they set their franchise back years.

2. Current Roster.  Although the current roster is looking better and better every day, most Nationals fans are skeptical that it will last.  Christian Guzman (hitting about .300) is already rumored to be on his way out of town, and slugger Adam Dunn may be joining him this offseason.

In addition, it is unlikely that the Nationals will be able to attract any big name free agents with their current situation.  In other words, next year could be even worse.

3. 2010 draft.  Nationals fan appreciate winning.  In fact, they see it so seldom that they might appreciate it more than any other fans in the game.  But what they realize is that the more they win during the rest of this year, the slimmer their chances become of having the worst record and getting the top pick in the 2010 draft. 

Although Bryce Harper (the presumed top pick next year) does not fill and need, it is hard to pass up on a prospect dubbed "the chosen one."  After reading the cover article of Sports Illustrated in June, Nationals fans began salivating about the possibility of Bryce Harper in a Nats uniform. 

Although Strasburg would give them an ace, Harper would focus the baseball world on Washington.  From a PR standpoint he would be the equivalent of LeBron James (when he began); the only reason to watch the game. 

Nats fans had their heart so set on this kid that it might be harder for them to watch him be selected by another team then it is for them to endure another two months of pathetic baseball.

So, while their are many directions to go, I certainly don't envy Mike Rizzo and Stan Kasten right now.