Washington Nationals Losing Ground in Race For Bryce Harper

Everyone's talking about it—it's the race of the century.

After we thought it was all locked up, the Nationals began to falter, and they now are being threatened by several teams.

I am talking, of course, about the race for last place.

As you all know, the Nationals had it all locked up. Some fans even believed that Washington had a chance to set an all-time record for futility.

Unfortunately for the boys from D.C., they couldn't continue that pace, even winning eight straight games. This gave other contending team like the Pirates, Royals, Padres, Orioles, and Athletics time to catch up.

While its run at historic futility maybe over, Washington has gotten back to the old ways, losing four straight entering play tonight. The Nationals currently have a four-game lead over their closest competitor, the Kansas City Royals. The Royals may not have the stamina to keep up with such a momentously futile team as the Nationals, but they're going to give it their best shot.

Last night, Washington had the biggest risk to their horrible season arrive: Stephen Strasburg. The fireballer was given a tour of Nationals Park, and most people agree that Strasburg would add several wins to any team's record.

If he comes up to the big club this season, the race could become even tighter. This could be the unfortunate end to one team's losing consistently.

Whichever team wins this year's race could head instantly in the other direction.

You know who I'm talking about: Bryce Harper. He's the one who hits 570-foot home runs.

This is what happened to Washington last year. The Nationals were last at the end of the season, and consequently, they were stuck with the first pick in this year's draft.

The same could happen this year. If the Nationals were to win the crown, they would have a combination of Strasburg and Harper next year.

We won't know until the year's end, but I'm rooting for the Nationals to lose, lose, lose!

Good luck to all the contenders.