Woo! It's baseball! After a long, cold, dark, miserable winter, our attention can focus right back where it belongs: on the Nats!
Oh, sure, they lost 1,200 games last season. Oh, sure, their GM resigned in disgrace. Oh, sure, the free agents they wanted went elsewhere.
But enough with that negativity! It's Opening Day!!! (Yes, it's a three exclamation point kinda day!)
There's a lot to be excited about for Nats fans. That warm feeling in the pit of their stomachs, is a glimmer of hope -- something they haven't felt since 2005.
Let's start with the offense. The Nats have always been putrid, scoring more than 675 runs once. It's hard to grind out 2-1 wins when your pitchers are giving up 5.
Now they've got Adam Dunn, a player with more raw power than any Nat ever (other than Soriano). Nick Johnson and his .420 on-base percentage are back and healthy. Ryan Zimmerman's shoulder works, and now he won't strain it carrying the team.
But most of all, they've got a competent hitting coach. Rick Eckstein -- and his methodical, hands-on approach -- replaces Lenny Harris, who seemed to enjoy hanging out more than teaching.
On the pitching side, yeah, things could be bleak. But what if?
John Lannan's a perfect No. 2/No. 3 starter, the kind of guy who keeps you in the majority of games. Daniel Cabrera isn't a great pitcher, but if once people would take him for what he is instead of what they want him to be, they'd realize that he's a durable innings-eater at the back of a rotation.
But the reason for optimism is the kids. Shairon Martis and Jordan Zimmermann (who comes up in about two weeks) both have break-out potential. If the Nats get league average pitching (or better) from them, look out!
The Nats allowed 825 runs last year when about 2/3 of their starts went to pitchers with ERAs of about 5.00 or worse. If one of those kids can take up 25 or so of those starts with pitching closer to 4.00, the improved offense is going to win them a lot of games.
A much better offense. Pitching with a chance for some slight improvement? Add it up, and it's a team that could sniff .500.
They certainly won't be last year's disaster.
Chris Needham used to write Capitol Punishment. He feels giddy today.
