The 2009 Washington Nationals

Winston-Salem, NC -- For the third consecutive year under the Lerner family ownership, the Nationals cannot place, in ink, the members of their starting rotation. Rather than use Spring Training to figure out who will be the fifth starter of the rotation, the Nats will use this time to determine the entire rotation. It's sort of like throwing a dozen balls of goo against a wall and see which ones stick. If I had to take stab at the rotation, I'd pencil in John Lannan as the Opening Day starter against the Marlins on April 6th. Against his former team and making an unusual 1-2 southpaw punch, Scott Olsen will be the number two starter on the following day against the Phish. Predicting the back-end of the rotation may be tougher than determining who the other 103 players who tested positive for taking steroids in 2003. For now, I believe that Daniel Cabrera, Collin Balester, and Shawn Hill will fill in those slots. If Jason Bergmann returns to his 2007 form, don't count him out just yet. If Odalis Perez continues to hold out for more cash in this belt-tightening market, I don't see the pitcher who tossed the first pitch ever at Nationals Park returning to DC. I'd also like to see under-the-radar acquisition Tyler Clippard be given a shot in the rotation. Clippard filled in nicely for the Yankees in 2007 when their rotation was in shambles. For now, here's the Bistro's projected rotation:

• John Lannan (L), 9-15, 3.91 ERA, 117 K's, 72 BB's, 182 IP (2008-WSH)
• Scott Olsen (L), 8-11, 4.20 ERA, 113 K's, 69 BB's, 201.2 IP (2008-FLA)
• Daniel Cabrera (R), 8-10, 5.25 ERA, 95 K's, 90 BB's, 180 IP (2008-BAL)
• Collin Balester (R), 3-7, 5.51 ERA, 50 K's, 28 BB's, 80 IP (2008-WSH)
• Shaun Hill (R), 1-5, 5.83 ERA, 39 K's, 23 BB's, 63.1 IP (2008-WSH)

The backbone of the small success that the Nationals have endured since they returned to DC in 2005 has been the bullpen. Up until this season, the Nats could always count on "The Chief," Chad Cordero, to close out games, with big Jon Rauch setting him up. Neither of these players are on the roster this year (Cordero, non-tendered; Rauch, traded to ARZ), which paves the road for Joel Hanrahan (9/13 saves) to be the closer in 2009. Hanrahan will have a bevy of right handed relievers in front of him from the reliable Saul Rivera to Steven Shell to Garrett Mock to Jason Bergmann. I suppose that starting pitching rejects Matt Chico, Mike O'Connor, and Mike Hinckley will supplement the bullpen corps from the left side. The bullpen, like the starting rotation, is about as proven as Barack Obama's political resume; we don't know what to expect.

Aside from the new road jerseys, the front office decided to open the team's checkbook on the most prolific free agent in Nationals' history, Adam Dunn (2 years/$20M). However, the front office must take into consideration that the 2007 season was the aberration, not the injury-riddled 2008 season. In 2007, the team was projected to contend with the 1962 Mets and 2003 Tigers as the worst team in MLB history. Instead, the team outperformed the critics and far exceeded expectations, but sunk like a rock in water in 2008, courtesy of unrealistic expectations and an abundance of injuries. Taking into consideration the glut of outfielders and first basemen, I'll project the Nats' 2009 lineup. However, I'm a huge proponent of the lefty-righty alternation in a lineup, which may not tailor to Manny Acta's mindset.

• Cristian Guzman - SS, (S), 0.316, 9 HR, 55 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Nick Johnson - 1B, (L), 0.220, 5 HR, 20 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Ryan Zimmerman - 3B, (R), 0.283, 14 HR, 51 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Adam Dunn - LF, (L), 0.236, 40 HR, 100 RBI (2008-CIN/ARZ)
• Josh Willingham - RF, (R), 0.251, 15 HR, 51 RBI (2008-FLA)
• Lastings Milledge - CF, (R), 14 HR, 61 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Anderson Hernandez - 2B, (S), 0.333, 0 HR, 17 RBI (2008-WSH)
• Jesus Flores - C, (R), 0.256, 8 HR, 59 RBI (2008-WSH)

I believe that the plan is to play Elijah Dukes in right field, shift Willingham to left, Dunn to first base, and have Nick Johnson on the bench. My proposed lineup incorporates the L-R-L alignment, and it produces the highest propensity to generate more runs. Put the on-base machine Johnson in the "2 spot" (where he batted when he was with the Yankees) and contact hitter Zimmerman in the three spot for the big bopper, Adam Dunn cleaning it up. With the acquisitions of Dunn and Willingham, it will allow Milledge and Flores to shift down in the order where they belong (not in the 2-3-4 spots where they were in 2008).

All of the steroids news has taken the glitter off of the Adam Dunn signing for me. I still think the Nats are looking at their lineup more positively than they should. And they continue to do such a bad job of promoting the team. Other than Zimmerman, they could get rid of every other player and no one would have an emotional reason to care. I'm still convinced that they have so many lousy characters that they can't promote them. I can't think of any other reason. Let's use 2009 as a building block for the future. 2008 was a lost year, not only because of the 59-102 record, but more importantly, the top-ranked prospects in the farm system regressed. The front office was $500K apart from signing top pick Aaron Crow (pitcher), yet it continued to dole out worhtless contracts, like the one to Guzman for 2 years/$16M. Blunders, such as extending contracts to Guzman, Dmitri Young (2 years/$5M), and Ronnie Belliard (2 years/$3M), are moves that will continue to take the franchise backwards. In order to move forward, sometimes you have to take a small step backwards -- play the young guys and pay the bonuses for pitchers that you draft. The Lerners must cough up whatever amount Scott Boras dictates they should pay (within legitimate reason) for Steven Strasburg in June's amateur draft. 2008 was not a stepping stone, rather it set the franchise back by two years with player regression and a fruitless draft. Hopefully, 2009 will prove otherwise both in the draft and a few extra wins as a result of some "longballs" along the Anacostia.