The 30 Team/30 Day Report Cards: Day 7- Washington Nationals

Washington Nationals

Record: 69-93 (Last place in NL East, 28 games behind Philadelphia)

Batting Leaders

Batting Average: Ryan Zimmerman (.307)

Home Runs: Adam Dunn (38)

RBIs: Adam Dunn (103)

On-base Percentage: Ryan Zimmerman (.388)

Pitching Leaders

Wins: Tyler Clippard (11)

Strikeouts: Livan Hernandez (114)

Innings Pitched: Livan Hernandez (211.2)

ERA: Livan Hernandez (3.66). Bullpen- Joel Peralta (2.02).

WHIP: Livan Hernandez (1.32). Bullpen- Joel Peralta (0.80).

Saves: Matt Capps (26)

Highlight of the Season: On June 8, rookie pitcher Stephen Strasburg made his much-anticipated debut before a crowd of 40,915 at Nationals Park. Many wondered whether the hype was worth it (and plenty still do), but there was no question that he dazzled even the most skeptical observers on this night, striking out 14 and walking none in a 5-2 victory over the Pirates.

Lowlight of the Season: The excitement over Strasburg was unfortunately short-lived, as he went down with an arm injury on August 21 in Philadelphia. He had already struck out six Phillies hitters through 4.1 innings when the injury occurred. Shortly thereafter, the team announced that he needed Tommy John surgery, shutting down his 2010 season, and possibly 2011 as well.

The Lowdown:

The Nationals weren’t a national embarrassment in 2010, as the team improved by 10 wins over last year to 69. Although not spectacular by any means, their win improvement still serves as a big step forward for a franchise that’s trying to become relevant. They did gain some relevancy once they called up their star pitching prospect Stephen Strasburg on June 8, placing the Nationals on something they haven’t seen since early 2005: the national spotlight. Each one of Strasburg’s starts received incredible amounts of press coverage, and he was making himself a worthy candidate for NL Rookie of the Year before going down with an injury on August 21. By that point, Strasburg was 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 starts, featuring a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 92-17, which gave Nationals fans plenty of reasons to be optimistic for the team’s future. Also giving Nats fans hope for the future are the team’s bevy of young talent waiting to mature into stardom, including second baseman Ian Desmond, reliever Drew Storen, and their number one overall draft pick waiting in the wings, Bryce Harper. Even though the last few years have been lean for the Nationals, brighter days are certainly ahead should they continue to draft and scout well.

Offense:

The Nationals as a team ranked near the middle or bottom of MLB in many of the major offensive categories, including runs (25^th), batting average (20^th), on-base percentage (22^nd) and home runs (18^th). While they didn’t collectively hit well, they did feature some good individual performers. The club’s mainstay at third, Ryan Zimmerman, put together a solid year at the plate, hitting .307, with 25 home runs and 85 RBIs, while slugging at a clip of .510. These numbers were good enough for “Zim” to earn his second-consecutive Silver Slugger award at third, giving him more recognition as of the elite hitters of the National League.

Zimmerman wasn’t the only player in the Nationals lineup to produce power numbers, as teammate Adam Dunn put together one of his prototypical seasons at the dish, hitting 38 home runs while driving in 103. The only blemishes on his season were- as you might have already expected- his batting average and his strikeout totals. Dunn hit only .260, while striking out 199 times, finishing second in the majors in strikeouts to the free-swinging Mark Reynolds. While those two stats could be tolerated in a better overall lineup such as the Phillies or the Rangers, they can be crippling on a team struggling to score runs every night like the Nationals. Left fielder Josh Willingham was expected to serve as a complimentary power bat to Dunn and Zimmerman, and he unfortunately saw a drop in his numbers due to injuries, hitting just 16 home runs while driving in 56 in 114 games.

There are certainly some good pieces in this lineup as I have already mentioned. However, they do not make up for the lack of hitting throughout the rest of the order.

Final Grade: C-

Pitching:

Even though Washington improved their pitching in 2010, they still have more work to do in order to contend. The staff lowered their team ERA by nearly a full run, going from a pathetic 5.00 in 2009 to 4.13 this year, good for 19^th in MLB. The main workhorse in their rotation this year was Livan Hernandez, as he would be the only starter to log over 200 innings on the team. He also put together some solid numbers on a staff that desperately needed a leader, going 10-12 with a 3.66 ERA, setting a good example for some of their younger starters to follow: make sure you are healthy enough to be out there on the hill every fifth day, and go deep enough in ballgames to give your team a chance to win. The rest of the rotation (sans Strasburg) was pretty unimpressive, as John Lannan had an ERA of 4.65, while the rest of the starters that had a minimum of 15 starts featured ERAs over five.

Nonetheless, the bread and butter of this staff is in the bullpen. The Nationals saw more improvement in their bullpen than any other team in baseball, as they went from having the worst bullpen ERA in MLB last year (5.09) to the fifth-best this year (3.35). Their fans certainly had to feel confident if the team held a lead late into ballgames, because unlike last year,, the Nats probably weren’t going to cough it up. The ‘pen was led by long-relief man Tyler Clippard, who ended up leading the team in wins with 11. He would make 78 total appearances, throwing a total of 91 innings while earning 23 holds, 112 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.07.

Another impressive arm in the Nats bullpen was lefty Sean Burnett, who featured an ERA of 2.14 in 73 appearances. He would also earn 20 holds as a set-up man this year, giving the Nationals a great one-two, lefty-righty punch in the seventh and eighth innings of games. Doug Slaten and Joel Peralta were also terrific out of the ‘pen, garnering ERAs of 3.10 and 2.02 respectively. Closer Matt Capps was rock solid closing out games before getting traded to the Twins, earning 26 saves and a 2.74 ERA.

The pitching staff improved altogether this year, and took a giant leap forward toward becoming respectable. While the starting rotation could use more improvement, their bullpen was fantastic.

Final Grade: C

Wild Card: Stephen Strasburg

Strasburg came along at just the right time for the Nationals, who desperately needed a boost in ticket sales at their box office. Wherever and whenever Strasburg would pitch, games would either sell-out or come close to it, as fans wanted to see what the hype was all about. The odd thing about all of the hype Strasburg received though, was that he was actually living up to it, putting together great numbers before getting injured. Many people were impressed with not only how effortlessly he would hit triple-digits on the radar gun, but also with the control of his fastball. He also complimented his fastball with great off-speed pitches to keep hitters off balance, making any at-bat against him seem almost hopeless. Even baseball legend and former rookie phenom Bob Feller had very complimentary things to say about him after watching him pitch in Cleveland against his Indians. It is very unfortunate that Strasburg had to suffer the injury he did this year, and hopefully for baseball’s sake, he can return to his dominant form once he recovers.

Final Grade: A

Overall:

The Nats are finally beginning to make their climb toward respectability, especially with their influx of young talent they have that will likely get better. Their recent signing of Jayson Werth, as extravagant as it might be, will only help them out with getting better as well. This year may not have been all that great, but it was still light-years better than last year, and they finally won’t have the number one overall pick in next year’s draft, either.

Final Grade: D+

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Chicago Cubs!

The 30 Day/30 Team Report Cards: Day 1- Washington Nationals

Welcome back, everybody. I apologize for my prolonged absence, as I was incredibly bogged down with school and work during the last couple of weeks. In order to make sure I'm on here everyday (or close to it), I will be giving you report cards on all 30 MLB teams this month. My analysis will cover pitching, offense, and a Wild Card category, which will feature whatever I thought a team did exceptionally well (or spectacularly bad) in. Grades will be issued to all three categories, with a final overall grade issued to the team. I will also provide you with a highlight and a lowlight of the year for each team, just to be more fair.

Also, since the end of the decade is upon us, I will be giving you my "best of/worst of" lists over the course of this month. The lists will range anywhere from the best games of the decade, to the worst teams of the decade. Make sure you come back to check my lists out!

Anyway, without further adieu, let's hand out our first report card of the month. Today's recipient: the Washington Nationals.

Washington Nationals:
Record: 59-103 (Last place in the NL East [34 games behind the Phillies], last place in the National League, last place in MLB).

Batting Leaders:
Batting Average: Depends on how you look at it. Nyjer Morgan finished with a .307 batting average on the regular season, but he played in only 49 games with the Nats (he also played in 71 games for Pittsburgh). In his 49 games in Washington, he hit a whopping .351. For players who played the whole season with the team, Ryan Zimmerman is your leader. He finished with a .292 average.
Home Runs: Adam Dunn (38)
RBIs: Ryan Zimmerman (106)
OBP: Adam Dunn (.398)

Pitching Leaders:
Wins: John Lannan (9)
ERA: John Lannan (3.88). Bullpen- Tyler Clippard (2.69)
Strikeouts: Jordan Zimmerman (92)
Innings Pitched: John Lannan (206.1)
WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched): John Lannan (1.35). Bullpen- Sean Burnett (1.11).
Saves: Mike MacDougal (20)

Highlight of the Season: Tie between Ryan Zimmerman's 30 game hitting streak during April and May and Josh Willingham's two grand slams against the Milwaukee Brewers on July 27. Willingham was only the 13th player in MLB history to accomplish the feat.

Lowlight of the Season: The team's craptacular 24-57 record through their first 81 games, which put them on pace for 114 losses. Fortunately (for the ten Nationals fans that do exist) the team "rallied" to finish 59-103.

The Lowdown:
Many moons ago, when the Washington Senators were still in existence, it was often said that Washington was "first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." If you had to do a 2009 update to that quip, you could easily substitute "Senators" with "Nationals" and "American League" with "National League." It was another long season for the Beltway nine, as they recorded their second consecutive 100-loss season. This season also marked the fourth time in the last five years that the Nats have finished in last place (they managed to avoid the NL East cellar in 2007 by two games). There were hardly any bright spots on the team in 2009; their offense hit a collective .258, which was only good for 21st in the majors, and their team ERA was a horrid 5.00, which was 28th in the majors. What good could have possibly come out of either of these? Let's take a look:

Offense:
Even though the team's batting average was pretty weak, there were some bright spots in the lineup for the Nats. One surprising team stat that I found was that their collective on-base percentage was .337, which ranked 12th in the majors. Their guys are drawing walks and are getting on base at a decent rate, which is promising. Ryan Zimmerman had another great season at the hot corner for Washington, hitting .292, with 33 home runs, 106 RBIs and 37 doubles. Those stats would be good enough for him to earn his first career Silver Slugger award, and the second in Nationals history (joining Alfonso Soriano who won it in his 40/40 season in 2006). Adam Dunn and Josh Willingham also put together solid seasons at the plate as well. Dunn led the team with 38 home runs, and Willingham hit a solid 24 round-trippers for the Nats.

Outfielder Nyger Morgan, who they acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh on June 30, put together a pretty good season for Washington, hitting .351 in just 49 games, with 24 steals. His season was unfortunately cut short on August 27, when he broke his wrist sliding into third base during a game against the Cubs. This was without question, a big blow to their offense since their catalyst at the top of the lineup was no longer there to get on base and disrupt pitchers. Christian Guzman was a good compliment to Morgan in the lineup, hitting .284 in 135 games. However, Guzman's on-base percentage was a dismal .306, which needs to be higher if you want to set up more RBI opportunities for the big boppers like Zimmerman, Dunn and Willingham.

After taking a look at the five people I just mentioned, their lineup does not seem nearly as bad as many perceive it to be. They do not have an outstanding lineup; however, their lineup is not exactly a pushover, either. Their only weakness is that their lineup can be inconsistent at times. My final grade on the Nationals' offense: C+.

Pitching:
Despite putting together a decent offense, their pitching did not even come close to resembling anything remotely good. Not only were they one of only three teams to record an ERA of at least 5.00 this season, they also led the major leagues in walks, with 629. Figuring out the Nationals' pitching woes is not rocket science. When your pitchers aren't throwing strikes, you are giving the opposition extra chances to score. When you are walking more people than any other major league team, that can create long innings and long games in which a lot of runs are given up. You might be able to give them the benefit of the doubt for the walk total if they had strikeout pitchers, but the team finished dead last in the majors in Ks with 911. It's no wonder why their team ERA is 5.00.

The only real bright spot I found in their pitching staff was John Lannan. Don't let the 13 losses fool you; he was the only pitcher on the team to throw for over 200 innings, and he finished with a solid 3.88 ERA. This season was a slight improvement over 2008 for him, when he finished with a 3.91 ERA, with nine wins and 15 losses. This was also the second consecutive season in which he made at least 30 starts, which is also good for a young, developing pitcher. The highlight of Lannan's season had to be on June 17, when the Long Island native shut down the Yankees' offense in the Bronx by limiting them to only four hits in 8.1 innings. The Nationals would go on to win the game, 3-2. He is by no means a true "ace," but in a staff that features the likes of Sharion Martis (15 starts, 1-5, 5.25 ERA), Garrett Mock (15 starts, 3-10, 5.62 ERA) and Ross Detwiler (14 starts, 1-6, 5.00 ERA), he stands tall amongst his peers. With guys like that following Lannan, it's no wonder why the team is licking their collective chops about Stephen Strasburg.

Closer Mike MacDougal was fair out of the 'pen for the Nats, recording 20 saves in 21 opportunities. Nonetheless, his ERA was 3.60, which is conspicuously high for a closer. That is also exacerbated by the fact that his strikeout-to-walk ratio was an even 31-31 in 50 innings pitched. The team pays you to put out the fire at the end of the game, not to stoke it. Their best reliever had to be Tyler Clippard, who put together a sparkling 2.69 ERA in 60.1 innings pitched. He also recorded 67 strikeouts in that time span as well.

When you have a staff that is this bad, it would be very easy for anybody to give them a "F." However, Lannan's presence in the rotation and Tyler Clippard's exceptional season out of the bullpen keeps me from giving them a failing grade. My final grade on the Nats' pitching staff: D-.

Wild Card: Fielding
The Nationals led the majors in errors this season with 143, which was a whopping 19 more than the next worst fielding team (Arizona). When you have a pitching staff with a 5.00 ERA that gives up more walks than anyone in baseball, committing a ton of errors obviously does not help anything. Put all of those three things together, and it is no surprise that they are the worst team in baseball. Fielding grade: F.

Overall
Even though the Nats have a decent offense, it is nowhere near being good enough to save their abysmal pitching and defense. Their record before the All-Star Break was truly pathetic, as they finished 26-61. However, they fought back to record a modest 33-42 record in the season's second half to at least avoid 110 losses. Their spirit in the second half, plus their offense, keeps me from giving Washington a big, fat "F." My final grade on the 2009 Nationals: D.

Check back tomorrow for the report card on the Pittsburgh Pirates!