Final thoughts, on the 2009 Nationals

     Well, it's been a week since the regular season ended. And as I promised, some thoughts on this annus horribus for the Nationals. (OK, it's Latin for "bad year". Satisfied now?? LMAO)

     It all started simply with the Esmailyn Gonzalez story. Real name, Daniel Lugo; lied about his name and age. Told Jim Bowden he was 16 when he signed--true age: 19. Bottom line: Bowden fired, Jose Rijo fired, Nats organization left with black eye.

     And this was all before Opening Day. Moving on...

     Once the season did start, it was like last year. Lose, and keep losing. At the end, 103 losses. And thus, the fourth straight losing season since moving from Montreal. (Remember, '05 was a .500 year--51-30 the first half, then flip the nembers the second half.)

     But there were bright moments for the Nats. Starting with this guy.

     A 30-game hit streak early in the season.

     And, a possible Gold Glove playing the "hot corner". Is it any wonder Ryan Zimmerman is the face of the franchise??

     But let's be honest, shall we?? He's not the only reason 1.8 million people came out to Nationals Park this year. There are a few others, like...this guy:

     Ladies and gentlemen, we solved our problem in center field when Nyjer Morgan (aka Tony Plush, alias T-Plush) came along with Sean Burnett from the Pirates. And up to the point he injured his hand sliding into 3rd, he impacted this team on the basepaths and in the field. Shame he was injured; otherwise we wouldn't have lost 103 games. (It would've been less, honestly.)

     And while we're talking about the outfield...let's mention this guy (although he moved over to 1B when Nick Johnson got traded in July--to the fricking Marlins, yet!!!) and just bask in the warmth of knowing...

     Adam Dunn really is the second coming of this guy...

     Hey, there's only one "Hondo" in baseball. (I had to make sure I clarified that. Otherwise I'd had Julia on my case about John Havlichek. YES, I know I misspelled it. I'm sorry I don't keep a bleeping NBA media guide handy. LMAO)

     Like I was saying, it's only one "Hondo" in baseball. But there's a new "Hammer" in baseball...and his name is Josh Willingham. I mean, two grand slams in one game?? Yeah, that's who did it. Everybody worried so much about Zimmy and "Baby Hondo", they forgot about the new "Hammer" and what he could do. Which leads me to our shortstop of the future.

     Ian Desmond.

     And I can honestly say, I saw this guy play @ Harrisburg in April of last year. I knew then it was only a matter of time before he'd show everyone what he can do. And HOW...so good, in fact, that Cristian Guzman gets moved to 2B come spring training.

     Oh, yeah, I forgot. Something else will be at spring training. This guy.

     Stephen "Down To The Nanosecond" Strasburg.

     (Who, BTW, is having fun down in Florida right now.) Just when Nats fans were convinced that the front office would screw up for a second straight year and not sign the 1st overall pick in the MLB Draft--and if you're interested, Aaron Crow ('08) signed with the Royals--it came down literally to the last minute and 17 seconds before the deal went down.

     Yet, there's a future in the Nats' farm system. Namely, Derek Norris...who sailed from Hagerstown to Potomac to Harrisburg in the course of a season. And yes, he's a catcher. Meaning, the heir apparent to Jesus Flores and/or Wil Nieves.

     So let's see. Strasburg, Norris, Drew Storen (the 2nd pick the Nats made in the '09 MLB Draft), Chris Marrero (now @ Harrisburg) and Danny Espinoza (our SS @ Potomac, who got to play in the Futures Game during the All-Star break)...all 5 are off to the Arizona Fall League in a few weeks. Now if the MLB Network would just let me know if they're going to show these AFL games this winter...lol

     I could go on and on about the pitching (rotation and bullpen) betrayed us fans...and Manny Acta, who got fired 2 months later than he really should have been...but I don't have the energy to go on. So I'll leave you all with this little tidbit I saw last Sunday:

     Albert Pujols hit 49 HR during the regular season. Adam Dunn hit 38. Yet, they each hit 32 of their homers off fastballs. Meaning that Adam Dunn hit a greater percentage of fastball HRs than Pujols. (If you're interested, it translates to 65% for Pujols, and 84% for Adam. I had to figure this out longhand...no calculators!!! LMAO)

     At any rate, this is the last MLBlog for awhile from me. I'll check in every so often if news warrants it. Meantime, here's to whoever wins the World Series...