At the All Star break, the Washington Nationals remain in first place in the National League East. Despite numerous injuries, and low expectations from so-called experts, the Nats have continued to win.
Manager Frank Robinson has been a major part of the reason why the Nats have been winning. He's been pushing nearly all the right buttons and understands his team and their talents. Jose Guillen has put this team on his back and carried them to their top spot in the Majors best division. The pitching staff has also been spectacular, responsible for the "One Run Wonders" gaudy one run won-loss record.
Another reason for the Nats surprising success is the ineptitude of those so-called experts. At the beginning of the year, I reasonably predicted a Wild Card winning team. They were hopefully going to be less injured than their predecessor, the 2004 Montreal Expos, gained several key players, Guillen, Vinny Castilla (who by the way only led the NL in RBIs last season), Esteban Loaiza, among others, and they finally have a true home. It was not feasible for anyone to pick the Nats to finish last before the season.
However, with all of their injuries, it is a bit shocking that the Nats have been able to grab and hold first place against the NL's third best team record-wise, the Atlanta Braves. Those in the know hoped that Chad Cordero would anchor a solid relief core; he has more than impressed. Nick Johnson, who was having a great first half, went down with injury, so the ancient Carlos Baerga has effectively filled his spot. After Termel Sledge went down, Ryan Church became a leader on the team. Church became injured and Marlon Byrd kept up the Nats' fantastic defensive ways. When Byrd wasn't doing it with the bat, Matt Cepicky has stepped in and hit. Then there's Jamey Carroll, who has been Mr. Everything for the Nats, considering their inclination for injuries.
Each of the players that have remained healthy gives the club something unique. Brad Wilkerson (B-dub) has been the table setter on offense. He strikes out a lot and his average isn't great, but his on base percentage more than makes up for it. He also plays a determined centerfield, although he is not the fleetest of foot. The aforementioned Guillen has been the club's MVP. Especially on the road, where he has hit all but one of his homers. His arm is one of the best that I've ever seen from the outfield. Castilla gets big hits and plays the hot corner like a pro. Brain Schneider is extremely underrated. Before this season I knew who he was, but didn't think of him as much of a player; a decent catcher in a sport where current great catchers are as rare as current great centers in the NBA. But this year I've had the pleasure of watching him play and he is a superstar simply because of his defensive prowess if there ever was such a thing in baseball. He calls a great game, he is as solid as an air tight backstop, and he throws out runners like they were spoiled milk.
The pitching staff has been pretty great too. Livan Hernandez is Joe Morgan's Cy Young award winner for the first half of the season. Loaiza has been effective, more than last year, but not quite up to his best yet, and John Patterson has been a pleasant surprise and is damn good. Tony Armas, injured early in the year, has started to come around and pitch up to his potential. The fifth starter is Ryan Drese, who was having a terrible year with the Texas Rangers. Since coming over to the nation's capital, Drese has turned his season around.
Who knows what the second half holds for the Nats, but even if they don't make a major trade, they're getting Nick Johnson and Ryan Church back from the DL. Those are two pretty good players to put back in the lineup. And a healthy Jose Vidro never hurt anyone either.
Team - Wins - Losses - Games Back
Washington 52 - 36 ------
Atlanta ---- 50 - 39 - 2 1/2
Florida ---- 44 - 42 - 7
Philadelphia 45 - 44 - 7 1/2
New York -- 44 -44 - 8
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