The 2009 Nats

The season hasn't ended just yet, so this will be updated later.

The Nats are 52-102 and will finish as the worst team in baseball for the second straight year. The manager was fired at the All Star break. There were very few bright spots from this atrocious season. One was Ryan Zimmerman, who improved his defense, ironing out his problems on routine throws during the second half of the season. Z had his best year offensively as well (.289, 31 hrs, 100 rbis). Part of the reason for his improvement with the bat came in the form of free agent signing, Adam "Get'r" Dunn (.273, 38 hrs, 103 rbis). Dunn moved to first base after Nick Johnson was traded and provided some protection for Zimmerman. Dunn walked 111 times, but struck out 170.

In the middle of the season, Nyjer Morgan came to the team and like cow brains in the hands of a master chef, nearly made this team bearable. Morgan (.351, 35 runs, 24 sbs in 49 games with the Nats) changed the culture of the team on both sides of the field until he became injured. Josh "Ready and" Willingham, who came over from the Marlins in a trade before the season, was the other productive bat. But his glove, fitting in with the rest of the team, was suspect. Willingham (.267, 23 hrs, 60 rbis) faded even at the plate as the end of the season approached. Willie Harris (.227, 7 hrs, 27 rbis, 11 sbs) and Cristian Guzman (.286, 6 hrs 51 rbis) were also there. Guzman walked only 16 times in 549 plate appearances.

The Nats have a couple of young bats, who may turn things around next season. Elijiah Dukes (.255, 8 hrs, 57 rbis) is 25 years old and still needs to improve with the bat and the glove. Jesus Flores, who is 24, is an up-and-coming catcher. Flores (.301, 4 hrs 15 rbis) was injured early, playing in only 29 games. Ian Desmond (.292, 1 hr, 6 rbis in 13 games) was called up at the end of the year and is 23.

The Nats pitching was awful. The team's ERA was a pitiful 5.17. John Lannan, who is only 24, was the ace of the staff. The young lefty went 9-13 with a 3.93 ERA. Jordan Zimermann, a 23 year old, was 3-5 with a 4.63 ERA (the second lowest of any Nats pitcher who started a game), but won't participate in a game for a while due to injury. Livan Hernandez came back towards the end of the campaign, but struggled with the team. Tyler Clippard (2-2, 3.18 ERA in 37 games) showed himself to be a valuable member of the staff at 24 years of age. The best pitcher in the franchise just may well be one who hasn't yet thrown a pitch, heralded first pick, Stephen Strasburg.

The 2009 Nats hit a little better than last season, but couldn't get anyone out, catch the baseball, or throw it. These are essential facets of baseball. An 8 game winning streak in the middle of the season was the only positive stretch. The team looked respectable with Morgan out on the field. I've never seen one player matter so much to a team. Unfortunately, he wasn't out in center field very often in 2009.