MLB Team by Team: 2008 Washington Nationals

The home page of the Washington Nationals proclaims, loud and proud, "Welcome Home!" (naturally, with that curly "W" on the "Welcome"), and that is great news for the nomadic baseball franchise. From their last days in Montreal, playing between antiquated Olympic Stadium and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in Puerto Rico, to temporarily playing in former Redskins home RFK Stadium for the past three seasons, Nationals Park, a beautiful, permanent new home on the banks of the Anacostia River in the nation's capital, has to be the beginning of the era of good baseball feeling in D.C.

And the cupboard on the field isn't exactly bare, either, with an outfield loaded with potential, a catcher who can hit, one of the best young third baseman anywhere, and the comeback player of the year at first. How far can this cast of characters carry forth the fight for old D.C. (to borrow a line from that football team's fight song) this season?

OFFENSE: C

There's questions to go along with the potential at every outfield position this year. Starting in left, which Willy Mo Pena will show up, the one who hit .218 with five homers in 73 games for the Boston Red Sox, or the one who hit .293 with eight jacks over 37 games for the Nats? In center, does Lastings Milledge become the player the New York Mets thought he would be, or the headache they're glad they got rid of? As for right, will Austin Kearns continue to be solid, or is a slip coming? But, if nothing else, young, dependable Ryan Zimmerman (.266, 24 homers and 94 RBI) and comeback kid Dmitri Young (.320, 13 and 74) are still around, second baseman Ronnie Belliard will continue to be a pest, catcher Paul LoDuca will continue to contribute solidly, and Cristian Guzman will get on base like always from the leadoff position. Not a bad offense, one that can sneak up and club an unsuspecting pitcher at any time.

PROJECTED LINEUP: 1 Guzman SS 2 Belliard 2B 3 Zimmerman 3B 4 Pena LF 5 Young 1B 6 Kearns RF 7 LoDuca C 8 Milledge CF 9 Pitcher's spot

STARTING PITCHING: D+

On the mound, the starters aren't nearly as appetizing. Shawn Hill is penciled in as the number one starter, he of the 6-10 career record and 97 career innings, and he looks to be the most solid and highest potential starter in the rotation. Problem: he's not expected to be able to start at the beginning of the season. Odalis Perez will open up Nationals Park as the opener, a man not even listed on the Nats' depth chart on their web site, and one who didn't exactly light up the league last year (8-11, 5.57 ERA with Kansas City last year). And the others listed in the top slots (the abruptly released John Patterson, the inexperienced Jason Bergmann and John Lannan, and the somewhat inconsistent Matt Chico) have issues of their own. It could be a long year for manager Manny Acta, the bullpen, and the grass between the mound and the dugout.

PROJECTED ROTATION: Hill (upon return), Perez, Bergmann, Lannan, Chico

BULLPEN: C-

Chad Cordero has the Earl Weaver Three Pack Effect, the kind of guy who could make the esteemed Hall of Fame skipper want to smoke three packs of cigs. He got 37 saves, but blew nine chances, and is 128 of 152 career, so you're never really sure if the Chief can quell the opposition on a regular basis. Jon Rauch does a good job getting the game to Cordero, and Luis Ayala did good work in that role as well. And there's solid pitchers in middle relief (Chris Shroeder, Jesus Colome), and in long relief (history-making Mike Bascik, the man who gave up 756 to Bonds and was impressive with his class and poise while doing so). All in all, they won't win the team a ton of games, but may not lose them a ton either. So, while you can get worse, Acta may want to keep the cigs handy in the ninth just in case.

CONCLUSION

The opening of a new stadium can energize some teams (the Orioles in the mid-90's after Camden Yards opened) while others are still the same bag of trash in a newer, prettier wrapper (the Pirates in every year since PNC Park debuted). The Nationals' needle appears to be pointing somewhere in between those two extremes, with a decent offense and bullpen but no starting pitching to speak of. The energy of sold-out houses every night could jack them up enough to get a good vibe going, but there's a huge hill to climb up in the form of the Mets, Phillies, and Braves for this team to go anywhere for a little while yet.

PREDICTION: 76-86, fourth in National League East