April 1, 2011

With each team celebrating Opening Day either yesterday or today, I wanted to write a column to share the various things I am looking forward this upcoming season.  I have compiled a list of 9 things with the Nationals, and 9 things in Major League Baseball, that I am eagerly anticipating this year.  Without further ado….

Washington Nationals

1) Ryan Zimmerman -> Zimmerman is the best player in baseball no one talks about and my favorite player to watch.   There is little more impressive to me in baseball than watching him field a slow roller up the third base line and throwing out the runner at first base.  I would pay to watch him play baseball. (come to think of it, I do pay to watch him play)

2) Danny Espinosa and Ian Desmond -> I look forward to watching these two grow as major leaguers and develop as one of the best young middle infield combinations in baseball.  But are they average everyday players, or are they special?  I think this year will go a long way towards answering that question.

3) Mike Morse -> I am looking forward to seeing if he is a quality starter in the major leagues or if he is better suited to a bench role in the major leagues.  We should get the answer this season.

4) Jayson Werth -> The Nationals first big free agent acquisition since returning to Washington, I look forward to seeing how he handles the pressure of his large contract.  My friends who are Phillies fans disagree with me, but I think Werth has been underrated the past few seasons with the bigger names on Philadelphia’s roster.  He will likely never live up to his contract but he is an excellent player and should be fun to watch for the next several seasons in Washington.

5) Stephen Strasburg -> I will enjoy the updates on his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery and the hype for his return in 2012.

6) Jordan Zimmermann -> He may not quite possess the stuff that Strasburg has, but Zimmermann has top of the rotation stuff and I want to see if he can become the #2 starter the Nationals need to compete in the future.  He will likely have an innings cap this year and could have some growing pains in his first year back from Tommy John surgery, but we should have a good idea at the end of the season how good Jordan Zimmermann can become.

7) Livan Hernandez -> I really enjoy watching Livan pitch.  His stuff is hardly dominating (never has been) but his ability to change speeds and keep batters off-balance is magnificent at times.  Grab a seat in center field or behind home plate to get a true idea of the movement and smarts he possesses.

8) Bryce Harper -> I look forward to waking up each morning and looking at the box scores to see his progress towards the major leagues.

9) Visiting Nationals Park -> No, it does not have a signature feature and the lack of anything in the neighborhood surrounding the stadium is a major negative, but once I enter the stadium, it is truly a great place to watch a game.  The Red Loft is a nice place to grab a drink during the game and the stadium walk is fun to visit prior to first pitch.  I look forward to visiting the park a few times this season.

Major League Baseball
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1) Opening Day -> Easily my favorite day of the year.  I go with my Dad every year and it is normally the only game I can get him to each year.  With good weather and most everyone in attendance playing hooky from work or school, it is truly a special event each year.

2) The 2011 Philadelphia Phillies -> which scenario comes true:  the Phillies tremendous starting pitching staff leads them to the playoffs or their rapidly deteriorating lineup and unremarkable bullpen forces them to miss the playoffs.

3) The MLB Draft -> This draft has more talent in it than in any other year in the past 6-7 years I have been following it.  And the Nationals are fortunate to have 3 picks in the top 35 selections, meaning they should get three impact players to inject into the farm system.

4) The July 31^st Trade Deadline -> As someone who blogs and judges the moves General Managers make (or do not make) the trade deadline holds special interest to me each season.  Which GM thinks they still have a chance?  Who will make the big push?  Who are the buyers and who are the sellers?  What will the Nationals do?

5) Breakout Young Stars -> I have been meaning to make this item into a column all to itself but have not been able to make it work.  But in the spirit of making predictions, here are my selections for breakout players of 2011.  I have chosen five hitters and five pitchers.

Hitters: Travis Snider OF Toronto Blue Jays, Jay Bruce RF Cincinnati, Gordon Beckham 2B Chicago White Sox, Chase Headley 3B San Diego Padres, and Mike Morse LF Washington Nationals

Pitchers: Brian Matusz LHP Baltimore Orioles, John Danks LHP Chicago White Sox, Wandy Rodriguez LHP Houston Astros, Jhoulys Chacin RHP Colorado Rockies, and Max Scherzer RHP Detroit Tigers.

6) The Baltimore Orioles ->Because of some circumstances in my personal life and because of the numerous upgrades the Orioles made this off-season, I am looking forward to watching this team play and improve in 2011.  I think a few of their young pitchers could take a step forward this season, and I am convinced that the lineup will hit.  I am already looking forward to drinking a Natty Bo while visiting Camden Yards this year…. I will be the guy in a fedora.

7) Boston Red Sox Lineup -> With the addition of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, coupled with the return from injury of Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis, the Red Sox offense has a chance to be special this year.  I fear some bust potential because of the hype but the sheer level of talent they possess and playing half their games in Fenway Park could allow the 2011 offense to be one of the best in recent memory.

8) Ownership situations with the New York Mets and Los Angeles Dodgers -> The Mets ownership is having deep financial problems because of their involvement with Bernie Madoff.  The Dodgers are having problems because of a divorce between the McCourt family.  I will enjoy seeing how these ownership groups and major league baseball work to stabilize these situations.  Will MLB float a loan to keep each going?  Will one of both franchises have to sell?  Only time will tell.

9) The September stretch run and the playoffs -> I will also make some predictions about the division winners and the wild cards:  I will take Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins, Anaheim Angels, Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee  Brewers, and San Francisco Giants to win their divisions and I will select the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies to win the wild cards.  I will take Boston over the Braves in the World Series.

Email me at NationalsGM@gmail.com with questions or general feedback and follow me on twitter @natsgmdotcom.