Their best player is an over-the-hill third baseman who runs slower than molasses in winter. Their best hitter is a problem child who was left off the postseason roster last year because he was such trouble. Their best pitcher is a Cuban defector who won a World Series MVP almost a decade ago. And their closer who leads the NL in saves was a complete unknown going into this season.
Somehow, though, the Washington Nationals have made it work, and entered the weekend with a sizable lead on their National League East foes. Entering today, they have posted a 44-31 record.
On Friday night, President George Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice watched from a press box as the Nats increased their division lead to four games, the third largest margin in baseball.
The Nats are anchored by a solid rotation which features Livan Hernandez, former Cy Young runner-up Esteban Loaiza and youngsters Ryan Drese, John Patterson, and Zach Day. Their lineup is led by Vinny Castilla and Jose Guillen, both veterans with checkered pasts, and savvy second baseman Junior Spivey.
While Hernandez, Castilla and Guillen may have the names, the rock of this team is clearly closer Chad Cordero, who leads the National League with 24 saves and a staggering 0.97 earned run average. His setup men, Gary Majewski and Luis Ayala, have paved the way for Cordero to be the most effective closer in the big leagues this year, likely earning him a trip to Detroit for All-Star festivities.
Manager Frank Robinson has instilled in the Beltway Bombers an attitude that they can win ... now. Coming into the season, people saw the Nats as a nice story, or a relative sideshow that wouldn't compete, at least not for a few years. But almost halfway through the season, in a division plagued by inconsistency and injuries, the Nats have come through and played flawless baseball. They have adjusted well to the dimensions of cozy RFK Stadium and taken well to a city that was so thirsty for baseball that it welcomed the castoff Expos.
What may be most remarkable is that the Nationals have gone on this torrid run despite the struggles of some of their best hitters. Brad Wilkerson, viewed by many as the Nat with the most raw talent, is hitting just .275 with only five home runs. Starting catcher Brian Schneider is at just .265 and Cristian Guzman, the free agent who was supposed to solidify the infield, is barely above the Mendoza line at .203. Jose Vidro, the team's best all-around player when healthy, has missed all but 28 games this year and his return has been delayed, which caused General Manager Jim Bowden to acquire Spivey, who has speed and hits for contact and power.
When Vidro returns, there will be a logjam at second base, prompting Spivey to move to the outfield and push Marlon Byrd out of a job. Nick Johnson, forever touted as the Yankees' first baseman of the future, has finally gotten his career on track with a .320 season and eight home runs.
In the NL East, the New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies and Florida Marlins all entered the season with high hopes, but have been felled with inconsistency. The Atlanta Braves figure to be the stiffest competition for the Nats, sitting only three games behind and starting to get healthy after a disastrous first half-season thanks to the injury bug. Three of their top four starters, Tim Hudson, Mike Hampton and John Thomson, have been out for more than a month, and their best player, Chipper Jones, is out 6-8 weeks with a foot injury.
Andruw Jones is hitting the cover off the ball and a core group of youngsters has the Braves hanging tough and expecting to make a run once their starters get healthy, hoping to solidify a shaky rotation.
Even if the Braves do make a run, though, there's no denying that these Nats have brought baseball back to the Beltway in a big way. Bowden and Robinson put the team on track to compete when their new stadium opens in approximately three years. However, somewhere along that three-year path, a few guys named Cordero, Castilla and Guillen decided they didn't want to wait that long.
This October, there will be a race in Washington, but not for the White House. It will be a pennant race for the NL East crown and a chance to play for the biggest prize in the country's national pasttime. No, it's not politics ... it's the playoffs.
