Hello to all

The way things are is that the Nationals are in all likelihood not going to be very good this year. They are building for the future, in terms of building up a minor league base of talent that had been neglected for a few years and putting some money into "fan experience" improvements for the new stadium, which will open on time next season. For this reason, they haven't made any promises about the quality of the Nats team this season, and very few people see anything great for 2007. Some people -- mainly national writers -- predict an historically bad season, like 120 or so losses. I don't see that, but it would probably be a good season if the Nats matched last season's record of 71-91.

Everybody has his or her own favorites, of course, but the face of the organization is Ryan Zimmerman, a young third baseman who finished second in rookie of the year voting last season. Also, closer Chad Cordero is a fan favorite. Many people like first baseman Nick Johnson, but he's out for much of this year (if not all of it) recovering from a broken leg. Outfielder Ryan Church is off to a hot start. Many fans think he hasn't been given a good enough of a chance before this season, and many others are tired of people saying that!

Among least favorites, there has to be shortstop Cristian Guzman, who's been a free agent bust. Additionally, starter John Patterson isn't necessarily a least favorite Nat, but he's frustrating to most b/c he's shown flashes of ability but hasn't really capitalized on it other than 2005.

The farm system has nowhere to go but up. It's ranked 30th out of 30 MLB teams by Baseball America. The top prospect is righthanded starting pitcher Collin Balester. He's in Double-A Harrisburg right now. Another highly rated prospect, Matt Chico, is in Washington's rotation right now. Other top prospects who are in the lower minors (and thus won't be seen for several seasons) are outfielder Chris Marrero, pitcher Colten Willems, and shortstop "Smiley" Gonzalez. Nationals Farm Authority is a good website for summaries of how the Nats minor leaguers are doing.

Thanks again for writing, do make yourself comfortable here (as well as with the many other good Nats blogs), and go Nats!