I hope you’re correct.
I like most of the moves Rizzo and Kasten made in the off-season to shore up the pitching rotation and add better defense.

I so hope Chien-Ming Wang heals quickly and completely. He could be super exciting as you well know. I’m also a BIG fan of Drew Storen and think he will be a major stud for the team.

So from your keyboard to the Baseball Gods’ ears…Go Nats!

The Nats youth will be seasoned this year. I’d live to see them battling for the wild card. If they can stay healthy, and see a return of the 19-4 dominant Chien-Ming Wang, it could be a fun season for Nats fans.

I would not put money on us finishing with more than 75 wins, but I sure wouldn’t mind if we did.

The Nats have improved their entire squad but they have to play in a darn tough division;

• PHILLIES – Aging???? They have an incredible corps; Utley, Victorino; Howard; Werth and Rollins w/an avg age of 31.2 years. Though they aren’t spring chickens, they are certainly not AARP members. They are going to be making the NL East pure hell for a few more years to come even if they do lose Werth to Free Agency.

• MARLINS – They grow prospects like the Afghans grow poppy for Opium. They also have this knack for playing tough baseball against NL East opponents. They are a thorn in everyone’s side.

• BRAVES – Does anyone seriously think the Braves are going to remain sub-par much longer? Have you seen this kid they have: Jason Heyward? The man seems as if he can the largest impact on a game all by himself w/his bat and his outfield prowess. It’s only a matter of time before they become a threat again.

• “my” METS – Two reasons Three reasons why they are not blowing the doors off of this Division: HEALTH, a LOCK DOWN #2 PITCHER and OMAR MINAYA. But for those issues, the METS could have been on the verge of a dynasty (had they not choked failed to close out those other two seasons).

• NATS – I was having this discussion w/some guys around the water cooler vending machine and we were discussing the nice job the front office has done w/bringing in some good fillers for the NATS: MARQUIS, CAPPS and PUDGE. Those additions certainly don’t hurt. If DUKES’ “potential” bat becomes alive, having him, ZIMMERMAN, DUNN and WILLINGHAM"MER" as a 2,3,4,5 batting combination w/MORGAN’s leadoff speed…well hell, yeah, there’s an argument for the NATS. BUT! If I’m not mistaken, the NATS were 22 games under .500 last year?

Sorry, but that’s just a lot of ground to make up in a year OR two w/in such a division such as the NL East.

Even if the starting rotation comes together in July, they are going to be awfully thin in April. Chien-Ming Wang won’t be ready. Jordan Zimmermann will be out until August or later. Stammen had some issues with bone chips in his elbow. Scott Olsen is coming off an injury-plagued season.

The Nats have the potential to have a very decent rotation in the 2nd half of the season IF Wang and Zimmermann can return successfully from their injuries and if Strasburg adjusts quickly to the big-league game. But none of those guys will be around in the early part of the season.

Marquis and Lannan look to be the only reliable starters coming out of spring training. (I hope I didn’t just jinx them.) After that, a lot depends on the continued development of pitchers like Detwiler, J.D. Martin and Stammen.

Some of the new guys in the bullpen have a lot to prove as well. Capps and Guardado did not light it up last year. There are some quality arms there with Clippard, Burnett and Bruney so I don’t think we’ll see the utter disaster that we saw in the 1st half of last season with…, with…, well, I’ve blocked out most of those names and the bad memories by this point. Those guys aren’t here anymore so no point on dwelling on them.

Can Detwiler, Marquis, Martin and Olsen join Lannan in forming a great rotation? You can never say never but I would be hesitant to put money on it. I wouldn’t bet that the Nats will be above .500 for the 1st two months of the season. But I’d be glad to be proven wrong. I’m hoping that we see a lot of great pitching from Martin, Stammen, Detwiler, Wang and Strasburg, plus Lannan, after the All-Star break. Then the team can carry that momentum into 2011.

If Desmond can challenge Guzman for the SS spot and put up some good numbers with the bat, and Morgan can stay healthy this year (no sliding headfirst!), then the offense could be pretty decent. We have the power in the heart of the order. We just need more of a commitment to patience at the plate and selective swinging from players like Dukes and Guzman (if he is the starter).