Ryan Zimmerman would play third for the all underrated team. --Jayson Stark at espn.com
The Nationals bullpen and bench stack up pretty well in the NL East but not the rest of the team. A few things will have to happen if the Nationals hope to finish out of last in 2011. --Mark Zuckerman from csnwashington.com
Mike Rizzo never did get that number 1 starter he was after, but in his second full off-season as GM it is evident he is still learning the position. --Harper from natsbaseball.com
Harrisburg, PA isn't any further than a day trip away and if you do head up there this season remember the names, Lombardozzi, Moore, Norris, and Peacock. Those are the four prospects to watch as you enjoy a warm summer day on City Island. --Geoff Morrow at pennlive.com
There are also other players to watch in the organization, and one of the most interesting parts of the season will be seeing how some of the questions surrounding these players are answered. --Jeff Bergin at nationalsdailynews.com
Nationals pitchers last season weren't very good at striking batters out. With Jordan Zimmermann expected to pitch for most of the year and the trade for Tom Gorzelanny Nationals pitching should be able to strike more batters out. --Adam Kilgore from washingtonpost.com
If Ian Desmond improves then the Nationals will improve, and Desmond can improve mostly in two ways, getting on base more and cutting down on the errors. --William Yoder from thenatsblog.com
Jim Riggleman is likely already on the hot seat. --'Duk at yahoosports.com
Adam LaRoche is known as a second half player, but it would benefit the Nationals if he could get off to a hot start. --Byron Kerr from masnsports.com
Bob Carpenter might be the Buck Showalter of announcers as the Cardinals ended up winning the World Series the year after he left. --nationalsenquirer.com
In recent interviews Jim Riggleman has discussed the many line-up choices he has and the number of number 2 hitters at his disposal, but I doubt even Riggleman has thought of the optimized Nats line-up. --Bryce Wilson Stucki at thenatsblog.com
General Baseball
There is still time in the off-season to get in a little reading while waiting for baseball to return, and here are a few suggestions. --Jonah Keri at fangraphs.com
The internet is a realm of the unknown and some people find safety in that. Brashness on the internet doesn't have the same consequences it would in a barroom. One writer wanted to find out what made people so angry that he didn't want Jeff Bagwell in the HOF, and he discovered that people are different in the real world than they are on the internet. --Jeff Pearlman at cnn.com
Fear not Nationals fans. If the Werth contract becomes a terrible burden there just might be a team waiting to take it on as the Blue Jays were able to trade Vernon Wells for two above average major league players. --Jeff Blair from theglobeandmail.com
Scott Boras continues to work his magic as Tampa signed both Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon in a package deal. --Joe Lemire at si.com
If all walks could be traded for singles then who would be the best hitters of all-time? --Joe Posnanski from si.com