To understand the Washington Nationals, one has to watch them.  One cannot grasp the stinkiness of this fish from the head and down, simply by watching the "highlights."  This is a gang that can't shoot straight.  Heck, they rarely misfire to at least hit the guy in the tree by accident.  At this point, there is a piling-on effect going on in the Nation's Capital.  For those outside the beltway, kick your feet up and rejoice in your Pirates/Royals/Reds fandom.

B.(D)C.

There was something that was always alluring to baseball brass about having baseball in Montreal.  After all, it is North America's sixth largest city.  To boot, having your sport broadcast in three languages (English in US/Canada, Spanish in Mexico and the Caribbean, and French in Quebec) gives it a reach that surpasses football, basketball, and hockey.   

MLB tried to hold out hope that baseball could work in Montreal.  After the strike in 1994, what was already a hockey town was solidified as a hockey town.  Attendance at the disasterous Stade-Olympique was now in the thousands, whereas other teams measured it in tens of thousands. 

From a scouting standpoint, the Expos were the gold standard.  We're talking about a franchise that gave us Randy Johnson, Andres Galarraga, Pedro Martinez, Cliff Floyd, Kevin Youkilis, and Vlad Guerrero.  There are others, but this is not a "name as many Expos as you can" sporcle quiz.  Despite all the talent, the team (which eventually became a partnership of the other owners) knew that players would not play for meager Expos money after their six years of service was up.  Move the talent, restock the system, and hope that the new players can compete was the strategy.

Eventually, enough was enough.  The team had to find a revenue stream if it wanted to compete.  The owners had this sinking ship on their ledgers.  In what port should they dock it?

They're Heeeeeere!

Speculation was rampant that baseball would return to the Nation's Capital.  Severel prominent businessmen had long banged the drum, but couldn't get the deal done to move the Padres, A's, or other flavor of the month.  This is where DC had an advantage.  Take the NFL's Ravens and Rams.  The league spurned their expansion bids when Charlotte and Jacksonville joined the league, but they got themselves into the conversation.  DC was the one market that had always been in the conversation (at least after the Rays existence blocked the ever-present St Pete threat).

Radio pundits' hearts fluttered at the prospect.  "There's nowhere else for them to go!"  Of course Las Vegas, Charlotte, Indianapolis, Columbus, and Portland could be called viable candidates.  Three of those cities are larger than DC.  Also, the city has had two teams in the past (though the creation of the Twins was a wink-wink defensive move against the CBL).  Even if one disregards that point, the city's affluent usually turns over every 4-8 years.  How can that sustain a fan base?

Orioles owner Peter Angelos once said, "Everyone knows there are no true baseball fans in DC.  It's a fiction."  DC radio and print media jumped all over this quote.  "He's blocking us again."  "He's forcing us to like his poor excuse for a baseball team."  "Baltimore is not Washington!"  The funny thing about this exchange was that the shoe was on the other foot when football was the subject.  Looking at attendance figures for the new ballpark in (spoiler) DC, maybe we should cut Pete a break on that one? 

Now, the DC suburbs create a different scenario in terms of market size, and northern opposition.  What if the ballpark is built in Northern Virginia?  This would serve the affluent customer that is more likely to be a permanent resident.  The hassle of getting home from work, and then the family downtown for the game would be minimized.  The one boondoggle: find 9000 square feet of grass in Northern Virginia.

So Mayor Anthony Williams had a plan.  The ballpark would be built by the Anacostia River in Southeast DC.  The ballpark would be the anchor for development in this economically challenged area.  Of course, with no ownership group in place, the city was on the hook for financing.  Now DC Councilwoman Linda Cropp had a plan - kill the Stadium, and get those Southeast DC mayoral votes.

On December 14, 2004 Linda Cropp amended stadium financing legislation to include $300 million in private financing.  Without an owner, that meant that the other owners would be on the hook for a stadium that their teams would play in but nine times per season - tops.  This was a deal breaker.  The makeshift stands and trailers selling Nationals merchandise outside RFK Stadium were ordered closed until further notice.  Washington DC had until December 31, 2004 to get a deal in place.

Eventually, a deal was in place that purchased insurance for cost overruns.  Also, the mayor was compelled to search for private financing, but did not have to secure it.  You could once again but a curly W cap.

RFK and Stan Kasten

RFK is a vestige of good DC sports times.  The DC Sports and Entertainment Commission just can't let her go.  Having the Nationals play there for two seasons was an opportunity for fans to get one last look at what Redskins fans saw. 

RFK is a vestige of American sports' past.  It's a concrete donut.  It has no character compared to other stadia.  Its concession stands didn't take debit cards.  The concourses couldn't fit the lines and the beer carts that are prevalent at baseball games.  The stadium's concessions contractor was essentially playing out the string.  The stadium staff definitely did not exude that "Welcome Home" vibe shown by the staff up north.

Enter Stan Kasten - Ted Turner's former right hand man responsible for the Braves' renaissance.  Well, at least he was responsible for it from a window dressing perspective.  As far as putting together a baseball operation, time seems to cast John  Schuerholz in a brighter light.  One needs only to compare John's Braves to Frank Wren's Braves. 

Stan Kasten is a guy you want when you want plant some flowers in front of the park, or to lay some carpet at the gates.  I'm not trying to hatchet the guy, but he's a salesman.  He was there to make RFK palletable, and to take a minority stake in ownership.  Also, he was supposed to occasionally go onto enemy radio and encourage their fans to come see the new ballpark (as he did this season with Philadelphia).  He probably shouldn't be involved in the baseball operation.

Jim Bowden

There's a reason that Stan Kasten wound up running the baseball operation.  His name is Jim Bowden.  For whatever reason, Bowden fancies himself a star.  He thinks he belongs on TV.  One season on ESPN does that to a guy.  Someone should tell Jim that ESPN hires everyone for a season.  The guy should stick to generally managing baseball clubs.  Or maybe he shouldn't...

I would like to present a well-written paragraph or two on Jim Bowden's tenure; however, he is his own retrospective.  Instead, I'll summarize Jim Bowden in the style of Billy Joel's, "We Didn't Start The Fire."...

Brian Lawrence for Castilla...Didn't even pitch in Hialeah...WilyMo Pena...Felipe Lopez...Austin Kearns Reds-mania...Alfonso Soriano, what a steal...What the heck, no deadline deal?...draft pick compensation when the Cubs took the left fielder-second baseman...that's fine...Aaron Crow's gonna sign...Oh wait nevermind...[Chorus]

John Rauch has to go...sent him for Bonafacio...now he's a Marlin...who'd they get, George Carlin?...Bowden likes a projecta...Let's get a baby-sitter for Elijah...Church and Schneider gone...But Milledge and LoDuca's mouth are here...Now for Manny Acta's job I fear...Why'd they give Dmitri Young two years?[Chorus]

Chad Cordero has to go...On TV Bowden did say so...Jose Rijo is a scout...Who's Smiley Gonzalez?...We'll find out...Federal investagations...Nats fans implore....They can't take it anymore!

The Lerners

Someone has to be a willing party to all of this.  Mark Lerner is shagging batting practice balls.  Well, then again, it could be the alleged Kevin Elster type.  Ted Lerner seems to like the idea of being the guy who owns the team that came to DC lo these many years. 

The problem with sports ownership in general, is that the team is a secondary property.  Fans don't want to hear this.  Either the owner uses profits from a primary venture to dump into the team, or the owner gouges the fans in order to run the team.  When your business is malls, and the real estate bubble has burst, you're probably doing the latter.

The Stadium

For $5-$10 you can get a walk-up seat in two sections of the ballpark.  The problem is, those are gone if you are at the back of the line.  From there, there are $18 dollar seats.  That's fine.  What is obsene are the $35 seats.  In these sections, you don't have to be bothered with the pesky content of the jumbotron.  You're under it.  You get the excitement of watching other fans react to deep flyballs in right field.  And you don't have to bother watching the Presidents race that all the other fans find fun for some reason. 

It is tiring to hear from the DC media, "Bear in mind.  They are still new at this."  It is also tiring to hear, "We haven't had basbeall here for three decades.  People aren't just going to come to the ballpark overnight."  But wait a second.  What about all the talk of "there's no place else for this team to go?"  Wouldn't that imply that this town was the only town capable of packing a stadium?  Shouldn't a new stadoium provide a marked boost in attendance?  The writing was on the wall since Cincinnati built their park.  The baseball stadium as must-see became a cliche.

The Team

Oh the team! Ah, the team.  Eh the team.  It's the errors stupid.  And the pitching.  And the lack of walking.

The errors.  I'm not an error-as-stat guy.  Errors fail to account for many things.  One, hometown scorekeepers willing to give Jeter, Pedroia, Suzuki, or anyone else every chance to bolster their hit totals.  Two, you can't botch what you can't get to in the first place.  Some call this "the Derek Jeter is a better shortstop than A-Rod  principle."  Finally, variations in ballparks and fould territory lend themselves to varying opportunities for teams to make errors. 

All in all, a team gives their opponents more outs than the error column would indicate.  So bear that in mind when I say that the Nats have committed 77 errors in 81 games.  The Major League average is 50.  The old and slow Yankees have 42.  Their counterpart in the AL (Seattle) has 62. 

The bullpen is bad.  This team has tried to force the closer role on Joel Hanrahan to no avail.  Julian Tavarez walks more people than a crossing guard.  Joe Beimel is okay, but can't seem to start his own inning.    Ron Villone started strong, but bullpen stats can be deceiving, since inherited runners aren't factored into ERA.  Jesus Colome.

The lineup has potential.  If Nyjer Morgan can be a .400 OBP guys, then I'll have to do a similar retrospective on the Pirates.  Zimmerman and Guzman can be .300 BA guys to get Morgan home.  Dunn can be a .500 SLG guy to get them off the bases.  The bottom of the order needs help, as does the bench.  There is a serious drop off in everything if Dunn or Nick Johnson are swapped in a double-switch. 

PR

I'll round things out with some bullet points on PR:

• The team fined Elijah Dukes $500 for being late to the ballpark for pre-game activities.  Dukes was performing community work with a Virignia little-league.  The league raised the money to pay the fine.
• On April 17th, the team's two best players took the field with "Natinals" uniforms.
• The owners, citing a lengthy punch list of things invisible to fans, refused to pay rent on their publicly funded stadium.
• The Nationals were the only team that did not send a representative to the industry meetings or scouting schools in 2008.
• The only sell-outs at the new park in 2008 occurred on opening night, and against the Orioles.
• Just recently, a minor one.  The fireworks button was pressed signifying a Nats victory - after a Brian McCann foul ball.  This would have been hilarious had McCann taken the next pitch to the right field porch.

Well there it is.  While the rest of baseball focuses on the Dodgers, Yanks, and Sox, IJWMFTT brings you 360 Nats coverage.  This is the type of analysis that you just can't get anywhere else.  Ha!