District on Deck - A Washington Nationals Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and More

Each year teams report to Spring Training with high hopes and expectations for the upcoming season. We hear about countless players showing up in the “best shape of their lives”. But ultimately there are always question marks. Questions facing each and every team. Questions facing each and every player.

Image courtesy: curlyw.mlbblogs.com

With Spring Training just over two weeks away, let’s take a look at some of the questions facing the members of the Washington Nationals as they arrive in Viera, Florida. To start, let’s look at the pitchers on the current 40-man roster (in alphabetical order for no particular reason).

Sean Burnett, LHP – Which Burnett will the Nationals see in 2012: the one who faltered in the first half of 2011 or the one who was able to bounce back with a strong second half?

Over 41 appearances in the first half of 2011, Burnett allowed opposing hitters to post a .273/.348/.413 line with a 5.67 ERA, seven blown saves, and five losses. After the All Star Break, however, those numbers improved to .228/.297/.326 and a 1.16 ERA. The left-hander won’t turn 30 until mid-September but his performance this season will likely go a long ways towards determining if the organization exercises their side of a mutual option in place for 2013.

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One of the best — and sometimes worst — things about baseball is its unpredictability. Every season, teams and players defy experts’ predictions. Take 2011, for example. Who foresaw a Arizona Diamondbacks division title? A back-from-certain-death St. Louis Cardinals World Series victory? The unforgettable September comebacks and collapses?

For the Washington Nationals, few expected an 80-win season and third place finish in the National League East. No one thought Davey Johnson would become the manager. After his abysmal start, few fans thought Michael Morse would become of the NL’s top sluggers. While his 2010 rookie year foretold great promise, almost no one thought Drew Storen would save 43 games in 2011. Catcher Wilson Ramos has unlimited potential, but not many predicted he would play so well so quickly. Only the most optimistic fans expected to see Chien-Ming Wang on a pitching mound in D.C., let alone perform well enough to earn a new contract.

So, which players on the Nationals’ roster will surprise us in 2012?. Here are my top candidates.

Ian Desmond — Desmond resolved his fielding woes last season, but, until Johnson arrived, seemed to have regressed as a hitter. Johnson told him to junk the banjo hitting and his power and batting average improved. Desmond needs to increase his walk totals, especially if he bats leadoff. Still, he could duplicate or improve his .289/.338/.417 slash line he turned in during the second half of 2011 to complement his already solid defense and excellent base stealing ability.

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Just as we’re going to share some of the Nationals-related links from time to time that were written by our colleagues here at the FanSided Network, we’ll also start occasionally bringing you some of the more read-worthy links from other Nationals bloggers out there. There are no plans at the moment for this to be a regular feature here at DoD, but it’s safe to say that anytime we see something worth sharing we’ll pass it along.

Leading off, William Yoder at The Nats Blog brings out attention to just how different Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper are, at least from a personality standpoint. As William points out, Strasburg is striving to be the best pitcher in baseball and is far more reserved when it comes to being in the public spotlight. Harper, meanwhile, wants to be the best player in the sport and welcomes the public attention. William shares some quotes from Strasburg on the differences and some thoughtful insight on how the pair is perceived.

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Considering the current options available and the projected battle for the final rotation spots, there were few expectations that the Washington Nationals would entertain the idea of re-signing Livan Hernandez this winter. While the right-hander certainly provided some value over the past two and a half seasons, there just simply no longer is a need for a nearly 37 year old innings-eater on the roster anymore. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Hernandez signed a minor league contract (presumably with an invitation to Spring Training) earlier this afternoon with the Houston Astros.

This is almost certainly a move with depth in mind, as the Astros project to have a full starting rotation heading into the 2012 season. The organization – while heading in an uncertain direction – could look to move one or two of those rotation options, though it’s widely expected that any deals involving Wandy Rodriguez and Brett Myers aren’t likely to take place until closer to mid-season. Hernandez had expressed a willingness to pitch in any role had he returned to Washington. It’s unclear how willing he will be to pitch out of Houston’s bullpen, if asked.

The connections between MLB and the NFL seem few and far between in recent years. The biggest re-occurrence of course, is the perpetual debate about whether football has really replaced baseball as “America’s National Pastime”. While that debate is one best saved for another day, there was an interesting story written last Friday by Jeff Bradley at NJ.com that not only ties MLB and the NFL together, but could have potentially had an impact on the Washington Nationals themselves depending on how things worked out.

Image courtesy: nj.com; Junipero Serra High School

According to Bradley, it would seem that there was once an impressive catching prospect growing up in the San Mateo, California area. He stood 6’4” and batted from the left side of the plate. Most importantly perhaps, he showed an ability to lead the game and a toughness that wasn’t seen all that often. The only problem, however, was that this same catcher was committed to attending the University of Michigan the next fall. It would seem that nothing would keep him from that commitment.

We know that player today as Tom Brady. Yes, that same Tom Brady that most Baltimore Ravens fans dislike (though at least seem to respect). The same Tom Brady that will play in yet another Super Bowl this coming Sunday. The same Tom Brady who once was almost a member of the Montreal Expos.

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It still kind of amazes me to think about how differently we interacted with people before Twitter and Facebook took over the world. Heck, I still remember when all my parents had was dial-up. But in this technology-laden day and age, the ability to connect with athletes, media types, writers, and fans has changed the way we all live our lives.

Well, we may not play for the Nationals, but you’re favorite writers here on the DoD staff are all on Twitter. So give us a follow and start up a conversation.

• Aaron, Editor – @BlogFTBleachers
• Michael, Staff Writer – @Michael_FanSide
• Andrew, Staff Writer – @NatNation21
• Stephen, Staff Writer – @69Nats_Fan
• Martin, Staff Writer – @martyball98

It was a pretty busy week here at DoD this past one. Our newest Staff Writer, Marty Niland, made a successful debut with a pair of articles published (on the Prince Fielder and Brad Lidge signings). In addition to those two stories, we also learned the details to Gio Gonzalez’s new contract and finally met the team’s new star left-hander. There were some new prospect rankings to analyze and we took a look at the extension talks the organization is currently having with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (a post that was linked to in this week’s Baseball Blogs Weigh In feature over at MLB Trade Rumors).

Finally, we’re under the one month mark. Spring Training is a mere three weeks away!

Sunday, 1/22/12

DoD Content Recap: January 15-21 (Aaron)

Michael Morse Signed to Two Year Contract; Signing Will Impact Prince Fielder Pursuit (Andrew)

Monday, 1/23/12

Washington Should Not Deal Danny Espinosa for B.J. Upton (Aaron)

Tuesday, 1/24/12

Gary Carter’s Condition Worsens (Aaron)

Extending Ryan Zimmerman (Aaron)

Breaking News: Prince Fielder Signs With Tigers (Andrew)

Nationals to Introduce Gio Gonzalez Tomorrow (Aaron)

Wednesday, 1/25/12

Price for Fielder was too Princely (Marty)

Evaluating the Bullpen (Stephen)

Thursday, 1/26/12

Gio Gonzalez Formally Introduced (Aaron)

Baseball Prospectus’ Top 20 Nationals Prospect Rankings (Aaron)

Nats Add Former Phils Closer Lidge to Bullpen (Marty)

Friday, 1/27/12

Nationals Place Four in MLB.com’s Top 100 Prospects (Aaron)

Saturday, 1/28/12

Around FanSided: Call to the Pen & That Ball’s Outta Here (Aaron)

One of the goals that we have here at DoD is to become one of the top resources for Washington Nationals news and analysis around. We’ve assembled a great team of writers to bring you our thoughts on the team. But, being a part of the FanSided Network gives us an outlet to other team’s writers who will, of course, have thoughts on their competition. An opposing opinion always has some degree of value – regardless whether we agree or disagree with it. However, considering there are some very talented writers that we are fortunate enough to consider colleagues and friends here at FanSided, we’re going to start sharing some more of their work when that work is about the Nationals. We’ll see how frequently this series will appear on the site. That likely largely depends on how frequently our colleagues put out worthy Nationals related content.

To most Nationals fans, the two biggest pieces of news this week likely were either Prince Fielder‘s decision to take his talents to Detroit (can we officially agree that joke is now used too much?) or the details being released regarding Gio Gonzalez‘s contract extension and his subsequent introduction to Washington. While both were rightfully significant stories, the team did end up making another move to continue building a competitive roster when they agreed to sign Brad Lidge to a one year, $1 Million contract.

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MLB.com released its 2012 Top 100 Prospect list earlier this week. The Washington Nationals have a solid prescence on the list, having four players ranked among the top prospects in all of Major League Baseball. The organization has been steadily building their farm system into one of the better ones in all of MLB, but the system seemed relatively depleted after the recent trade to acquire Gio Gonzalez which cost the Nationals four players ranked in Baseball America’s organizational Top 10. For what it’s worth, two of those players made it to MLB.com’s Top 100: right-handed pitchers Brad Peacock (#75) and A.J. Cole (#88).

Bryce Harper was named the #2 prospect, coming in just behind Tampa Bay’s Matt Moore and in front of Los Angeles’ Mike Trout. Harper, who really doesn’t need much of an introduction on this site anymore considering how much we’ve discussed him, batted a combined .297/.392/.501 with 17 HR and 58 RBI in 387 at bats between Hagerstown and Harrisburg. How he performs this Spring will determine whether he begins the 2012 season in Washington or Syracuse.

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The Nationals have made yet another move to shore up their pitching staff, agreeing to terms with former Philadelphia Phillies closer Brad Lidge, the team announced on its Web site.

According to Jim Salisbury of CSNPhilly.com, who first reported the deal, it is  worth $1 million over one year and includes incentives.

The 35-year-old right-hander established a reputation as one of baseball’s top closers in six seasons with the Houston Astros, before moving to Philadelphia in 2008 to help the Phillies win the World Series, going 41-for-41 in save opportunities during the regular season with 92 strikeouts in 59 innings. He saved seven more games in the postseason that year, including the final game of the World Series. For his career,  he has compiled 223 saves in 266 opportunities with 789 strikeouts in 594 innings, with a 3.44 earned run average, according to mlb.com.

But Lidge has been limited by injuries the past two seasons, and the Phils permanently replaced him as their closer this off-season, signing Jontahan Papelbon away from the Red Sox to fill that role. Lidge was effective when he was able to pitch last season, holding hitters to a .250 average over 19 innings, pitching to a 1.90 ERA.

With the Nationals, he will reportedly join Tyler Clippard and Henry Rodriguez as setup men for closer Drew Storen, according to Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post.   His most important contribution, though, may be adding veteran leadership to an inexperienced, albeit talented, bullpen.