Hall of Famer Dick Williams — the manager of the Boston Red Sox’s “Impossible Dream” team that took the St. Louis Cardinals to seven games in the 1967 World Series — passed away last week.
He also once managed the Montreal Expos, currently known as the Washington Nationals.
Work with me here. I am trying to establish degrees of separation between the 2011 Nationals and the 1967 Red Sox. With a 46-46 record at the All-Star break, this Nationals team certainly has an “Impossible Dream” feel to it, though the circumstances surrounding it should have made it more of a nightmare.
What else could you call a season in which a team has to overcome the following obstacles after losing 298 games over the last three years?
Its best pitcher, Stephen Strasburg, opened the season on the disabled list, recovering from Tommy John surgery.
The best player, Ryan Zimmerman, went on the disabled list with an abdominal strain and missed 58 games.
The free agent first baseman, Adam LaRoche, played in just 43 games before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery.
Jayson Werth, the $126 million offseason crown jewel, became a complete mess, going into the All-Star break with a .215 batting average.
Oh, and did I mention manager Jim Riggleman, who had the Nationals over .500 later in a season than at any point since the inaugural 2005 campaign, quit in midseason?
The obstacles will continue. The Nationals plan to shut down their best pitcher, Jordan Zimmermann, before the end of the season because he is recovering from Tommy John surgery and is on a innings limit. And one of their other top starters, Jason Marquis, could be traded before the end of the month.
For a team fighting to be competitive, losing two-fifths of its rotation is a nightmare scenario — but maybe not this season.
The Nationals have young left-hander Tom Milone at Triple-A Syracuse who is 7-5 with a 3.15 ERA, 107 strikeouts and just seven walks. And right behind him is hot pitching prospect Brad Meyers, who may emerge as the No. 3 starter for Washington behind Strasburg and Zimmermann.
Chien-Ming Wang — yes, the former Yankees ace who has yet to throw a pitch at Nationals Park despite receiving $3 million over the last two seasons — has had several standout minor league rehabilitation starts and may join the major league rotation soon.
And by the way, when the manager quit, legendary skipper Davey Johnson took over.
What could have been a nightmare season may yet have a happy ending.
Examiner columnist Thom Loverro is the co-host of “The Sports Fix” from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday on ESPN980 and espn980.com. Contact him at [email protected].
