Mike Cameron retired rather than play for the Washington Nationals this year.
What, did he think his agent was pulling a joke on him when he signed, sort of like when the Rangers’ brass punked Eddie Guardado by telling him he was traded to Washington in 2008?
Or did he just decide that platooning in center field for the Nationals with Rick Ankiel and Roger Bernadina was rock bottom after an otherwise good 17-year career?
I could understand if this was 2008 — the year the Nationals should have signed Cameron.
After all, back then the perception of the Nationals certainly was much different — and in a bad way, right?
Only it wasn’t. Before the start of the 2008 season — the team’s first at Nationals Park — the Nationals found plenty of reasons for optimism, so much so that there was some belief the franchise was going to make the leap to the next level. The farm system was starting to produce, and ownership was beginning to dole out cash for everything from draft picks to scouting to contract extensions for veterans.
And then the Nationals went out and lost 102 games.
Four seasons and 379 losses later, many of the same claims can be made for 2012.
The expectations for 2008 were based on the fact that the Nationals finished 2007 with a 73-89 record despite some predictions that they would set a major league record for losses.
Expectations, though, sometimes go as poorly as a Jayson Werth at-bat with runners in scoring position.
A year ago, Washington finished with a promising 80-81 record, and that was without Stephen Strasburg in the rotation for nearly the entire season.
The 2012 expectations certainly would appear to be more valid than the 2008 predictions. This isn’t a roster of spare parts and journeymen.
There are blue-chippers like Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann and the newly acquired Gio Gonzalez. There are promising young players like Danny Espinosa and Wilson Ramos. There are breakout players like Michael Morse.
So, yes, the Nationals should be ready to make the leap from second-tier club to fringe contender.
But about those expectations.
Sometimes the guy your team just paid $126 million drives in only 58 runs.
You don’t expect that.
And sometimes the veteran center fielder you signed to bring stability to a troubled position decides he would rather quit before reporting for spring training.
You don’t expect that.
The great physicist Stephen Hawking once said, “When one’s expectations are reduced to zero, one really appreciates everything one does have.”
A Washington baseball motto if there ever was one.
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].
