The sophomore jinx engulfed Washington’s second season of baseball.
After staying in the 2005 wild card race until the final week, this year’s team never sniffed the pennant. Injuries decimated the pitching staff and claimed three-fourths of the infield at various times, making even .500 a wild dream. The Nationals seemed headed for 100 losses before a September turnaround.
Even worse, attendance slipped nearly 600,000 to 2.1 million. That’s more lost fans than the Redskins drew all season when they still played at RFK.
So why does year two of Baseball’s Redemption not seem so bad? Maybe because the Nats have a local owner. The new ballpark’s first base box seats are now visible from the South Capital Street Bridge. MASN and Comcast finally made peace even if not until the final weeks of the season.
Alfonso Soriano joined the 40-40 club. Ryan Zimmerman may earn Rookie of the Year. A few young pitching prospects provide hope for 2007.
Maybe the honeymoon is still ongoing, but it was easy to like a team that played hard. Major League Baseball sold a bad club for good money, but the Nats never dogged it. There were rough stretches, but Washington will sport a winning September record.
“It was going to be hard to match last year anyway,” Zimmerman said. “First year back [in Washington], having such a great first half like they did. It’s hard to win and be consistent all year if you have injuries.”
The Nats have one more season in RFK before heading to their new home where fans will expect a winner in return for higher ticket prices. After Sunday’s finale, action in the coming weeks promises to be furious.
Manager Frank Robinson is expected to be replaced next week despite a fine two years in Washington and five with a franchise that was baseball’s stepchild. Maybe Robinson didn’t claim a crown in 15 seasons as a manager, but he is a valuable baseball man who deserves to stay.
One of the top measuring points of any leader is whether they gained the most from their personnel. Robinson certainly did so given the Nats have no pitching. Nada. Not one guy in the final month that excited fans heading to the ballpark. The Nats’ sharp finish proved Robinson motivated a team completely out of the playoff chase.
“I don’t remember any team I’ve had in five years that … didn’t play every ballgame,” Robinson said. “They’ve given the effort and continue to give their best effort every night.”
Now there are rumors general manager Jim Bowden and Nats president Stan Kasten aren’t getting along. Bowden has done a decent job, but my heart won’t break over his departure.
The Nats must make a major move on Soriano before the Los Angeles Angels or someone else dazzles the Nats’ best player with a free-agent windfall. The chances of Soriano returning are less than 50-50, though.
Certainly, the Nats need pitchers. John Patterson can’t be the ace after missing most of this season with an injury and posting a career of nothing special. The Nats have prospects, but they need at least two starting pitchers.
Finally, the Nats need to greatly increase their community reach. Send players into schools during the winter. Donate money for city fields. Generate more community spirit so this year’s attendance slide doesn’t continue. Maybe this will be Robinson’s new role, but the new owners can’t take fans for granted.
Just ask the Capitals, who are still begging supporters to return after the 2004-05 lockout.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected].
