Opinion: Nationals fall on Opening Day, big surprise

The Washington Nationals will need their new star arrival, Jayson Werth, to step up this season in order for the squad to have any chance at achieving success. (Photo courtesy of Creative Commons, user RMTip21/Mike)

The Washington Redskins went 6-10 and finished last in the NFC East. The Washington Wizards are currently 18-56, making them the third-worst team in the NBA. Lucky for them, the Cleveland Cavs and Minnesota Timberwolves are borderline professional teams.

The Nationals were 69-93 one year ago, and finished dead last in the NL East.

So what did the Nats do on Opening Day to kick off the 2011 season? Well, they lost, of course.

The Nats fell to the Atlanta Braves in a 2-0 shutout Thursday afternoon in Washington, D.C. Granted, this is a Braves team that went 91-71 last season before falling to the eventual World Champion San Francisco Giants in the NL Divisional Series.

The Braves brought seasoned-veteran Derek Lowe to the mound, and he threw six strikeouts in 5.2 innings with no earned runs. They have a pitching staff that includes Lowe, Tim Hudson, Tommy Hanson and Jair Jurrjens.

And all four of these guys would arguably be the best pitcher for the Nationals.

Just like last year, the Nats used Livan Hernandez to open the season. With Washington’s hero, Stephen Strasburg, out for the entire season, Hernandez must fill in as the “ace.”

The Braves have, without question, one of the top pitching staffs in the majors. But the upsetting news is that they are not the only team in baseball with four pitchers better than the Nats’ top thrower–Hernandez.

This list also includes the Boston Red Sox, Oakland A’s, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants.

Yes–there are at least five teams in baseball who arguably have a fourth pitcher better than the Nats’ top pitcher. Outside of Hernandez, not one of their starters would be likely to see the mound regularly on any other team in the league.

Jordan Zimmerman is a young pitcher with some potential, however. He is currently fourth in the rotation, but has a chance to work his way up over the course of the season.

They will really miss Strasberg this year. Not only is he a strikeout phenom, but he generated interest and sold out the stadium every time he was on the mound.

Another key loss for the Nationals was slugger Adam Dunn, who is now a member of the Chicago White Sox. He has had at least 38 home runs for the past seven years.

They also lost speedy Nyjer Morgan to the Milwaukee Brewers, who had 129 hits and 34 stolen bases last year.

Despite all of the bad news, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

They did acquire standout Jayson Werth from the Phillies to play right field. He has been one of the top producers in the majors over the past several years.

The city of Washington needs Werth to step up and fill the void left by Strasberg’s season-ending elbow injury. Werth was one of the key components of the Phillies’ 2009 championship team, and can bring that winning attitude to the Nats’ clubhouse.

They also acquired veterans Rick Ankiel and Adam LaRoche, both of whom will be solid contributors offensively and defensively.

The other good news is that they retained their star-player, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who batted .307 with 25 homers one year ago. He needs to produce numbers just like that or better for his squad to have a chance.

They also held on to young shortstop, Ian Desmond, who has a chance to become a breakout performer in the league this year.

The last possible ounce of optimism for this team is their bullpen. Closer Drew Storen and set-up man Tyler Clippard are quality pitchers who will save games when given the opportunity. As weak as the starting rotation appears to be, the bullpen will be seeing a lot of work this season.

Certainly there is slight optimism, but remember–this is Washington, the city of disappointing sports franchises. The only D.C. team to have an above-embarrassing regular season lately is the Capitals, and even they fell in the first round of the playoffs last year.

The good news about being so bad, however, is landing that first pick. D.C. may not win any world championships any time soon, but at least John Wall, Stephen Strasberg and Alexander Ovechkin will always be fun to watch–for as long as they stick around.

The Nationals return to action Saturday at 1:05 p.m. to once again play host to the Braves.