Oh Those Crazy Nationals...

Screech!

By "popular demand" my resurgence of my blog is starting with the Washington Nationals and their silly antics in our nation's capital. Since the rebirth of a franchise in Washington D.C., the Nationals have had a goal of finishing at .500, which they did in their inaugural season of 2005, and almost completed this amazing feat at the end of this season, coming up one game short (80-81). Due to a rained out game with the Dodgers that they never made up, the Nats now think because they finished third, they are what we call "contenders." Now don't get me wrong, I never want to see anybody finish with 59 wins in a season, or constantly be in the cellar of a division, but I don't see it happening this season. As stated in previous blogs, the Miami Marlins are a new force not to be reckoned with, the Phillies are still dominant in pitching and are looking to reclaim the NL East for the 6th strait year, and the Braves are still trying to figure out what they did wrong at the end of last season (I purposely left out the Mets because they care more about rhinoplasty than baseball Nice Nose Niese). What exactly are the Nationals up to? For starters, the Nationals have recently signed a 6-year, $100 million contract extension with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. The Nationals traded for Gio Gonzalez earlier this off season with the Athletics and make him a dominant pitcher in the rotation. Stephen Strasburg is coming back this season after surgery, and Bryce Harper is said to probably make the team this season. A personal favorite of mine, Tyler Clippard is still on the team, and the Nats added Brad Lidge to their arsenal of bullpen arms. On a side note, the Nationals are trying a new campaign this season called, "Take Back the Park," which is supposed to stop Phillies fans from going to Nationals Park. Good luck with that, because Citizens Bank Park South is certainly a Philly fan favorite. So what are the Nationals going to do this season? I don't know, but what I do know is that the NL East is the division to watch this upcoming 2012 season because there certainly will plenty of surprises.