2006 Washington Nationals Predictions & Season Preview
June 5, 2008
The now Washington Nationals boasted their highest attendance in franchise history and we’re one of the most improved teams in baseball last season. Fans are anxiously waiting to see if they can continue to improve into a playoff caliber team in 2006. One big thing the Nationals have going for them is that they play in a pitcher-friendly ballpark which allowed them to stay in a lot of games last season despite having trouble producing runs. They averaged just 3.56 runs per game at home as opposed to the 4.32 they averaged on the road. They also had the worst batting average of any team in the National League. This is unmistakable proof that pitchers have the advantage in D.C. Washington’s pitcher-friendly park will give us a great opportunities to cash in on winning 2006 Washington Nationals predictions this season.
The big buzz heading into this season had everything to do with Alphonso Soriano. Only time will tell if he can fit into this team’s plans in left field. He will provide some much needed punch to the lineup with his speed and power, and just as I expected, he’s not getting a lot of help in the early going as Washington just doesn’t have a whole lot of offensive options. Guillen and Nick Johnson pose somewhat of a power threat, but that isn’t saying too much. The Nationals are definitely going to have to make sure they play well defensively and get a lot of quality starts out of their staff in order to stay competitive in this talented National League East. Good news is that they’ll get plenty of games against the hapless Marlins. They’ll need to take advantage of their home park, by winning as many games in D.C. as possible. The bad news is that the New York Mets are coming out a lot stronger than many anticipated which gives the Nationals another hurdle to get past.
Because Washington has struggled to get runners across the plate at home, which is the opposite of most teams, the Nationals developed a reputation of a poor hitting team. But because they scored nearly a run more per game on the road, overs were a lucrative gold play on the Nationals. On the season, they scored about the same number of runs as their opponents when on the road, but they got burried at home. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking a team is a poor hitting team all the time. It’s important to differentiate between how a team hits against lefties and righties and at home and on the road. We’ll need to watch in the early going to see if Washington will be road warriors again in 2006. If they are, we can take are plays on overs to the bank.
Livan Hernandez went 15-10 last season for Washington and he is their closest thing to an ace when you consider that he has had some post season success. Other than Hernandez, John Patterson had a respectable 3.13 ERA and will need to be even more solid this season to continue to stay in games at home. They will also look for an added boost from Tony Armas to get this staff in as good a shape as it can be this season.