The Washington Nationals enter the All-Star break with a 49-34 record, the best in the National League. Postseason baseball hasn't been played in the nation's capital since 1933, when the Washington Senators lost in the world series to the New York Giants. D.C. is among the most tortured sports markets of the past two decades, and therefore local fans are brimming with excitement at the prospect of having a first place team.
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| Stephen Strasburg (photo by Nir Levy) |
The Nationals starting pitching rotation of Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler is widely considered the best in the majors and the bullpen is also among the best in baseball. The Nats lead the league in ERA, WHIP, opponents' batting average, on base percentage, slugging and a plethora of other commonly used statistics. Strasburg and Gonzalez were both named to the all-star team, Strasburg leads the NL in strikeouts, Gonzalez is tied for the lead in wins, and Zimmermann joins the two in the top 12 of the league in WHIP and ERA. Strasburg's fastball and Gonzalez's lefty curveball are among the most unhittable pitches in baseball. Losing streaks are far and few between for the team when it has an ace pitching almost every day. Among the top story lines of the second half is Strasburg's innings limit. Because Strasburg is coming off Tommy John surgery the team has decided to follow standard medical protocol and limit Strasburg to 160 innings of pitching this season. The team will shut him down in early September as the playoff race heats up in order to protect his bright future and reduce the risk that he breaks down at an early age.
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| Ryan Zimmerman (photo by Nir Levy) |
The Nats have weathered serious injuries to many of their key contributors including closer Drew Storen who has yet to make an appearance this season, outfielder Michael Morse who only made his season debut in June, outfielder Jayson Werth who will miss 12 weeks with a broken wrist, catcher Wilson Ramos who is out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL and third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who battled a shoulder injury for much of the season's first half.
The Nats have been able to sustain success by having players repeatedly step up and perform in relief of the team's injured stars. Tyler Clippard, the team's 8th inning setup man has pitched lights out as the team's closer in the absence of his good friend Storen. Players like rookies Steve Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore have been dependable when given opportunities to play and have provided the team with big hits in crucial situations.
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| Ian Desmond (photo by Nir Levy) |
All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond has improved his play significantly, leads the team in most batting categories and has made spectacular plays defensively. Desmond's 17 home runs rank 6th in the NL, and are already a single season career high. First Baseman Adam Laroche has returned from an injury plagued season to play golden glove worthy defense and lead the Nats in OPS and RBIs. Zimmerman received a cortisone shot in his shoulder two weeks ago and has responded with 5 home runs and 18 RBIs in his last 14 games. With Morse, who hit 31 home runs last season, back in the lineup the Nats' offense should only improve as the season progresses.
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| Bryce Harper (photo by Nir Levy) |
19 year old rookie sensation Bryce Harper has been better than advertised. The former number one overall pick was among the most hyped athletes of all time. Harper was called up from the minors earlier than expected on April 28th and since then has done nothing but dazzle the sports world. Harper's statistics as a teenager are unprecedented historically and superior to those of MLB legends Mickey Mantle and Ken Griffey Jr. By being placed on the all-star team in place of the injured Giancarlo Stanton, Harper became the youngest position player ever to be named an all-star. Harper has taken over as the Nats' starting center fielder providing the team with a potential superstar at the team's position of greatest need and is already among the three best center fielders in the NL.
The second half of the season should surpass the highly entertaining first half in excitement and intrigue. Follow along to find out if the 2012 Nationals can become only the fourth baseball team in Washington D.C. history to make the postseason.
Note: All photos in this post were taken by me, Nir Levy at a Nationals game on July 6th.
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