2010 Washington Nationals season in review
With a 69-93 record the Washington Nationals finished in last place in the National League East. The Nationals never made it to first place; they never built a lead, and had a losing record n every month of the 2010 MLB season besides April. They went just 30-42 against their divisional opponents and that included a 10-8 record against the Braves and a 9-9 record against the Mets. They also managed just a 5-13 record in inter league play. This is a tam still looking for a direction, an identity if you will and until they find it I don’t see them being very much better.
The Nationals offense scored just 655 runs and that was the 14th fewest among the 16 NL teams. They did hit 149 home runs on 1,355 hits. Their team batting average was .250 and only 3B Ryan Zimmerman finished the season hitting better than .300. They struck out 1,220 times and drew just 503 walks. This suggests that Nationals hitters are a tad impatient at the plate.
The news doesn’t get much better for the pitching staff. The staff ERA was 4.33, and only one of their regular five starters racked up double digit wins. Not any of their season long starters finished the season with a winning record. 21 year old Steven Strasburg did go 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 12 games so there is hope here. However the bull pen looks weak and closer Matt Capps converted 26 saves. They only managed to strike out 1,068 batters and that was the second fewest in the national league. However they did walk just 512 hits.
When we look at those numbers it seems that the Nationals pitchers throw a lot of strikes and their opponents tee of on them. That could be a pitching issue or a fielding issue. The real fact here is this is a bad baseball team that needs a talent upgrade at almost every position.
Related Links:
- Washington Nationals news and notes
- The Business of Major League Baseball
- Joshua Lobdell.com
