Your D.C. Sports Update

A post by "BEZ " To see more posts click here

Any good sports guy will tell you that teams that outwork their opponents in the off season can drastically improve themselves. Look at the Dolphins this year, the Devil Rays and Celtics. Well I don’t think the Nationals will be fighting for a World Series next year, but with the moves they have made this off season, they should be competitive earlier than most people think.

They stunk last year but at least they are improving the areas they need. Many times during my sports viewing career, I felt like the GM didn’t actually watch the games. Not the case this year, the Nats have at least attempted to address the areas I would consider weak. They needed major league ready pitching, a young ace that can be in the majors for a while, a legit middle of the lineup hitter, first basemen with power, and finally a corner outfielder that can hit above .250.

The Nationals lost out on the Mark Teixeira sweepstakes, but in the end it may have saved the future of the franchise. $180 million is a massive amount of money to pay to one player when there are a number of other holes that needed to be filled. They do still need a power bat in the lineup and preferably one at first base. Adam Dunn is the best guy on the market to fit that need. Dunn is the classic case of home run or bust. He has hit around .240 but has hit 40 plus homers the last three seasons. Teixeira would have clearly been the better player, although Dunn may be more exciting to watch because of his tape measure bombs.

The Nats added both major league pitching and a decent outfielder in trading for Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham from the Marlins. Both are better than average players that will contribute. A few days ago they signed Daniel Cabrera, a former O’s pitcher. Anybody who has watched this guy can see that he has the tools despite his bad win-loss record. He has three pitches that are as good as anyone’s and can be dominating at times. If someone could get him some consistent control, he could be very good. The Nationals also have two picks in the top ten of the 2009 MLB draft.

Remember the name Steven Strausburg, from San Diego State. He is perhaps the greatest college baseball pitcher of all time and will more than likely be available as the number 1 pick in this year’s draft. As the MLB draft gets closer, udothedishes will have a breakdown of the Nationals draft picks.

I guess it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t mention that the Caps are pretty damn good. They are currently leading their division by six points and have the second best home record in the league, thanks to the die hard DMV Caps fans. Right now it’s pretty clear that the Caps are the best sports team that this area has to offer. The only issue with the Caps is the uncertainty in the net. Brent Johnson and Jose Theodore have both been relatively inconsistent, even when they have been healthy. Brent Johnson seems to have currently grabbed the top spot starting in seven of the last ten games. The Caps also have superstar in waiting Simeon Varlamov, and Hershey if needed. He is considered the goalie of the future and a virtual lock to be a good one. He has already won two spot starts this year. In order for the Caps to move from regular season sensation to post season sensation, they will need more consistency from the net minder.

Finally, the Wizards stink. It took one of the worst starts to the season in team history for them to realize what everyone else already knew this past off-season. That it was time to rebuild. Maybe if they had realized this sooner they wouldn’t have given Arenas a HUGE contract that nobody else wanted. At least they will have a pick in the top 3 next season. Bring on Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio or JMAL’s boy Bj Mullens.

udothedishes….