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You would think that, following a sweep at the hands of the lowly Cincinnati Reds, The Washington Nationals would be excited to get out of town and move one to the next city down the road. Well, not when the next city down the road is St. Louis, Missouri, home of the Cardinals.
The Reds were the team Washington should have beaten up on, then traveled to St. Louis and hope to win one out of three at Busch Memorial Stadium. The Nats now face the Herculean task of having to win at least two game during this weekend series to remain around the .500 mark. Don't count on it. "It" happened again.
Team officials announced this morning that John Patterson, the number two pitcher on an already depleted staff, has been placed on the disabled list because his injury was not healing fast enough. Outfielder Tyrel Godwin will likely be promoted from AAA New Orleans this afternoon.
So, going into the Cardinals home park, the Nationals, who have lost 5 out of their last 6 games, could very well leave Missouri in an outright nosedive. It must be underscored, however, that this is not the fault of the players, or the management, or any part of the Washington Nationals. The team has been attacked by a near fatal rash of injuries, more than any team I have ever seen in my almost 40 years of being a baseball fan. I am afraid that these injuries, and to be certain there will be more, might cost the team 10 games or more in the win column. Thus, a team that might have won 85 games may now only win 70-75. However, there is a bright side.
By the end of this season, the Nats will likely have had six starting outfielders, two starting second baseman, two shortstops, and seven or more starting pitchers. This will have given manager Frank Robinson and GM Jim Bowden ample time to observe in game conditions many different players and player combinations. Come fall, a new owner's money and trader Jim's acumen will create a newer and better team for 2006.
And that's a pretty good thing.
# posted by Farid Rushdi @ 8:27 AM 
