| Mischa Nachtigal. 20th August, 2009 - 4:58 pm
 For a somewhat long-suffering Nationals fan (five years and counting) this has been a memorable week. Not since the first half of the 2005 season has there been this much excitement surrounding baseball in the nation’s capital. This is not to say the excitement now is at the same level it was back then (let’s face it, the team on the field still sucks); however, those who have stuck around with the franchise should realize the last few months featured several good business decisions.
Jim Bowden’s “resignation” was the start of it all. He seemed to attract embarrassing events and is much better suited to being a broadcaster. Giving Mike Rizzo the “acting” tag helped the franchise regain some immediate credibility around the league. This is the very same credibility the team risked losing if it didn’t hire Rizzo full-time. He’s got a fair gaggle of fans in various front offices and slighting him would have made any new general manager’s job a bit tougher. Stan Kasten will work great with Rizzo and the Lerners will love his shrewd and efficient moves.
Speaking of the Lerners, it’s good to see them putting their money to good use by signing Stephen Strasburg-- the 102 mph fireballer wunderkind, future starter in Game 1 of the 2012 World Series and probable savior of the planet from global warming (the sarcasm here is to remind us all that the kid is just that, a kid-- lets see how he handles the Pacific Coast League before anointing him further). The Lerners are the richest owners in baseball, nearly triple what Steinbrenner’s worth, and are finally starting to act like it.
Chelsea Piers, Tyson’s Corner and White Flint Malls (ventures either entirely or partially owned by the family) are still going strong despite this recession, so there’s no reason to expect the dollar flow to dry up. Signing Strasburg for a substantial deal (even if it was below what we all expected Scott Boras wanted) proves that the team won’t hesitate to draft Bryce Harper next year if it finishes with the worst record again.
While it’s too soon to speculate on next year’s draft it’s nice to have people in the front office who are ready to hold the players accountable. Rizzo’s public ripping of Daniel Cabrera (“I was tired of watching him”) and trading of the constantly dogging-it Lastings Milledge to make way for the more talented Elijah Dukes is refreshing after dealing with Bowden who collected undertalented outfielders as if his life depended on it (see Kearns, Austin). All these moves since Bowden’s departure show the fan base that the owners do care about fielding a winning team. Rumor has it they are quite adamant about avoiding one hundred losses, which seems silly to worry about but at least it shows passion for the game.
This Strasburg hype is good for the team, even if he doesn’t pan out (I just knocked on wood, spit three times and bought a rabbit’s foot) because DC fans are known for their passivity-- except when it comes to football-- and this hype gives us all something to argue passionately about. I’m betting that if the Redskins struggle this season, DC-area fans will want a new team to root for and that’s when I think the Nats will pick up a lot of fans. Investing in the team now is a smart move by the Lerners, because they’ve potentially ignited a turn in fan momentum that people will want to jump on (we’ll call this a pre-bandwagon spark).
For these past two seasons, the Nationals have been consistently down in the dumps, both on and off the field. Now it seems like the only place left to go is up, in attendance and in wins. Here’s hoping this rings true. |
