Formerly the Montreal Expos, the Washington Nationals relocated to Washington D.C. in 2005 and opened their brand new stadium this year. Unfortunately, the first home run hit in the ballpark was by Chipper Jones of the Atlanta Braves. The Washington Nationals have a beautiful ballpark but they can't seem to win very many ballgames. In fact, the only noteworthy season that the team ever had was back in Montreal during the strike-shortened season. They were the unofficial National League Champions but there was no world series that year, so their success is overlooked.
This year the Nationals appear to be following suit with last year. Their winning percentage is south of .400 and they are in the division cellar again. Much of their woes can be attributed to their pitching (or lack thereof), particularly in the bullpen. Last year the Nationals appeared to have found an exceptional closer in Chad Cordero but thanks to him going under the knife and missing a lot of 2008 he hasn't really been able to help matters. Jon Rauch, his replacement, hasn't been much of one and for that matter neither has the rest of the bullpen. Collectively, they have more than 15 blown saves for the year.
Manny Acta, the Nationals' manager, expresses confidence in his team and in his pitching staff, but in this day and age their aren't many head coaches that would openly admit how bad their team is.
