2007 Washington Nationals season

MLB yearly infobox
name = Washington Nationals
season = 2007
misc =

current league = National League
y1 = 1969
division = Eastern Division
y2 = 1969
Uniform
ballpark = Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium
y4 = 2005
city = Washington, D.C.
y5 = 2005
owners = Ted Lerner
managers = Manny Acta
television = MASN
WDCA (My 20)
radio = WTWP/WWWT|

The Washington Nationals' 2007 season began with the team trying to win its first NL East title since moving to Washington. During the offseason, the team replaced manager Frank Robinson with former Montreal Expos coach Manny Acta. They lost several players through free agency and trades. The most notable of those are José Guillén, Ramón Ortiz, Alfonso Soriano, and José Vidro. The Nationals signed few major league free agents. Their most experienced free agent signing was Dmitri Young. Luis Ayala, Alex Escobar, Cristian Guzmán, Nick Johnson, Michael O'Connor and John Patterson are expected to return from season-ending injuries.

After losing four starters (Liván Hernández, Tony Armas, Ramon Ortiz and Pedro Astacio) from the prior year, the Nationals invited an extraordinary 36 pitchers to spring training. [cite news | title=Nats' Starting Pitching Could Be a Real Problem | author=Thomas Boswell | date=2007-03-07 | page=E03 | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/06/AR2007030602143_pf.html] [cite news | title=Nats' St. Claire Knows the Task at Hand | author=Barry Svrluga | publisher=Washington Post | date=2007-02-26 | page=E01 | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/25/AR2007022501373.html] By year's end, the team would become the first team in modern baseball (except for strike-shortened seasons) with no pitcher in double figures with wins or losses. [Campbell, Rich (October 1, 2007). "Down Bergmann up in team plans". "The Free Lance-Star", p. B7.]

Regular season

April

On Opening Day, the Nationals lost their starting shortstop (Cristian Guzman, hamstring) and center fielder (Nook Logan) for five weeks. At the end of April, one of their starters, Jerome Williams hurt his ankle while batting and was placed on the 15-day disabled list.

May

In the space of just 10 days in May, Shawn Hill, John Patterson, and Jason Bergmann went on the disabled list. Jerome Williams returned, pitched one game, and went back on the DL with a shoulder injury. The Washington Post wrote: "Almost everything that could sink a team's attitude has befallen the Nats. They started the year 1-8, then they lost eight in a row to drop to 9-25." [cite news | title=Nationals Are Managing Just Fine With Acta | author=Thomas Boswell | date=2007-06-04 | page=E01 | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/03/AR2007060301428.html]

They pressed journeymen Mike Bacsik, Micah Bowie (a relief pitcher) and Jason Simontacchi, along with rookie reliever Levale Speigner into the starting rotation, amidst predictions that the 2007 Nationals might equal the 1962 Mets' record of futility, 120 losses in one season. [cite news | title=Baseball Most Foul: The Nats Reinvent Bad | author=Linton Weeks | publisher=Washington Post | date=2007-05-08 | page=C01 | url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/07/AR2007050701636.html] .

After the team lost 8 straight games to sink to 9-25, the Nats won 11 of 15, mostly with patchwork starting pitching and timely hitting. and the return of Cristian Guzmán, who was hitting .343 by the end of May.

June

In June, the Nationals have been led by key hits by Dmitri Young, Cristian Guzmán and the power hitting of Ryan Zimmerman. But towards the end of the month, Guzman, hitting .329, was injured and lost for the season, and, following the injury, the Nationals lost 9 of their next 11 games.

July

Dmitri Young, hitting .339 (third in the league) and slugging .512, was selected as the lone Nationals' representative in the 2007 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. Despite rumors that the Nationals were seeking to trade Ronnie Belliard, Chad Cordero, Jon Rauch and Young, the Nationals did not make any major trades before the non-waiver trade deadline [cite web | last = Ladson | first = Bill | title = Nats let deadline pass without a deal | date = July 31, 2007 | url = http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070731&content_id=2119869&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was | accessdate = 2007-07-31] [cite web | last = Ladson | first = Bill | title = Cordero, Rauch focus of trade rumors | date = July 19, 2007 | url = http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070719&content_id=2097239&vkey=news_was&fext=.jsp&c_id=was | accessdate = 2007-07-31] .

eason standings

Game log

Player stats

Team leaders

Batting

Pitching

"Rankings as of September 14"

Final roster

Records and firsts

The 2007 Nationals became the first team in modern baseball (1901 - present) to trail 4-0 in each of their first six games. [Jacobson, Todd (April 8, 2007). "D-backs tee off on Patterson". "The Free Lance-Star", p. B7.] as well as the first to not score during the first three innings of each of their first ten games. [Blum, Ronald (April 14, 2007). "Nats flirt with two in a row". "The Free Lance-Star", p. B10]

The 2007 Nationals also set the National League record for not scoring a run in the first inning of their first 22 games. [Jacobson, Todd (April 30, 2007). "Finally, Nationals get started early". "The Free Lance-Star", p. C1.]

References

*Game Logs::1st Half: [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=was&season=2007&seasonType=2&half=1 Washington Nationals Game Log] on ESPN.com:2nd Half: [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/schedule?team=was&season=2007&seasonType=2&half=2 Washington Nationals Game Log] on ESPN.com
*Batting Statistics: [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/stats?team=was Washington Nationals Batting Stats] on ESPN.com
*Pitching Statistics: [http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/pitching?team=was Washington Nationals Pitching Stats] on ESPN.com