The Sports Sermon: A National change of culture

Barack Obama’s mantra of “change” has already saturated Washington, D.C. To the great pleasure of District sports fans, it seems to have permeated more areas than simply politics—just look at the Washington Nationals.

Last season, the Nationals hit Major League Baseball’s nadir, the 100-loss threshold, on their way to becoming the MLB’s most pathetic team. Not only was the team bad, but it was devoid of any individual stars whatsoever. Centerfielder Lastings Milledge led the team with a paltry 14 home runs and 62 RBIs. Pitcher Tim Redding was the only National to eclipse the 10-win mark and did so while tallying a less-than-respectable 4.95 ERA. Lamentably, the “high point” of the team’s season came on Opening Day when President Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the brand new Nationals Park.

But a lot has changed in the past year.

Recently, the Nationals have made a valiant attempt to curb their losing culture. Even though the team will probably still finish last in the National League East, it won’t be because of the ownership’s once-perceived lackadaisicalness in improving the team.

The Lerners, the family that owns the Nationals, made a surprisingly strong push for 2009’s best free agent hitter, first baseman Mark Teixeira. Rumor has it that Lerner and the Nationals offered Teixeira an eight-year contract worth $184 million, four million more than what Teixeira signed for with baseball’s Evil Empire, the New York Yankees.

Obviously, any slugger of Teixeira’s stature would sign with a perennial winner like the Yankees over an unlovable loser like the Nationals, but the measures the Lerners took to sign Teixeira shows that the organization’s mindset is changing for the better.

Instead of sitting back and complaining about how much money big market teams like the Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and New York Mets pay for top-tier talent, the Nationals have tried to swim with the big fish, recognizing that baseball may be the only sport where a team can go out in the off-season and buy a few wins.

A few wins for the Nationals will probably come in the form of a two-year, $20 million investment in 6’6’’ behemoth Adam Dunn. The Nationals were the only team willing to open up the purse strings in today’s economy to sign the powerful Dunn, baseball’s only hitter to smack 40 home runs or more over the past five seasons.

Dunn is the first big-time free agent to sign with the Nationals since the Lerner family took the franchise reins in 2006, but if this trend continues, he certainly won’t be the last. It all comes down to the Nationals’ ability to build a respectable foundation that will entice big-time free agents to come to our nation’s capital.

The thing is, the Nationals have the young players right now who are capable of doing just that. Outfielders Lastings, Milledge, and Elijah Dukes both could be All-Stars one day. Down in the National’s farm system, pitchers Colin Ballester and Jordan Zimmerman have the chance to make the Big Show out of spring training and will eventually provide two talented arms to the starting rotation. And Ryan Zimmerman, the club’s resident superstar at the hot corner, is still only 24 years old.

If the young players perform and Dunn leads the Nationals to a few more victories, Washington might finally be able to attract a superstar. As long as the Lerners continue to open up their pockets for the sake of the team, baseball could once again be big in D.C.

So as the Nationals make their way down to Vierra, Florida for training, here’s hoping that the fresh green grass and blooming flowers symbolize more than the just the beginning of Spring, but a sweet beginning for both the Lerners and their team.