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Down and out Nats looking past 2006, on to the future

Nationals second-half preview

Date published: 7/13/2006

By TODD JACOBSON

WASHINGTON--Their lockers stand just a few feet apart, so Nationals catcher Brian Schneider is keenly aware of Alfonso Soriano's situation with Washington.

If the Nationals begin a rebuilding effort, which they are expected to do after a disappointing 38-52 first half, it will start with Soriano--the team's lone all-star--and could affect several other veterans, significantly changing the face of this team in the next few weeks before the July 31 trade deadline.

"This is the time of year when it's an uneasy time of year because you don't know who is going to be staying or leaving but there's nothing we can do about that," Schneider said. "On a day to day basis we just keep going about it hard."

It's a very different approach a year later, but for the Nationals, year two of baseball's return to D.C. brings a very different set of circumstances.

At the All-Star break a year ago, the Nationals were perched atop the National League East after a magical first half and they were buyers looking to dip into the trade market.

A day before the second half of the season started, they acquired Preston Wilson from the Colorado Rockies.

Not this season.

After an awful first half--one that ended fittingly with a three-game sweep at the hands of the San Diego Padres--the Nats are last in the National League East, 15 games behind the New York Mets and nine games out of the Wild Card race.

And with new ownership in place and pledging to rebuild the franchise slowly, from the ground up, the time to start thinking young is now.

"We don't look at it as well, we are only nine games out, let's make a couple of patchwork deals and see if we can pull this Wild Card thing out," Bowden said. "That's not what our goal is. Our goal is, and we have been very upfront with the fans and very honest, we are going to build this thing for the long term which means there is short-term pain to get long-term gain."

No one will come out and explicitly say it, but that means Soriano, the team's lone all-star after a 27-homer, 20-steal first half, is likely to be gone by the time August rolls around.

AL ROY Francisco Liriano, Minnesota Twins - Sorry Jon Papelbon. 10-1 and a 1.83 ERA get the nod. NL ROY Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals - Clutch-hitting, superb fielding give him the nod. NL CY YOUNG Brandon Webb, Arizona Diamondbacks - Nine wins, but 2.65 ERA leads the NL. AL CY YOUNG Roy Halladay, Toronto Blue Jays - His 12 wins lead the majors. NL MVP Albert Pujols - Even with an injury, he's still the best in the game. AL MVP David Ortiz - No one is more clutch. It doesn't matter that he's just a DH. NL Manager of the Year Bruce Bochy, San Diego - Padres are poised to win the NL West. AL Manager of the Year Jim Leyland, Detroit - From worst to first. Enough said. Midseason report card for the Nationals Page B7.

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Date published: 7/13/2006