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

July 13, 2006 12:50 am

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.

He said recently he wants to stay in Washington, but his high salary--combined with the fact that the Nats would likely need to strike a deal on a contract extension in the next two weeks--don't make him an ideal candidate for the rebuilding effort.

Others, like right fielder Jose Guillen, right-hander Livan Hernandez and second baseman Jose Vidro, could be traded, too.

"We have a good building block to begin our future with in Ryan [Zimmerman] and it starts with him," Bowden said. "In the second half I think we'll continue to build long term. Does that mean there are obviously going to be difficulties in the won-loss column? But the good part about it is when you get high draft picks you are able to draft people like Ryan Zimmerman and build it right.

"We are focusing a lot on players that are not tangible to the fans, but signing a Dominican shortstop, signing our first two picks, are extremely important for the long-term future of the franchise."

It was a difficult first half for the Nationals, one that represented a complete turnaround for a franchise that brought baseball back to Washington with a bang a year ago.

But nothing has gone right for the Nationals this season. The pitching that was so good a year ago has been ravaged by injuries.

Right-hander Brian Lawrence was gone before the season even started, out with season-ending shoulder surgery.

Key set-up man Luis Ayala blew out his elbow in the World Baseball Classic, and veteran right-hander Pedro Astacio strained his right forearm in spring training.

Stalwarts John Patterson and Livan Hernandez--counted on to win 15 games apiece--have both battled injuries. They've won just seven games combined.

Washington has used 10 different starting pitchers this season, stretching the bullpen thin. The Nationals relievers have a combined ERA of 4.74.

And while the lineup has produced more runs--the Nats are averaging 4.5 runs a game, up from 4.0 a year ago at this time--it has not been enough to offset the pitching.

"We've just been so inconsistent," Vidro said. "It's been hard because I think this ballclub has been better than last year's ballclub. For some reason it didn't happen for us."

The Nationals won't let that happen again. Or at least that's the plan.

"I think the reality is that years of neglect in scouting and player development caught up with us," Bowden said. "We knew that in the second half last year. We had hoped that Alfonso would've made the difference offensively, which he has."

But when August rolls around, even manager Frank Robinson expects a very different looking clubhouse.

"Before the season's over, there's going to be some changes," Robinson said. "It's just the natural thing to do."

To reach TODD JACOBSON:540/735-1974
Email: tjacobson@freelancestar.com