Washington DC

It’s the night of the Non-Tendered, a scary, Halloween-like time when perfectly healthy baseball players are culled and cut from the body that loved and nurtured them.

It’s the baseball version of “The Night of the Living Dead."

There are plenty in the Natosphere that want Mike Rizzo and the Washington Nationals to make a big splash and sign a bunch of free agents this winter to improve the product on the field.

After two straight 100-loss seasons, I'm sure Rizzo is tempted to make a run at Matt Holliday, John Lackey, etc.

But prudence, rather than exuberance, should rule the day.

If you take a good look at the Nats' 2010 lineup, the hitters are credible enough to imitate a wild card caliber team.

It didn’t take Jim Riggleman long to make his first decision as full-time manager of the Washington Nationals.

Starting shortstop Christian Guzman will be moved over to second base in 2010. The Nationals became concerned with Guzman’s range at short last year, and now coupled with off-season surgery on his throwing shoulder, it makes sense for the Nationals to move Guzman to second base.

Guzman’s move to second base presumably opens the door for Ian Desmond to take over the starting shortstop job for the Nationals in 2010.

It’s hard to tell what is a sicker part of the entire Washington Redskins-Jim Zorn saga, the fact that Daniel Snyder is arrogant enough to publicly humiliate his head coach without firing him, or that Jim Zorn has enough resolve to stick it out for the money.

Obviously, Snyder’s foolishness has the staying power of 10 years of futility, but there is something admirable about Jim Zorn’s refusal to buckle to the whim of a petulant billionaire .

In 2007, John Lannan came out of nowhere.

An 11th-round afterthought in 2005, Lannan climbed the minor league ladder quickly, going a combined 12-3, 2.87 before finishing the season with the Nationals where the 22-year-old went 2-2, 4.15.

The Washington Nationals are 19 games away from securing the top pick in baseball’s amateur draft for the second straight season.

You can decide if congratulations or condolences are in order.

The Washington Nationals are on a pace to finish the season at 56-106, four games worse than last year’s woeful effort.

Their wish list for next year, however, is not nearly as long as their record would suggest.

Could a team needing to get out of the basement be any more obvious than the Washington Nationals? At 21-49 (as of June 25), the Nats look to be leading the races to the top pick in the 2010 entry draft. 

Maybe that isn't such a bad thing, considering the fortunes of Stephen Strasburg being taken first overall by the struggling franchise this summer. Agent Scott Boras is aiming for a six-year, $50 million contract for his prized possession. With the way Jim Bowden ruined this franchise with players like Paul Lo Duca and Dmitri Young, Strasburg is a steal.

If you do not know who Stephen Strasburg is, then it is time for you to wake up. Before Friday night, Strasburg was already arguably the greatest college pitcher of all-time. After his performance Friday, he may have separated himself from the field.

Strasburg added to his legacy by throwing a no-hitter against Air Force in what was probably his last home game. He did not disappoint the record-sized Tony Gwynn Stadium attendance; striking out 17, while only walking two.

Last season, the Washington Nationals lost 102 games, and their accompanying statistics bore that out. They were 13th in runs per game, 15th in home runs, and dead last in slugging percentage.

This year, the Nationals are on track to lose 108 games, but this time, their statistics seem to make their bad start an aberration.

After 20 games, the team is scoring a league-average 4.5 runs per game, is sixth in the league with 22 home runs and a .270 team batting average, and tied for second with 87 walks.