Washington Nationals

Tonight, the Milwaukee Brewers (7-5) come into Washington, D.C. to face off against the Nationals (5-7).

Trips to Miami have been less than stellar for the Washington Nationals, and through the first two of a three-game set against the Marlins, nothing has changed.

The Nats blew leads on consecutive nights and were up against Florida ace Josh Johnson in the series finale. A Marlins' sweep looked about as likely as Pudge Rodriguez hitting into a double play.

When Stephen Strasburg was pulled from his start on August 21, the Nationals organization immediately knew it was a huge loss, competitively and financially.

Widely considered the "most-hyped draft pick in draft history," Strasburg was supposed to be the savior for the Nationals for years to come.

When he made his debut in June, every sign pointed to that notion becoming reality.

After the Washington Nationals’ 11-2 humbling at the hands of the Atlanta Braves, Ryan Zimmerman promised a better effort from the club on Tuesday. Then Zimmerman went out and backed up that promise.

Despite Zimmerman’s tremendous effort, a lack of clutch hitting and a tenth inning error by Jayson Werth allowed the Marlins to win 3-2 on a walk-off hit by Donnie Murphy.

After an exciting winter and encouraging spring, the Washington Nationals could not wait for Opening Day 2011 to arrive.

After an uneventful 2-0 loss at the hands of the Atlanta Braves though, the day turned out to be one the Nats will want to forget. The day was marred by umpire Tim Welke's amoeba-like strike zone, frigid temperatures and ominous dark clouds.

But it's Opening Day, so let's forget about the bad and look for the silver lining.

After an up-and-down winter and an encouraging spring, the Washington Nationals start their 2011 campaign Thursday with a matinee matchup with the Atlanta Braves.

While every Nationals fan is salivating over what 2012 and 2013 may bring, 2011 will be an interesting and important year for the organization going forward. Let this season forever be known as "The Foundation."

With their first winning spring training now in the books, the Washington Nationals today finalized the 25-man roster that they will take north to Atlanta for Opening Day.

Here are the important pieces of that roster and my predictions for how they’ll do in 2011. Of course, they do not take into account injuries, demotions, promotions and guys named Stephen Strasburg returning from Tommy John surgery.

Position Players

Opening Day 2011 is less than a week away, and the Washington Nationals have yet to officially name their starting center fielder. Unofficially, the Washington Post is reporting that Rick Ankeil will get the nod, essentially banishing Nyjer Morgan to Syracuse to start the season.

WASHINGTON NATIONALS 

Last Year: 69-93, 5th in NL East  

Manager: Jim Riggelman 

PROJECTED LINEUP 

C - Ivan Rodriguez (R) 

1B - Adam LaRoche (L)

2B - Danny Espinosa (S) 

3B - Ryan Zimmerman (R) 

SS - Ian Desmond (R)

LF/CF - Roger Bernadina (L)/Nyjer Morgan (L)/Rick Ankiel (L)/Mike Morse (R)

RF - Jayson Werth (R) 

Bryce Harper. 

Boy Wonder. Second Coming. Must be seen to be believed. 

Name your descriptive phrase and it’s been used on Bryce Harper. 

It would appear that Harper is on the fast track to the Hall of Fame and will have a career similar to Ken Griffey Jr or Alex Rodriguez.

Or he could flame out and have a career similar to Gregg Jefferies or Billy Beane.

But right now, in the middle of Spring Training 2011, do you draft Bryce Harper? And if so, where?