The Nationals are the worst team in baseball, and their supposed savior doesn’t look like he’s in any rush to bring back the hope

SCOTT JACOBS

When the Expos moved to Washington, giving the nation’s capitol a baseball team to call it’s own, there was hope and optimism that the Nationals would play nothing like their D.C.predecessors, the epically bad Senators.

There was the dream that a shiny new ballpark, and a fan base thirsting for the national pastime would translate to a longevity of winning and soon thereafter championships.

But since baseball let it’s grips off the Expos, and handed the Nats over to D.C. there has been nothing but struggles, and hardships, and an increasing number of empty seats.  That beautiful new Nationals Park finds itself mostly empty on gamedays as the Nats, who at one point this season were on track to eclipse the 1962 Mets for baseball purgatory, struggle to find their footing, and develop a team that D.C. can embrace.

But with a horrible record comes a great draft pick.  But unlike the NBA, or NFL there is no guarantee that the guy you pick will be there come opening day.  Yes, some NBA players defect to Europe, but the NBA has a slotted salary cap for it’s draft picks, so no team ever has to worry about ponying up absurd dollars for a top notch prospect.

Such is not life in Major League Baseball, where the window to sign draft picks is not long.  Come midnight on Monday, if you don’t have your pick signed, he’s no longer a piece of your team.  Baseball, unlike basketball or football, does not give it’s teams rights to their picks for X number of years.  Instead they offer up the ultimatum: if you don’t pay you’ll never see your prospect play– for you that is.

And there in lies the Nationals.  The team that needs all the help it can get, is a mere few days away from losing prized first overall pick Stephen Strasburg to the 2010 draft.  All because baseball lacks a normal draft salary ceiling to help teams sign their future studs.  And because of that, guys like Strasburg, represented by money-whoring agent Scott Boras, can wait for the absurd dollars he thinks he’s worth, while a franchise reeling, is left powerless.

The Nats have already reportedly offered Strasburg the largest rookie contract ever, but apparently it hasn’t appeased the obnoxious Boras, who is looking for Dice K type money for his 102 mph superhero.  The Nats don’t appear to be willing to pay that kind of money– and who can blame them—but taking a stand doesn’t help their cause.  The Nats knew before they picked the San Diego State pitcher that he wanted record dollars, but they probably figured he would go down eventually.

With just a few days until the deadline, the only thing going down is Washington’s chances to lock up a player they desperately need.

But it doesn’t look good.

If the Nats can’t look up Strasburg, they will get next year’s second overall pick, to go along with the number one pick that they’re likely coasting towards– again!

But what good does it do to have picks, when you can’t sign the guys?

Unlike the NBA or NFL you can’t trade picks either.  So Washington couldn’t even try to trade the first pick for a host of prospects that were already under contract, because the baseball lawas don’t permit that.

So as the Nationals plummet towards another horrendous year– they’ve yet to have a winning season since moving to D.C.– one of the pieces that was supposed to help them get back on top is on the verge of fishing back ashore for another needy team to snap up.

Not exactly the situation the Nats dreamed of back in 2005, when the world was their oyster, and the baseball field their cathedral.  Not when their hats and t-shirts were flying off the shelves as if they were a team like the Yanks or the Sox.

Unfortunately for Washington, their baseball team is really bad.  And baseball’s strange rules are doing nothing to help them get any better.

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