Fantasy Baseball 2009 - Washington National

Summary
The Washington Nationals are the official team of Washington DC and have competed in the East Division of the American Major Baseball League since 2005. The team has never played in the World Series and has yet to get a league title under their belt. However, hopes remain high for the team; with plans for a new stadium finally in the works.

History
Before the Nationals
The Washington Nationals is a newly formed team. Their foundation originated from the Montreal Expos. The Expos were eventually bought in 2002 by the Major Baseball League. They played their final game on September 29, 2004 in Montreal, a 9-1 loss to the Florida Marlins before 31,395 fans at Olympic Stadium. They moved to Washington the next season. In 2005 a vote was cast over the future of the Expos and the team was relocated to Washington.

The Senators
Washington had a baseball team before the Nationals named the Senators. The Washington Senators was the most famous team in the area, and they participated in the American League from its establishment in 1901 until 1972. As a reflection of their pedigree, in 1924 the team won the World Series; a feat far out of reach of the current team. The original Washington Senators was transferred to Minnesota in 1961 where the team was renamed the Minnesota Twins. A second Washington Senators (1961-1971) had a winning record only once in their 11 years. The second Senators moved to Arlington, Texas for the 1972 season and changed their name to the Texas Rangers. Washington spent the next 33 years without a baseball team.

The Nationals
The first game for the newly formed team did not go well. Proceedings opened with George W. Bush throwing the ceremonial first pitch on April 4th 2005. Despite a hopeful game opener with Brad Wilkerson batting to get the first hit for Washington, they lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 8-4. Fortunately, the Nationals reclaimed some face two days later, beating the Phillies at home 7-3. They would go on to finish the season 81-81.

During the next season, the game opener had an attendance that almost matched the record-breaking figure of the first game of the previous season. This match also went better, with the Nationals beating the New York Yankees 3-2. Things looked up for the Nationals as the unorthodox approach of inviting 36 pitchers to the spring training evidently paid off, giving rise to future stars Mike Bacsik and Micah Bowie. Unfortunately, a series of injuries put the Nationals to draw on every available resource for players and resulting in a 71-91 record for the season.

Despite these decidedly indifferent seasons, the Washington Nationals entered the 2007 season with their sights set on the National League East Title. However, the team performed terribly in the early stages, going 1-8 down and soon slipping to 9-25 after an eight-match losing streak. They were hit seriously by injuries in the bowling and batting camp, as the disabled list grew to an all-time high. With their confidence clearly deflated, the team lost a record breaking 120 games in one season.