The Nationals' 2012 season ended with an absolute gut-punch of a loss in the wee hours of Saturday morning, Oct. 13. After the way it went down, surely Nationals fans will need a few days before being able to fondly look back on the excellent season, but we'll try to do that for them here.
What went right
The team as a whole seemed to arrive a year earlier than expected. This happened, in part, because of Adam LaRoche's career year, Ian Desmond rounding into a bona fide All-Star shortstop and a dominant top-to-bottom pitching staff. We also can't forget Bryce Harper arriving on the scene and becoming the second teenager ever with a 20-home run season.
What went wrong
Actually, a decent amount. Outfielder Michael Morse and closer Drew Storen missed several months to start the season with injuries. Ryan Zimmerman got off to an awful start until a cortisone shot in his shoulder helped get him on track. Jayson Werth lost half his season after a broken wrist. Catcher Wilson Ramos tore his ACL and missed most of the season. Even Desmond only played 130 games and Bryce Harper wasn't brought up until a month into the season, either. And, of course, there was the Stephen Strasburg innings limit, that was a topic of discussion from start to finish in 2012.
MVP: Manager Davey Johnson. What he did with this bunch under the circumstances was outstanding.
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LVP: The timing of the Strasburg situation. Everyone believes he has the proper answer, but there was really no right answer for general manager Mike Rizzo and his Nationals. I wish they would have been more creative once it appeared they were going to contend, but overall I find it very ridiculous to continue to blame Rizzo for the circumstances. It will only rise to a fever pitch now that the Nats didn't advance past the NLDS.
Free agents to be: 1B Adam LaRoche ($10M club option), SP Edwin Jackson, P Chien-Ming Wang, RP Sean Burnett ($3.5M mutual option), RP Mike Gonzalez, P Zach Duke, IF Chad Tracy, UT Mark DeRosa
Gameplan heading into the offseason
I find it half-amusing, half-infuriating when I see people acting like the Nationals threw away their one chance at a deep playoff run by shutting down Strasburg. Look at the roster construction and note all the young players at key positions. There are more on the way, too. Also note that this team had the best record in baseball despite a good amount of adversity (see the "what went wrong" section above).
Simply: Just think it through. Rizzo doesn't have to do much this coming offseason, because he's already done so much good work building this club. Plus, don't worry about money. The Nationals owners (the Lerner family) are the richest in baseball. Yes, they have more dough than the Steinbrenners.
Two major things they'll need to address this offseason are Adam LaRoche at first base and Edwin Jackson/his rotation spot.
If they decide to let LaRoche walk, there are options that make sense. One is moving Michael Morse to first base, Bryce Harper to a corner outfield spot (where he's sure to end up eventually) and signing a free agent center fielder like B.J. Upton, Shane Victorino or Michael Bourn. I'd actually love Bourn as a fit here both offensively and defensively.
Another option if LaRoche walks is to move Ryan Zimmerman across the diamond to first base, which will eventually clear third for touted prospect Anthony Rendon.
Of course, it sounds like the Nationals are talking about a multi-year extension for LaRoche. That would be a mistake, in my view, by paying for a career year from an older veteran when there are plenty of other good options (above) that might improve the ballclub.
As for Jackson, it makes a lot of sense to bring him back, even on a multiple-year deal. I believe that's what the Nationals will do.
Ridiculously premature prediction for 2013
Behind a dominant Stephen Strasburg -- the 2013 NL Cy Young winner -- the Nationals win the World Series, which is the second title in DC baseball history and first since 1924.
