Nats look to escape NL East cellar

By Bud L. Ellis

Since moving from Montreal to the nation’s capital for the 2005 season, the Washington Nationals have finished out of the NL East cellar just once in six seasons.

The Nationals hope to begin climbing up the ladder in the East this season. A 10-win improvement in 2010 followed back-to-back 59-victory seasons, and Washington hopes to move closer to .500 in 2011.

The offense figures to be better. Washington signed Jayson Werth to a seven-year deal in the offseason, giving the Nats a dynamite offensive producer with postseason experience. Adam LaRoche brings power and a great glove to first base. Rick Ankiel won a playoff game for Atlanta last season and is a speedy player in center field.

But pitching remains a question, especially with Stephen Strasburg out for most of the year recovering from surgery. Can Livan Hernandez put together another solid season as the top of the rotation, and what will the Nationals get from the rest of the rotation? The answers to those two questions may determine just how close the Nationals can get to .500 this season, especially playing in a division with perennial playoff team Philadelphia and defending wild card champion Atlanta.

The Nats play host to the Braves in the season opener on Thursday. The road schedule begins April 5 at Florida.

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Friday, March 25, 2011 at 9:48 pm by bud

Tags: Adam LaRoche, Atlanta Braves, Florida Marlins, Jayson Werth, Livan Hernandez, Major League Baseball, Philadelphia Phillies, Rick Ankiel, Stephen Strasburg, Washington Nationals news, Washington Nationals schedule, Washington Nationals tickets