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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Slick-fielding Adam LaRoche will bring his smooth glove and power stroke to the nation’s capital in 2011.

The 31-year-old first baseman has agreed to a two-year deal with the Washington Nationals, according to published reports. LaRoche is reportedly to make $16 million during the deal.

LaRoche hit .261 with 25 homers and a career-best 100 RBIs in 151 games for Arizona last season. He has hit more than 20 home runs in every season since 2005, including a career-high 32 with Atlanta in 2006. He has hit 161 career homers and is a .271 career hitter.

Just as important, LaRoche is one of the top fielding first basemen in the game. The Nationals have emphasized defense during the offseason, trying to shore up their defense.

In LaRoche, the Nats also add another power bat to go with Jayson Werth, who signed a seven-year deal with Washington at baseball’s Winter Meetings in November.

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Dibble made ridiculous comments that Stephen Strasburg needed to man up and stop asking the manager and trainer to come out and get him. This was all before it was revealed that Strasburg needed Tommy John surgery, but stupid comments nonetheless.

A lot of Nationals fans already didn’t like Dibble’s commentary on games, finding him too biased toward the home team.

They won’t have to worry about that anymore now that Dibble is no longer employed at the station.

Prior said that it was obvious it was going to be bad news when the Nationals wanted him to have a second MRI.

From going through all of that many times before, Prior said the second MRI is simply to confirm the bad news of the first one.

Prior, who is now pitching in an independent league, said that the hoopla surrounding Strasburg has been way over the top.

He said that the pressure on Strasburg would be enormous for anyone, no matter the age, and that they just need to let the guy go pitch.

Stephen Strasburg’s road to returning to pitching begins Friday on the operating table.

Thirteen days after suffering a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his right pitching elbow, Strasburg will undergo surgery that will keep him out of action for the next 12 to 18 months.

The Washington Nationals’ rookie phenom created quite a stir after being promoted from Triple-A in June. In 12 starts, Strasburg went 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA, 92 strikeouts and just 17 walks in 68 innings.

Not bad, considering Strasburg is one year removed from being the No. 1 overall pick in the player draft. He drew plenty of attention in his abbreviated rookie season, as the cellar-dwelling Nats sold out Nationals Park and packed in huge crowds on the road every time Strasburg toed the rubber.

He still remains a candidate for National League rookie of the year, although it’s likely he won’t win since he’s out for the rest of this year.

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It is the worst fears of the Washington Nationals come true: the MRI results of their top young pitcher are in, and it’s not good news.

Stephen Strasburg, who grabbed the attention of the baseball world with his 100 mph fastball and powerful changeup, will miss at least the next 12 months with a tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow.

Strasburg, who brought the Nationals plenty of attention during his 12 starts this summer, may not pitch again until 2010. He will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the tear.

In those 12 starts, Strasburg went 5-3 with a 2.91 ERA, striking out 92 hitters while walking only 17 in 68 innings pitched. Just as important, he packed stadiums everywhere he pitched, bringing a postseason-like atmosphere every fifth day to the cellar-dwelling Nats.

Strasburg suffered the injury last Saturday in the fifth inning against Philadelphia. After being diagnosed originally with a forearm injury, a second MRI revealed the tear and gave the Nats the news they feared most.

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The next two weeks? There will not be any starts from Stephen Strasburg for the Washington Nationals?

The rest of the phenom’s rookie season? That remains to be seen.

The top pick in last summer’s draft, Washington’s hot-shot rookie will go on the disabled list later this week after suffering a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm.

It’s the second disabled list trip for Strasburg, who suffered shoulder stiffness last month while warming up for a start against Atlanta.

At 5-3 on the season, Strasburg had emerged as a leading candidate for NL rookie of the year. The hard-throwing right-hander drew crowd wherever he pitched, and he brought attention and hope to an otherwise dismal season for the Nationals.

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Whether or not Stephen Strasburg’s rookie season is over after 12 starts remains to be seen.

What can be said with certainty is the scene of the Washington Nationals’ rookie phenom shaking his pitching arm after a fifth-inning delivery, then walking off the field, was far from comforting.

The official diagnosis is a strained flexor tendon in his right forearm, suffered after a solid 4 1/3 inning performance Saturday against Philadelphia. Strasburg had allowed one run on two hits with no walks and six strikeouts when the injury was suffered.

The Nationals denied a published report earlier Sunday stating Strasburg was done for the year, but further examination will occur in the coming days. It’s a foregone conclusion he will miss his next start.

Strasburg, the hard-throwing right-hander who was the top pick in last year’s draft, is 5-3 with a a 2.91 ERA, 92 strikeouts and 17 walks in 68 innings. He experienced shoulder stiffness while warming up for a start against Atlanta in July, and spent three weeks on disabled list.

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The numbers from his last start out looked more like what we expect from Stephen Strasburg.

The Washington Nationals’ rookie sensation looked much sharper Sunday in his second start following his three-week stay on the disabled list for shoulder stiffness. Strasburg fanned seven hitting and did not walk a batter in five innings, allowing just one run while taking a no-decision in Washington’s 5-3 home victory over Arizona.

Strasburg’s first start off the DL, on Aug. 10 against Florida, wasn’t as smooth: six earned runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings pitched in an 8-2 defeat.

The Nationals have not announced their pitchers for this weekend’s series at Philadelphia. Strasburg would be set to pitch on Saturday. He has amassed 119 innings pitched this season at three levels: 22 innings for Double-A Harrison, 33 1/3 innings for Triple-A Syracuse, and 63 2/3 innings pitched for the Nats.

With the big-league club, Strasburg is 5-3 with a 2.97 ERA in 11 games.

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Strasburg experienced tightness in his shoulder while trying to warm up in the bullpen for his latest start.

The team scratched him from his schedule start and had him undergo an MRI and X-rays, both of which came back negative.

The Nationals want to exercise extreme caution with their prized young right-hander, and he already had an innings limit anyway.

With the team well out of the playoff race, this is certainly the right and only move to make.