Washington Nationals : Chronicling Fail
It’s no secret that the Washington Nationals are the worst team in Major League Baseball and have become a national joke. As a resident of the area, I have paid close attention to the struggles of the Nats this season, and have been waiting for the right time to put together this piece. With the arrival of the All-Star break, and today’s firing of Manager Manny Acta, I felt the time was right. The Washington Nationals have endured one of the most ridiculous seasons that anyone can remember, and have been besieged by failure in all aspects of the franchise, not just on the field. In an effort to preserve this tremendous failure of a season, we have attempted to document it below. There was certainly no shortage of content when it comes to Nationals’ Failure.
December 19th : Nationals fail to sign Mark Teixeira
February 3rd : Nationals show interest in Manny
February 10th : Nationals fail to sign Ray Durham
February 11th : Dunn, Nationals agree to 2 year, $20 million deal
February 17th : Nationals Prospect falsified identity and age
February 18th : The “Player to be named later”
February 22nd : Odalis Perez signs contract, then decides he wants more
February 22nd : Feds expand probe into Jim Bowdens bonus skimming
March 1st : GM Bowden resigns over skimming probe
March 2nd : New Mascot Unveiled
March 2nd : More Nationals Mascot Fail
March 4th : Scott Olsen’s Mouth, and Smoking Habit
March 16th : The Nats are Taverez’s Drunk Hook-Up
March 23rd : Nats’ beat reporter embarrassed to cover them
April 1st : SI.com Zimmermann spelling fail
April 7th : Stan Kasten Welcomes Philly Fans
April 8th : Nationals unveil hideous statues
April 10th : Kastan isn’t sorry for inviting Philly Fans
April 10th : Obama will not toss out first pitch on opening day
April 12th : Describing the Statue Fails
April 12th : Construction around park slumps
April 12th : Tickets still available for Opening Day
April 15th : Prized Prospect Lastings Milledge sent to Minors
April 18th : Statue of HOFer Walter Johnson offends family
April 18th : Elijah Dukes benched for signing autographs for little leaguers
April 18th : Duke’s replacement, Bernadina, breaks ankle
April 18th : ‘Natinals’ Uniform Fail
April 26th : MASN Commercials : Don’t forget the Nats stunk last year too
April 29th : Hanrahan replaced as Closer
May 15th : The Nats’ Top 10 Real ‘Defining Moments’
May 15th : MASN ads define split
May 15th : Jordan Zimmermann Bat Spelling Fail
May 16th : Grounds crew can’t get tarp on field, fans come help
May 16th : Exploding Sausages Launched into Crowd
May 21st : Jim Bowden’s Twitter feed is funny
May 22nd : About those MASN ‘Defining Moments’
May 24th : The O’s colored Nationals Hat
May 24th : Bobblehead Spelling Fail
May 31st : Nat’s dissed by MASN on Twitter
June 3rd : Jim Bowden breaks his silence
June 3rd : Kosher Hot dog Fail
June 5th : Why Nationals Park sucks
June 7th : Fireworks Fail
June 7th : Timekeeping Fail
June 7th : Another Nationals Closer
June 10th : Failing to televise a rain delayed 9th inning comeback
June 10th: …and less than 100 fans watched it in the Stadium
June 11th : Season Ticket ‘Holde’ Gift Fail
June 14th : Acta firing reported a month early
June 21st : Understanding the Nats’ Bullpen
June 24th : Red Sox Nation takes over D.C.
June 25th : Another Nats Bullpen Shuffle
June 28th : MASN Spelling Fail
June 30th : Milledge and Hanrahan traded to Pirates
July 1st : Nationals Bullpen blows another one
July 1st : Elijah Dukes sent to Minors
July 6th : Scoreboard Spelling Fail
July 6th : Nationals Fireworks Fail Redux : Blow load early
July 8th : Austin Kearns Baserunning Fail
July 9th : Checking in on Dmitri Young, the Nat’s $5 Million Minor Leaguer
July 9th : Rob Dibble on the Nats : “It’s Pathetic”
July 12th : End first half with Intentional Balk
July 13th : Nats fire manager Manny Acta
July 13th : E-mail Apology to Fans
That seems exhaustive enough, but sadly I am sure I am missing plenty. If you have any additional links, feel free to add them in the comments section. Go Nats!