First Quarter Review

Senators Lead Surprise Stories of 2006

When Pistol Pete wrote his projections of the National League races two months ago, the Washington Senators were described as also rans likely headed for a fourth place Capitol Division finish behind the Florida Marlins, Seattle Mariners, and Houston Astros. With the season nearing the quarter-pole, the Senators are sitting at 28-8, three games ahead of the second-place Mariners. So, how are Gordo's Gladiators getting it done?

• Washington is second in the league in runs scored and home runs trailing the Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals, respectively, for top honors.
• The Senators are 12-3 at RFK Stadium, the best home record inthe league.
• The Senators are a perfect 9-0 in decisions against left-handed pitching, and 22-0 when leading through seven innings, tied with Seattle for the top mark in the league.
• Washington has the fifth-best team ERA in the league--3.80.

Pistol did project that the Sens would need to beat up on lesser teams to contend. Through their first six series, Washington has done just that, posting a 16-2 mark against the Astros, White Sox, and Devil Rays. The Senators split series against the Blue Jays and Mariners. Most impressively, Washington swept the favored Marlins, 6-0, in an early season test of their progress.

Chone Figgins should be a candidate for MVP given his importance to this team. He is having an incredible season offensively, and his flexibility keeps him in the lineup most everyday. Mark Teixeira surprisingly trails secondbaseman Ron Belliard for the team home run lead, and Jose Valentin is getting his fair share of at bats at third at the expense of Hank Blalock. There are some holes, however, especially in the outfield where Jose Cruz, Jr., and former Montreal Expo Brad Wilkerson strikeout with regularity. The fate of the Sens rests on the ability of the rest of the team to offset these black holes.

On the bump, Miguel Batista (1.77, 12 saves) will be hard challenged to keep his current pace throughout the season. In the rotation, rookie Scott Baker is showing signs of fatigue and may be sent to Oklahoma City in the next few weeks. Dan Haren will probably have to serve as the rotation's stopper for the Sens to stay in the race.

The team most hurt by the Senators' hot start is undoubtedly their RFK patrons, the Nationals. Hoping for a quick resurrection of their sagging attendance after two years on life support in Quebec, the Nats have seen coverage of their team reduced because of the Sens' surprising success, leaving the Nats--and their beefroid-injecting leftfielder--fighting for coverage deep in the newspaper.