This year's Nats know what they're playing for

In another couple of weeks the Nats will start Spring Training for the 2010 season. What you, as loyal fans, really want to know is how is this team going to play? Well, me too! What I will tell you first, is that everyone, from the Lerner family to Drew Storen and Danny Espinosa, care very much about what is going on in DC on and off the field. As I and the players - Zimm, Dunn, Willingham, Morgan, Lannan, Stammen, and Clippard, to name a few, as well as manager Jim Riggleman, GM Mike Rizzo and team President Stan Kasten and new arrivals like Jason Marquis, Matt Capps, Brian Bruney, and Ivan Rodriguez - made the rounds from local health care hospitals, to The USO at Fort Belvoir, to a local Children's Hospital, one thing was perfectly clear: This group of men and women mean business! They want to WIN baseball games, but more importantly, they want to do it while being present in the community. Why would that matter, you might ask? They need to know who they are playing for and what effect winning will have on the local and loyal fans. The players are hungry, even angry (NO ONE likes to lose), and most of the new players have World Series rings. The team looks better on paper, but to steal Jim Riggleman's line, "We may look good on paper, but we still have to play out every game." Not one player, fan, team rep, owner, or broadcaster, wants this year's team to fail. We are all in it to win it! Winning a Championship will not come easy, and the other 29 teams are not just going to hand over the trophy. But with total commitment all the way from ownership to the last fan, we can prevail - I've seen it happen before! Again, a special thanks to John Guagliano and his entire staff for including me in a memorable week during the Nats Winter Caravan! Also, look out for my next blog, The "Young Bucks" want in the game... -RKD