Ladies and gentlemen, the stage has been set for the Washington Nationals’ 2023 regular season! With that, I’m ready to share my preseason analysis and predictions.

I think the team will be marginally better than last year, but the devil is in the details. By the end of the season, we could see them transition from “bad but competitive” to truly respectable, with key building blocks beginning to perform as such.

Let’s start with the build-up to setting the Opening Day roster before diving into predictions. 

Throughout March, the Nationals have made Spring Training roster cuts. Those alterations – though unofficial reports, as opposed to official transactions – culminated this weekend, trimming the roster down to the requisite 26 men.

The entirety of my sports fandom is steeped in one tried and true tradition — my favorite teams don’t win championships.

Whether it’s the Baltimore Orioles, the Washington Redskins or the Detroit Pistons, my teams simply don’t win titles. The Orioles’ last title came in 1983, the Redskins in 1991 and the Pistons in 2004, before I began rooting for the big red and blue.

It’s the same issue with Virginia Tech. The Hokies have never won a team national championship, and the one time they came close I had yet to start grade school.

The Virginia Tech women’s basketball program carries a unique burden as they advance through the NCAA Tournament. They have the chance to lift the blanket of misery that I, and many others, have repeatedly found in the sports realm.

Let’s be honest with ourselves — Virginia Tech is a long way from the Final Four, let alone a championship game. Four-seed Tennessee might be the worst team remaining on the Hokies’ way to  Dallas, and a trip to the Lone Star State won’t be any easier. All this is why I’m trying not to get out over my skis, but it’s becoming harder and harder to not get my hopes up.

For the last handful of years, it’s been a foregone conclusion that any time the Nationals unlock a star player, they’re destined to leave the team sooner than anyone who follows the club would prefer to see.

Bryce Harper walked away at the end of his contract. So did Anthony Rendon. Max Scherzer, Trea Turner, and most recently Juan Soto were traded away. Plenty of other talented players left when there were clearly productive seasons still ahead of them, as well.

At last, the franchise might be rewriting the narrative.

Don’t take this for granted. You are currently witnessing the Gilded Age of Virginia Tech basketball.

For the second time in two seasons, a Virginia Tech basketball team has earned the right to be called ACC Champions. Kenny Brooks and the women’s team ran the table in Greensboro this week, culminating in a 75-67 win over former ACC powerhouse Louisville.

Sunday’s win featured all of what makes this year’s women’s team elite. Georgia Amoore dropped 25 points, despite shooting just 6-18 from the field. ACC Player of the Year Elizabeth Kitley added another 20 points, while the Hokies’ collectively held the Cardinals to just 37.3 percent shooting.

The Hokies are flirting with a 1-seed in the coming NCAA Tournament, something this school has never experienced before.

But if you’ve been paying attention, there have been a lot of things happening in Blacksburg since 2015 that we haven't seen very often.

MLB Insider Hector Gomez reported this weekend that Nationals third baseman Jeimer Candelario would be added to the Dominican Republic roster in the World Baseball Classic (WBC).

Candelario replaces Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of the Toronto Blue Jays as a first baseman.

We shouldn’t dismiss the honor this is for Candelario. Surely, representing his home country playing the sport he loves has been one of his dreams for a long time.

Still, focusing specifically on how this decision impacts the Washington Nationals, there are pros and cons. The obvious downside is that he’ll be away from the team. However, I’d argue this announcement is more beneficial than detrimental for the Nationals.

Adley Rutschman

When the college football season ends in December and January, my inner sports fan struggles to keep up the enthusiasm.

The Detroit Pistons have been irrelevant for more than a decade and are not close to competing for a spot in the NBA playoffs. NASCAR is a fun sport to consume, but it’s not quite as enjoyable as it used to be when I was younger. And while I’m a huge baseball fan, my Baltimore Orioles have spent the last several seasons putting an embarrassing product on the beautiful diamond in Camden Yards.

Things changed in 2022.

Washington’s fans got their wish – although not under the best of circumstances.

After Derek Hill suffered a hamstring injury in the third inning while running to first base, top prospect James Wood made his much-anticipated Spring Training debut in Wednesday ‘s game against the Yankees.

This wasn’t overly surprising. Wood was bound to see the field at some point during big league camp, and he was listed on Wednesday’s lineup card as part of the Nationals’ traveling roster.

Still, the extended look Wood received offered an exciting glimpse into the future.

During the 23 years I’ve lived up here in Ashburn, Dan Snyder has done plenty of things I’ll never forgive, not the least of being he ran the franchise so horribly, I gave up my season tickets to his team 13 years ago. The quality of the fan experience, team etc. was so bad, it just felt like he was taking our money while laughing at us as suckers.

But now it’s even worse. I’m having to write something to defend him.

It’s not to defend all the cries of how awful a person, owner, or general human being he may be. I’m still on board with all that, but this defense revolves around the notion he’s trying to prevent Jeff Bezos from making a bid on the team, and how horrible that is.

That situation, no matter how much you hate Snyder, does have roots in good business strategy.

Let it be said first that nobody can stop Bezos from making a bid on the team, any more than anybody can stop you from knocking on someone’s door and making an offer to buy their house. In both cases, however, the owner is not obligated to accept the offer. The team is not a public company and he’s the majority owner, so he can do what he wants, even if he takes less money.

Corey Dickerson

I often find myself fascinated by what sports fans value in constructing a roster. Sometimes they prefer veterans who have seen success in the past, but have struggled recently. In other situations, they’ll talk themselves into unproven prospects who appear to have solid ability, but have seemingly limited upsides.

In Washington, the conversation surrounding left field seems to have taken on a life if its own. Should it be 34-year-old Corey Dickerson’s job to lose, or would turning to a less proven player in his late 20s be more worthwhile?

It’s a topic I introduced in my piece addressing the top five spring storylines, but it’s proven to be worth doubling down on.

Dickerson has been a decent but unspectacular hitter and defensive liability for his entire career, whereas Alex Call and Stone Garrett have succeeded everywhere they’ve been but not reached the majors in a limited capacity until last season.

Which of those two archetypes should the Nationals be chasing this spring?

MacKenzie Gore Will Start For The Nationals Today

Identifying storylines that matter during Spring Training isn’t easy. It’s a ramp-up period for players, during which their statistical production isn’t very important.

Yet for some players, performance during Spring Training can make or break their role on the team – or even determine whether they make the roster.

In many ways, that reality holds true this year more than most seasons for the Nationals. Although some players – most of whom are young – are guaranteed roles as everyday contributors, there’s a lot of competition up and down the roster this spring.

If you’re searching for something intriguing during what may otherwise seem like a sluggish period, here are the five uncertain areas I think we’ll learn the most about this spring.

Brad Glenn (left), Andrew Breiner (center) and Josh Gattis

So much for continuity in Virginia Tech’s football coaching staff.

With Scott Satterfield moving from Louisville to Cincinnati and in need of a play-caller, he decided to poach old friend Brad Glenn from the Hokies – a man he coached alongside at Appalachian State from 2005-08.

Glenn spent 2022 as Tech’s passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach. While on the surface that doesn’t seem like a substantial loss for an offense that had minimal success through the air, Glenn is the only member of Tech’s on-field staff with any experience coaching quarterbacks.

That’s a problem, especially when dealing with such an important position. So the Hokies will have to dive back into the well for another QB guru.

Should we be scared that they’ll fall into hiring someone they know?