Catcher 2005 Brian Schneider           

Zimmerman, on the other hand, won both the Silver slugger and the Gold Glove in 2009. Zimmerman over Castilla, and it’s not even close to being close. Left Field 2005: Ryan Church .287-9-42 Preston Wilson .261-10-432009: Josh Willingham .260-24-61 Church played regularly until he cracked his back and neck on the PNC Park fence in a dramatic win against the Pirates. Josh Willingham’s numbers are skewed because he didn’t play every day until late May. Willingham doesn’t play outstanding defense but he’s certainly good enough. But he struck out too much, didn’t hit nearly enough homers and played good defense. They never did. No contest: It’s Morgan Right Field 2005: Jose Guillen .283-24-762009: Elijah Dukes .250-8-58 Clearly, Guillen had the better year. Both players were outstanding defenders, and though Dukes is the more talented player, Guillen flat outplayed him. Funny how both of them were clubhouse problems. Guillen wins this one. Catcher: 2005: Brian Schneider .268-10-442009: Jesus Flores .301-4-15 Granted, Flores didn’t play the entire season, but we’ve seen enough of him to make a fair comparison with Schneider. Though he’s not quite as good a defender as Schneider was then, he will in the end be far better. Flores wins. Starting Pitchers 2005: Livan Hernandez 15-10, 3,982009: John Lannan 9-13, 3.88 I’m taking Lannan in this comparison, which may make you scratch your head just a bit.

But remember, Livan pitched at RFK Stadium, a park so large that it shaved three-quarters of a run off of a pitcher’s ERA. Lannan pitched at Nationals Park and had the better ERA. This was a tough choice, but Lannan wins by a tad. 2005: Esteban Loiaza 12-10, 3.772009: Craig Stammen 4-7, 5.11 No contest here. Loiaza had a comeback that most players only dream of, and Stammen struggled in his first major league season. Loiaza takes it. 2005: John Patterson 9-7, 3.132009: Jordan Zimmermann 3-5, 4.63 2005 was Patterson’s one great year before injuries eventually forced him out of baseball. Sadly, Zimmermann was just beginning to show what he could do at the major league level when he was lost to rotator cuff surgery. Zimmermann is the better talent but Patterson had the better year. Patterson wins 2005: Tony Armas 7-7, 4.972009: J.D. Martin 5-4, 4.44 Armas was one of those pitchers with a great deal of talent but nothing to show for it. Martin was one of former GM Jim Bowden’s reclamation projects that actually worked. Martin, selected in the first round of the draft by the Cleveland Indians as the compensation pick for the loss of Manny Ramirez, blew out his arm in the minors and was signed by Washington. He got better as the year progressed and should be in the rotation in 2010. Martin over Armas. 2005: Ryan Drese 3-6, 4.982009: Ross Detwiler 1-6, 5.00 Drese was claimed off of waivers from the Angels and had one good start before things went south.

Detwiler was horrid early in the season but responded well to his demotion. He returned in September and pitched brilliantly, going 1-1 with a 1.90 ERA and a .220 batting-average against. Detwiler beats Drese because of that great September. Closer: 2005: Chad Cordero 2-4, 1.82, 47 saves2009: Mike MacDougal 1-1, 3.60, 20 saves “The Chief” wins walking away. Though he always “almost” blew every save, he never did He was the one sure thing on that 2005 team. MacDougal was certainly good enough, but will serve the Nationals better as the setup man when Drew Storen takes his place sometime next year. In the final tally, the 2009 team won eight positions while the 2005 team won just five There was one draw. That seems strange, I know, because that 2005 team was 22 games better. From an individual point of view, the 2009 Nationals are more talented, but as a team, when you take into account the depth of both teams, the 2005 Nationals were far better. Take a look at the ERA’s of the 2005 Nationals’ bullpen: Chad Cordero: 1.82Hector Carrasco: 2.04Luis Ayala: 2.66Jason Bergman: 2.75Gary Majewski: 2.93Joey Eischen: 3.22Mike Stanton: 3.58Jon Rauch: 3.60 The bench was just as deep, featuring (at one time or another), Jamey Carroll, Deivi Cruz, Junior Spivey, Gary Bennett, Carlos Baerga, Terrmel Sledge, Jeffrey Hammonds, Rick Short, Endy Chavez and Brendan Harris. Over the last five seasons, the Nationals have gotten deeper at the top but thinner down below.