Washington Nationals tickets are on sale to see if last season’s third place finish was a fluke or if the future truly does behold a winning baseball team. After all these years sacrificing for the intent of building a contending roster, the Nationals fans enter the stadium in 2012 expecting to at least see a team able to put up a fight. TheSeats has the Nationals baseball tickets to Nationals Park to witness just how far this team has come.

Washington Nationals Tickets on Sale

The Washington Nationals are not a contender, yet the fan base at Nationals Park could not be happier. The age of building the foundation appears complete and now all that construction will begin its fruition, fielding a truly competitive baseball team in the NL East. They enter the 2012 MLB schedule with a very starting rotation worth talking about and an offense that could actually support them.

For the past two seasons all the local baseball conversation has revolved around one player, Stephen Strasburg. Two years ago he impressed with a 5-3 record, 2.91 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 92 strikeouts in 68 months in 12 starts. Then last season he came back from injury to start 5 games and went 1-1 with a 1.50 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 24 strikeouts in 24 innings. He is still only 23 years old, so Manager Davey Johnson is still being asked to limit his innings. He appears to have the stuff of Hall of Fame pitchers, and the franchise does not want to burn this guy out before he delivers at least one Cy Young Award. Even if Strasburg falls short of the Cy Young in 2012, he could still be a part of an exceptional starting rotation.

Strasburg joins Jordan Zimmermann and John Lannan as part of the home grown rotation. General Manager Mike Rizzo decided to add a couple of hired guns to the mix. Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson are two worthy additions to team that means to drop the rebuilding label. Gonzalez is an inning eater, strikeout master, and proven winner. Jackson is a well-travelled man. He began his career in Los Angeles as a Dodger then traveled to Tampa, Detroit, Chicago, and Arizona before playing the second half of last season in St. Louis.

If the Washington Nationals win it will be because of this rotation and the bullpen. Brad Lidge, Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett, and Tom Gorzelanny are as solid of a middle relief as there is in the MLB. Drew Storen has proven himself has blossomed into a stellar closer. Last season he closed 43 games and only blew 5, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.13 WHIP. The Nationals do have an offense, but that offense specializes in the long ball.

Washington Nationals History

The Washington Nationals brought professional baseball back to the nation’s capital. They also saved a franchise that almost became the first MLB team in a long time to disband. The Nationals had been the Montreal Expos, but the league was forced to take over the club after its financial difficulties and decided to move it south.

As the Expos, Montreal played from 1969 to 2004 and went to the playoffs once. The Expos put together a few decent seasons in that time and introduced the league to Andre Dawson and Pedro Martinez, but eventually the attendance dropped. The ownership failed and had no interest in running the team any longer, so the MLB considered contraction after purchasing the baseball team. Thankfully, the need for an even number of teams forced the league to become creative. Montreal Expos tickets became Washington Nationals tickets and the league eventually found a new owner in Ted Lerner.

The Washington Nationals have tried to build a team under a tight budget, acquiring enough young talent to make a serious run at the NL East division title, the NL pennant, and the World Series before free agency forces the team to begin the process again. It appears the time is approaching when the prospects are ready to make that run. TheSeats has the Washington Nationals tickets to see a game at the Nationals Park to see just how close this team is to contending.