Strasday. Strasmas. No matter what you call it, Stephen Strasburg’s debut for the Washington Nationals was a landmark day for a franchise that hasn’t had many since it returned to the nation’s capitol.

Stephen Strasburg, the top pick in last year’s draft, who breezed through the minors in less than a year, whose fastball clocks in at over 100mph, whose arsenal of pitches includes a curve that falls off the table and a changeup that is thrown faster than many major leaguer’s fastballs; a man who appreciates a good pair of socks; a man who will save baseball in Washington D.C., nay the world, pitched his first major league game against the Pittsburgh Pirates last night.

Strasburg threw about 90 pitches. The Pirates took about 90 swings. Very few made any contact.

The kid is alright.

I’m sad for my Phillies because I don’t see them having a lot of success against this guy over the next 10 or 15 years. But the last super prospect came and went in the blink of an eye basically, so for all of baseball, I hope Strasburg’s stay is a little longer.

Then again, if all of his games end like this and he decides he wants to try his hand at professional fishing or maybe open up an HVAC repair service back in San Diego, well that just might be okay by me too.

Well I’m really starting to lap the field here. But being the tallest, quickest and best looking of the group, it’s only to be expected.

We continue with our PostView of the 30 MLB teams. Loyal readers probably need to prepare themselves for the frightening possibility that my 10 teams will be comepleted in the near future while the other two tortoises may never reach the finish line. It’s a grim reality, I know.

Today we take a gander at the Colorado Rockies. Yet another ingenious expansion name. We are the Rockies. We are mountains. You will not climb us.

The Rockies are a pretty good young team. They have two solid young starting pitchers in Ubaldo Jimenez and Jorge De La Rosa. De La Rosa is one of those names you can say for about five minutes straight when you’re stuck in traffic to entertain yourself. Trust me.

Thier lineup is packed with solid hitters at nearly every position. Troy Tulowitzki is the star of the show and in Denver I’m guessing he is enjoying life.

The bullpen is a little shaky right now, but this is a team that has made the playoffs two of the last three years, and a team I think will play in October again. Excuse me Rocktober. You see, these names really are brilliant.

Predictions:

Team MVP - Huston Street…if he can return from the DL and lock down 9th innings like he did last year, the Rockies have a good chance of winning the division or wild card.

X-Factor - Carlos Gonzalez…Carlos Gonzalez (Cargo to his friends and fantasy owners) haunted my dreams for a 5 day period last fall when he hit somewhere north of .500 in the divisional round against the Phillies. He’s a top prospect from Oakland in the Matt Holliday trade and projects as a 5 tool player. He’s out with a tight hamstring currently, an injury that this writer encourages him to, “rub some dirt on it and get back out there.”

Standings - 1st in the NL West.

Okay, so our 30 teams before the start of the season timeline was a little aggressive. So was our 500 word limit that regularly ran over for each post.

In hopes of simply completing my 10 required teams and in the way a desk calendar attempts to give you a brief chuckle in the morning, I now give to you my incredibly inadequate PostView of the 2010 Seattle Mariners.

Cliff Lee. Chone Figgins. They are new. Add them to Felix Hernandez, Ichiro and … Well that’s really the question isn’t it? Subscribing to the stars and scrubs strategy of the fantasy world, the Mariners have a few players of supreme talent and some other guys that are very enthusiastic clappers on the bench.

However, the Angels have lost some players, Texas still plays in Arlington and Oakland’s everyday lineup includes only one guy I could potentially pick out of a crowd, so anything is possible in the AL West this year.

And hey, if it doesnt work out, we’ll always re-swap those prospects for Cliff Lee in Philly.

Predictions:

Team MVP - Ichiro…he’ll have to score 120 runs for them to have a chance

X Factor - Anyone claiming to be the cleanup hitter. Ichiro and Figgins will get on base for Seattle, but who will drive them in? Jose Lopez can’t do it all by himself from the six hole. Milton Bradley…just ask fans in Cleveland, San Diego, Chicago and I’m guessing most of the other spots Milton has spent a year–and only one year–in lately.

Standings - 2nd in AL West

The Nationals are a baseball team. They are not the national team however, that would have to be the Yankees…some might say the Cubs…but it is definitely not the Nationals who lost more games than anyone in baseball last year. My favorite team plays the Washington Nationals 19 times a year. Out of those 19 games I expect to win 16 or so. These are all indirect ways of saying the Washington Nationals are a franchise with some problems.

The Nationals were the Expos. Wait let me backup…Before that, I’m told the Nationals played in Washington D.C. and then moved to Minnesota to become the Twins. A new team was founded in Washington and called themselves…the Nationals. They stayed for awhile and then moved to Texas to become the Rangers. The Expos were their own team, and decided to move to Washington to become…that’s right…the Nationals. It’s all very confusing, but if you’re a National’s fan…well maybe you should prepare yourself for an eventual move because this marriage of team and town seems to be a fleeting one at best.

But there is promise in the Nationals organization. They have been relatively bad for some time, and have been able to parlay that badness into high draft picks. This past year, the Nationals selected Stephen Strasburg (Cy Young reincarnated) with the first pick of the first round. Stephen Strasburg throws the ball 214 miles per hour. Or 100 miles per hour. One of those two. He has some pretty terrifying secondary pitches. He likes to smile.3

Stephen Strasburg, as well as the first pick of this coming year’s draft, are supposed to be the twin pillars of the Nationals franchise in the coming decade.

But that’s tomorrows news. Let’s look at what’s happening today in the nation’s capitol.

C – Ivan Rodriquez
1B – Adam Dunn
2B – Adam Kennedy
3B – Ryan Zimmerman
SS – Cristian Guzman
LF – Josh Willingham
CF – Nyjer Morgan
RF – Elijah Dukes

UTL – Willie Harris, Ian Desmond, Jesus Flores

Rotation – Jason Marquis, John Lannan, Scott Olsen, Craig Stammen, J.D. Martin

Closer – Matt Capps

The reality is that the Nationals will be able to field a really respectable everyday lineup. Morgan is a fine leadoff hitter and has the ability to swipe maybe 40 bases. Adam Dunn is a lock to hit 40 home runs with 100 RBI. Cristian Guzman usually has about 175 singles at the end of every year. Pudge, Willingham, and Kennedy are all solid veterans that can help a locker room cope with losing 95+ games.

Ryan Zimmerman is the star of the team and after a 2009 that saw him compile a .292/30/106 line…as well as a 30 game hitting streak, Nationals fans have to be excited that the team has an All Star locked up for the foreseeable future.

But back to that losing 95+ games bit…The Nat’s pitching staff—while I’m sure are a bunch of nice guys—is going to really struggle in that division this year. The Phillies, Mets, Braves and Marlins all boast fastball killer lineups. And that’s what the Nationals have. A bunch of pitchers that throw fastballs that don’t move so fast.

Marquis is a great third or fourth starter on a playoff bound team, but he’s no ace. Lannan is really aided by their huge stadium, but he quietly posted nice numbers last year. Scott Olsen looks to regain some of the promise he showed in Florida while Craig Stammen and J.D. Martin are two gentlemen I couldn’t pick out of a lineup…and I watch this team 10 or 15 times a year. Washington’s other young Zimmerman, Jordan, will miss the 2010 season following surgery to his pitching arm. If you’re a home run ball collector, you could have a worse business plan than buying season tickets in the left field seats this summer.

Matt Capps had varying levels of success as Pittsburgh’s closer over the last few years, but he’s probably not going to surprise anyone this year. If he notches 30 saves…it’s a good year.

The real story in Washington is when will Strasburg arrive, and how will he do against major league hitters? If you haven’t seen his stuff, take a look at this. Those college kids look like they’re swinging blindfolded up there, but who knows what major league hitters will do against him…

Predictions:

Team MVP – Zimmerman…he’s simply their best player on offense or defense and he should improve upon last year’s legitimate breakout campaign

X-Factor – Again it’s Strasburg…if he comes up in the early summer months and dominates, fans in Washington will give the team a free pass for another season or two

Standings – 5th in the NL East