Washington Nationals bailout coming?

Okay, the headline is a tease, but has anyone outside of the Beltway noticed that the Washington Nationals are on pace to match the woeful 2003 performance of the Detroit Tigers?

As the James Thurber baseball short story phrased it, "You could look it up."

The '03 Tigers finished 43-119, for a .265 "winning" percentage.

After tonight's game, which was of course a loss, the Nats are 14-39, a .264 percentage.

The fabled 1962 inaugural New York Mets lost a record 120 games, but the team generally considered to be the worst in the modern baseball era was the 1916 Philadelphia Athletics.

Back to the Nationals: What is it with Washington and rotten baseball teams? Since their move from Montreal in 2005, the best the Nats could come up with is a .500 season. The original Washington Senators team (1901-1960) was the doormat of the American League, as was the city's expansion replacement (1961-1971).

But since Washington DC is so skilled at taking our money, don't rule out a Nationals bailout.

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