Adam Dunn hits home runs. So do other people, but most of them aren’t as far as his. Dunn now has 11 dingers. Last year, the most anyone on the team hit was 14. It’s May 11th, there are something like 22 weeks left in the season. So he’s on pace for about 59 HRs. Chances are this year other people are going to top that 14 HR mark as well, not just Dunn. Zimmerman has 6, he’s on pace for 32 HRs. Which would make me right, that he can hit 30+. I’m just saying, when it finally happens, remember who’s been predicting it for 2 years. Also, Dukes, Willingham and Flores are on pace for 21 each. And that’s with Willingham playing part time.
This weekend was a display. Dunn had a tape measure shot on Sunday. He’s hit one in 3 straight games. He and Willingham each hit 2 on Sunday. The team hit 8 of them this weekend.
The Nationals hit a total of 117 HRs last year. That put them 15th out of 16 in the NL for homers. They had 5 guys in double digits in HRs. This year, they’ve hit 37 HRs. They’re 4th in the NL. They’re on pace to hit 200 HRs. They will probably pass last year’s total some time in late July or early August. It’s a much more power heavy team, and while some thanks needs to go to the addition of Dunn and Willingham, it’s also because some of their young hitters are starting to grow up. They’ll might have 5 guys hit 20 HRs this year, and they may have as many as 7 or 8 guys who get into double digits. If Johnson’s wrist is still a little weak, and gains some strength as the season goes on, he could add some power, too. He did hit 23 HRs in 2006. This team no longer has to wonder how they are ever going to come back if they’re down by 4 or 5 runs. They have the guys to do it. Now if they could just figure out how to stop the opponent from doing the same thing, they might win some games.