And don't even get me started on the baserunning

And don't even get me started on the base-running.The one redeeming factor was that he was only 25 years old Physically, he has a lot of time left. Major League Baseball, however, won't give him many more chances. Mike Rizzo's made no secret of his desire to build a clubhouse of high-character guys, and it's not hard to imagine a scenario where Dukes has already played his last game as a National.Still, Dukes is one of the most talented players on the team, and any scenario where the Nationals surprise people in 2010 will require a big bounce-back year from Dukes.Fourth outfielder: Willie HarrisHarris continued tobe one of the small joys for Nationals fans. He takes a walk, will steal a base, plays a great left field (a passable center, and in a pinch he can stand next to second or third), works hard and never complains. Although you'd really rather use him as a bench guy, there's no shame in starting him, and it's still puzzling how the Nationals managed to start Elijah Dukes in center for weeks and even Austin Kearns once before finally handing the job to Harris after Lastings Milledge was demoted.He also backed up his surprising power surge in 2008 with another 7 dingers.

Willie had 7 homers in his first 1405 plate appearances in the majors, and 20 in 817 since coming to Washington. Willie credits Lenny Harriswhy shouldn't weIn the MinorsJustin MaxwellAt this point, Maxwell could be most notable as a symbol of the team's failure to build minor league depth. He's 26 and still gets the Baseball America top-ten prospect treatment, a sure sign of the weakness of the Nationals' system. The rap on Maxwell for years was that he just couldn't stay healthy. Well, this year, like Dukes, he finally got the biggest monkey off his back, but he still wasn't very good. He needs to at least make the team this year, or time may run out on him.Roger BernadinaBernadina had been rising nicely through the Nationals system, never really a top prospect but successful enough at every step to keep moving. He also strikes out way too much, and it's not clear whether his bat will ever play against top competition.

Then, he lost most of 2009 with a broken ankle, just at the time he might have gotten an extended look in center after the Milledge demotion. He'll turn 26 next year, and this needs to be his year if he's going to have a career If he does, he might make Willie Harris trade bait. Think about Wily Mo Pena's combination of fatal flaws and tempting upside, and you're in the ballpark. Jim Bowden drafted a lot of these types of players over the years, and not many panned out. He plays a decent right field and has put up big outfield assist numbers over each of the last two years. Quick hands, good raw power, not much with the glove, and no strike zone awareness. Hood was a two-sport player signed away from Alabama football, and he faces the challenge of developing from an athlete to a ballplayer.

Between Burgess, Maxwell, Dukes, Milledge, Pena, and Hood, maybe just maybe one of them will turn into something.Free AgentsCourtesy of MLB Trade Rumors, here's this year's list of free agent outfielders:Left fieldersGarret Anderson (38) - Type B, not offered arbMarlon Anderson (36)Jason Bay (31) - Type A, offered arbEmil Brown (35)Marlon Byrd (32) - Type B, offered arbJohnny Damon (36) - Type A, not offered arbDavid Dellucci (36)Cliff Floyd (37)Joey Gathright (28)Matt Holliday (30) - Type A, offered arbReed Johnson (33)Laynce Nix (29)Greg Norton (37)Wily Mo Pena (28)Dave Roberts (38)Gary Sheffield (41)Fernando Tatis (35) - Type B, not offered arbMarcus Thames (33)Randy Winn (36) - Type B, not offered arb Center fieldersRick Ankiel (30)Rocco Baldelli (28)Marlon Byrd (32) - Type B, offered arbMike Cameron (37) - Type B, not offered arbEndy Chavez (32)Coco Crisp (30)Darin Erstad (36)Jeff Fiorentino (27)Ryan Freel (34)Joey Gathright (28)Jerry Hairston Jr. (34)Reed Johnson (33)Corey Patterson (30)Scott Podsednik (34) Right fieldersJermaine Dye (36) - Type A, not offered arbBrian Giles (39) - Type B, not offered arbVladimir Guerrero (35) - Type B, not offered arbJoey Gathright (28)Eric Hinske (32)Geoff Jenkins (35)Austin Kearns (30)Jason Michaels (34)Xavier Nady (31) - Type B, not offered arbRandy Winn (36) - Type B, not offered arbFJB's TakeThe Nationals outfielders aren't bad. In fact, you could win with this group, if the rest of your team was average or better.The problem is that the rest of the team, especially the pitching, is pretty much terrible And the outfielders aren't getting better. Hopefully there's going to be improvement from Dukes, but that will probably be offset by declines from Morgan and Willingham. And by the time the cross-your-fingers rotation of Strasburg-Zimmermann-Free Agent-Lannan-Stammen is ready to compete and win, these guys will be on their way out of the league.