Love For Termel Sledge

If you haven't seen it already, ESPN's Jon Sickels takes a question about the Nats' outfield in 2005. The premise of the question is a little odd - assuming Jose Guillen plays centerfield - but the bottom line is that Sickels likes Termel Sledge in 2005. Among other things, he notes:

Sledge hit .286/.357/.515 on the road last year, but only .250/.314/.406 at home. Getting out of the Olympic Stadium dungeon should do him a lot of good. We don't know exactly how RFK Stadium will play, of course, but a major improvement in Sledge's numbers is certainly possible.

I'm not sure why he calls Stade Olympique a "dungeon," but it played at a 95/96 park factor in 2004, after being neutral to slightly hitter-friendly in prior years. Given that our analysis suggests that RFK will play to about a 96 park factor, I wouldn't be surprised if Sledge's home/road breakdowns would stay relatively the same. However, another year of experience under his belt and the fact that he's coming into his prime should help more than anything. Here's the 2005 Termel Sledge slogan: Expect Better Than Mediocre Things.