That was just an abysmal series in Cincinnati this weekend. Three rookie pitchers for the Reds beat the Nationals this weekend. Michael Lorenzen, who pitched today for the Reds, probably should have given up about 4-5 runs today, instead his final line was 6 1/3 innings pitched, 2 earned runs, 1 (ONE) hit, 6 (SIX) walks, and 4 strikeouts. Yeah the guy walked 6 batters and really should have walked more, but the Nats inability to be patient at the plate allowed him to work into the 7th inning only allowing one hit. What a joke. Ryan Zimmerman and Wilson Ramos both came up hacking on the first pitch right after Lorenzen had issued a 4 pitch walk to the previous batter. In both situations, runners were on first and second. Isn't it common baseball knowledge that when a guy is having trouble throwing strikes, you don't swing at the first pitch, you make him throw you strikes? Don't help a guy out when he's struggling, especially when you have a chance to score some runs if you're patient.
The hitting was pretty bad, but that's been the case for the past 10 games now. The Nats have scored more than 3 runs just 2 times in their last 10 games. That has to improve, but just two weeks ago, the Nats had a high scoring potent offense. I understand the offensive production will fluctuate a bit. However, when that's the case, the pitching has to come through. Besides Strasburg, who was finally placed on the DL, the starting pitching has done its job. The bullpen and bullpen management on the other hand, was nothing short of atrocious this series against the Reds. Taylor Jordan came in and did a great job in relief of Strasburg on Friday night, but his final pitching line doesn't tell the whole story, His final line was 4 2/3 innings, 6 hits, and 3 earned runs. He left having given up only two of those runs though. A struggling Aaron Barrett was brought into a 3-2 game to help get the Reds an insurance run. Barrett's ERA in May was 8.10, he can't get anybody out right now, especially not in a big situation. So why is he pitching in a close game? It happened again today, the Nats tied the game in the top of the 7th and Barrett came in and promptly blew the game wide open. Sure, Matt Grace had something to do with that, but Barrett had no business being in either of those games based on how much he's been struggling. Casey Janssen blew the Nats lead in yesterday's game by giving up a 4 run 8th inning. The bullpen is completely undependable right now.
The bottom line is the bullpen needs help. That's why this isn't all on Matt Williams. Using Barrett in big situations while he's clearly struggling, that's on Williams. Not having many reliable bullpen options, that's on Mike Rizzo. I don't think I've ever written a bad thing about Rizzo, I'm a firm believer that he's one of the best in the game at what he does. This bullpen isn't going to cut it though. Losing Craig Stammen was a huge blow to the bullpen. Putting Tanner Roark in the rotation was another blow to the bullpen. Add in that Tyler Clippard was traded this past offseason and you essentially have Drew Storen, Casey Janssen, Matt Thornton, and then a whole bunch of rookies or second year guys. When you're aspiring to be a World Series contender, you can't have 4 rookies/second year guys in your bullpen and just hope it works out. It's early for trades to start happening, but I think it's time to pull the trigger on a bullpen piece. Not many teams are going to admit that they're selling this early, but one of the teams that may not be too far away from a fire sale is the Oakland Athletics. Yeah, the same Athletics that Tyler Clippard plays for. I don't know what it would cost the Nats to re-acquire Clip, but it's definitely worth picking up the phone and calling Billy Beane to see what he'd want. I probably wouldn't give up a top 10 prospect to get him, but a top 20 prospect in the Nats system seems reasonable.
There's no need to panic following a horrific three game series against a struggling Reds team (they were 1-10 in their past 11 games). Anthony Rendon is on his way back (assuming he doesn't suffer another setback) and Doug Fister should be back sometime in June. That gives the lineup and rotation a boost, but the bullpen has no help in sight. Unfortunately, it has the potential to keep costing the Nats games, so it's something that we can only hope is addressed sooner rather than later.
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