They're Ice Cold

Just like that, the Nats go from being on fire, to being ice cold, going 1-6 in their last 7 games. They've scored just 15 runs in those 7 games, an average of 2.14 runs per game. It doesn't matter how good your pitching staff is, you aren't going to win games when you're scoring such a small amount of runs. They have a tough schedule ahead as 12 of their next 16 games are against teams with a winning record, so they're going to have to start scoring soon. Especially since 40% of your starting rotation is currently on the DL. Sure Tanner Roark is filling in fantastically for Doug Fister, but Stephen Strasburg's spot in the rotation remains a black hole.

Anthony Rendon is back which is going to help a ton (he's already contributing as he went 2/4 in his season debut last night). The lineup may need some tweaking to spark some offense though. Ryan Zimmerman is just 3 for his last 33 which has dropped his batting average down to .217. This is a tough lineup to switch around though. You could switch Escobar and Rendon in the lineup, which would provide you with more power in the 3 spot and Rendon would still see good pitches with Bryce hitting behind him. The 5-6-7 spots are completely unproductive right now though as all 3 hitters are cold at the same time. You could move Ramos up to 5, drop Zimmerman to 6, and drop Desmond to 7. I don't know if that would do much for you though because like I said, none of those hitters are seeing the ball well right now. In two weeks, all 3 will probably be hot and this will be a non issue, but until then, this team has to figure out creative ways of scoring runs.

Now to the bigger issue. I have no clue how Matt Williams didn't get tossed last night, he kept his cool way better than I would have been able to do. I'm one of those people who usually laughs and makes fun of the fans who blame the umpire or referee for losing a game, but in this case, I'm going to be one of those fans. Marvin Hudson and Rob Drake have no business umpiring Nats games. Marvin Hudson is the umpire who tossed Bryce and Matt Williams a few weeks ago because Bryce wouldn't get back in the box (although he was in the box until Hudson started chirping at Matt Williams). He then lied and said tossing Bryce had nothing to do with not getting back in the box. Marvin Hudson is from Georgia. The Atlanta Braves play in Georgia. Marvin Hudson the Braves fan should not be allowed to umpire Nationals games. Rob Drake also tossed Bryce Harper a few weeks ago in Arizona after he rung Harper up on a check swing and refused to ask for help from the 3rd base umpire. Rob Drake also blew a big call last night and called Harper out at first on a play that Harper actually beat by about a half of a step. The bases should have been loaded with 1 out with the Nats trailing 2-1. Instead, its 2-1 with 2 outs and runners on 2nd and 3rd. Rob Drake is from Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Phillies play in Pennsylvania. Rob Drake the Phillies fan should also be banned from umpiring Nationals games. As I said, Matt Williams kept his cool better than I would have. Between his challenge not being overturned and then the call against Bryce at first, I would have been hot. Dirt would be on home plate and all 3 bases would have been coming with me back to the clubhouse.

Clint Robinson then would have been able to go replace first base and get a good feel for where the base is actually located because that would come in handy in the bottom of the 9th. Clint, why are you sleeping at first in the bottom of the 9th with the game on the line? Your run matters, but it isn't the main run that matters. That run belonged to Michael Taylor who was on second base and would have scored easily on a Rendon single. Thank you for walking and moving Taylor up to second, but dude, stand on first base if you have to. Don't even take a lead, I don't care. There's no reason you get picked off first by the catcher to end the game. Overall, a frustrating game. Gio turned his night around after the first inning and pitched great, the offense sputtered just like it has in the previous 10 to 15 games, there were a few bad calls, and a bonehead play to end the game.

Oh and by the way, baseball challenges are becoming a joke. Denard Span singled in the bottom of the first inning on Wednesday against Toronto. Toronto challenged and won the challenge. It was a close call, could have gone either way, but there was no disputable evidence to overturn the call. Last night, Danny Espinosa steals second, the ball beats him there by 2 steps, but Addison Russell misses the tag. Espinosa is called out and the Nationals challenge. The call stands, although there was pretty clear evidence that Danny's foot touched second base before a tag was applied. The point here - be consistent. As Scott Allen of The Washington Post pointed out today, the Nats are 3 for 9 on challenges this year, while opponents are 12 for 12. There's something going on there, those numbers should not be that skewed, especially when the rest of the league is around 40% on challenges. If you want to do it like the NFL does where there has to be indisputable evidence to overturn a call, that's fine with me. In that case, Espinosa would have remained out and on Wednesday, Span's single would have stood. However, when I see Span's single overturned and the call against Espinosa at second stand, it kind of makes me lose faith in this whole replay thing.