It's August 3rd and I'm about ready to start a petition for the Nationals to fire Matt Williams. Williams wasn't the only reason that the Nationals just got swept by the Mets which forced a virtual tie for first place, but he's a big reason for it. My last blog was about Jonathan Papelbon and how I didn't personally like the move mainly because of what it may do to the clubhouse. However, I did say that Papelbon is a very good pitcher. Having an 8th and 9th inning of Storen and Papelbon is a luxury most teams in the Majors do not have. Sure you can blame these losses on the fact that the offense couldn't manufacture any runs and I'd tell you that you have a valid point. The Mets do have one if, if not the best, starting pitching staffs in the Majors though. If you were expecting the Nats to drop 5+ runs every night against the Mets, then in all honesty, you have no clue what you're talking about. This was going to be a series where runs come at a premium, which means as a manager, every move counts.
There's no doubt that going 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position is going to back to haunt you. The hitting in this series was absolutely awful. I could go on an on about how I have no faith in the Nationals offense in big games, but there's no point in doing that because it's already well documented. This is the same Nationals team that went 2 for 24 last October in the NLDS against the Giants. They can't push runs across in big games. It's an awful problem to have, but its also a problem that you can probably still win with because of the Nationals pitching. You need an experienced and competent manager to navigate you through the 2-1 and 3-2 games though. The Giants have that in Bruce Bochy and the Orioles have that in Buck Showalter. The Nationals do not have that in Matt Williams.
This brings us back to the Nationals having the luxury of having Drew Storen and Jonathan Papelbon. These two guys have two of the lowest ERA's among relievers in the National League. In the biggest series of the season to date for the Nationals, their two best relievers pitched exactly ZERO innings. Not one appearance, not one inning. It's not like these games weren't close. The Nationals lost 2-1 in 12 innings on Friday and then 3-2, with the winning run being scored in the bottom of the eighth on Saturday. Are you kidding me? You're out of excuses Matt Williams. Completely out of excuses. You were a fine third base coach with the Diamondbacks and I think that's probably where you need to be. That way you don't have to even think about a bullpen decision.
Felipe Rivero, who has turned into quite a good reliever by the way, gave the Nationals two fantastic innings on Friday night. Then in the bottom of the 12th, Matt Williams decided to trot Rivero back out there for another inning of work. Keep in mind, Rivero was a starter up until 2014, at which point the Nationals converted him to a reliever. That means this entire year, Rivero had been pitching in a relief role where he would throw one or two innings. Rivero comes out for his third inning of work and promptly gives up a walk off homer. I'm still baffled, so I'd like to again point out that Jonathan Papelbon and Drew Storen are still just hanging out in the bullpen at this point. The excuse for Friday night was that the Nationals had two relievers who weren't available, but they wouldn't say who. I would assume Storen was one of them because he had pitched the previous two nights. I would also assume if the Nationals happen to run out of pitchers Friday night, Storen would have happily come in the game. There was no reason Rivero went back out there for his third inning of work. When it backfired, Williams had to come up with a quick excuse so he went with the famous "some of my guys weren't available". Whatever the case may be it was a garbage decision.
Saturday night though you're assuming all your guys are available except probably Rivero and Barrett who went 2 innings on Friday. In a 2-2 game in the 8th inning, you're most likely thinking here comes Storen. You're wrong. He's hanging out in the bullpen with Papelbon again! Talk about building camaraderie, those guys spent three days together without even touching a baseball! Matt Williams decides to go with matchups instead and bring Matt Thornton in the game instead. Thornton has been great for the Nationals again this year, but in a tie game in the 8th inning of the biggest series of the year, you'd probably like Storen out there. Matty boy makes the wrong call again, Nats lose 3-2.
I just can't watch it anymore. If you're going to lose big games, lose them with your best guys out there. Use some common sense. Would you bench Bryce Harper in favor of Tyler Moore because you like the matchup better? No, you wouldn't. So why would you do it tied 2-2 in the 8th inning of a a meaningful division game? Your two best relievers saw the mound at Citi Field a combined zero times in three games. I can't get over that. Unfortunately, I don't see the bullpen management ever getting better. Over a year and a half into the job, Williams still can't get a feel for the appropriate time to use his guys. Like I said, not being able to push runs across falls on the lineup, but not using your two best relievers in the most meaningful series of the year, that falls on the manager. The Nationals and Mets finish the regular season facing off against each other in New York and I'm honestly terrified at the thought of Matt Williams possibly managing a game that decides whether or not the Nationals make the playoffs. Bud Black is available, just saying.
No comments:
Post a Comment