When this season began way back on Monday, April 6th, I said to myself "This season is going to be amazing, we're going to be eliminated from the playoffs and our best player is going to get choked out by a guy who never should have been on the team!" Alright, maybe I didn't say that to myself. I can actually safely say that no fan of any team has ever said that at the beginning of the season. I feel like ending this blog right here and just telling everybody to go back and read my blog from July 29th, which you should still do. The problem is, that blog, which was written a day after the Nats acquired Papelbon, only touches on how I and how many other Nationals fans are feeling about that idiot today.
The deeper rooted issue here is one that the Nationals may not address this year. It's one that I've mentioned before. It's an issue that's only getting worse and needs to be addressed as soon as the season concludes. When Mike Rizzo enters the conference room where he will face the Lerner family, he better have some great answers and a great plan on how he's going to right this ship. If he doesn't have any answers and a good plan to get back on track, he may very well be leaving without a job. That's right, the man who is responsible for making the Nationals a contender each of the past four years may be out of a job. Even if he does leave with his job, he should be working for free next year. The Lerners should tell him that every dime of his salary goes to paying Jonathan Papelbon's $11 million contract next year.
Jonathan Papelbon was a guy that nobody in the league was willing to touch. I can't stress this enough, a guy with an ERA in the mid 1's was unwanted. Nobody, especially a team fighting for a playoff spot, wants a guy on their roster who is going to screw up their chemistry in the clubhouse. In exactly one week, Papelbon pissed off the Orioles by nearly taking Manny Machado's head off and then he tries to choke out Bryce Harper for not running out a fly ball. In other news, Giancarlo Stanton, Mike Trout, Anthony Rizzo, and Kris Bryant have since filed for restraining orders against Jonathan Papelbon. Back to the choke out though, who are you to say ANYTHING to the National League MVP about running a ball out after you just blew the game open the previous half inning. Go pound sand Jonathan. I seriously doubt that Papelbon would have been willing to try and choke Jayson Werth out had he not run out a fly ball. I would have liked to see it though, because had he tried to choke Werth out, he would have gone home with a broken nose and a black eye. Papelbon's season and career might be over. He needs to drop his appeal with Major League Baseball, accept the suspension the Nationals hand him, and begin focusing on his tryout with the Liberal Bee Jays because that's about the only team in the United States that will let him play for them right now. The Nationals were 52-46 when they traded for Papelbon and are 27-30 since that point. Is all of that on Papelbon? No, but he sure did make it a lot worse. Drew Storen went on a downward spiral after the trade and Papelbon didn't even come in and pitch remotely close to as good as Storen had been pitching prior to the trade.
I could go on all day about Jonathan Papelbon, but it's a waste of time. The guy is a disgrace and may have thrown his last pitch for a Major League team yesterday. Mike Rizzo knew what he was getting when he traded for Papelbon. Rizzo is so stubborn and has such a big ego though that he didn't care because his main goal was getting Drew Storen out of the closer's role. Storen was (and still is) so far in Rizzo's dog house that he couldn't see the light of day. Rizzo won't let go of Storen blowing two games in the playoffs. What he won't realize and take credit for is the fact that he's to blame for both of those two losses as much as any Nationals player. In 2012, Rizzo decided to shut down Stephen Strasburg because he was coming back from Tommy John surgery. As great as Gio Gonzalez was in 2012, I would be hard pressed to say that Gio would have out-pitched Strasburg in game 5 against the Cardinals. Then in 2014, it was Rizzo's hand picked manager, Matt Williams, who pulled Jordan Zimmermann in the top of the ninth inning in a 1-0 game and went with Storen. Zimmermann was pitching a gem and got pulled anyways. Then in game four, Williams showed the world how terribly he could manage a bullpen by not letting Tyler Clippard or Drew Storen throw a pitch in a series defining game four. It's time to face the music, Rizzo. You are just as at fault for this season as anybody else is. In fact, you're probably more at fault. Your shutdown decision and your managerial choice are at the forefront for why this team has not succeeded in the playoffs. Your leadership again is the reason that this season will go down as one of the most disappointing seasons for a Major League Baseball team in recent history. The Nationals bullpen was never put in a position to succeed this season. Bringing in a middle reliever and a set up guy (I had only been calling for Joaquin Benoit for weeks) would have helped fix the problem. Bringing in Jonathan Papelbon and demoting Drew Storen only gave the Nationals a bigger headache.
I don't feel like its necessary to pour salt in an open wound and roast Matt Williams. He's in over his head. He doesn't know what he's doing and he showed that yesterday by letting Jonathan Papelbon pitch the ninth inning after fighting the Nationals best player. He can play dumb and say he didn't know the severity, but Steve McCatty and Rick Schu helped break up the fight. Matt Williams either saw it first hand or was told about it right afterwards. It's disappointing that after Bryce Harper shows you some support, you let a guy who just choked him go back out to the mound for the ninth inning. I get it though Matt, we had a game to win and he's your closer. Oh wait, it was a meaningless game because we were eliminated on Saturday. I truly hope he goes on to be a great hitting coach, but he doesn't deserve another shot at managing.
There are really only about ten to twelve players who should feel confident that they will be playing for the Nationals next season. There is going to be a lot of turnover both on and off the field. If I'm Mike Rizzo, I'm already putting together a plan for how I can fix this thing next year and what I'm going to do with Jonathan Papelbon. The Nationals will surely be looking for a new closer and a new manager, but the biggest question that remains is, will the Nationals be looking for a new General Manager as well?
Monday, September 28, 2015
Monday, September 14, 2015
Now You're Just Being Stubborn, Rizzo
I left for vacation with the Nationals five games behind the Mets with a three game head to head series looming. I came back with the Nationals nine and a half games behind the Mets and once again, in a free fall. A pathetic week from a pathetic team. The pathetic bullpen and pathetic managing was on full display. The Nats actually cut the Mets lead to four games before the three game series began on Monday. Mets fans were then pleasantly reminded that things could be worse than having Terry Collins as their manager. Matt Williams taunted Nats fans with poor bullpen decisions and a confusing bunt call. Mike Rizzo took it all in, watched the Mets sweep the Nationals, and still let Matt Williams board the plane to head to Miami with the rest of the team. The team seemed just as confused as the fans because even after an off day on Thursday, they looked lifeless, losing the first two games in Miami.
Mike Rizzo is making it hard on himself at this point. He assembled one of the worst bullpens in the Major Leagues and now he's hanging onto the manager of a lifeless team because its his buddy. Plain and simple, Matt Williams had no business boarding the plane to Miami after getting swept by the Mets. After letting Drew Storen implode on Tuesday night and throw 22 pitches (just 7 of those were strikes), he trotted him back out there the next night. In a tie game mind you. As you can tell, that ended well for the Nats. He also let Jonathan Papelbon pitch two innings on Tuesday night. Again, he threw him back out there Wednesday night in a game the Nationals were losing. He went from using them zero times in a pivotal series in late July to overworking them this series. It was a slap in the face to a fan base who had been calling for Williams to use Storen and Papelbon earlier in games and to use them in higher leverage situations. Not to mention, in a one run game on Tuesday night in the bottom of the ninth inning, Williams decided to bunt Anthony Rendon, who was two for four on the night, so that he could stay out of a double play. It was the ultimate middle finger to Nats fans. Anyone who says any differently is just delusional unless your argument is that Matt Williams is just that bad of a manager and doesn't understand how awful of a decision that was. I can't watch this team anymore with Williams managing. I actually refuse to, and you should too.
The fact that Williams is still managing this team makes me question what Rizzo is actually watching on a daily basis. It makes me think that he's really considering bringing him back next season. The Nationals schedule over the next two weeks (aside from a three game series against the Orioles) is absolutely atrocious. I'm worried that the Nationals will go 13-3 or something ridiculous over the next two weeks and then Rizzo will say that Williams has done a "masterful" job guiding the Nationals to an 87-75 season. They'll miss the playoffs and Rizzo will tell everyone he could have constructed a better bullpen and injuries played a big role in missing the playoffs. The Nationals will have a much different look to them on the field next year, but the only way they can be competitive is if they also have a much different look to them in the dugout.
Ultimately, I do have faith that Rizzo will let Williams go after the season. The list of candidates for the job should be a pretty short one. At the top of the list should be Bud Black, I don't think I need to go any further as to why. He has the knowledge and the experience it takes to win, that's the bottom line. If you're looking for another candidate with experience, then bringing Dusty Baker in for an interview wouldn't hurt. The final two candidates lack a whole lot of experience but are willing and able to think outside of the box and able to adapt to today's game, which is a huge plus. Dave Martinez, who has been Joe Maddon's right hand man for the past eight years, is going to be a hot name for any team with a managerial opening. Why wouldn't he be? He's been able to learn from one of the best in the game. Maddon is an excellent in game manager, great motivator, and a guy that players want to play for. Going with Martinez could be a huge step forward for a Nationals team that is going to be much younger next year. The last candidate that Rizzo may consider is former third base coach, Bo Porter. Porter got some managerial experience in Houston. Although he didn't win many games, the players liked him, he showed that he's willing to adapt to today's game, and he's not afraid to get fired up and show some personality during and after games. If I had to rank these candidates based on who I'd like to see in the dugout next year, I'd go Bud Black, Dave Martinez, Dusty Baker, then Bo Porter. I'd like to think that Black and Martinez would be far and away the top two candidates though.
It should be an interesting off season, but until then we can enjoy the Nationals going on a nice 13-3 or 14-2 run to finish the year. They'll finish three or four games out of first place, but they have to tease us a little bit and show us what should have been, right?
Mike Rizzo is making it hard on himself at this point. He assembled one of the worst bullpens in the Major Leagues and now he's hanging onto the manager of a lifeless team because its his buddy. Plain and simple, Matt Williams had no business boarding the plane to Miami after getting swept by the Mets. After letting Drew Storen implode on Tuesday night and throw 22 pitches (just 7 of those were strikes), he trotted him back out there the next night. In a tie game mind you. As you can tell, that ended well for the Nats. He also let Jonathan Papelbon pitch two innings on Tuesday night. Again, he threw him back out there Wednesday night in a game the Nationals were losing. He went from using them zero times in a pivotal series in late July to overworking them this series. It was a slap in the face to a fan base who had been calling for Williams to use Storen and Papelbon earlier in games and to use them in higher leverage situations. Not to mention, in a one run game on Tuesday night in the bottom of the ninth inning, Williams decided to bunt Anthony Rendon, who was two for four on the night, so that he could stay out of a double play. It was the ultimate middle finger to Nats fans. Anyone who says any differently is just delusional unless your argument is that Matt Williams is just that bad of a manager and doesn't understand how awful of a decision that was. I can't watch this team anymore with Williams managing. I actually refuse to, and you should too.
The fact that Williams is still managing this team makes me question what Rizzo is actually watching on a daily basis. It makes me think that he's really considering bringing him back next season. The Nationals schedule over the next two weeks (aside from a three game series against the Orioles) is absolutely atrocious. I'm worried that the Nationals will go 13-3 or something ridiculous over the next two weeks and then Rizzo will say that Williams has done a "masterful" job guiding the Nationals to an 87-75 season. They'll miss the playoffs and Rizzo will tell everyone he could have constructed a better bullpen and injuries played a big role in missing the playoffs. The Nationals will have a much different look to them on the field next year, but the only way they can be competitive is if they also have a much different look to them in the dugout.
Ultimately, I do have faith that Rizzo will let Williams go after the season. The list of candidates for the job should be a pretty short one. At the top of the list should be Bud Black, I don't think I need to go any further as to why. He has the knowledge and the experience it takes to win, that's the bottom line. If you're looking for another candidate with experience, then bringing Dusty Baker in for an interview wouldn't hurt. The final two candidates lack a whole lot of experience but are willing and able to think outside of the box and able to adapt to today's game, which is a huge plus. Dave Martinez, who has been Joe Maddon's right hand man for the past eight years, is going to be a hot name for any team with a managerial opening. Why wouldn't he be? He's been able to learn from one of the best in the game. Maddon is an excellent in game manager, great motivator, and a guy that players want to play for. Going with Martinez could be a huge step forward for a Nationals team that is going to be much younger next year. The last candidate that Rizzo may consider is former third base coach, Bo Porter. Porter got some managerial experience in Houston. Although he didn't win many games, the players liked him, he showed that he's willing to adapt to today's game, and he's not afraid to get fired up and show some personality during and after games. If I had to rank these candidates based on who I'd like to see in the dugout next year, I'd go Bud Black, Dave Martinez, Dusty Baker, then Bo Porter. I'd like to think that Black and Martinez would be far and away the top two candidates though.
It should be an interesting off season, but until then we can enjoy the Nationals going on a nice 13-3 or 14-2 run to finish the year. They'll finish three or four games out of first place, but they have to tease us a little bit and show us what should have been, right?
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
At This Point It's Comical
The Nationals are unofficially eliminated from the playoffs. I unofficially eliminated them way back on August 7th when they blew their 3 run lead in the 8th inning against Colorado. For those of you holding out hope though, you now can write this season off as one of the biggest disappointments in the history of Major League Baseball. So what's left, why even watch? Well, as I said above, the Nationals are unofficially eliminated. Technically, until they're officially eliminated which should happen sometime in mid-late September, they still have a shot. The real reason to still watch though is to watch Matt Williams drive this team even further into the ground. Furthermore, to see if this team actually gives up on Williams because that may be the only thing that could get him fired.
Mike Rizzo is delusional if he thinks that Williams is doing a good job. He's also delusional if he thinks the reason the Nationals are 6.5 games out of first place is because of injuries. Since Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, and Anthony Rendon returned to the lineup, the Nationals are 14-16. I don't think the Cardinals who are missing their best starting pitcher, their best hitter, their set up man, their starting fist baseman, and rookie Randal Grichuk who's hitting .284 with 15 home runs are using the injury excuse. Oh wait, that's because they're 85-46, they don't need any excuses because they're too busy winning.
Last night's loss against the Cardinals was able to show all of the Nationals weaknesses of the 2015 season in one game. If you hadn't seen a game all year and you were wondering why the Nationals are hovering around .500, you would have had no more questions after watching last night. There was poor defense, there was poor defensive placement, there was AWFUL bullpen management, and terrible relief pitching. All of that in one game. If all of that happened on April 23rd against the Cardinals, I may chalk it up to the Nats trying to find their groove and just getting back into the swing of things. On August 31st though, that's just who this team is.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the game tied 1-1, Kolten Wong stepped to the plate with runners on first and third with one out. If you're the Nationals, you're hoping for an inning ending double play. Wong is a fast runner though, so if you have any chance of pulling off a double play the ball has to be hit hard and your short stop and second baseman have to be playing at double play depth. Well what do ya know, Gio Gonzalez does his job and gets the hard hit ground ball to second base. The ball goes right past a diving Anthony Rendon into center field, the Cardinals score and take a 2-1 lead. By the end of the inning, the Cardinals led 3-1, all because the Nationals weren't positioned right. Is that on Matt Williams, is that on Mark Weidemaier, or is that on Anthony Rendon? I don't know, but it's a mental mistake that good teams don't make. It was a tailor made double play if you're playing at double play depth. It's honestly mind blowing that a Major League team isn't playing at double play depth with a runners on first and third and just one out.
Matt Williams takes the cake again though. The Nationals clawed back into this game scoring one run in the 6th to make it a 3-2 game and then took a 5-3 lead on a Ryan Zimmerman blast in the top of the 7th. Right after the Nationals took the 5-3 lead, I sent this text to a few friends "Now we get to watch Williams manage a close game, sit back and enjoy". It was too predictable. As a Nationals fan, you knew the Nationals weren't going to be able to hold a 5-3 lead because the bottom of the 7th inning was coming up. Plain and simple, Williams can't manage a bullpen. Williams went with Casey Janssen to pitch the 7th inning last night and I'm fine with that. The problem is when the Cardinals got their first two hitters on against Janssen, Williams should have called down to the bullpen to get Drew Storen warming. Instead, he warmed nobody and thought he was the smartest guy at Busch Stadium when Janssen got a double play. Then came the pitch around to Matt Carpenter so the Nats could face a good contact hitter hitting .333 on the year. At this point, Felipe Rivero is warming up, not Drew Storen. The Cardinals ended up scoring 4 runs in the inning and taking an 8-5 game. So quick recap - 1) the Mets had already won, 2) the Nats have a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th with two outs but with the Cardinals threatening, 3) Casey Janssen had thrown 20+ pitches already, 4) you leave Janssen in, never warm Storen up, and again your two best relievers never even touch a baseball in a tight game that you needed to win to keep pace. I didn't see the post game press conference, but I'll tell you what Williams said, "Well, I had to stick with Casey there because Drew and Thornton were unavailable. We'll just have to come ready to play tomorrow and hopefully get a win". After every loss, Williams will tell you at least two relievers are unavailable and that there's always tomorrow. Matt Williams managing career may not have many more "tomorrow's" because if he does get fired, there's no way any team gives him another shot after seeing how terrible he was for the Nationals.
Mets fans will tell you that Terry Collins is a bad manager, but on Sunday, Collins used Tyler Clippard to get the final out in the 7th inning and then let him pitch the 8th inning to ensure the Mets kept the lead. Matt Williams has never and will never do that. It would require him to go outside his comfort level, think outside the box, and do something that may actually win you a game. To not use one of your two best relievers to get you the final out in the 7th inning against a great team is poor baseball and poor execution. There are four games off the top of my head that I can think of that the Nationals should have won if not for Matt Williams managing this team. That's a difference of four games in the standings, instead of 6.5 games back, you would me a manageable 2.5 games back. This team can not reach its potential and will not win with Matt Williams as the manager. Unfortunately, Mike Rizzo thinks that Williams is a genius and he's not going to fire him unless the players clearly give up on him. I have to tell ya, if I'm a player in that clubhouse, I'm pretty close to giving up on this guy.
Mike Rizzo is delusional if he thinks that Williams is doing a good job. He's also delusional if he thinks the reason the Nationals are 6.5 games out of first place is because of injuries. Since Ryan Zimmerman, Jayson Werth, and Anthony Rendon returned to the lineup, the Nationals are 14-16. I don't think the Cardinals who are missing their best starting pitcher, their best hitter, their set up man, their starting fist baseman, and rookie Randal Grichuk who's hitting .284 with 15 home runs are using the injury excuse. Oh wait, that's because they're 85-46, they don't need any excuses because they're too busy winning.
Last night's loss against the Cardinals was able to show all of the Nationals weaknesses of the 2015 season in one game. If you hadn't seen a game all year and you were wondering why the Nationals are hovering around .500, you would have had no more questions after watching last night. There was poor defense, there was poor defensive placement, there was AWFUL bullpen management, and terrible relief pitching. All of that in one game. If all of that happened on April 23rd against the Cardinals, I may chalk it up to the Nats trying to find their groove and just getting back into the swing of things. On August 31st though, that's just who this team is.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, with the game tied 1-1, Kolten Wong stepped to the plate with runners on first and third with one out. If you're the Nationals, you're hoping for an inning ending double play. Wong is a fast runner though, so if you have any chance of pulling off a double play the ball has to be hit hard and your short stop and second baseman have to be playing at double play depth. Well what do ya know, Gio Gonzalez does his job and gets the hard hit ground ball to second base. The ball goes right past a diving Anthony Rendon into center field, the Cardinals score and take a 2-1 lead. By the end of the inning, the Cardinals led 3-1, all because the Nationals weren't positioned right. Is that on Matt Williams, is that on Mark Weidemaier, or is that on Anthony Rendon? I don't know, but it's a mental mistake that good teams don't make. It was a tailor made double play if you're playing at double play depth. It's honestly mind blowing that a Major League team isn't playing at double play depth with a runners on first and third and just one out.
Matt Williams takes the cake again though. The Nationals clawed back into this game scoring one run in the 6th to make it a 3-2 game and then took a 5-3 lead on a Ryan Zimmerman blast in the top of the 7th. Right after the Nationals took the 5-3 lead, I sent this text to a few friends "Now we get to watch Williams manage a close game, sit back and enjoy". It was too predictable. As a Nationals fan, you knew the Nationals weren't going to be able to hold a 5-3 lead because the bottom of the 7th inning was coming up. Plain and simple, Williams can't manage a bullpen. Williams went with Casey Janssen to pitch the 7th inning last night and I'm fine with that. The problem is when the Cardinals got their first two hitters on against Janssen, Williams should have called down to the bullpen to get Drew Storen warming. Instead, he warmed nobody and thought he was the smartest guy at Busch Stadium when Janssen got a double play. Then came the pitch around to Matt Carpenter so the Nats could face a good contact hitter hitting .333 on the year. At this point, Felipe Rivero is warming up, not Drew Storen. The Cardinals ended up scoring 4 runs in the inning and taking an 8-5 game. So quick recap - 1) the Mets had already won, 2) the Nats have a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the 7th with two outs but with the Cardinals threatening, 3) Casey Janssen had thrown 20+ pitches already, 4) you leave Janssen in, never warm Storen up, and again your two best relievers never even touch a baseball in a tight game that you needed to win to keep pace. I didn't see the post game press conference, but I'll tell you what Williams said, "Well, I had to stick with Casey there because Drew and Thornton were unavailable. We'll just have to come ready to play tomorrow and hopefully get a win". After every loss, Williams will tell you at least two relievers are unavailable and that there's always tomorrow. Matt Williams managing career may not have many more "tomorrow's" because if he does get fired, there's no way any team gives him another shot after seeing how terrible he was for the Nationals.
Mets fans will tell you that Terry Collins is a bad manager, but on Sunday, Collins used Tyler Clippard to get the final out in the 7th inning and then let him pitch the 8th inning to ensure the Mets kept the lead. Matt Williams has never and will never do that. It would require him to go outside his comfort level, think outside the box, and do something that may actually win you a game. To not use one of your two best relievers to get you the final out in the 7th inning against a great team is poor baseball and poor execution. There are four games off the top of my head that I can think of that the Nationals should have won if not for Matt Williams managing this team. That's a difference of four games in the standings, instead of 6.5 games back, you would me a manageable 2.5 games back. This team can not reach its potential and will not win with Matt Williams as the manager. Unfortunately, Mike Rizzo thinks that Williams is a genius and he's not going to fire him unless the players clearly give up on him. I have to tell ya, if I'm a player in that clubhouse, I'm pretty close to giving up on this guy.
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