I'm seriously baffled. There's truly not much to say that hasn't already been said or that hasn't already run through your mind. I don't think anybody can fully explain Matt Williams decision making process at this point, not even Matt Williams himself. I thought I was mad when I wrote the last post after the Mets series. Yes, the one where Williams neglected to use either of his best relievers in two close games while fighting the Mets for first place. Williams has actually found a way to infuriate me more though over the last three games.
On Monday night, Williams decided in a 5-0 game that it was finally time to bring in Drew Storen and Jonathan Papelbon. After he let them throw zero pitches in close games against the Mets, he decided that in a blowout they needed some work. Let me get this straight, in a tie game from the 8th inning on, you'd like to use Aaron Barrett and Felipe Rivero. However, trailing 5-0 in the 8th inning, you'd like to use your set up guy and closer. That's quite the philosophy. It's not going to win you many games, but it's definitely interesting! I was pretty confused at this point, but I wouldn't say I was mad though because bringing in Storen and Papelbon on Monday had no bearing on the outcome of that game. Williams wasn't done though, he had a plan for Wednesday night that was really going to put Nats fans over the edge.
Williams has essentially made it known without saying it that Gio Gonzalez is on an extremely short leash. His last start against the Mets, he went 4 2/3 innings giving up 1 run. Last night against the Diamondbacks, he went 5+ innings giving up 2 runs. Gio has historically been somewhat wild and known to walk a fair amount of batters. That's also what makes him so good though. It's an uncomfortable at bat for anybody up there against Gio. He struck out 7 last night and walked 1, he was pitching very well and worked out of numerous jams. Williams, of course, thought otherwise. Let's backtrack to the bottom of the 5th inning though. Gio was due up second in the inning and Matt Williams let him hit. Fast forward to the top of the 6th inning and Gio gives up a lead off single to Yasmany Tomas and then Williams pulls him. I just about lost it at this point. There is absolutely zero reason you would let Gio hit if you knew you were going to take him out the next inning if he let one batter reach. Seriously, no reason you would do that. Matt Williams punted an at bat in a close game for no reason.
To make matters worse, Williams showed he clearly has no clue what he's doing because he brought in Aaron Barrett. First of all, Aaron Barrett has a 4.60 ERA. He has no business being in a tie game or one run game. Here's the real kicker, Barrett has held opponents to a .196 batting average with nobody on base. If you want to use Barrett, let him start an inning fresh, that's when he's at his best. On the flip side, opponents are hitting .290 off Barrett with a runner (or multiple runners) on base. When Barrett came in, he was warming up next to Matt Thornton. Thornton holds opponents to a .196 batting average with runner(s) on base. The next issue is the Diamondbacks next batter after the Tomas single was Chris Owings. Chris Owings is a right handed batter, however, he hits .255 off of right handers and just .152 against lefties. So naturally, Matt Williams went with a right hander and Owings singled. He had Gio on the mound who is a lefty and Thornton, another lefty, warming up. It's honestly mind boggling. I don't know if he's decided not to look at those kind of stats, or if he just totally disregards them and goes with his gut. Whatever he's doing is clearly not working.
Once Barrett came in and blew the game open it didn't matter what Williams did. The only good managing decision he made last night was to not use Janssen, Storen, or Papelbon again in a blowout. There are two things that can save the Nationals season at this point. First, is getting Denard Span back. He's the table setter, the offense is so much better and much smoother with him at the top of the lineup (the Nats also need to resign him, but that's another story for another day). Second, they unfortunately have to fire Matt Williams. He has to go, there's no way around it. He has no feel for how to manage a bullpen in a close game. If you can't do that, your team is going to struggle to play .500 baseball. He doesn't even have reasons for why he's making certain moves. His post game interviews offer no reasoning behind his decisions. Not to mention, yesterday on The Junkies, Williams sounded completely defeated. I get it - answering the same question over and over is exhausting, managing a baseball team for 162+ games is exhausting, but that's the job. That's what you were hired for. You aren't doing your job right now, that's all there is to it. There needs to be a change. Absent a hot streak, the Nationals are in real danger of missing the playoffs during their "dream season" where they were supposed to breeze through the regular season. I'm not saying hit the panic button yet because this team has a ton of talent. If Rizzo would swallow his pride and admit he made a mistake in hiring Williams, then he could put Williams on a plane back to Arizona today with the Diamondbacks. That's not likely to happen though and ultimately on Sunday, October 4th, after the season finale against the Mets, Nats fans might be sitting on their couches stunned at the fact that the Mets are going to the playoffs and the Nationals are not.
Bud Black is waiting for a phone call and I'm waiting to see Bud Black in a Nationals uniform.
Thursday, August 6, 2015
Monday, August 3, 2015
The Worst Possible Outcome
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
What Did You Just Do Mike Rizzo?
For those looking for my thoughts on last night's game or how I think the Nationals will do with Werth and Zimmerman back, you'll have to wait until my next post. This post will strictly focus on a move that Mike Rizzo made yesterday that has the potential to throw a wrench into this whole season. I didn't want to write anything last night because I wanted to see if my initial reaction to the trade would change. It didn't. As I write this, I'm still confused, slightly mad, and honestly flabbergasted. Yesterday, the Nationals traded AA pitcher Nick Pivetta, their 10th best prospect, for Phillies' closer, Jonathan Papelbon. There is no doubt that the Nationals bullpen is now deeper, but to say it's better is completely dependent on how Drew Storen takes being the new set up man. There are many different elements that go into why this move doesn't make sense, why it's confusing, and why it could turn out to be one of Rizzo's worst moves as the General Manager of the Nationals.
The first thing makes me mad about this deal is that Mike Rizzo has essentially told Drew Storen "Thanks for the great first half, you have 29 saves and a 1.73 ERA, but I don't trust you, so I'm demoting you." What can this guy do to keep his job? He blows a save in the 2012 NLDS and the Nationals go out and sign Rafael Soriano, which was a disaster. He blows a save in the 2014 NLDS and Rizzo says Storen is still the closer, then mid way through a career year, he brings in what could possibly be Rafael Soriano 2.0. Nothing against Jonathan Papelbon's stats, he's 17 for 17 in saves this year with a 1.59 ERA (yes, actually lower than Storen's). With that being said, he's a 34 year old reliever with diminishing velocity and he's under contract for another year for $11 million. Not to mention, $3 million of that $11 million is deferred. If Mike Rizzo doesn't stop deferring money on these contracts, then by 2020, he's going to have a payroll of $160 million, $80 million of which are players who are either retired or not on the team anymore, but I digress. As Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post pointed out, if the Nats had acquired Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis Chapman, it still would have been a tough pill for Storen to swallow, but he would have accepted the demotion. Being demoted for Papelbon though isn't going to sit well. The bottom line here is you're left with a pissed off Drew Storen and an aging closer who you have to pay next year.
The second element to this is Mike Rizzo is now costing Drew Storen big time money. The salary difference between set-up guys and closers is huge. Storen doesn't become a free agent until after the 2016 season, so if the Nationals hang on to him, they're essentially reducing his value as much as they can so that he's cheaper in arbitration. When Storen goes into his final arbitration hearing this winter, he'll probably leave earning $7-8 million instead of $11-12 million that he could have been earning had he finished the year closing for the Nationals. That means he stands to lose $4-5 million because he won't be able to add to his save total for the rest of the year.
If I were Drew, I would have gone into Mike Rizzo's office yesterday right after the trade was completed and asked to be traded. This isn't about Storen being selfish, this is about Rizzo not trusting Storen. I don't ever want to work for an employer or boss that doesn't trust me, so why should Storen? This team needs Storen, so it's on Rizzo to smooth things over. Maybe he tells Storen that he's going for it all this year and just ride it out this year and then in the offseason he will trade either Storen or Papelbon. Who knows, but if Storen isn't on board, then the bullpen just got worse, not better.
Lastly, we have the diva factor. There is no arguing with how good and reliable Jonathan Papelbon has been over his career. There are some question marks about Jonathan Papelbon the person. There's no way around the fact that Papelbon has had his issues with the fans and the media. Then there's Papelbon in the clubhouse, which I can honestly say I don't know much about. Based on the fact that Papelbon would only waive his no-trade clause if he becomes the closer though, he sounds like a me-first kind of guy. Hey "Paps", you're getting traded to a contender and they've agreed to pick up your option for next year so how about you shut your mouth and pitch when you're asked to pitch. Mike Rizzo preaches all the time about having good guys in the clubhouse and wanting to build a great clubhouse. From everything I've read, the Nationals have a good clubhouse, so why would you bring a guy like this into it? You've automatically made Drew Storen mad and this move is going to rub a few other guys wrong right off the bat.
Good luck with this one Rizzo, you're going to need it. I wrote two days ago about the Mets making a desperation move to acquire Tyler Clippard, but this move looks just as desperate. The Phillies had been having trouble trying to trade Papelbon since last year. Not only do you give up a top 10 prospect for him, but you guarantee his contract for next year and you make your current closer upset. Again, this has nothing to do with Papelbon the player. He's shown he's reliable. This has to do with Papelbon the person and what you've just done to Drew Storen and the rest of the clubhouse. You could have given up a lesser prospect to acquire Joaquin Benoit of the Padres, plugged him into the set up role (which is his current job where he holds a 2.27 ERA), and avoided any drama. The only way this looks like a good move at the end of the season is if it brings a World Series back to Washington. Any other result is a waste of a prospect and a waste of $11 million next year that could have been used towards trying to resign Jordan Zimmermann.
The first thing makes me mad about this deal is that Mike Rizzo has essentially told Drew Storen "Thanks for the great first half, you have 29 saves and a 1.73 ERA, but I don't trust you, so I'm demoting you." What can this guy do to keep his job? He blows a save in the 2012 NLDS and the Nationals go out and sign Rafael Soriano, which was a disaster. He blows a save in the 2014 NLDS and Rizzo says Storen is still the closer, then mid way through a career year, he brings in what could possibly be Rafael Soriano 2.0. Nothing against Jonathan Papelbon's stats, he's 17 for 17 in saves this year with a 1.59 ERA (yes, actually lower than Storen's). With that being said, he's a 34 year old reliever with diminishing velocity and he's under contract for another year for $11 million. Not to mention, $3 million of that $11 million is deferred. If Mike Rizzo doesn't stop deferring money on these contracts, then by 2020, he's going to have a payroll of $160 million, $80 million of which are players who are either retired or not on the team anymore, but I digress. As Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post pointed out, if the Nats had acquired Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis Chapman, it still would have been a tough pill for Storen to swallow, but he would have accepted the demotion. Being demoted for Papelbon though isn't going to sit well. The bottom line here is you're left with a pissed off Drew Storen and an aging closer who you have to pay next year.
The second element to this is Mike Rizzo is now costing Drew Storen big time money. The salary difference between set-up guys and closers is huge. Storen doesn't become a free agent until after the 2016 season, so if the Nationals hang on to him, they're essentially reducing his value as much as they can so that he's cheaper in arbitration. When Storen goes into his final arbitration hearing this winter, he'll probably leave earning $7-8 million instead of $11-12 million that he could have been earning had he finished the year closing for the Nationals. That means he stands to lose $4-5 million because he won't be able to add to his save total for the rest of the year.
If I were Drew, I would have gone into Mike Rizzo's office yesterday right after the trade was completed and asked to be traded. This isn't about Storen being selfish, this is about Rizzo not trusting Storen. I don't ever want to work for an employer or boss that doesn't trust me, so why should Storen? This team needs Storen, so it's on Rizzo to smooth things over. Maybe he tells Storen that he's going for it all this year and just ride it out this year and then in the offseason he will trade either Storen or Papelbon. Who knows, but if Storen isn't on board, then the bullpen just got worse, not better.
Lastly, we have the diva factor. There is no arguing with how good and reliable Jonathan Papelbon has been over his career. There are some question marks about Jonathan Papelbon the person. There's no way around the fact that Papelbon has had his issues with the fans and the media. Then there's Papelbon in the clubhouse, which I can honestly say I don't know much about. Based on the fact that Papelbon would only waive his no-trade clause if he becomes the closer though, he sounds like a me-first kind of guy. Hey "Paps", you're getting traded to a contender and they've agreed to pick up your option for next year so how about you shut your mouth and pitch when you're asked to pitch. Mike Rizzo preaches all the time about having good guys in the clubhouse and wanting to build a great clubhouse. From everything I've read, the Nationals have a good clubhouse, so why would you bring a guy like this into it? You've automatically made Drew Storen mad and this move is going to rub a few other guys wrong right off the bat.
Good luck with this one Rizzo, you're going to need it. I wrote two days ago about the Mets making a desperation move to acquire Tyler Clippard, but this move looks just as desperate. The Phillies had been having trouble trying to trade Papelbon since last year. Not only do you give up a top 10 prospect for him, but you guarantee his contract for next year and you make your current closer upset. Again, this has nothing to do with Papelbon the player. He's shown he's reliable. This has to do with Papelbon the person and what you've just done to Drew Storen and the rest of the clubhouse. You could have given up a lesser prospect to acquire Joaquin Benoit of the Padres, plugged him into the set up role (which is his current job where he holds a 2.27 ERA), and avoided any drama. The only way this looks like a good move at the end of the season is if it brings a World Series back to Washington. Any other result is a waste of a prospect and a waste of $11 million next year that could have been used towards trying to resign Jordan Zimmermann.
Monday, July 27, 2015
Trade Deadline Edition
The Nationals are now 4-6 coming out of the All-Star break with a 2 game lead over the New York Mets. The hope is the Nats hover around where they are now until they can get fully healthy. Once they get healthy, hopefully in mid-August, they should be able to blow the Mets away and put the division away by around September 15th-20th. That's fully dependent on if everyone gets and stays healthy though. Not having Anthony Rendon or Denard Span in a playoff series would pretty much end the Nationals season. Those two guys mean that much to the lineup, especially when you're facing aces night in and night out. There's one other person that could end the Nationals season and he's somebody you won't even see on the field.
Matt Williams:
Every time I think Matt Williams has turned a corner with the bullpen, he makes a bonehead decision like he did during last Tuesday night's game against the Mets. In the 7th inning of Tuesday night's game, after a modest 88 pitches, Williams decided to take Joe Ross out of the game. He took him out of the game with a 2-1 lead and runners on second and third with no outs. After a hard hit single by Wilmer Flores, Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit soft a grounder to Clint Robinson, which deflected off of his glove and into the outfield. Keep in mind, a lightly hit ball is what got the Nationals into this second and third jam. Joe Ross keeps his composure and gets Kevin Plawecki to pop out to second base. If you're a Nats fan you're thinking "Ok, we may get out of this" and if you were thinking that, you were sorely mistaken. Matt Williams after seeing two lasers off the bats of Nieuwenhuis and Plawecki that DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE THE INFIELD decided he had seen enough of Joe Ross. It was time to go get him and bring Aaron Barrett. I have two problems with this - First of all, Aaron Barrett and his 4.50 ERA haven't exactly been reliable this year. I get it, he's a ground ball pitcher, but how were you planning on turning a double play to get out of the inning anyways? Runners were on second and third, there was no force play. So you bring the infield in expecting a ground ball and that ultimately cost you the game. Just a garbage strategy. Second, Joe Ross had just gotten the previous two batters to hit balls that didn't even leave the infield. What did you see that showed you any sign of fatigue or that the Mets were starting to see him better? The correct answer is there was absolutely no reason to pull Ross. If he stays in the game and gives up a hit, then so be it, he still had a great outing. At least let the kid lose his own game, it's not like you were bringing a shutdown reliever like Aroldis Chapman in there to help minimize damage. As I've said before, I like Matt Williams the person, but I think Williams would have been better suited learning on the fly managing the Diamondbacks or a team that doesn't have as much pressure to win now. It's mistakes like these that will cost you a playoff series and I can promise you that if Matt Williams makes another decision like he did last year with Jordan Zimmermann, I'll throw my TV off the balcony and then send the Nationals the bill.
Trade Deadline:
Now for one of my personal favorite times of the year, the trade deadline. As July 31st approaches, there will be a bunch of rumors regarding just about every team in the Majors, including the Nationals. Per usual, you'll never know what's real and what's not because Mike Rizzo is one of the best in the business at holding his cards close to his chest. With that being said, it's pretty obvious what the Nationals' needs are. A super-utility player or an outfielder and a bullpen arm. There was a pretty obvious match for these needs, up until about 5 PM today. The Oakland Athletics and Billy Beane (who Mike Rizzo has made many trades with over the past few years) have Ben Zobrist and had former Nat, Tyler Clippard waiting to be shipped out.
At 5 PM today though, the Mets made a hilarious move - I can only think of one reason they did it, fear. The Mets were scared that the Nationals would re-acquire Clippard, so they made sure that didn't happen by acquiring him themselves. The Mets do not have a need for pitching, their rotation is stacked and their bullpen, before the addition of Clippard, was better than the Nats. For a team who halted trade talks with these same Athletics earlier in the year because they didn't want to take on additional salary (although they'll pay Bobby Bonilla almost $1.2 million all the way through 2035), this move screams desperation. The Mets lineup is probably one of the least frightening in baseball, so what did they do? Go get another pitcher of course! What's done is done though, so let's take a look at some other moves the Nationals may be able to pull off before Friday's deadline.
I think if the Nats are truly going for it all this year, they have to make a move for a bat/insurance option in case Rendon, Zimmerman, or somebody like that either can't come back or gets hurt again. Their bigger need at the deadline though is finding a way to get a top reliever. Getting a Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis Chapman is not going to be even remotely cheap or reasonable, but if one those two can help bring a World Series to Washington, it won't matter what was given up. When I say it won't matter what was given up, I say that loosely. There are obviously players/prospects that are off limits. Lucas Giolito, Michael Taylor (Beane has reportedly already asked for Taylor in a previous trade), Trea Turner (who the Padres reportedly want back in a trade for Kimbrel), Joe Ross, and Erick Fedde are off limits. Every other prospect is fair game. Would a package of AJ Cole and Wilmer Difo be enough to get somebody like Kimbrel? I'm not sure, but I think it would at least get the conversation started. As for acquiring somebody like Zobrist, I think the price tag will be similar. That may be tough to swallow because at least Kimbrel and/or Chapman would be coming with at least one more year of team control. Zobrist would be a free agent at the end of the year, but there are so many teams interested in him, the best offer is going to land him. Literally every playoff team is interested in Zobrist. He can play 5 or 6 different positions, doesn't strike out much, and he can hit in the middle of your lineup. It will take something like AJ Cole and Reynaldo Lopez (possibly another lower end prospect) to land Zobrist. If those prices are too high for Rizzo, then he's most likely not going to land an impact bat or impact reliever at the deadline. Everything we've heard this year is that the Nationals are going for it all this year. If they truly are, it's time to make sure the rest of baseball knows it, and make a big deal.
The Nats haven't been healthy all year and there's nothing to suggest that they'll ever be 100%. Denard Span and Ryan Zimmerman both have nagging injuries that have bothered them all season. Getting some insurance just in case one of those two has to shut it down for the rest of the year wouldn't be a bad idea. Zobrist and Kimbrel are the best case scenario for the Nats. The more likely scenario is the Nats don't add a bat but they do add a lower caliber bullpen arm. My prediction is the Nats end up with Joaquin Benoit of the Padres. The price tag to get him will be more palatable and he will step in as the set up man for the Nats. We'll see how Rizzo plays it, but the bottom line is Rizzo needs to add to the bullpen.
Side note - The Dodgers are going to make a big move before the deadline. They'll wind up with either David Price or Cole Hamels and to be honest a playoff rotation of Kershaw, Grienke, and Price/Hamels is pretty scary. I don't want the Nats to be reactive and make a trade because of that, but it's also something to keep in mind. Lining up Scherzer, Zimmermann, and Strasburg against the Dodgers may not be enough if the Dodgers wind up with Price or Hamels. Stay tuned...
Matt Williams:
Every time I think Matt Williams has turned a corner with the bullpen, he makes a bonehead decision like he did during last Tuesday night's game against the Mets. In the 7th inning of Tuesday night's game, after a modest 88 pitches, Williams decided to take Joe Ross out of the game. He took him out of the game with a 2-1 lead and runners on second and third with no outs. After a hard hit single by Wilmer Flores, Kirk Nieuwenhuis hit soft a grounder to Clint Robinson, which deflected off of his glove and into the outfield. Keep in mind, a lightly hit ball is what got the Nationals into this second and third jam. Joe Ross keeps his composure and gets Kevin Plawecki to pop out to second base. If you're a Nats fan you're thinking "Ok, we may get out of this" and if you were thinking that, you were sorely mistaken. Matt Williams after seeing two lasers off the bats of Nieuwenhuis and Plawecki that DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE THE INFIELD decided he had seen enough of Joe Ross. It was time to go get him and bring Aaron Barrett. I have two problems with this - First of all, Aaron Barrett and his 4.50 ERA haven't exactly been reliable this year. I get it, he's a ground ball pitcher, but how were you planning on turning a double play to get out of the inning anyways? Runners were on second and third, there was no force play. So you bring the infield in expecting a ground ball and that ultimately cost you the game. Just a garbage strategy. Second, Joe Ross had just gotten the previous two batters to hit balls that didn't even leave the infield. What did you see that showed you any sign of fatigue or that the Mets were starting to see him better? The correct answer is there was absolutely no reason to pull Ross. If he stays in the game and gives up a hit, then so be it, he still had a great outing. At least let the kid lose his own game, it's not like you were bringing a shutdown reliever like Aroldis Chapman in there to help minimize damage. As I've said before, I like Matt Williams the person, but I think Williams would have been better suited learning on the fly managing the Diamondbacks or a team that doesn't have as much pressure to win now. It's mistakes like these that will cost you a playoff series and I can promise you that if Matt Williams makes another decision like he did last year with Jordan Zimmermann, I'll throw my TV off the balcony and then send the Nationals the bill.
Trade Deadline:
Now for one of my personal favorite times of the year, the trade deadline. As July 31st approaches, there will be a bunch of rumors regarding just about every team in the Majors, including the Nationals. Per usual, you'll never know what's real and what's not because Mike Rizzo is one of the best in the business at holding his cards close to his chest. With that being said, it's pretty obvious what the Nationals' needs are. A super-utility player or an outfielder and a bullpen arm. There was a pretty obvious match for these needs, up until about 5 PM today. The Oakland Athletics and Billy Beane (who Mike Rizzo has made many trades with over the past few years) have Ben Zobrist and had former Nat, Tyler Clippard waiting to be shipped out.
At 5 PM today though, the Mets made a hilarious move - I can only think of one reason they did it, fear. The Mets were scared that the Nationals would re-acquire Clippard, so they made sure that didn't happen by acquiring him themselves. The Mets do not have a need for pitching, their rotation is stacked and their bullpen, before the addition of Clippard, was better than the Nats. For a team who halted trade talks with these same Athletics earlier in the year because they didn't want to take on additional salary (although they'll pay Bobby Bonilla almost $1.2 million all the way through 2035), this move screams desperation. The Mets lineup is probably one of the least frightening in baseball, so what did they do? Go get another pitcher of course! What's done is done though, so let's take a look at some other moves the Nationals may be able to pull off before Friday's deadline.
I think if the Nats are truly going for it all this year, they have to make a move for a bat/insurance option in case Rendon, Zimmerman, or somebody like that either can't come back or gets hurt again. Their bigger need at the deadline though is finding a way to get a top reliever. Getting a Craig Kimbrel or Aroldis Chapman is not going to be even remotely cheap or reasonable, but if one those two can help bring a World Series to Washington, it won't matter what was given up. When I say it won't matter what was given up, I say that loosely. There are obviously players/prospects that are off limits. Lucas Giolito, Michael Taylor (Beane has reportedly already asked for Taylor in a previous trade), Trea Turner (who the Padres reportedly want back in a trade for Kimbrel), Joe Ross, and Erick Fedde are off limits. Every other prospect is fair game. Would a package of AJ Cole and Wilmer Difo be enough to get somebody like Kimbrel? I'm not sure, but I think it would at least get the conversation started. As for acquiring somebody like Zobrist, I think the price tag will be similar. That may be tough to swallow because at least Kimbrel and/or Chapman would be coming with at least one more year of team control. Zobrist would be a free agent at the end of the year, but there are so many teams interested in him, the best offer is going to land him. Literally every playoff team is interested in Zobrist. He can play 5 or 6 different positions, doesn't strike out much, and he can hit in the middle of your lineup. It will take something like AJ Cole and Reynaldo Lopez (possibly another lower end prospect) to land Zobrist. If those prices are too high for Rizzo, then he's most likely not going to land an impact bat or impact reliever at the deadline. Everything we've heard this year is that the Nationals are going for it all this year. If they truly are, it's time to make sure the rest of baseball knows it, and make a big deal.
The Nats haven't been healthy all year and there's nothing to suggest that they'll ever be 100%. Denard Span and Ryan Zimmerman both have nagging injuries that have bothered them all season. Getting some insurance just in case one of those two has to shut it down for the rest of the year wouldn't be a bad idea. Zobrist and Kimbrel are the best case scenario for the Nats. The more likely scenario is the Nats don't add a bat but they do add a lower caliber bullpen arm. My prediction is the Nats end up with Joaquin Benoit of the Padres. The price tag to get him will be more palatable and he will step in as the set up man for the Nats. We'll see how Rizzo plays it, but the bottom line is Rizzo needs to add to the bullpen.
Side note - The Dodgers are going to make a big move before the deadline. They'll wind up with either David Price or Cole Hamels and to be honest a playoff rotation of Kershaw, Grienke, and Price/Hamels is pretty scary. I don't want the Nats to be reactive and make a trade because of that, but it's also something to keep in mind. Lining up Scherzer, Zimmermann, and Strasburg against the Dodgers may not be enough if the Dodgers wind up with Price or Hamels. Stay tuned...
Friday, June 19, 2015
The Two I's - Inconsistent and Injured
After reeling off 21 wins in 27 games in May, the Nats have gone cold losing 14 of their past 20 games. Sure, over that 47 game span the Nats are 27-20, which is still pretty darn good. They obviously came back to life though after that 21-6 stretch in May. Even worse, the lineup is banged up and the bats are extremely inconsistent. They scored 1 run Monday, followed by a 16 run outburst on Tuesday, got shut out Wednesday, then scored 3 last night (2 were in the first inning and there were a lot of missed opportunities).
On a positive note, last night Doug Fister made his first start for the club since May 14th and Stephen Strasburg may not be too far behind him. Fister was charged with 5 runs, but he really deserved better. He pitched great through 5 innings, but just ran out of gas in the 6th. Some may say how is going 5 1/3 innings giving up 5 runs a good outing? He was sharp through 5 full innings and just got knocked around in the 6th. Once he builds up some stamina, we'll have the Doug Fister that we're used to where he goes 7 innings giving up 1 or 2 runs. Strasburg had a nice rehab outing for Harrisburg on Wednesday going 5 innings, striking out 6, walking none, and allowing 2 runs (only 1 earned). Although Tanner Roark has pitched fantastic since rejoining the rotation, the Nats miss him badly in the bullpen. Before his move to the rotation, Roark was pitching in the 7th and 8th inning and even had a save. The 7th and 8th innings for the Nationals has been a complete disaster this year. Being able to bring in Roark in the 8th inning of a 3-2 game will be a lot easier for Nationals fans to watch than seeing Aaron Barrett or Blake Treinen struggle through the inning. Nothing against Barrett or Treinen, I think both have great stuff, but Roark is flat out the better pitcher right now.
As far as the hitting and scoring runs, the Nationals are going to be streaky. That's how it is and how it always has been. This team can get hot for 2 weeks or so and score 5-6 runs per game. In those 2 weeks, they're probably going to go 8-3 or 9-2. On the flip side, they can also get ice cold and score 1-2 runs per game for 2 weeks or so. In that stretch they'll struggle to play .500 baseball. You just hope for one main thing when you're a streaky hitting ball club. You hope that when you aren't hitting, you can weather the storm (and if you're the Nats, that you get hot at the beginning of October). Not only does that put more pressure on the pitching staff to give you quality start after quality start, but it also puts pressure on the hitters to be able to play small ball. The Nationals aren't built like the Cardinals, or the Royals, or the Giants, which to be honest is a shame. It's all in the approach of some of the players though. Matt Williams has stressed since day one on the job the significance of being able to "get em on, get em over, get em in" as the saying goes. It's not because of lack of effort, it's just the type of hitters this team has. When the Nationals are fully healthy, 6 of the 8 position players have potential to hit 20+ home runs a year (the exceptions being Denard Span and Yunel Escobar). The two guys who won't hit 20 homers, are guys who can manufacture runs. The Giants, Cardinals, and Royals are all in the bottom 10 in the Majors in home runs hit, but two of the three are in first place in their division right now. The third team won the World Series last year and eliminated the Nats in the first round. These three teams can manufacture a run, they don't wait until the 7th inning when they're losing 3-1 and then come up and say well here goes nothing, I better swing for the fences. We don't know what the Nats lineup can do when they're fully healthy, but it's my hope that they can find a nice mixture between swinging for the fences and manufacturing runs. A single, followed by a bunt, followed by a single isn't flashy, but it puts a run on the board and counts the exact same as a solo home run.
It's been a rough two weeks, but the bottom line is the Nats are 34-33 and they're just 1 1/2 games out of first place. The Nats are just 1 game behind their pace last year which they won 96 games. It's hard to tell you not to panic right now, especially after seeing Bryce go down last night. They're struggling and thoughts of 2013 are running through all of our minds, but this team is too talented to not win the NL East. We saw what kind of team the Nats could be in May when they were hot. It would be nice to see some consistency though. The hot Pirates who have won 21 of their last 26 come in to town for the weekend. Without Bryce this is going to be a tough series to win, but now is as good a time as ever to see what kind of guts this team has. You have a rookie on the mound tonight, your ace tomorrow, and then Gio, who has struggled with his command all year, but when he's on, he can pitch with anyone on the Pirates, pitching on Sunday. Maybe you even switch the lineup up a bit. Call me crazy, but maybe you move Ian Desmond up to the 2nd spot and move everyone else down a spot. Ian has hit .290 this year when he's hitting second in the lineup, any other spot in the lineup he's hitting no higher than .167. He's struggling right now, but protection in the lineup can go a long way and hitting in between Denard Span and Anthony Rendon will allow him to see way better pitches than if he's hitting in between Danny Espinosa and Michael Taylor. I'm no manager, but if I had the lineup card tonight it would be 1) Span, 2) Desmond, 3) Rendon, 4) Escobar, 5) Robinson, 6) Ramos, 7) Espinosa, 8) Taylor, 9) Ross. Obviously that's assuming Bryce is out, if he's not I'd slide him in at the cleanup spot and move Escobar down to 5. We'll see what happens, just please, please don't get swept this weekend. I speak on behalf of all Nats fans when I say we won't be able to handle looking at the standings and seeing 34-36 on Monday. If that's the case there will be thoughts of 2013 haunting us every night.
On a positive note, last night Doug Fister made his first start for the club since May 14th and Stephen Strasburg may not be too far behind him. Fister was charged with 5 runs, but he really deserved better. He pitched great through 5 innings, but just ran out of gas in the 6th. Some may say how is going 5 1/3 innings giving up 5 runs a good outing? He was sharp through 5 full innings and just got knocked around in the 6th. Once he builds up some stamina, we'll have the Doug Fister that we're used to where he goes 7 innings giving up 1 or 2 runs. Strasburg had a nice rehab outing for Harrisburg on Wednesday going 5 innings, striking out 6, walking none, and allowing 2 runs (only 1 earned). Although Tanner Roark has pitched fantastic since rejoining the rotation, the Nats miss him badly in the bullpen. Before his move to the rotation, Roark was pitching in the 7th and 8th inning and even had a save. The 7th and 8th innings for the Nationals has been a complete disaster this year. Being able to bring in Roark in the 8th inning of a 3-2 game will be a lot easier for Nationals fans to watch than seeing Aaron Barrett or Blake Treinen struggle through the inning. Nothing against Barrett or Treinen, I think both have great stuff, but Roark is flat out the better pitcher right now.
As far as the hitting and scoring runs, the Nationals are going to be streaky. That's how it is and how it always has been. This team can get hot for 2 weeks or so and score 5-6 runs per game. In those 2 weeks, they're probably going to go 8-3 or 9-2. On the flip side, they can also get ice cold and score 1-2 runs per game for 2 weeks or so. In that stretch they'll struggle to play .500 baseball. You just hope for one main thing when you're a streaky hitting ball club. You hope that when you aren't hitting, you can weather the storm (and if you're the Nats, that you get hot at the beginning of October). Not only does that put more pressure on the pitching staff to give you quality start after quality start, but it also puts pressure on the hitters to be able to play small ball. The Nationals aren't built like the Cardinals, or the Royals, or the Giants, which to be honest is a shame. It's all in the approach of some of the players though. Matt Williams has stressed since day one on the job the significance of being able to "get em on, get em over, get em in" as the saying goes. It's not because of lack of effort, it's just the type of hitters this team has. When the Nationals are fully healthy, 6 of the 8 position players have potential to hit 20+ home runs a year (the exceptions being Denard Span and Yunel Escobar). The two guys who won't hit 20 homers, are guys who can manufacture runs. The Giants, Cardinals, and Royals are all in the bottom 10 in the Majors in home runs hit, but two of the three are in first place in their division right now. The third team won the World Series last year and eliminated the Nats in the first round. These three teams can manufacture a run, they don't wait until the 7th inning when they're losing 3-1 and then come up and say well here goes nothing, I better swing for the fences. We don't know what the Nats lineup can do when they're fully healthy, but it's my hope that they can find a nice mixture between swinging for the fences and manufacturing runs. A single, followed by a bunt, followed by a single isn't flashy, but it puts a run on the board and counts the exact same as a solo home run.
It's been a rough two weeks, but the bottom line is the Nats are 34-33 and they're just 1 1/2 games out of first place. The Nats are just 1 game behind their pace last year which they won 96 games. It's hard to tell you not to panic right now, especially after seeing Bryce go down last night. They're struggling and thoughts of 2013 are running through all of our minds, but this team is too talented to not win the NL East. We saw what kind of team the Nats could be in May when they were hot. It would be nice to see some consistency though. The hot Pirates who have won 21 of their last 26 come in to town for the weekend. Without Bryce this is going to be a tough series to win, but now is as good a time as ever to see what kind of guts this team has. You have a rookie on the mound tonight, your ace tomorrow, and then Gio, who has struggled with his command all year, but when he's on, he can pitch with anyone on the Pirates, pitching on Sunday. Maybe you even switch the lineup up a bit. Call me crazy, but maybe you move Ian Desmond up to the 2nd spot and move everyone else down a spot. Ian has hit .290 this year when he's hitting second in the lineup, any other spot in the lineup he's hitting no higher than .167. He's struggling right now, but protection in the lineup can go a long way and hitting in between Denard Span and Anthony Rendon will allow him to see way better pitches than if he's hitting in between Danny Espinosa and Michael Taylor. I'm no manager, but if I had the lineup card tonight it would be 1) Span, 2) Desmond, 3) Rendon, 4) Escobar, 5) Robinson, 6) Ramos, 7) Espinosa, 8) Taylor, 9) Ross. Obviously that's assuming Bryce is out, if he's not I'd slide him in at the cleanup spot and move Escobar down to 5. We'll see what happens, just please, please don't get swept this weekend. I speak on behalf of all Nats fans when I say we won't be able to handle looking at the standings and seeing 34-36 on Monday. If that's the case there will be thoughts of 2013 haunting us every night.
Friday, June 5, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, May 31, 2015
Dominated by Three Rookies
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.
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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