The Nats are killing me

As some of you may have noticed via social media, I've been a bit cranky when it comes to our hometown Washington Nationals.  Most of that crankiness was initially aimed at often ridiculous (the violence that pops up all to often during the Presidents race) and sometimes important (the stale and cheap patriotism of a standing ovation to honor convalescing veterans, an ovation that seems to absolve fans of actually helping veterans or thinking about our 13-year odyssey in Afghanistan*) topics.

But my crankiness is now metastasizing into full-on, Carolina losing to Dook after Zeller tipped in one of THEIR shots, depression.

The Nats are killing me.  

Two Sundays ago, Evan and I watched Washington complete a four game sweep of the Padres by scoring 13 runs.  THIRTEEN!  We had won 7 of 10 games, and were only 4 games back of the Braves.  Natitude was back!

But since then we've played our worst baseball of the year.  After this weekend's sweep to the Dodgers the Nats are now 2 and 8 in our last 10 games. Whatever good mojo the Nationals had has been eviscerated.  The Nats are now in 3rd place, half a game behind the Phillies for second in the East, and seven games behind the Braves AND the second wild-card spot.

It's hard to understand how a team that has Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez, Ian Desmond, and Ryan Zimmerman can be this mediocre, and unable to build up ANY momentum over the course of 100 games.

Injuries is part of the story, especially for the lack of momentum that has kept this squad from ripping off a few 5 or 6-game win streaks.  Two weeks ago the 7 out 10 streak coincided with Harper then Wilson Ramos coming off the disabled list. 

But what gives now?  The big 3 pitchers have been great (despite today's stinker from ZNN), and even Dan Haren (on the hill tomorrow looking to end a 3-game losing streak!) has pitched better since coming off the DL.

It's not news that the offense has been horrible, frustrating, depressing, you name it. Saturday night's game was indicative of one of the biggest issues: driving in runs. The Nats had 12 hits but only scored one run, driven in by pinch hitter Roger Bernadina.  Against the Dodgers the Nats batted .077 with runners in scoring position.  

When a team with so many good players underachieves, who is to blame?  Is it Davey Johnson, his line ups, the way he uses the bull pen?  Is it hitting coach Rick Eckstein?  The Nats rank near to bottom of almost every offensive category.

Is it underachievers like Denard Span or Jayson Werth, who had a great second half last year but is currently making almost $500,000 per RBI this season and is hitting less than .200 with runners in scoring position and 2 outs?

I'll offer two things that could help a now healthy squad play better, maybe catch the Braves, and/or secure one of the two wild card spots.  I'm not going to touch the pitching, which outside of 2 or 3 bad outings from Drew Storen and Rafael Soriano has been generally great.

One is a simple line up change.  I'd go back to the future, and move Werth and Harper back to the top of the order, Zimmerman, then my big move of Desmond at clean up, followed by LaRoche, Rendon, Ramos, and Span (who has played great defense but is simply not getting on base enough).

Werth seems to stink everywhere else, and excelled at lead off last year. The second slot is the new third; you want to put you best hitter there since that spot gets about 15-20 more plate appearances than the 3 hole does a year.

Desmond often rises to the occasion with runners on base, and moving him up two places gets him a few more - important - at bats.  He's a free swinger but drives in runs.  

Two, fire Rick Eckstein for a number of reasons. One is admittedly cosmetic. Do something to get the team's attention/make them feel guilty/light a fire/insert sports cliche here. 

But others are valid.  The team is not hitting, and more importantly their approach to pitchers seems odd and confusing.  

Hitters guess and look for one pitch when they should be aggressive, take pitches when they should be expanding the zone looking for a pitch to drive.  

Or they frequently expand the zone at the wrong times, swinging at first pitches when it's actually time to work the count.  At bats look discombobulated; case in point was Harper Saturday night. He struck out LOOKING, taking all three strikes, when the situation called for looking for a pitch to drive no matter where it was (like Joe DiMaggio** or Tony Gwynn).  As much as I pick on Werth - ask Evan - we can not ignore that Harper has been swinging at too many bad pitches and taking too many 2-strike ones since he came off the DL; his pitch recognition - or approach - needs some improvement.

You can't fire the players so sadly have to fire the hitting coach. Bring in Frank Robinson, or Mrs. Robinson (the nation(als) turn their lonely eyes to you**) but do something.

These changes would work, or are at least worth trying, and I hope the Nats do something soon. It's past time to get hot. Going to last year's line up with Desmond at clean up and Eckstein at home could very well work.

GO NATS!

* One other thing I've been cranky about has been the generally lousy music the Nats play but that has gotten a little better. Positive developments include LaRoche using Steve Earle's 'Copperhead Road' as his walk up song; LCD Soundsystem's 'Daft Punk Is Playing At My House' and Stevie Wonder's 'You Haven't Done Nothing' making appearances lately, and Chuck Brown's 'Bustin' Loose' is heard after most homers (but there is still too much modern shlock country, too much AC/DC).
* One ray of hope. Line up change or no line up change, Harper is capable of getting red hot and carrying a team as he did in May and September last season. The big 3 should continue to be awesome. And we play the Braves head to head alot; if we sweep those games we're in!

Nationals Progress

Counting Tyler Clippard's win in last night's All-Star game, the Nationals head into the second half of the season at 46-45, only 8 games back of Atlanta for the wild card spot.

Competing for the wild card this season is probably a little too optimistic.  But for a team with our recent history of 100+ loss seasons actually competing and finishing the first half at 45 and 45 is significant.

Clippard is a great place to start since the Nationals' pitching has been the main reason the team is keeping it's head above water.  Their five man rotation has been in tact for most of the season.  

Number one starter Livan Hernandez was expected to be an inning eater, not a real number one.  In addition to eating up tons of innings Livo's pitched well and been consistent all year.   And he's my age (perhaps)!

The Nats are counting on Steven Strasburg to be their number one starter of the future.  The great news is Jordan Zimmermann is pitching like a number one THIS year.  In June he was as effective - and at times as dominant - as Justin Verlander or C.C. Sabathia.  In his last 10 starts (since May 22nd) in 67 innings, his ERA is 1.61. He's persevered despite not getting much run support, staying focused and positive and dominant.  By far the best first half story for the Nats is Zimmermann.

Former number one starter John Lannan has settled nicely into his number 3 starter slot, and he too has excelled.  In HIS last 10 starts, his ERA is 2.95 in 61 innings.  After a rocky 2010 he's bounced back, throwing lots of ground balls and pitching with confidence.

Number four starter Jason Marquis has been solid.  After a great April he's had some tougher luck of late.  However, though he has missed a few starts, number 5 starter Tom Gorzelanny has been better than expected.   Like Zimmermann, he's lacked run support so is only 2-6 but he sports a sub-4.00 ERA and has done his share of inning eating.

Then there's All-star game winner Clippard, who is a league leader in holds and has a sub-2.00 ERA.  But a great ERA is not rare in Washington's bull pen. Ryan Matheus, Henry Rodriguez, and Drew Storen all have ERAs under 2.60.  And of course Storen has converted 23 out of 26 save chances, too.

The only under-performing pitcher in the bullpen has been Sean Burnett, who has been inconsistent and lacking in confidence at times.   He turned it around last year to finish strong, so hopefully that can happen this year, too.

Of course, when it comes to under-performing but hopefully bouncing back one can only think of Jayson Werth.  It's amazing that we are at .500 while Werth, our stud off season pick up, is at .217!   Unfortunately, Werth's terrible production has not been the only challenge this offense has faced.

Ian Desmond, who has improved his defense, was a wash out as a lead off hitter.  Our best hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, missed two months, and our clean up hitter, Adam LaRoche too was werthless and is now out for the season.  

So the Nationals got almost no production from their Opening Day 1 through 4 hitters in the first half. 

Their pitching - and an improved defense - is the main reason, but credit also goes to the bottom half of that opening day line up, especially Danny Espinosa, Wilson Ramos, and especially Micheal Morse. 
 

Espinosa is a candidate for rookie of the year with 16 homers, 52 ribbies, and an 800 OBS - plus a flare for the dramatic hit and great defense.  Ramos too has had some big hits and is already a fantastic defensive catcher with great footwork and a great arm.

But after Zimmermann, Morse is the second-best story for Washington.  After a torrid spring, Morse flopped in April and May.  He was eventually benched in left field in favor of Laynce Nix, another revelation this year who has gone from the bench to the clean up spot in two months.  The same goes for Roger Bernadina, who started the season in Syracuse but now starts in center.  Though still not comfortable in the lead off spot the Dutch Master has been stellar on defense and had his moments on offense.

But Morse is THE story with the bat. After LaRoche got hurt Morse was back in the line up at first, getting so hot you would have thunk that he replaced Wally Pip.  He finished the first half at .304, 14 homers and 48 RBIs with an .886 OBS.

This team has competed so well so far this season that it's easy to forget that on June 23rd, after winning their 11th game out of 12, their manager Jim Riggleman petulantly quit.  There is no "I" in team but there is one in Riggleman.  

The Nats seemed to quickly turn the page, and GM Jim Rizzo facilitated a successful transition by hiring Davey Johnson, who had worked the last two years as an adviser, to take over.   

Hiring Johnson was a great move then, but looks even better now.  Hiring such a proven coach and winner must have helped quell any uncertainty or unease in the club house in the wake of Riggleman's abandonment of the team.

Every major league team has talent, but often the intangibles are necessary to make good teams into better - or in some cases great - teams.  

This team's intangible is resiliency.  Whether it's their record in one-run games, the way the Nats have outscored their opponents by more than 15 runs in extra innings, or in overcoming Werth's horrible first half AND their manager quitting in the midst of an incredible winning streak, this team has had to deal with lots of challenges and problems.  Thanks to their resiliency - and starting pitching - the Nationals had a successful first half and are poised to have an even better second.

And we still have Strasburg and Bryce Harper on the horizon, for 2012, too.

GO NATS!

Nats Fever?

As Evan and I prepare to leave for tonight's Nats game versus the Rockies, it's hard not to get a little excited. It may not be full on 'Nats Fever' but at least we're a little warm. The recent winning streak and improved play, coupled with the Straburg signing, finally gives this franchise an actual pulse.

More importantly for Kasten and the Lerners, it's proof that their plan is actually a plan. The young talent - Zimmerman, Flores, Lannan, Dukes? - combined with the potential talent - Strasburg, Zimmermann, Detwiler, Marrero - could actually lead to a decent team.

Here's hoping the current cast of starters continue to improve next year on our way to a 75 win season. And that Strasburg pans out so that in two or three years we actually have a contending team.

What in the wide, wide world of sports is going on here

That headline has no real relationship to today's blog post.  Besides being a great line from 'Blazing Saddles' it's all I could come up with - but does describe lots of sports happenings this week and weekend.

Tough week for the Nats, punctuated by last night's terrible loss.  We were at that game, so had a great view to Danys Baez' swinging bunt with two outs in the top of the 12th.  The only thing worse than watching an American League pitcher start a two-out rally is acknowledging the fact that by sending Baez to the plate the Orioles had conceded the inning.  Even when the other team gives in the Nats lose.

The loss obscured the fact that the worst may be behind us in terms of the Nats bullpen.  Bergman, Beimel, Villone and eventual loser Kip Wells all pitched well last night, and Hanrahan picked up a nice save on Thursday night against the Pirates. 

I have to offer a  moment of appreciation for of all people Joel Hanrahan.  On Wednesday he lost another game with a ninth-inning wild pitch.  But 24-hours later he had the stones, and the ability to forget about that wild pitch, to come in the ninth and protect a lead and get a save.  You have to admire that ability, and it's another small reminder about how great sport is.  Past is not prologue, and shouldn't keep you from performing.  Good stuff.

The bullpen is not the only good pitching news.  The Nats finally pulled the plug on Daniel Cabrera and recalled someone named 'Stamman' from Triple A.  He looked great for 6 innings on Thursday.  Like Zimmermann did last night, he works fast. That keeps fielders sharp, hitters uncomfortable, and fans happy.  It worked for Bob Gibson and Sandy Koufax, and I wonder why all pitchers don't follow that lead and work fast.

The good news for the Nats is all of a sudden a young and talented starting rotation may be taking shape.  Lannan, Zimmermann, Martis and Stamman may ended up as a serviceable starting staff. The bad news is you are walking a tight rope if you expect four starters 25-and-under to carry your team to respectability.  But if these starters progress and get the Nats to 70 wins this year - you know your team stinks if your goal is to 'only' lose 92 wins, which will require the Nats to go 58-63 the rest of way - the Nats could a decent, 500 team NEXT year.  So there may be hope on the horizon.

The bad news for this team right now is that Dunn is not hitting; his average is down 30 points since the 4-4 west coast swing, and Dukes is hurt/slumping.  

The return of Jesus Flores should help the offense and the pitching staff.  With the new, young rotation, the suddenly calm bullpen, and w/Zimmerman, Guzman and Nick Johnson leading the offense all the pieces may in place for a respectable run. The new alignment - great offense, young starters, steadier bullpen - may be the best scenario for the Nats since their move to Washington.  Bottom line: it will interesting to track the team's play with all these pieces in place.

• I was excited to see fellow Greek-American Nick Markakis play last night.  He went 0-6 so we didn't get to see much. But the O who really impressed me was Adam Jones.  That guy looks like a ball player, and hit everything hard last night in getting three hits and driving in the winning runs in the 12th.  The Orioles are set at those two positions for a decade. 
• I still root for the Orioles in the AL.  Unlike many Washingtonians I bear no ill will towards that franchise for years opposing a team in DC.  Perhaps that's because owner Peter Angelos is Greek and an active Democrat, or because Camden Yards is still a great place to watch a game, or because for years going to Balmer to watch Cal Ripken, etc. play was great fun.  But I think the main reason is we have our own team now so who cares? And like a relief pitcher you have to move on to today's game.

A Few More Random Notes

I tried to TIVO three other sporting events last night while we were at the game: game two of the Cavs-Magic series, Carolina playing in the ACC baseball tournament, and the women's lacrosse team in the final four.

• Phenomenal ending to the basketball game.  How you could let Lebron James catch an inbounds pass in that situation is beyond me, but he still had to hit a tough shot. I would have not guarded Mo Williams and doubled James.  You just can't let him get the ball. 
• Excellent game in general though, and the Magic should feel great about stealing game one and having the fortitude to come back from a 20-point deficit. Some teams, say the Lakers against the Rockets last week for instance, would have tanked it at that point, simply happy to have won one game on the road.  But behind Dwight Howard and the world's most famous Turk, Hedo Turkoglu,  the Magic fought back.
• The Heels got waxed 11-1 by Virginia, so I did not watch that game at all.  The Heels should still host a super-regional when the NCAA tournament starts next week.
• The women defeated previously undefeated Maryland last night to make the lacrosse national championship game on Sunday.  The game is in Towson, Maryland, so we may go up for that one.  Another chance to yell the greatest two words in the English language: GO HEELS!