Square One
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by user CurlyW
The time has come for the Washington Nationals to go back to the drawing board. The team has now found itself on the business end of the broom handle in two of the last three series. The sweeps from Colorado and Boston make strange bookends around the Yankees series, but these last two weeks of underscore the true nature of this team. The Nationals, as currently constituted, are a slightly below average team. They are good enough to beat the better teams in the league if those teams have an off day. They are flawed enough to lose to the worse teams in the league if those teams play well. And if they face a good team playing well…lights out.
The team’s flaws are numerous and easily exposed. The starting pitching is wildly inconsistent. The youngsters Mike O’Connor and Shawn Hill pitch well, but they have been asked to play over their heads. The veterans have either gotten injured Ryan Drese, Brian Lawrence, Pedro Astacio, John Patterson) or been complete busts (Livan Hernandez, Tony Armas, Jr., Ramon Ortiz). The Nats cannot count on any of these men to give them quality starts on a consistent basis. This leads to the constant overworking of the bullpen, which lacks a true middle reliever to eat the innings left on the table from the starters. Many of the young bullpen pitchers, who are trained to last 2-3 innings at most lack the stuff to challenge opposing hitters for multiple at-bats. After Andruw Jones sees Saul Rivera the second time around, Rivera’s already has shown Jones everything in his bag of tricks.
The entire pitching staff seems unwilling to throw strikes. The pitchers nibble around the corners until they find themselves behind in the count, leaving them no choice but to throw a fastball down the middle to avoid a walk. This habit has led to run after run in recent weeks, as the batters either take a walk or rap out an extra-base hit, usually an RBI. The Nats pitching constantly commits avoidable follies like walking the opposing team’s pitcher or walking home a run with the bases loaded. None of the pitchers on the staff seem to have any confidence in their stuff, and opposing hitters are taking advantage.
The defense is similarly ugly. The middle infield lacks range and guys are diving for balls in the gaps that other players might field cleanly. The outfield is also a house of horrors with Soriano’s shaky fielding and the woefully ineffective Marlon Byrd/Damian Jackson platoon. For the gory details I’ll refer you to Capitol Punishment's excellent post on the subject. You’ll find yourself nodding your head throughout the whole read.
I find myself anticipating the coming month of July like one might anticipate a painful but necessary surgical procedure. It is time for Stan Kasten and Jim Bowden to completely remake this franchise from the ground up. I’ve grown fond of many of the veterans on the team, but it’s time to send some people packing. In particular, I’d like to see what the market will bear for any or all of Alfonso Soriano, Jose Guillen, Livan Hernandez, Jose Vidro, Tony Armas, Jr. and possibly Nick Johnson. The only guys I would refuse to deal are Chad Cordero, Ryan Zimmerman and Brian Schneider. I’m not including platoon guys like Jackson and Anderson or journeyman veterans like Robert Fick and Royce Clayton because these guys have no trade value.
With luck, Bowden can trade these guys for a stopgap player that can fill a need today and a prospect or two that can be a mainstay tomorrow. Today’s most pressing needs are in the outfield (depending on if Guillen and Soriano are traded) and above all, center field. The Nationals also need to replace Jose Vidro’s glove at second base and get a shortstop that can get on base reliably. Of course, starting pitching is a huge need but isn’t it always?
It’s clear that the Nats have a long way to go before they achieve true respectability and success. Watching this ragtag band of misfits play the top dogs of the AL East has illustrated the franchise’s shortcomings with brilliant clarity. Sure, it’s fun to root for a scrappy team when they upset a great team. But it’s even more fun to arrive at the stadium knowing that your team has even or better odds to win. The New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox expect to challenge every team they play. The Nats just hope that Armas makes it into the third. For once, I can’t wait to see what deals Jim Bowden has up his sleeve.
This column was originally published at The Curly W.
Date
Thu 06/22/06, 10:56 am EST
