Things went from meh to terrible this weekend as the Nats finally played a second good team and got trounced. They lost the weekend 24-6 in aggregate, neither hitting nor pitching well. Corbin looked incredibly bad, not making it out of the second. Joan Adon, who just celebrated his first major league win giving the Nats clubhouse a little something to smile about, got rocked looking like the AAA pitcher he is. Cishek, who is supposed to be the good arm in the pen gave up 5 hits and 1 walk in an inning and a third. Josh Bell hurt his other knee. Alcides Escobar went 0-series and dropped his OPS to .358. Nelson Cruz went 0-series and is now hitting .169. It was the type of performance that would make you sick <insert obligatory Lucius Fox joke here>
Here is where the Nats stand at the moment.
Their big FA move is crashing. Their other good non Soto hitter is hurt. Their 2018 CF of the future can field but really can't hit, but they can't replace him with the other guy, because the other guy can't hit either. They have a 35 year old at SS who can't hit. Their below average 3B is getting to average, but their average 2B is hitting below average so that evens out. They have one bright spot which is a Cuban hitter brought in 5 years ago finally finding his swing in the majors. Unfortunately he is 34.
Their starting rotation is one pitcher deep, making a rookie the defacto ace. Their best early reliever is down for weeks, leaving the pen structure a mess and filled with arms no one would call quality.
They are the second worst team in baseball and after a brief stand at home against Miami they'll go on an extended West Coast swing playing the team that just humiliated them and a couple surprisingly good teams. If they can't win this series against the Marlins they are a pretty good bet to be looking at a 10-20 start.
How is the season already long?
The goal of the whole season seems to be: buy lottery tickets on vets and hope you can restock the farm system with younger lottery tickets at the trade deadline. That's why you're getting a double dose of A. Sanchez in the rotation plans and not Josh Rogers and Espino (who are not great! but are also not has-beens). It's why Luis Garcia is still in AAA with an .875 OPS. It makes some sense from a long-term perspective but it is really dispiriting to watch. It also means 2024 is the "let the kids play" year. I may go full Event Horizon if they bring in Sam Clay and Patrick Murphy to walk the bases loaded again. I'd much rather watch Tyler Clippard give up 1000 home runs and feel a tingle of nostalgia.
ReplyDeleteBright spots:
* Josh Bell's knees and Lucius Fox's oyster dinner means more Riley Adams at 1B!
* Victor Arano leads the pitching staff with 0.5 fWAR!
I meant 2023 is the let the kids play year. Darn pandemic messing with spacetime.
ReplyDeleteI will never understand why they didn't do more in free agency. I mean maybe I'm way off-base but for a team like this, FA is your chance to purchase prospects—you sign FAs to one-year deals, and then you trade them at the deadline to needy contenders for prospects.
ReplyDeleteIs that not how you rebuild a farm system?? It costs you some money, yes, but you get what you pay for. The Nats signed Cruz (who might suck now), Doolittle (hurt), Cishek (might also suck), Sanchez (hurt/sucks), Escobar (awful), Clippard (AAA) and...? They don't really have anyone to flip for prospects, especially if Cruz stays bad and Doolittle stays hurt.
I get not wanting to spend money (especially with what's come out about their financial situation), but is spending a little and getting literally nothing really any better than spending a bit more than a little and actually getting some pieces at the deadline?
[2009 vibes intensify]
ReplyDeleteSo, uh, is there a generational talent in the draft this year?
I was really starting to question why Clippard isn't out there...then I looked at his AAA statline... 8BB/5H/5ER in 8IP... yeesh
ReplyDeleteThis team is an absolute trainwreck and as elchupo alluded to, I'm thinking Rizzo would have liked to do more purchasing of rentals to flip but was budget constrained, so went for 1 high likelihood winner (Cruz) and then volume instead of signing a bunch of $4M/year type players.
But dear god it's going to be painful to watch the rest of the season. Depending on your metric of choice, both the pitching and the batting are bottom 5 in the league, only CIN is in the same boat, and we've all seen how their front office is doing right now. The offense will pickup I have to think. But I'm not optimistic at all about the pitching, unless Stras comes back and is WS MVP Stras, which even then likely just makes him trade bait
Too early to call it yet, Harper?
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side: This series may be the first time two Bahamians face each other in Major League history.
On the dimmer side: Miami's Bahamian is really, really good. Washington's is 0 for April.
I didn’t mind the Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge days - back then I was rooting to not get swept in each series and hopefully win 63. But after watching the Lerners deplete the farm system for years rather than pay the available elite closer de jour and not sign Harper, Rendon, or Turner… it’s tough.
ReplyDeleteThey absolutely need to play Garcia and every guy under the age of 27 who could contribute on the next playoff contending team here.
ReplyDeleteShades of 2005 to 2011... even with the successes of 2012 - 2019, I still remember the old bad days and probably still numb from it. Wake me when they're good again.
ReplyDeleteBright side?
ReplyDelete* Nats are doing better then their expected W/L
* We get a day off
* Phillies record is almost as bad.
* If the Lerners sell, the new buyers will likely pay off Corbin's contract, he can be DFA'd.
* ????
@Nattydread
ReplyDelete*No need for constant, desperate clinging to the idea that they could get hot and make the playoffs
*Big sales on tickets and/or cheap beer promos late in the season
*Random stunts like bringing in popular athletes from successful local teams. In the RFK days, it was Alexander Ovechkin and some other Caps players. Now it would probably be [checks notes] Alexander Ovechkin and some other Caps players. The more things change...
I went to a Baysox game over the weekend. It was fun, which highlighted how going to the games can be enjoyable even if every player makes you go "who?" and you have nothing invested in the outcome. It was bark in the park and they gave my dog a bandana :)
Love getting to minors games. I'm in the bay area these days and Giants tickets are ridiculously expensive, so checking out a minor league team like the A's or the River Cats is a lot of fun (I kid...the A's are better than the Nats after all, but tickets are cheap and who doesn't love a giant hot dog)
ReplyDeleteOn the plus side, tickets will be cheap again
ReplyDelete