Arizona is bad. Like really so. Like one guy in the lineup hitting over .200 bad. If they scored a bunch of runs that would have been a black mark on the Nats pitching staff. That they didn't is nothing special.
But good! The Nats are not the worst team in the National League (and by extension in baseball). In fact they are tied for 2nd in the NL East! Have they played a slightly easy schedule, gotten a little lucky, and benefitted from bad starts from ATL and PHI? Yes, yes and yes! Are we still talking about a 6-7 record here? Yes! But take what you can get.
Notes :
- After starting hot Keibert has just stopped hitting. Like at all. Given he has not yet shown patience or power that's not good.
- Riley Adams, Lane Thomas, Cruz and Robles are still terrible. The replacement level MI is replacement level, which is better than terrible I guess. Soto, Bell, and Yadi Hernandez are the only guys hitting.
- The Nats have one homer in the last week.
- After a rocky first start Gray handled his next two games. I've said he's a valid ML pitcher, just not sure where in the rotation. However, for this rotation now... he might be the ace?
- Bullpen is ok - or at least "better than Pirates and D-Backs offenses" level. so that's something. Remember kids it can always be worse.
3 comments:
This is a season where the expectations are terrible. What we want to know is:
1: Are the prospects going to get better?
2: Will we get value for any of the rentals?
3: Is there any hope for the long-term contracts (Corbin, Strasburg)?
On 3: No answer for SS. Corbin seems to have begun to pull things together. A decent / good number 4 starter? I'll take it. If SS does better than Corbin, its a win.
On 2: Bell is raking and, if he keeps it up, can be packaged to a contender that needs so pop in the post season. It's always great to have some bull pen pieces as handy trade bait. Doo, Cishek... Maikel Franco, Cesar? Cruz may come around, be sellible by July.
On 1: Prospects? Need some patience in this department, because... Gotta like Gray. Ruiz isn't hitting but still looks good. Fedde is a #4/5 rotation piece --- that's not nothing. Fox? Entertaining. Others? ????
Now that both you, Harper, and @Nattydread mentioned Josh Bell's hitting, what is your current assessment of him as a hitter?
From my standpoint, I wasn't thrilled with his acquisition, even more so with all the blue-skying about Bell being "the-bat-to-protect-Soto."
For one, Soto don't need no stinkin' protection. The theory (not this year, though, with Cruz behind Soto) was that because Bell is a switch-hitter, there would be no huge platoon advantage for opponents to repeatedly throw LHP at Soto. But Bell is significantly worse facing lefties than righties.
Last season, in close, late-inning games, when the opposing team brought in a southpaw to face Soto, they simply left him in to face Bell. No hard thinking involved, recognizing that Bell was rarely a menace to LHP.
Something else: Bell has a career pattern of alternating good years with bad years. You can mark your calendar by the pattern. (Cautionary note: Last year was Bell's good year.)
Which brings this long-winded preamble down to this: What do you realistically expect the Nats might receive in return when Bell is traded at the deadline (assuming it's not a straight salary dump)?
Doo to the IL with a strain in his throwing elbow, better hope it's really minor because he was pitching pretty solidly and could've been good trade bait. ugh
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