The Nats are moving on so must we. The Nats blew the final game of the Oriole two set. On one hand, if you played the Orioles 4 times you'd want to win 3 and if you played them 2 and 2 you'd want to win the 2 at home so this is just in line with targets. On the other hand the Nats bullpen blew up and the offense scored two runs against a bad pitching team, highlighting the known issue for the Nats and the less dire, but still relevant issue that I've been harping on for a few weeks.
But these two games were supposed to ease the Nats into a 14 game stretch and instead they've now worked the pen a little bit and lost a game. Ugh.
Anyway how are the Braves? It's been a while!
Since the Nats last played the Braves the Nats have rolled going 13-4 against schedule that featured four of the worst teams in baseball in five of their 6 series. The Braves though haven't folded. They went 12-7 against a schedule that was more balanced - Cubs, Mets, Phillies, Marlins, Padres, Brewers and kept a healthy lead on the Nationals.
Their lineup is kind of a better version of the Nats one. There's a couple stars they rely on, one stalwart and one youngster - Freeman and Acuna. They aren't hitting as well as Rendon and Soto, but while the Nats have one guy you like in Trea, and a bunch of other guys you don't hate, the Braves have a bunch of other guys you like and one position (McCann/Flowers) you don't hate. Albies? He's ok. Swanson? ok. Riley? ok. Markakis? ok. Any single comparison - say Markakis to Eaton, wouldn't be a big deal but line up 4 of them where the Braves have that slight edge and it adds up. Plus there's Donaldson who gives the Braves a solid third bat to rely on which the Nats DO have but it's on a "who's up" basis. Right now it's Dozier. Before it was Kendrick most of the year. If there is a bright side for the Nats the Braves bats have been colder. Donaldson is MVPing it, but Freeman is in a slump and Swanson and Riley are too.
The pitching is better. The pen is still pretty solid. Luke Jackson is good. Newcomb keeps the ball in the park and the pickup of Swarzak looks like it may work out. Losing Webb, who's out until later in July, hurts, but there is more hit than miss in guys like Tomlin, Minter and old friend Jerry Blevins to make the pen more reliable than not. The rotation keeps fighting between coming together and falling apart. Keuchel has come in and settled in nicely for the most part and Soroka is still doing well. Teheran's up and down status fits the number 3 spot better than trying to fit him in 1 or 2, but after that injuryies to Fried and Gausman who were good, and a decent 5th spot inning eater respectively, have left the Braves scrambling a bit. Touki can't get it right and they got one ace and one decent pitcher from their vast minor reserves so far. Asking for more is a bit much. Ian Anderson in AA is probably the best guy in the minors now for them, but if they are winning they'll probably wait until next year to give him both AAA seasoning and of course more team control. However, the Nats might see a Kolby Allard, who rose fast last year and had the bumps then that guys like Wright and BrySe Wilson are having now. He's rebounded finally and might be ready for his second chance.
That gets to the match-ups! First is Stras vs Teheran. Stras had been a question but looked real good against the Phillies and has done well against the Braves this year. Teheran is a box of chocolates but the Nats seem to handle him well. Then Corbin gets the bad luck of matching up with the ace again. Soroka is the real deal and the Nats lucked out last time (he got hit with a line drive and left the game early). Game 3 is TBD right now but Sanchez is all but set to start that game for the Nats. Sanchez has pitched fine for a while. His best game of the year came against the Braves but his worst game since the Nats started rolling also came against them. The Braves are a question mark but Allard would naturally slot in here if he's coming, which is what I'm thinking. If it was Kyle Wright he'd probably pitch tonight given his starts. This leaves Sunday which is a huge question mark. If the Nats and Braves have their ways it will be Max vs Gausman. If they don't it'll be Voth vs Wilson... probably. Though other guys are probably in the mix until they aren't.
ed note - if it is Wright tonight it becomes Nats edge, Nats edge, Braves edge, ? and nothing really changes. You still pick a split. Though I think this works out slightly better for the Nats in theory because the Braves don't counter one of the first two with Soroka meaning the Nats have a good shot at winning first two and putting a ton of pressure on Braves/Soroka in game 3, especially if Max looks ready for G4. Of course this all holds for as long at 1 game
You give the Nats an edge Game 1, Braves a slight one in Game 2 (they also hit lefties better). Game 3 goes to the Nats again and 4 right now is a toss-up since we know nothing. If Max was definitely starting you might be tempted to give the Nats 3 here. Certainly they'd be favored in 3 and have a good chance of winning Corbin vs Soroka. But since we don't know we definitely can't make that leap. I don't see any reason not to think this will be a split. But the onus is on the Nats to win tonight. Lose tonight and suddenly you NEED Max in there to have the split be the likely outcome again.
Nats Sweep : ATL 58-43, WSN 54-44. It's a whole new race.
Nats win 3-1 : ATL 59-42, WSN 53-45. Nats gain a couple of games and we start to look at the next match-up in 7 days and if the Nats are going to make some moves between now and then to make a serious move on the division.
SPLIT : ATL 60-41, WSN 52-46. We start to play the series by series game. Can they make a run on Colorado? If they don't can they sweep LA? What happens next ATL series?
Braves win 3-1 : ATL 61-40, WSN 51-47. Tough to see the Nats taking the East. Time to take stock of WC position
Braves Sweep : ATL 62-39, WSN 50-48. Race is effectively over. Nats are probably not even in the playoffs if the season ended that day. Big question if they should bother doing anything with 10 more tough games lined up that look like they'll push Nats under .500
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Great analysis, per usual. I feel like the bullpen is reasonably rested though, at least the most important arms. Hopefully Stras can go deep and hand the ball to Rodney/Doo tonight. I think they need to give Suero a day or two off to deal with whatever off field issue he is dealing with. I wish him the best. Glad to be watching exciting baseball in July!!
Unfortunately, lifelong Nats killer Freddie Freeman will no doubt break out of his slump during this series.
Nice work, Harper. G1 is huge as it sets the stage for the rest of the series. One thing to note is that Soroka was hit by a Voth pitch, not a line drive.
@Max agreed! Also, didn't Suero pitch 5 out of the last 6 days. He definitely needs a day or two, or maybe three depending on what's he's dealing with.
Here's how 538 sees the series:
G1: Braves at 53%
G2: Braves at 56%
G3: Braves at 56%
G4: Braves at 51% (but note that no pitcher is listed for the Nats. If its Max, then the Nats will be favored. If its Voth, then Braves are favored).
538 seems about right to me because I don't feel comfortable favoring in the Nats in any of these games given the bullpen. You can get a 2 run/6 inning start from Stras tonight and they can still lose 5-3 really easily.
Everybody wearing a Nats uni last night except Fedde, Turner, and Eaton should have to run gassers until they puke their guts out then lick it up and do it again. Losing 9-2 to the blankety blank blank blankety blanking blanking Orioles is just beyond unacceptable. Gotdang bunch of wussy weenies. Can't hit, can't pitch, can't manage. Every one of them should be ashamed to show their dang faces in public for a month.
But if they take three out of four in Atlanta I'll forgive them. Sorta.
Stop mincing words, Sammy
They lollygagged around the infield! They lollygagged around the outfield! What does that make 'em?
Look like tomorrow is Corbin vs Teheran. I feel like that is a 50% coin flip game. Yeah Corbin is better but Braves are a better team outside of starter and at home. Then Saturday is Soroka vs X. I assume it’s Sanchez. Braves favored but we have a chance. Then Sunday is X vs Gausman. If it’s Max, Nats are clearly favored. If it’s Voth, Braves favored. After win today, I still think split is most likely if Max doesn’t pitch, but 3/4 Nats is most likely if Max does pitch.
Giants beat Mets in 16.
You guys are missing a great baseball season while you debate the proper names of my pet snakes.
The question remains, should Rizzo give up Kieboom to get one of the top three relievers on the market? If he does, will it make a difference in the post season? Or maybe it is Box who is the difference maker.
Speaking of snakes. Did Harper kill the snakes chance to make the playoffs by picking them to make the playoffs and will he win this years kiss of death award?
kay, I'll take the bait-- giving up Kieboom is an absolute NO, unless it's for an All-Star everyday player. For a reliever? Oh, hell no. Granted, I've never been a sellthefuturefortoday guy. Maybe pick up yet another old, cheap guys as is the Nats' history.
I still believe the Lerners, despite their statements that "they want to bring a championship to DC", define success as a profitable enterprise--regular contention for the playoffs, good attendance, good concession sales, renting the park out when they can, etc. See Atlanta in the 90's.
On the timely topic--HOW ABOUT THAT STRASBURG guy?!? That's how you go into a hostile park and suck the life out of the home crowd. Unfreakingbelievable. Now, I'm a DC fan forever so the whole second half of the game I'm wondering if he's going on the IL with some ill-defined leg injury from all that running and thinking, "great, that's all the runs they'll score this series and all the other black thoughts that come with the territory......but it's a new day so now I'm thinking SWEEP!
I was disappointed that Strasburg settled for a second single. The way the team was batting, if he gets a double, you have to leave him in for a fourth AB to try for the 3B and immortality.
NL pitchers with 12 wins: Stephen Strasburg.
He's also #3 in strikeouts and #4 in innings pitched. Just keep doubting him. Keep thinking that we're a tossup when he starts.
I like this new power-hitter the Nats picked up. I wonder if there's any relation to that other Strasburg guy on the team.
Yeah, I still see a split too, of course, as my wife tells me, I have zero sportsativity. I always think my team will lose. The most promising thing out of the last two games is that Turner seems to be hitting, that first game in Baltimore and the few before he was giving away AB's. MLB Trade Rumors had a good piece on just how bad Yan Gomes has been. Basically, they gave up some stuff of value for a guy that if people really treated sunk costs like sunk costs would get DFA'd. As someone accurately pointed out to me, he's been worse than Matt Wieters. I know Suzuki's getting older, but if he can, they need him to play more or call up Raudy Reed who's raking in AAA. The Nationals lineup is built on balance and not having holes. When Gomes plays, you basically have two pitchers hitting.
A thank you to Chaos56 for taking the bait and giving his opinion on a trade of Kieboom. I happen to agree with his opinion.
The problem that I have with posters to this blog is that they fail to see the parameters of the trade market. The cry is the Nats and Rizzo should go out and get two or three new relievers. The problem is this is a sellers market because all the contenders need relievers. Then factor in that the Braves, Yanks and Astros have deep farms and you can see the problem that Rizzo faces. This seems lost on the people saying Rizzo needs to do this or that.
Everyone tells me you are a sophisticated group of fans. Great. So maybe, when you say Rizzo should do these trades you should name the trade targets and what you think the Nats should give up. Then we would all be able to access whether you are being realistic or to put it another way--whether you are really a sophisticated group of fans.
Of course, for those of you who are really sophisticated, you are beginning to understand that the subtext of my prior post is that Rizzo's job as a GM is much tougher than you think. He not only has to find the right player but also figure out what he can afford to give up while the other team is hoping for a massive overpay while the selling team is using his offer to try and leverage another team's offer. Job is a lot tougher than you can imagine.
Those who are ultra-sophisticated probably don't bother reading ssln's comments. Unfortunately, I haven't reached that enviable status.
Yasel Antuna, Will Crowe, Luis Garcia will bring back diffrent middle relievers from jake diekman to sam dyson to others. Could even be a scott oberg with rockies falling off a cliff. Some of the best arms can be had if you pay off a contract such as ian kennedy but i dont feel the lerners doing that. If i were a nats fan i wouldnt even think of the name bumgarner or felipe vazquez its not happening so dont get your hopes up
stand pat. no big moves! i guess extend rendon and use the zim money on a couple relievers? try again next year?
Two things that I find most annoying in this world:
- folks who read / write a think-piece and decide they are experts on a space to lecture you
- People who treat opinion, often their own, as fact and talk / write condescendingly to others who disagree (often these folks are actually pretty unable to read queues, listen and actually have less well formed opinions)
@ssln, again, you're writing nonsense. Also, remember when you wrote an anonymous response to yourself? Still weird.
The Nats don't need a shutdown reliever. They need someone to keep the game close when the starter only goes 5 or 6 innings. Rainey is inconsistent, but he was filthy last night, only missed an immaculate inning by one pitch. What the Nats need is depth and I think despite demand depth can be had for a reasonable price. But if it can't, then Rizzo should stand pat and hope that Venters and Box can be that guy.
To everyone else though:
Seems like this is going to come down to the wire with a lot of teams deciding between seller / buyer mode. I'm super curious how this plays out - I imagine overall trades for the year will go down, major frontline deals might increase?
Also, thoughts on Harper's twitter thoughts from yesterday regarding flipping Robles? Seems like we'd be selling a little low, but he's still young enough that I'm guessing he has a tone of value, and we could use another ++ bat (guessing it would need be a three team deal based on his thread from yesterday).
@ Anon 8:19 Thanks for pointing me to Harper's feed. I'm not on twitter and don't routinely check it.
I'm big on Markakis making 3000 too. Let's break HOF voting!!!
Well, the worst-case scenario for the series is already off the table after one game. Yay, Nats!
I have to agree with JWLumley, though. The Nats' pen has a closer, and a good one at that. Closer isn't the problem, and treating it like it is the problem just increases the cost of any trade. This is the mistake Rizzo made several years back when he traded for Papelbon on the assumption that Storen would then improve the 8th inning and so on. The Washington Strangler was actually good for us that season, but Storen went full headcase and in getting Papelbon we overpaid in money and prospects. By contrast, the trade for Melancon made more sense because closer was actually the major problem with an otherwise functional pen.
Now, the good news is that Doolittle is as far away from Storen as I think one can get, according to the psychological genius of some guy typing in the comments of a sports blog. He's pitched the 8th before (and done it well) and he seems like the kind of person who wouldn't erupt at the "disrespect" of being bounced down if, say, Felipe Vazquez drops into our laps (...irony there...).
But Rizzo shouldn't be pursuing those kind of deals unless they come at a "Dave Stewart wants Shelby Miller" kind of price. Instead, he should be looking for solid competence that he can put into the middle innings. "Elite closer" shouldn't be the standard; "better than Rainey/Guerra/Suero/Rodney" should be. Pitchers of that caliber will cost less in prospects, probably cost less in salary-cap figures (so as to leave room under the cap for multiple relievers or even a 5th starter), and be just as useful to the pen as it gets guys like McGowin right off the team and makes sure people like Grace and Sipp are nowhere near high-leverage innings.
Stumbled across this and thought I'd share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whvYYwsXW2g
Is Soroka the real deal? The answer depends, I think on what you mean by "the real deal." This article goes through Soroka's stats from a fantasy baseball perspective: https://fantasy.fangraphs.com/is-this-the-time-to-sell-high-on-mike-soroka/
Although we don't care about fantasy, it provides some insight about what Soroka actually is. He's a below average strikeout pitcher, who has a great BB rate and induces a lot of ground balls. This means the quality of his results depends a lot on suppressing homers and limiting damage on balls in play. The article above compares him to Kyle Hendricks, but notes that we should expect Soroka to have worse results on balls in play going forward, compared to what he's done so far this season. Given that he induces a lot of groundballs, we should expect a lower-than-normal HR/FB rate. Even so, his HR/FB right now looks low.
Although there is disagreement about how much, the projection systems expect an ERA jump from him going forward - Zips at 3.31, Steamer at 3.99 (his current ERA is 2.24). I think we know enough to say that Soroka is probably an above average starting pitcher, but I don't know if we can say he's much more than that.
Let's enjoy the glow of last night while we can because about 7:15 tonight the anxiety returns in full force.
Also don't follow Harper on Twitter, but flip Robles? Already? Only way I see that happening is if the return is some AL center fielder whose last name starts with "T". I'm still a huge fan of Victor, still think he will be one of the top 5 CF's in the game for years to come. I'd much rather see him extended now, a la Acuna.
People talk about MAT's great fielding and routes to the ball. I saw him play at Hagerstown when he had just transitioned from shortstop and he was frequently clueless judging fly balls. He was older at the time than Robles is now. Robles is just raw and has definitely shown improvement this year and the speed and arm are ridiculous. Will he hit .320? Probably not. But I'll take .280 and 15 HR a year without a second guess.
For years people compared Trout and Harper despite there being no real comparison.
But Soto is a better hitter than Trout was at this stage in Trout's career (first 200 games, as MASN pointed out last night). There is a reason to compare those two.
If our farm was rich with talent, then I'd be up for trading some for pen help now. But it's slim pickings aside from Kieboom (and Garcia?). Not worth it to me. Standing pat, and IF we make the playoffs, and IF the pen blows it, I won't blame Rizzo for not fixing it at the TD.
Plus, imagine a scenario where we don't make the playoffs and we traded for pen help that is rendered useless? Or if we do make the playoffs and that reliever never pitches/isn't a factor because our starters gave up a lot of runs early? Never been--and never will be--a big fan of trading future contributors for a rental bullpen arm. I would only consider dealing a Kieboom for a rental if that rental was a bonafide All Star hitter, or ace starter. Otherwise, HARD pass. The payoff for all three of those positions costs about the same, yet the impact is big for the hitter/starter, and minimal for the reliever.
@Ole PBN:
Indeed. Kieboom for a rental is just a plain overpay unless that rental is Trout or Scherzer, and maybe even then, and that's while not considering the general thinness of the Nationals' farm system. If they're going to consider moving him at all, they need to be getting years of control and/or multiple players back.
This is why I say, as I noted above, that we should be pursuing quality middle-relief help, not shutdown game-changers. Players that make it more likely than not we can hold a 2-run lead for a couple of innings when Max/Stras/Corbin/Sanchez go out.
@Anon Flipping Robles depends entirely on what the return is. But I think we’d be selling very low. He’s been improving as the season goes along and he’s already at 2.2 WAR. This is a 22 year old who is gonna have a 3 WAR rookie campaign....He’s a super rare player who has all the tools. The question is if he can cut down his K rate and be more patient basically.
@ole PBN,
better stick to that promise, otherwise ssln will call you out in october
Interesting comments. From my perspective I think Ole PBN has hit it on the head. I will be interested to see how Rizzo plays it.
I fully anticipate that he will make a single move for a middle reliever that costs some secondary prospect and doesn't cause us to break the salary cap.
But we shall see.
don't flip Robles....
Walk, single, walk...yeah, let's stick with Rodney for another batter...
Fire Dave Martinez. Fire Dave Martinez. Fire Dave Martinez.
That was inexcusable. I thought he was supposed to be all into the advanced stats and analytics and yet he doesn't know to use his best pitcher in increasingly high leverage situations in the 9th with a tie game? That's inexcusable. Fire him tonight.
It was already too late, but you can't just give up on the game with the bases loaded. He did the right thing creating a ridiculous glove drama delay of game to give Doolittle time to warm up but then he didn't bring Doolittle in?????????????
That was absurd. How can you waste Robles's home run by just giftwrapping the game to Atlanta immediately following it?
What. On. Earth???
I wasn't watching the game because of work. The last time Rodney pitched 2 innings was in 2013. You can't let the 40+ year old guy try to pitch two innings. Was it as bad as it looked live? I just can't imagine any situation where letting Rodney pitch another inning when he threw 17 pitches in the 8th.
What Cass said. That was just embarrassing and maddening. And Victor Robles ain't going anywhere. Although Davey is probably pissed at Victor for extending the game and exposing him.
Let's win tonight. Annabelle better have his A game.
And before I forget, Davey, take that one trick pony Kevin Long with you when you go. I'm tired of seeing long fly balls and strikeouts from everybody trying to knock it out of the park when the park is playing big and the opposing pitcher has his best stuff. Line drives still move the line and score runs. Small ball still wins games.
Ryan Zimmerman needs to sit against righty starters. Period.
Just plain stupid. He tried to save Doolittle for the potential save, locked into old-school pitching to the stats mentality. I thought Showalter giving away the WC game to Toronto by not using Britton a couple of years back cured managers of that abominable nonsense. Doolittle was rested. The Braves' best hitters were coming up. Use him! If we got the lead in the 10th Guerra was available (day of rest yesterday) to finish up against the back end of the Braves' lineup. But instead he lets his 42-year-old reliever try to go two innings. This wasn't even the Fernando Rodney Experience biting us, it was just unconscionable bullpen misuse by the manager.
You guys should be careful what you say in print. There are laws that protect the mentally handicapped. The Learners are just doing their part to extend the protections of ADA (The Americans With Disabilities Act).
You know this team does call DC its home.
It's one thing to stick with Rodney to start the inning. I see at least trying that because who are you going to go to after Doolittle hopefully throws a scoreless 9th? If Rodney gets an out or two, maybe Doo comes in and can finish the 9th and still pitch the 10th.
But to not have Doo ready for Freeman? That was stupidity.
Rodney had no business staying in the game at all, but should have had an extremely short leash if you do stick with him. Should have pulled him after walking Acuna.
honestly all this talk ^^^ i think its kind of off base. everybody hammers davey for his handling of the pen but really what choices does he have with the nats offense? for the past month the nats offense has kind of stunk. hard to manage your way out of a game when the offense is only putting up three runs. i hear all the criticism for the game last night, but no praise for 4 scoreless bullpen innings tonight. if davey uses the admittedly tired doolittle last night, is doolittle lights out tonight?
Praise here for yesterday's game.
Its clear. Davey has a weakness in BP management and he makes mistakes. But he does prepare the team to play and he does motivate.
Today will be a difficult one. Bullpen short, starter not strong. Runs needed.
Not sure how we win today’s game. It’s like the ultimate lined up for disaster scenario, with the exception of Kevin Gausman who is hittable.
@Huzzah. This is a tough bullpen to manage. But good results don’t validate terrible choices. Having Rodney pitch two innings in a row two nights ago was just a terrible idea. Managers do this all the time where they think “well, if we hold on we’ll need Doolittle later anyway.” Well....yes....but that’s better than making sure u don’t get to deploy your weapons at all later. You want to use your best weapons in the highest leverage situations and not lose opportunities for wins. By using Doo in the 9th two days ago, you give the Nats another shot to go ahead, and win the game in extras. By staying with rodney, you are raising the chance as much as possible of just losing immediately. It’s simply faulty logic.
Regarding last night, his mistake was twofold: (1) the double switch was insane. Why is he double switching out Adams who can come up? Double switch out Suzuki or Dozier even to get further down the lineup. I get u want to avoid taking out Robles for defense. And then (2) once Doolittle IS up, tell him to just not swing. He’s not getting a hit. Just tell him to K or BB. At least give dozier a shot. Otherwise no complaints about his managing last night.
RE if u leave in doo will he be as sharp, I mean, I don’t know, he hadn’t pitched for a full week. Sometimes ur rusty when u haven’t pitched in a week. But he certainly could’ve gone 5 outs after throwing an inning the night before when he’s on that much rest.
I have to credit where credit is due. Davey handled the bullpen well last night. Good move to bring in Doo in the 8th inning. I agree with BxJaycobb, however, that the double switch should have been further down the line-up, probably Dozier because Howie would come in at second base. (You definitely don't want to switch Suzuki, though, because (1) Gomes can't hit and (2) you don't have any other catchers. And on the 3 - 2 count, you've get to tell Doo to just take the pitch.
With Ross pitching, not sure how we win today’s game. Looking at the schedule, I’m also not sure why he’s pitching at all? No Voth? No Fedde? This is probably a “let’s see what we have with Ross before the deadline” type of move—which is idiotic. The one thing I really don’t like about the Nats, or maybe baseball in general is the logic of continuously trying a failed experiment, expecting a different result. We know Ross will suck tonight, so when he does, we won’t be surprised. But why goes through with it if we already know the end result?
And to do it against Atlanta in a series-deciding game... going to be tough to explain that one.
Voth is injured. Fedde would be pitching on short rest. Max is still on the IL. It's either Ross or McGowin.
Weird day when we miss Voth... Maybe one of these days we'll get vintage Joe back.
What happened on his recovery that set him down the path of middling? In '15 and '16, I thought he was the future #3 in this rotation when Gio left. Didn't follow his rehab closely, but has he just never gotten fully healthy?
@Huzzah - I defend Davey on the grounds of "lack of options" pretty regularly. Friday was not such a game. There was zero justification for pitching Rodney in the 9th. Leaving him in after walking Acuna on 5 pitches was managerial malpractice.
Credit where do, great game yesterday. Today doesn't look particularly promising, though.
ah yes very nice rereading my late night drunk davey defense postings. i think my point is more that on Friday night, the comments section and twitter is alight with Davey attacks, but then when we win the silence is deafening. I mean, i get the first 40 games of the season and last year was abysmal, but how many more games could the nats realistically win since we got hot back in mid may? we have to lose somehow. cant remember a team this fun in all the years bryce and werth were on the team.
Who thinks that last night was RZim's last game playing for the Nats? If so, he ended his career with a hit! RZim's injury will end the debate about Kendrick's playing time.
@Potomac: you mean Matt Adams's playing time. Kendrick still ain't starting.
Kendrick will get all the LHP starts, though, since Adams can't hit lefties at all and everybody, including Davey, knows it. Even if Adams starts against all RHP, Kendrick will also spell Dozier at second against some RHP as well.
So the breakdown is:
vs. LHP: 1B-Kendrick, 2B-Dozier
vs. common RHP: 1B-Adams, 2B-Dozier
vs. tough RHP: 1B-Adams, 2B-Kendrick
Buster Olney tweets that the Nats are prioritizing a lefty for relief pitching help...thank God, because Grace has been just downright awful this year. I wonder if his troubles come from lack of being able to adjust as the League figures you out...because the League has figured you out buddy
Don't count out the Z-man. Likely he'll go on the IL and come back when rosters expand in a last desperate attempt for the playoffs.........where Dave will start him, citing his "veteran leadership, clutchiness, and value to the team."
Just you wait......
Good point. RZim will come back in early-to-mid September, and Davey will insert him right into the 5 slot in the lineup to see if he can be useful for the wild card game.
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