Clearly the run to near .500 didn't work out. Instead they went 1-5 vs Cleveland and St. Louis and followed that up with a 1-3 set versus Atlanta. Now they are facing Baltimore - the last bad team they'll play until the middle of June.
For all the small victories the Nats can have I do think a series win against Baltimore ranks up there. "We might be bad, but we're not YOU guys" The good news is even a 1-2 series loss puts the teams at even for the season. So just don't get swept. That isn't too much to ask.
Let's not forget the 2019 19-31 start! Maybe Davey is gunning for the same kind of season this year...
ReplyDeleteMaybe Rizzo can look north to Baltimore to get some ideas of what you do with a lousy managerial record.
DeleteWe are about two years from when the Orioles were being praised--all the long years of losing produced one of the strongest farm system in MLB and the youngster were coming up quickly. There manager had a lot to work with and still they are worse than we are so far this year.
DeleteIf there is a lesson from up north, it is that you have to spend money in free agency when the youth movement has solidified. For the Orioles, that was last winter and they did nothing. For the Nationals, that is this upcoming Winter. Let's hope wallets open up to buy some star level pitching.
"If there is a lesson from up north, it is that you have to spend money in free agency when the youth movement has solidified. For the Orioles, that was last winter and they did nothing. For the Nationals, that is this upcoming Winter. Let's hope wallets open up to buy some star level pitching."
ReplyDeleteOrioles didn't just do nothing, they did negative by letting their free agents walk.
Can we say the Nationals youth movement has solidified yet?
@anon 2:34 You make a really great point. You need stars AND depth and you can't expect to get all of that from home grown. Baltimore had a good 2024 and then inexplicably did nothing to sustain it. As I was taught in another context: don't get so caught up in positive reviews that you forget how much continuing work it takes to stay on top.
DeleteAlthough the results are not assured, it does look like our youth movement is solidifying. I have been in the camp that believes you wait to sign free agents....vs. the Lerners are cheap. If thinks continue to develop this year, I expect some serious spending this winter to bring in free agents and lock-down some of our own.
This I would consider interesting for anyone wondering about Crews.
ReplyDeletehttps://x.com/reillocity/status/1924246545899102679?s=46&t=HkaPSOS540WcIcxFOtG9NQ
Mission accomplished
ReplyDeleteThree wins against a bad team. Davey sees the Ghost-of-Baseball-Present in Baltimore as his friend loses manager job. Last two wins could have been managed by anyone, but they still count as wins and push back Davey's impending doom.
ReplyDeleteThe expectation was to win the series with Baltimore, the Nats sweep. I expect that the goalposts will immediately be moved to discount the achievement.
ReplyDeleteAnd the moved goalposts to be used as a reason to immediately sign 3 32 year old sluggers and a 31 year old star pitcher, all of whom will immediately start their declines.
DeleteI’m thrilled to see the Nats winning, especially against the O’s, but it is of note that they swept a team in the midst of a major clubhouse change (and the O’s suck this year).
ReplyDeleteThat being said, reassessing goals is appropriate given the expectations most of us had last year. I took another look at a post where many of us described where we saw the Nats in 2025 and everyone had them being better than their current 71 win projection. http://natsbaseball.blogspot.com/2024/05/quick-guessing-game.html?m=1
We swept a terrible team - woo! - but there is a long way to go to get them where they should be.