We we know from last night, the Nats lost their 5th straight. There could be a lot of factors: newness of the season wearing off, lack of offense, tougher opponents…but none of those change the fact that the Nats are still a first-place team and need to turn this streak around. Here’s what’s going on.
-One of the options, lack of offense, is a pretty big part of the losing. [Nats Blog]
-Michael Morse is eyeing a June return to the Nationals. Let’s hope he can get there. [Nats Enquirer]
-Even with Harper, the Nats are having offensive troubles. Granted, he’s been a very smart batter, so not much slugging yet. [CSN Washington]
-Harper was all we talked about while he was still in the minors. Now that he’s up, HE’S EVERYWHERE! [Wash Times]
-A list of injury updates, as well as Mike Rizzo saying that he is not shopping around for help as the Nats’ injuries continue to build. [Nats Journal]
You wouldn’t have known it was the most highly anticipated home debut since Stephen Strasburg in 2010, but tonight was Bryce Harper’s home debut. It was probably partially because he had already debuted in the league, but a 22,000+ attendance saw the Nats lose their fifth straight game.
Lack of offense continued to be a problem for the Nats, who lost 5-1 to the Diamondbacks. This recent string of losses is bringing the Nats crashing back down to earth after and impressive start to the season that saw them hold the best record in baseball for a big chunk of April.
The Nats still hold first place in the division with the Braves slumping as well, but what is concerning isn’t the losses or even how they are coming about, but it is the change in play with the change in competition.
In reality, most of the baseball world probably forgets that D.C. has a baseball team unless Stephen Strasburg is starting or Bryce Harper blows someone a kiss. Seven years has apparently not been enough to get the Nats recognition, and not without reason: they spent a lot of that time in the basement.
But his year is different. The Nats are first in the NL East, leading both the Phillies and the Braves, two teams many expected to be formidable. Not only are the Nats leading their division, but they also hold the second best record in Major League Baseball at 12-4.
Many have cast this early success aside. Some are categorizing it as a small sample size, inflated numbers that will regress back to the mean in a month. They look at the opponents the Nats have faced so far and have yet to see a challenging opposition.
The Nats have taken all 5 of their series so far in 2012. Sure, they may have been against the Cubs, Reds, Mets, Marlins, and Astros, (only the Mets are above .500) but there are characteristics in the play of the Nats that implies that this isn’t just a fluke.
First of all, there is the pitching. The Nats and the Cardinals are the only two teams with 3 pitchers in the top 10 in the MLB in OPS. Jordan Zimmerman comes in at 5th, Strasburg at 7th, and Gio Gonzalez at 8th. Ross Detwiler comes in at 20th, and Edwin Jackson comes in at 33rd.
The Nats continue to look to add dept to the roster this spring with the signing of 8-season veteran Xavier Nady this morning. The versatile outfielder will provide not only solid on-field play, but could really help other prospects in Syracuse develop.
Mike Rizzo has been impressed with what he has seen in Nady and his work ethic. From the Washington Post:
“He’s motivated,” General Manager Mike Rizzo said. “He’s in great shape. He’ll be… trying to get into baseball shape, and we’ll take it from there.”
Nady has played most of his career at outfield, but he has also made a significant number of starts at first base. While he was signed mostly for AAA Syracuse and occasional call-ups, his presence and roll could potentially be very similar to that of Michael Morse, who is currently nursing an injury.
The Nats don’t have a lot of superstars (at least until the next wave of youngsters come through). While it may have seemed superfluous to acquire Edwin Jackson with the Nats current pitching depth, they don’t have too many guys who can do this.
This is video from Jackson’s no-hitter in 2010. Here’s to hoping he can bring it to D.C.
News and Notes: The Nats have signed Rick Ankiel to a minor-league contract with a Spring Training invite. He could be a valuable bench player for the 2012 squad. They also invited Mark Teahen to Spring Training on a minor-league deal.
The season sadly comes to a close once the clock strikes midnight tonight for the Nationals. Here is something that I hope will bring back memories of the many Nats games you all went to this year. It’s not much, but two and a half minutes of what we’ve enjoyed all year.
Enjoy the last game if you’re lucky enough to be there.
The Nationals lost 8-1 to the Diamondbacks on Thursday night, but avoided being swept in the 4-game series by winning one on Monday evening. Check out last night’s box score: Nationals/Diamondbacks – MLB.com
Last night, right-handed reliever Ryan Mattheus‘s outing was cut short after only facing two batters. This was the second time in a week that Mattheus left a game due to right shoulder tightness.
Mattheus hit Aaron Hill and walked John McDonald — the only two batters he faced in an 8-1 loss to the D-backs — and when his fastball was not in the mid-90s as it usually is, pitching coach Steve McCatty became concerned. – Nationals.com
Tonight the Nats begin a 3-game series against the Cincinnati Reds. Pitching match-up for tonight’s game: Washington’s RHP Chien-Ming Wang vs. Cincinnati’s LHP Dontrelle Willis.
Catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment on Saturday with Class A Potomac, where he is slated to catch five innings.
Rodriguez already had a rehab assignment in early August with Double-A Harrisburg cancelled after a setback with his strained right oblique. But Rodriguez swung a bat in the batting cage the past three days and came out feeling OK. – Nationals.com
Heather Carnassale is the lead writer for the Aerys Sports Phillies Site: View From Section 116
After a week of ramp up, rumors, and tensions, the Nationals stayed put on deadline day, leaving their trade season work done with Saturday being their big business day. No huge moves, and nothing that will likely be too consequential (at least this season) but the Nats continued their plan of getting young talent to prepare for the future.
First, the Nats traded a couple of low-priority minor-leaguers for Jonny Gomes. This deal took a lot of people by surprise for several reasons, the first of which being that no one knew Gomes was available. Know one knew he was available and no one knew the Nats were interested.
It also didn’t match up with the ‘sellers’ trade mentality the Nats usually have at the trade deadline. Gomes is a 30 year old outfielder with solid stats, but he isn’t a long-term solution to any of the Nats’ holes. He had two hits yesterday (his first two as a Nat) and he was brought it to be a steadying offensive force on a team that yo-yos at the plate more than Charlie Sheen’s mood on crack.
The Nats don’t have a lot of superstars (at least until the next wave of youngsters come through). While it may have seemed superfluous to acquire Edwin Jackson with the Nats current pitching depth, they don’t have too many guys who can do this.
Loading ...