What am I Missing Here?

Going into the off-season, I said that the Nats biggest deficiency was in center field. Nyjer Morgan imploded last year and while he wasn't a lost cause, he was far from a sure thing. Roger Bernadina lacks the defensive IQ to play mediocre center field, so the Nats chose this as their backup plan.

Ankiel is a great story and a great guy. This is his best selling point as this point of his career. He doesn't hit well enough to be a full time player, and he can't quite cover enough ground to be anything but an average CF on his better days. The K rates are too high, and the OBP slots him as a 7-8 hitter, of which the Nats have an abundance.

Bottom line- somebody must have REALLY thought Nyjer Morgan was going to be a Elijah Dukes-like nuisance in the clubhouse to abandon ship 5 days till opening day.

Fiiiiiight!!

Well, suddenly this story a now much more believable. Though, from witness accounts, the ball-throwing incident is likely false.

Nyjer Morgan was going to get hit. That was a given. It is unfortunate Chris Volstad had the control of Kirsty Alley and had also lit up Wil Nieves and Alberto Gonzalez. Nobody wants to see a guy get hurt by a pitch. Nyjer Morgan took it on the hip, then took second and third. How Volstad was allowed to continue after that is beyond reason. The Marlins are complaining about Nyjer "breaking code", as were the Marlins commentators, but their manager also refused to back down by sending the other catalyst out to start the sixth inning. And the "code" doesn't say anything about taking bases in the fourth inning... it's a gentleman's agreement not to run up the score once the game is decided. For a fringe player like Nyjer Morgan not to roll over, to try and get something started, would be encouraged by the Nats. And honestly, Morgan isn't getting paid to play baseball if he isn't stealing bases.

Hopefully he uses his time wisely, because given his mysterious DL trip in August and subsequent action, this marriage looks to be over. If the Nats had one remotely capable center fielder, he'd have been waived last month. The players still stick for him, which is better than how teammates of Milton Bradley or Carl Everett would react. Hell, they'll even stick up for Scott Olsen. But even players eventually tire of walking on eggshells around these characters and management will do something before it divides the clubhouse.

Second Half Run

The Nats aren't buyers; they ought to be savvy sellers, understanding the value of a draft pick versus taking another team's castoff farmhands. So how does that translate into a "run"?

The Nats finished strong last season when September call-ups were given the chance to succeed without the pressure of being re-designated or planted on the bench (see Maxwell, Justin). The key is to determine which of these guys will be Nationals in 2012, not just the rest of the season. Desmond is off to a better start in July. Mike... er Michael Morse has hit when he has been in the lineup. Roger Bernadina's plate discipline improves each month. Justin Maxwell even has a cameo through Monday. So question now posed: none of these players are WORSE than Willie Harris, and given Nyjer Morgan's shenanigans this season, one could argue that Bernadina should be starting in centerfield everyday, regardless of age, service time, or trade value. Given the Nats lack of outfield prospects, these are their guys for now. If they choose to keep him, it should be Hammer, Bernadina, and Morse most nights with Maxwell spelling the three of them. If a sweet package can be had for the Hammer, it will be tough to turn down considering how barren the cupboard is, but Josh Willingham has been to valuable to give the Nick Johnson treatment. Work a small trade for Morgan to free up room on the 40-man for another outfielder who can obtained...

By trading Adam Dunn. Both Willingham and Dunn's value will never be higher, but Dunn's raw power numbers make him more appealing to other GMs. There are teams with logjams in the outfield, too many bats and not enough positions on the field, and Rizzo needs to exploit that. Get the outfield set now so they aren't still rebuilding when Strasburg is due to walk to New York. Also, feel free to shop around Guzman and Kennedy.

From a personality standpoint, it sucks to trade any of these guys; it isn't like dumping Milton Bradley on a team. These are character guys that the younger players do look up to, but that's the penalty for playing the Jim Bowden error. Freeing up the roster and putting these young players in a position succeed is important and it is what the organization should be focusing on... and with a little luck, maybe catch the nosediving Marlins.

Inside the Park Homeruns and More

The Nats were drowning in quicksand. Quicksand, as you may remember from the Reeves epic "The Replacements" is when a team continues to self-destruct at the slightest hint of adversity. The team was, and still is, teetering on the bring of becoming quickly irrelevant and forgotten. Players had come into this season expecting to win, and were granted with a brief taste of success. Of course, the Nationals are not a deep talented team equipped to remain in the Wild Card hunt all year. However, as a professional athlete in any sport, the paramount goal is to win the competition, leave it all on the field.

The 2008 and 2009 Washington Nationals knew out of the gate that they sucked... the players themselves couldn't pinpoint why they sucked, and nobody wanted to buy into Manny Acta's philosophies, so nobody improved. This season, the character issues improved, and despite a slow start, the Nats won a few games and found themselves promoted from laughingstock to darkhorse. With the change in expectations will also come a sense of urgency.

There are a few ways to look at Nyjer Morgan's recent adventures. First, he is not hitting well, and therefore not on base as often. Not being on base as often has pressed him into stealing a high percentage of the time, thereby tipping his hand on opportunities. Nyjer Morgan has not been contributing much from an offensive standpoint. Morgan has, until recently, been a reliable, rangy outfielder. However, with both pitching and offense struggling for a team losing a grip on its position in the standings, Tony Plush tightened up and tried to make plays that weren't quite there. And while spiking the glove in frustration is unprofessional, it exemplifies that he knew how important making that catch was. Nobody is "showing up" their teammates here, and Nyjer Morgan is more embarrassed than he would have been had the ball careened off his head for a home run. Had he turned and picked up the ball and tossed it in, it is likely that neither run would have scored on the play. Benching isn't the answer here...

But they need to stay focused. Ryan Zimmerman had great all around game, except for a heinous baserunning blunder that created a double play and allowed the O's to walk Willingham with Guzman on second. I get frustrated when our co-ed rec softball team makes these mental mistakes. The worst thing you can do on offense is make an out. Outs are precious commodities, and at that point in the 8th inning, Zim needs to know that they only have a few left. With the lead, he needs to run a little more defensively, and hopefully the next guy plates him. Yes, Zimmerman has probably been stranded at 3rd base a high percentage of the time than anyone in the league (seriously, I think I may find a way to look this up), but trying to score from first on a line drive from center only works if you don't sprint past Guzman on second.

Fortunately, none of this mularkey amounted to much, as Walker, Burnett, Clippard, and Capps were lights out in the rain, retiring eleven of the twelve batters faced. Clippard and Burnett have been relegated to "second-banana" status with the arrival of Drew Storen, but proved today that it does take 25 working parts to win ballgames consistently.

The Nationals escaped the quicksand this time, and now everyone holds their breath for the arrival of the US Air shuttle from Syracuse, the cargo of which is the future of the franchise.


* Keanu Reeves, American Visionary, Time Traveler, Failed and Redeemed Quarterback, Space Contortionist, and Eff-Bee-Eye Agent

Petco Park...

Where offense goes to die. I won't blame the offensive swoon entirely on the Padres home tomb, but as a pull-hitting fly-ball team, the Nationals are likely to struggle here. The Cardinals pitching staff is nothing to sneeze at either.

Pitching, of course, has been terrific during the losing streak. I think that is what bugs me most about the Nationals. Other than sucking, they have really lacked an identity. They do not suck consistently either. Some weeks, they knock the cover off the ball and pound opponents into scoring 8 runs to win. Other weeks, the offense hibernates while guys like Martin, Mock, and Livan Hernandez pitch like All-Stars.

Clearly, the Nyjer Morgan injury is killing the offense, where leadoff hitters are posting a .105/.227/.227 over the last five games. Willie Harris is out of sync, and Justin Maxwell should be hitting 9th, not 1st.

And for the record, Elijah Dukes stolen base success is currently at 16%. Next worst in baseball, minimum 10 attempts, is KC's David DeJesus at 36%. There is a reason these teams are vying for the #1 pick again: inability to recognize shortcomings. Seriously, stop giving Dukes the green light. He is terrible at stealing bases. For comparison, he has been caught as many times as Michael Bourn... only Bourn has stolen 47 more bases!

But hey, at least the Nats snapped that skid for 1-game losing streaks in Chicago.

Nyjer Down

It is very difficult to quantify how Nyjer Morgan changed the Washington Nationals this season. OBP and UZR only prove that he has been better than the guys butchering those jobs before. His hustle and leadership has helped the younger guys, as well as taking the burden off Zimmerman and Dunn, who are not as vocal. Pitchers slept better each night, as rocket shots to the gap disappeared into his glove. While Albert Pujols may roll to the MVP, Nyjer Morgan is proof that it take 25 players to win.

Let's hope he heals in time for hockey season.

Lastings Gets the Last Laugh

Not really, but an interesting reversal of fortune, with Nyjer Morgan stranding the go ahead run in an 0-4 effort, getting picked off first, meanwhile Lastings Milledge produced two RBI singles. One game against the Pirates in a lost year for each.

* Man, Guzman REALLY cannot move to his left.

* Lannan is the ace and the horse, but Riggleman should have noticed he looked a little flat tonight an grabbed him after 90 pitches or so... he is still a kid.

* The Nats take too many pitches with two strikes... they need to work on keeping at bats alive even though they aren't getting hittable pitches. Pitchers, especially relievers, make mistakes.

* The Nats have played four months and still have not avoided the losing streak. Amazing!

The Long & Winding Road

Shaky defense. A complete lack of timely hitting (what else is new?). A gutsy pitching effort spoiled by an offensive goose egg. Questionable decision-making by the coaching staff. Just another summer evening in front of 19,169 (mainly Mets) fans along the Acacostia, my friends.



On the bright side, last night was easily Tyler Clippard's best relief outing of the year. He was lights out, displaying a nice array of breaking balls and up-and-in heat (I'm guessing 90-92 mph); however, Riggleman decided to pinch hit for him with one out and nobody on base in the 7th, with 0-3 for Nyjer in the on-deck circle. This was a questionable move in my opinion, as Riggleman is struggling to gain the trust of his players. Sticking with Clippard, although probably conceding defeat, would've been a non-move that showed Riggleman's confidence in his 'pen and, more importantly, rewarding an outstanding effort that's been seen so few and far between this year.



Earlier, with runners on 2nd and 3rd and two outs in the bottom of the 2nd inning, with the Nats already down 5-0 and Martin squandering near the 50-pitch mark, Riggleman decided to leave Martin in the game to bat. Not surprisingly, Martin weakly grounded out to the pitcher, boosting Livan's confidence and squashing one of the few offensive threats the Nats showed all night.



As a fan of National League baseball and a proponent of lengthy starting pitching outings, I was torn by this decision. On the one hand, I wanted to see Riggleman maintain confidence in his debuting pitcher. The guy has struggled for many years, and through a host of injuries, to finally pitch in the big leagues; therefore, I didn't want to see him pulled after 2 innings simply because of the 'opportunistic situation'. Besides, there were two outs. On the other hand, Washington's offense has chilled significantly as of late (post mid-May) and an early, ballsy pinch-hitting call by Riggleman, if effective, would've awakened the crowd and put hope back into the ballclub.



Highlights: BardDogg's bat (2 doubles), Clippard's placement (5K's in 3 innings), the stadium's organ player (Iron Butterfly's 'In A Gada Davida' tease, among other hidden gems.....I swear he was high.)

Surprise!

If I had listed all the possible combinations and permutations of baseball scores, the only that would have been picked less frequently than Rockies 1 Nats 0 at Coors Field would have been Nats 1 Rockies 0. I think a 33-18 may pop up before another 1-0. 28 of the 51 outs in this game were recorded via ground ball, as well as two line-out double plays. Craig Stammen did exactly what he needed to do to win the game. It is just too bad Jason Marquis continued his "dominance".

It is disheartening to see Alberto Gonzalez wasting away on the bench this week, having started just once this month. The Nats need a spark in the lineup with Nick Johnson slumping, Josh Bard crippled, and Ryan Zimmerman hitting with a little less authority.

It should also be noted that after four games, Nyjer Morgan is third on the team in stolen bases... huge advantage for the Nats making that deal, adding a dimension they weren't willing to explore before.

100th Post- Lots Going On...

I was going to discuss the closed polls results, and how three of the four options had been rendered obsolete. However, Mr. Rizzo has been busy, closing a couple deals.

Lastings Milledge and Joel Hanrahan for Nyjer Morgan and Sean Burnett

The easiest thing to do is to break this into two separate trades, OF for OF, P for P. From the Nationals perspective, given the players involved, it was an offer Rizzo couldn't refuse. The two areas that needed to be addressed were the bullpen and the defense. Nyjer Morgan more than addresses the defense. He can play CF if necessary, which will allow the Nats to keep Dunn, Willingham, and Dukes fresh in the corners. Harris loses out the most in the deal, as he will probably see his playing time cut in half. Burnett is Rizzo's dream... a left-handed, ground-ball, relief pitcher. He has battled back from injury to become a solid major league reliever and will be under control for a couple more seasons. He will benefit from working with two veteran LOOGYs in Villone and Beimel.

So what did the Nats give up? Starting with Hanrahan, since fans have been dealing with his shenanigans all season. Hanrahan was great last year, but pretty well abused. 84 innings of relief on 69 appearances is a number relievers build toward. Hanrahan had been a starter in 2006 and 2007. Basically, Hanrahan could get back to his 2008 form with a couple months off, but does that even make him as valuable to the Nats as Burnett? Villone is 40. Not quite. Lastings Milledge, on the other hand, doesn't need rest. Who knows what he needs... for him to make up for his defensive deficiencies, he needs to hit as well the premier corner outfielder in the league. Nick Markakis is a good young comp. Does anyone believe that is possible for Milledge? Sure, maybe for a couple months, but he is a natural underachiever, a tease. Guys like JD Drew show flashes of their potential, but rarely put it together for 162 games, and that the player the optimists refuse to see in Milledge. However, after watching him play first hand for a few years, the patterns are obvious.

It is difficult to criticize the Nats for making this move. Milledge offered the current major league roster nothing. Hanrahan had been banished to the mop-up role. Burnett will pitch high-leverage innings and Morgan will start in the outfield five days a week. Honestly, what are the Pirates going to do with the players they got? This trade gets a solid B+ for now and really will not look bad unless Milledge turns into Sammy Sosa.

...

Man, does Elijah Dukes ever field a ball cleanly in the outfield? Stammen's third time through the order woes continue, further indicating that he may have more work to do in AAA before formally claiming a rotation spot for next season. Not sure what is wrong with Nick Johnson, but he isn't showcasing his talent very well for contenders right now... Guzman has made up for a rough outing at the plate with a great dive and throw early in the game. Zimmerman, on the other hand... woof, 3 error games aren't helping the pitchers, especially the relievers. Clippard may not have the stuff to be effective for long runs, though his delivery can be deceptive enough to kill AAA guys.

...

To the poll. The Nats have officially addressed the bullpen. Colome and Tavarez are crappy guys, but almost every team has one of them. Teams try to get a few innings out of them before they wear out their welcome. Manny isn't going to be fired in the immediate future, and Rizzo has earned the right to see his handiwork through. The Nationals haven't dealt Nick Johnson, and have made a few moves that may make that unnecessary. Tough to really say what additional moves can be made to improve a team that dominates innings 1-5, but then stagger back to the clubhouse two out of three times. I'll try to think of a new poll, maybe two.

The symmetry for The Bombs is beautiful, 50 posts in May, 50 in June... it will be difficult to keep that pace through July, but the staff at The Bombs will try.