August 29, 2005
The Song Remains the Same
After a promising start to the weekend (a 4-1 win on Friday night), the Nationals dropped back-to-back games to the Cardinals in all too familiar fashion: Back-to-back 6-0 losses to the best team in baseball, and consecutive no-shows by the Nats' bats. Saturday, the Nats had no answer for the previously struggling Jason Marquis, managing just two hits. Yesterday they collected just four hits and two walks. It all adds up to another series' loss and the end to another frustrating weekend for the lowest scoring team in baseball. At this point, there's not much left to say about this team's inability to light up the scoreboard. But maybe Jose Guillen had it right after yesterday's loss when he said, "We all stink."
How bad have things gotten? So bad that GM Jim Bowden, a.k.a. Dead Man Walking, blew up at his team in the aftermath of yesterday's loss: "Be a man. Wake up, and do some damage." How bad have things gotten? So bad that Jose Guillen went as far as to declare, "We're just looking like Little League players," which is actually an insult to Little Leaguers everywhere, most of whom know better than to try to bunt with men on first and second and no outs in the early stages of a scoreless game, which is exactly what Guillen inexplicably tried to do in the 4th inning yesterday. How bad have things gotten? So bad that Brad Wilkerson called out Guillen after the game for his questionable 4th inning bunt decision, "We need to not do those types of things...When you've got your best hitter at the plate, and you're struggling to score some runs, we need him swinging the bat."
How bad have things gotten? Pretty bad, but hey, at least the Nats aren't the O's. Crazy as it sounds, the Nats are still within striking distance in the Wild Card chase, trailing Philly by just three games. The Nats are now staring down the barrel of 14 games in a row against teams that are standing in their path to the postseason: Atlanta, Philadelphia and Florida. You never know. As Michael Wilbon pointed out last Thursday, the Nationals aren't dead. They're on life support, but they're not dead. Yet. John Patterson faces Jorge Sosa in the opener of a four game series in Atlanta tonight.
(AP Photo by Lawrence Jackson)
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Actually, I think it's only 2.5 games out. Can anyone tell me why we didn't/haven't tried to get a proven bat? Is it a money issue, or did we think Preston was going to be the answer to our lineup problems? And why haven't we axed our hitting coach yet? Twenty-two innings without a run and the guy still has a job? Hell, they could hire me. We work opposing pitchers less than any team in the majors.
The Nats should trade Cristian Guzman to the Redskins for Patrick Ramsey. It couldn't make either team any worse.
RavenT - you're right - it's 2.5 games, not 3. Not sure what I was thinking. As to your question about why the Nats didn't try to get a proven bat: I think that's what they thought they were getting in Preston Wilson, who has pretty much been a bust. As to your question about axing Tom McCraw, the hitting coach - DCist asked this very question at the beginning of August. I'd bet that the entire organization - from the front office to the manager and coaching staff - will be overhauled as soon as the season ends with a new ownership group in place.
Andrew - your Guzman for Ramsey trade makes sense on many levels - you might even be able to slide Ramsey into Drese's spot in the rotation...
See, I think there's a decent chance there will be big changes in the offseason, but I'm not sure that's what's needed. How much of this is Bowden's fault or Frank's fault, and how much of it is that they don't have options, because they don't have ownership? And despite the Nats poor recent performance, Frank has managed to get a lot out of these Washington/Montreal ballclubs. If given a proper club, he might work wonders.
And of course, they're hardly out of it, yet. I keep thinking they'll shake this off and start hitting again.