August 28, 2007
Nats Update: Judgment Month
The Nationals have left their fans in quite a quandary this year. What criteria do you use to judge this team? One perspective says that this team has already exceeded expectations and found some quality pitchers in their system, so the season is a success. And yet, this team is currently the fourth worst team in baseball and has lost 10 of their last 14 games, and are in the midst of a 4-game losing streak. The fact that 21 of their final 30 games are against teams in the midst of serious playoff races can only make matters worse.
In many ways, the character of this team and first year manager Manny Acta will be determined in these last 30 games. If they manage to win at least 13 and tie last season's record, many will consider this season this season a resounding success and Acta will probably earn some manager of the year votes. If they fall apart, fans will be left wondering how well "the plan" is working, and how close we really are to a fielding a competitive, or even respectable, team.
Cordero's Future In Question?
After blowing a 4 run lead in the ninth on August 24th against Colorado, many fans are left wondering about Chad Cordero's strength as a closer. He currently leads the majors with 8 blown saves, and his ERA has ballooned up to 3.39. Chris at Capitol Punishment has a good rundown of the numbers, and finds that The Chief is a perfectly average closer. Given Billy Beane's insight into closers and the trade rumors that have surrounded The Chief for the last few years, one has to wonder about Chad's future with the Nationals.
Goodbye, Aramark!
In happier news, the Lerners have chosen Centerplate as the company to provide concessions in the new ballpark, replacing Aramark. There have been many complaints about food service at RFK; among them are the long lines, stands running out of hot dogs, and the lack of food options. Team president Stan Kasten is known for creating a superior in-game experience, and hopefully dumping Aramark will go a long way towards improving the service in the new stadium. One hallmark of Centerplate's service is that they work with local food establishments, so maybe the dream of getting a Ben's Chili Dog at a Nats game will finally be realized.
Briefly Noted
Jason Bergman makes his first start tonight after missing a month due to a hamstring injury... Surprisingly enough Ryan "I have more strikeouts than total bases" Langerhans cleared waivers and is still a National... Despite a rough start to the season, Ryan Zimmerman has already hit 22 home runs, 2 more than his total last year.
Useless statistic of the week:The Nationals lead the National League with a whopping 1.25 ground outs per fly outs!
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I hate to second guess Manny, since he has been doing such a great job, but I think he should have pulled Cordero sooner in the Colorado game. It has become clear that when the Chief in on, he is on - but when he isn't, he really isn't. I'm sure it is hard to quickly pull your star closer, but that is what the job of the manager is all about.
I think Chris is great, but his numbers don't make the case for Chad.
Chad is average. Average players should be traded when possible for prospects that have some upside and a chance to be above average.
Most relievers can throw harder than Chad, and have more pitches than Chad does. The "closer mentality" is not easily quantifiable, and is too often used to excuse poor performance, and prove irreplacability.
Ayala, Rauch, possibly Colome, and Schroeder could do just as good as Cordero. Not a ringing endorsement of his skills and value to the team.
Good move bouncing Aramark. Its food is horrible.
first of all, i didn't watch thursday's game, but it seems that the adage of not using your closer in a non-save situation rings true once again.
secondly, that "useless statistic" doesn't look all that useless to me. ground balls turn into outs far more frequently than fly balls. fly balls can turn into home runs, and line drives (which i'm guessing are included in the fly outs category) are much more likely to produce hits than ground balls are. a team that hits a lot of ground balls is going to get out a lot and therefore lose games.
I think the Nats should have traded Chad when some teams were nibbling at him earlier in the year. Hopefully for a slugger or some prospect. I like Chad, but he makes a fair amount of money and the Nats have other more pressing needs, I think. And like #2 said, Rauch or Ayala could take his place.
Centerplate does concessions at FedEx. So....keep those expectations realistic.