The Nationals have gone 3-4 in the last week. Considering that the Nationals appear to have no interest in scoring runs, this record is fairly amazing. The Nationals are currently 28th, out of 30 teams, in the Major League in batting average at .237, 25th in OBP at .316, and 29th in slugging at .352. In fact, just pick about any offensive stat and the Nationals will be at the bottom of the list. When the season began, the assumption would be that our pitching would be rough, but our offense would be fine. The pitching has been better than expected, but everyone is wondering where our bats went.
A lot of people are blaming Nationals hitting coach Lenny Harris, but for some reason GM Jim Bowden isn’t. This is Harris’s first time as a batting coach, and there have been questions about his ability all season. The assumption is that there is no way the team can continue to hit this poorly, and that eventually everything will average out. Well, we are more than a quarter of the way through the season, and as David Sheinin points out, if these trends continue the Nationals will have the worst hitting outfield of all time. Manager Manny Acta is remaining patient, but says that “If things continue to go that way, me and Jim [Bowden] will sit down and change things around.” At least they didn’t play the Marlins this week.
Injuries
Aside from poor plate performance, injuries have been the other constant this year. The players currently on the disabled list are: Paul Lo Duca, Johnny Estrada, Nick Johnson, Ronnie Belliard, and Chad Cordero. Now it looks like Austen Austin Kearns is going to join them. Also, Shawn Hill missed a start against the Phillies due to a sore elbow. Hill has had a persistent forearm injury all season, and apparently hurt his elbow compensating for the previous injury.
Jesus Flores
The one benefit to the injuries to Lo Duca and Estrada is that Jesus Flores has gotten some playing time. When the Nationals traded Brian Schneider, many assumed that this meant that Flores was the catcher of the future for the Nationals. According to Jim Bowden, his current performance may also make him the catcher of the present. Flores is currently batting .357 with a .460 OBP and slugging .595. He also gets high marks from the pitching staff for they way he catches the game. The only downside to Flores’s performance is that it takes away playing time from Wil Nieves, the other bright spot this season. Can’t the team convert one of them into a left fielder? It’s doubtful the defense would suffer.
Game of the Week
The game of the week is probably Monday, May 26, against the Brewers. Ben Sheets is scheduled to pitch, and he is 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA, and is having the best season of his career so far. He is a three-time all star, and give the current state of the Nationals’ offense and his ability to pitch complete games, he could get a no-hitter. If you think that’s crazy, remember that the Nats have a guy playing in the outfield who is batting .077.
Briefly Noted: The Nationals scouting department has digestive problems… Bid on a date with Ryan Zimmerman… With Milwaukee in town, Teddy wants the Sausages!
Meaningless Statistic of the Week…Nationals pitchers are last in the National League in Total Plate Appearances with 91.
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