Nationals Report Weeks 6-8

I see a pattern in my writing about the 2014 Washington Nationals baseball team, which I had an idea about reporting on once a week this season, like 28 weeks or so:

It seems to be going further and further apart, meaning instead of once a week, the last post covered weeks 4 and 5 combined, while the first three were one per week.

Either I have become too busy, or a little bummed and apathetic, or simply uninspired and lazy.

But enough about me! The Nats are due this update for the last three weeks; I will dedicate a little extra ink to analyze the team and players, which still looks up as of the end of May. Eight weeks in the books?

The Braves did begin to lose the last few weeks, which gives the rest of the National League East hope. Despite poor play and injuries, the Nationals are still in it. And of course at the end of May, there is a ton of the season to play. Standings now are just an indicator of how things will turn out months from now.

Current standings?

EAST	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	RS	RA	DIFF	STRK	L10	POFF
Atlanta	28	24	.538	-	18-12	10-12	175	170	+5	Lost 3	5-5	40.7
Miami	28	25	.528	.5	20-8	8-17	246	222	+24	Won 2	6-4	49.0
Washington	25	27	.481	3	14-14	11-13	203	202	+1	Lost 2	3-7	28.3
NY Mets	24	28	.462	4	13-17	11-11	204	212	-8	Won 2	4-6	20.8
Philadelphia	23	27	.460	4	11-15	12-12	200	228	-28	Won 1	5-5	10.8

The Marlins have played well the last few weeks; even the Mets and Phils are still within striking distance. But the Nats have faltered, for sure.

Some sure or easily winnable games have been blown. Like last night.

Against the surging Miami Marlins, the starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman fell behind 4-0, then was off the hook when the Nats scored 4 runs in two innings. Then in the 8th, the Nationals had the bases loaded and nobody out with the good batters of Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Adam La Roche up. 

Nada. Zippo. Neecheevo. (Not very good, those not up on Crimean language, for criminy's sake.)

And then they give up 4 runs in the 10th inning and game over, 8-5.

Relief pitching, as well as lack of opportunistic scoring on offense, has bitten the Nats again.

Yet, despite those current weaknesses, other than a bland scoring offense (the Nats had a three game streak this last week scoring one run each outing), perhaps the biggest poor trend is that the good/highly paid and rated Nat starting pitchers seem to give up their runs first. And to the team's credit, many times they overcome those early deficits and make it a game, with many come back victories, but a few others that come up short like the aforementioned game last night (May 28 2014, last of three games on Thursday, although the Wednesday night match up was postponed due to thunderstorms).

So the trends need to change for the Nats to be who they were overwhelmingly predicted to be both last year and this year, after a very promising 2012.

Positive recent developments:

Catcher and slugger Wilson Ramos has been back for over two weeks after getting hurt and placed on the DL (disabled list) since the very first week of April. His numbers should get better as he gets better rhythm and acclimatization. He hit a game tying homer last night (his first of the year, period), and all aspects of his healthy game make the Nationals better.

Adam La Roche is now off the more recent DL. He hit a two run homer his first day back after that leg injury related hiatus, but those were the only runs the Nats could muster. But he has been the most productive hitter for the Nationals, when healthy, all season.

Doug Fister is finally off the DL, and as a new acquisition starting pitcher I like his hustle and spunk. His first start in Oakland was a disaster, but he has shown the good stuff since.

Third baseman and sometime all-star Ryan Zimmerman is taking batting practice and is almost off the DL. Meanwhile, speaking of the DL, Bryce Harper will be there till sometime in July. Not good, but some guys are trying to take up the slack, like Nate McClouth, who seems to be finding his game lately (4 for 4 last night with a walk).

Troubling trends: 

Anthony Rendon as second baseman (but temporarily at 3rd in lieu of Zimmerman) has a great bat, but has not been hitting as well the last few weeks as when he started. I still have a lot of hope in his batting, his plate control, getting on base and being productive. His defense is good.

Ian Desmond has flashes of greatness, but not consistent as he should be.

Jayson Werth is not hitting as well as last year, which is hard to do. Still time for him to gel.

Danny Espinosa gets playing time with Rendon at third, but I am concerned with his plate discipline. Soon he will get less playing time.

Stephen Strasburg pitches well, but gets dumb losses, either due to early runs given up or lack of offense. Last year's (2013) poor overall output is looking a bit like this year. Frustrating.

Gio Gonzalez is not pitching as well as past years, but we still love his spirit.

More concerns:

Tanner Roark gets many good starts, but is still new to the majors. But I think he is a keeper and should do well with more productive batting behind him.

Pitcher Jordan Zimmerman is consistent and should be a double digit winner.

New pitching starter Blake Treinen is still a question mark. We shall see.

The relievers have their issues; Tyler Clippard has slipped many times, the final closer Raphael Soriano is overall solid, but a few middle releavers like Aaron Berrett and a couple others need to do better.

Easier said than done.

Let's see how the Nats do at home this weekend with the visiting Texas Rangers.

Time to use some home advantage, and their healthier players, and some home team advantage, as heretofore they are only .500 at 14-14.

That is the update up to week 8 or so.

Hope to be back sooner for week 9. And have more wins.

Go Nats.

Blog it. EMC.