The Nationals are still in the hunt for a playoff berth. It will not be easy, there are several teams are ahead of them and they have to insure no one under them jumps past them. So the window of opportunity is small and each defeat makes the ultimate goal even harder.
“Money Ball.” It is hard to see how the team can thrive long term without a viable television contract to pump money into the teams coffers. Some of even suggested that the TV mega-deals will create a new group of haves vs. the “have-nots.” While the franchise owners might be willing to spend their own money we would feel better with a nice TV contract in hand. But the issue does not seem to get the press it should, and the fan base should be outraged. Washington is the only team in the game thanks to Bud Selig does not own its own TV package. If you want to keep players like Jordan Zimmerman or Bryce Harper you better have the money to do it.
“Playing hurt.” Watching Harper play hurt is a memory that will stick with us. It is not an isolated case since we all have memories of Ryan Zimmerman in 2012. Why didn’t the General Manager, the Manager or the medical staff step in and tell a player that he needs to sit and recover rather than play. Someone must have been responsible for letting him continue to play. Maybe no one wanted to say no to Harper? Then we have the case of Ross Detwiler. Instead of putting him on the hospital list the team waited and pitched Zack Duke with a bullpen that was literally a man down since Henry Rodriguez has been unreliable. Maybe the team hoped they could recapture the luck they had last year when John Lannan was called upon and responded. Instead it set off a set of dominoes that hurt the team. Danny Espinoza started the season injured. then he got hit in the hand and kept playing. While there is something to be said for “sticking it out,” you play the game to win and if your play hurts your team why play? Returning to Zimmerman, are his errors the result of playing hurt in 2012. If so just another reason to get healthy.
“Our Gang.” The team waited to June to hit the reset button. Davey Johnson had to manage a bull pen, as noted earlier, with one piece questionable. And why would the team place such a large bet on its success with Zach Duke in the bullpen. The 2013 Goonies vastly underperformed, and Espinosa had a miserable season at the bat. With Bernadina not hitting the team used a first baseman and an infielder in left field and both Moore and Lombardozzi played roughly the same number of games in left that Harper did. It is easy to blame injuries and once again the Nationals have had their share. But we went through this last year too. For some teams an injury means an opportunity for someone else to step up. Look up I-95 at the old Highlanders. But in the District, whether because of Davey Johnson or Mike Rizzo, the team basically stayed with the same cast. While Eury Perez, Jeff Kobernus or Anthony Rendon and others may not have made a difference it is doubtful the team would have suffered any worse from it. If this is the year to win can you afford to sit and wait?
“Who after Davey?” We will know soon enough if the team can mount a run for a play-off berth. If they do it will be an exciting time for baseball fans in Washington. But regardless of how they play the selection of a manager to replace Johnson will have significant impact on the franchise. Conventional wisdom gives the Nationals a four to five year window to capture a World Series flag with the personnel now on board. The clock is ticking.
