Ah, Memorial Day
They (and they're usually right) always say that you shouldn't really pay attention to where the team is 'til Memorial Day. Hot starts merge with cold streaks. Slow starts (coughmorsecough) become torrid. After 55 games or so, things start evening out a bit.
So where are we? Third worst in baseball. Last in the East. Yep. That's about right.
More broadly (stats heading into today), they're 12th in runs despite being 6th in homers. Their batting average and on-base are next-to last. In other words, they're a team that doesn't get on base, but gets the occasional home run.
And that's exactly what anyone who thought about it for a second should've expected. Where was the offense on this team going to come from? Even with a healthy LaRoche and Zimmerman, there are far too many near automatic outs. Sure, they can smack the odd homer, but how many solo shots have we seen over the last fortnight?
So that's why all the talk of dumping Eckstein is silly. This isn't the case with Lenny Harris where players were getting worse with him, or that he's preaching an approach that doesn't work. This is more like the last year with Mitchell Paige, where the hitting coach is handed piles of crap, and asked to mold it into something less stinky.
Other than Desmond, every single Nationals batter is hitting basically what you'd expect them to hit. Sure, Ankiel's a bit worse, I suppose -- but if you were expecting anything decent out of Ankiel, you're either related to him or Will Leitch.
We are what we are... occasional homers. no patience. few extended rallies. they need to scrap for runs in the types of rallies that make Bob Carpenter leak in his pants. Otherwise, we'll sputter for 3 solo shots, and hope our pitching can hold 'em to two.
In other words: HAHAHAHAHHAA!
Expect it!
So where are we? Third worst in baseball. Last in the East. Yep. That's about right.
More broadly (stats heading into today), they're 12th in runs despite being 6th in homers. Their batting average and on-base are next-to last. In other words, they're a team that doesn't get on base, but gets the occasional home run.
And that's exactly what anyone who thought about it for a second should've expected. Where was the offense on this team going to come from? Even with a healthy LaRoche and Zimmerman, there are far too many near automatic outs. Sure, they can smack the odd homer, but how many solo shots have we seen over the last fortnight?
So that's why all the talk of dumping Eckstein is silly. This isn't the case with Lenny Harris where players were getting worse with him, or that he's preaching an approach that doesn't work. This is more like the last year with Mitchell Paige, where the hitting coach is handed piles of crap, and asked to mold it into something less stinky.
Other than Desmond, every single Nationals batter is hitting basically what you'd expect them to hit. Sure, Ankiel's a bit worse, I suppose -- but if you were expecting anything decent out of Ankiel, you're either related to him or Will Leitch.
We are what we are... occasional homers. no patience. few extended rallies. they need to scrap for runs in the types of rallies that make Bob Carpenter leak in his pants. Otherwise, we'll sputter for 3 solo shots, and hope our pitching can hold 'em to two.
In other words: HAHAHAHAHHAA!
Expect it!
posted by Chris Needham at
11:41 PM
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