Ryan Zimmerman, now on the 15-day DL, has headlined the disappointments in Washington's locker room. (Credits: US Presswire Photo) |
Excluding Bryce Harper, who single-handedly wants to become the best player in MLB history after only two seasons (.351/7/15), no one has stepped up for Washington. They rank lower than 20th in runs, batting average, on base percentage, WHIP and batting average against. Simply put, there is no one in the lineup that brings any semblance of production except for Harper. Their starters, Jordan Zimmerman, Stephen Strasburg and Ross Detweiler have actually been pretty good, but their only 5-6.Run production is severely lacking. The other two starters, last year's Cy Young runner-up Gio Gonzalez and journeyman Dan Haren have been putrid.
The question remains though, how are they going to contend in the NL East with the Braves mashing their way to a 15-6 record? Atlanta already has five games on the Nats and even the lowly Mets rank a game ahead of Washington. Don't think the Braves are going anywhere either, this team had expectations. They're living up to them. So is the pressure of being a World Series contender getting to some of the Nationals? Yeah, I think you could say so. Ryan Zimmmerman (on the 15-day DL) is batting an embarrassing .226 for a guy receiving $16 million this year. Jayson Werth, who is due $18 million this season, is only batting .259. Adam LaRoche, who somehow is getting paid $12 million a year, is batting an earth-shatteringly bad .169. If it wasn't for Bryce Harper, this lineup would be baking up more zeros than a Dunkin' Donuts.
Now you can harp on me with the whole, "We're only 21 games in and there's so much more time" card. Yes, you are right, there are still 141 games remaining in this tiring major league campaign, but division leaders don't build themselves the hole the Nats are in. They don't lose series to the Mets; they avoid losing four games in a row. They also don't rely on one player to carry their offense and they especially don't waste a surprising 1.38 ERA out of a guy like Ross Detweiler. The Nationals are in trouble. Keep watching the Braves rack up the wins and this team could be scratching and clawing for a wild card spot or worse...
As a Nationals fan you're glad to see that Harper is not only living up to expectations, he's swallowing them whole. I'm not a fan of the person Harper is, but he increasingly looks like the real deal. Especially considering the fact he's single-handedly keeping a team afloat at the green age of 20, you've got that "cornerstone for years" feeling. This kid is beyond his years in terms of mentality and execution, but his team? Well his team looks a deer in the headlights. A team that doesn't know how to handle the contender label. A team that thinks their unnecessary salaries will drive in runs and strikeout batters.
If Davey Johnson doesn't turn this ship around soon, things could get ugly in Washington. This pathetic franchise is going to have to do more than drive in 3.6 runs to earn themselves a trip to only their third playoffs. Time is on their side, but time can be a fickle beast.
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