Courtesy: USA Today
The Washington Nationals started the 2015 MLB season with four prominent players on the disabled list. They are third baseman Anthony Rendon, the teams MVP from the 2014 season, outfielders Jason Werth and Denard Span, and relief pitcher Casey Janssen. They also started the season with a 1-2 record, with the series loss. This isn’t a bad start for a 162 game season. The panic button should be nowhere in sight, but the worry button should be.
Last season the Nationals did not lose a single season series against the New York Mets. They already have done that to start this season. They are the favorite by most sports analysts and they are one of the most talented teams in the National League this season. They should not be losing to teams like the Mets.
Courtesy: Zimbio
The role players and back-up players need to pull their weight offensively for a team that has four legit number one type pitchers in their starting rotation. These pitchers will help the team stay in games, but if the Washington Nationals cannot score it will be hard for them to win games. They are in one of the weakest divisions in baseball and if they cannot win games against the less talented teams how do they expect to beat the likes of the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants?
Looking deeper into their troubles at the plate, the Washington Nationals went 3-for-17 with runners in scoring position in that first series; which equates to a .176 batting average. All three of these hits came in the third game of the season; they did not have a hit with runners in scoring position for the first 19 and 2/3 innings.
Courtesy: Washington Times
Another major problem is that Washington Nationals rising error total. This is not a staggering statistic, but it brings the season average to an error per game. Ian Desmond has been the main perpetrator, with gaffes in every season to date. Desmond had 24 errors last season and he is not starting off well.
He may be a big time power bat at the shortstop position, but he needs to not commit so many errors. He is like the quarterback in football and he cannot turn the ball over so many times and keep his team in the game. These errors are not conducive to being a big time player.
By no means does this show what the entire season will look like, but it may be a bit more difficult than it should be. The blood pressure might escalate in the nation’s Capital, even though it has nothing to do with the political issues that are between the Democrats and Republicans, if the Nationals can’t find a way to fix their defensive issues and hitting problems.
The Washington Nationals already lost their second series of the season to the lowly Philadelphia Phillies. One good offensive series can right the ship and they have plenty more chances against the bottom feeders of the National League. Hopefully for Washington Nationals fans their bats will come to fruition sooner than later, or it could be a long summer.
