Defensive Woes Continue, Pitching Same for Nats

by thebigpictureguy on Jun 15, 2009 12:01 PM EDT

The Washington Nationals are at the bottom of just about every statistical category in the major leagues. They are hitting .259 which is 16th in the league, but obviously it is not enough. The pitching in general for the Nats is terrible seeing as the staff leads the major leagues with a 5.34 ERA. It's not just the pitching though. As many fans know, the defense of the Washington Nationals has been utterly atrocious. With 60 errors, the Nats lead the next team (Florida) by 6 errors. They average almost an error a game and when the pitching is this bad, the team is not giving itself a chance to win.

The Washington Nationals do not have to go out and buy expensive, amazing fielders. Rather, it is all in the mindset the manager instills in his players. It is clear that the fielders are not focused in on every play. If the opposing team scores a few runs, the mindset is, "hear we go again". The players are not involved in the game and they make the errors. The Nationals must spend more time in practice working on ground balls and making good solid throws. The team gave the Rays three extra outs to deal with which ended up resulting in a loss for the Nationals. If the Nats can focus on tightening up its defense, that will give them more chances to win.

The starting pitching of the Nationals has had its ups and downs throughout the season. The one bright spot might be Shairon Martis' impressive performances. In 12 starts Martis has compiled a 5.04 ERA, but is 5-1. Other than that, the pitching staff is not good at all. The inconsistency in this pitching staff to get guys out and to minimize the damage has been the story of this 2009 season. It might help however, if the pitchers had a solid reliable defense behind them. Turning the double play, making the throw from 3rd to 1st and even getting the ball to the right cut off man will help this struggling staff. Good defense instills confidence, that will help the pitching staff and eventually the hitting will come.

Tweet Comment 5 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Worse part about the E's

Is that its our best defensive players that have made them…

1. C Guzman – 8 Errors
2. N Johnson – 7
3. R Zimmerman – 7
4. A Gonzalez – 6
5. A Dunn – 5
6. A Hernandez – 5
7. W Nieves – 3
8. J Bard – 2
9. R Belliard – 2
10. E Dukes – 2

"Baseball is like church. Many attend; few understand."

by Mezza on Jun 15, 2009 8:27 PM EDT reply actions

It really hurts to see NJ up there at the top.

Zimmy doesn’t bug me as much—he has such crazy range that he’s a top defender even with all the errors (he makes errors on balls that are clean hits against most 3Bs).

We are all jinxed in NatsTown™.

by Doghouse on Jun 15, 2009 10:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Guz hurts

He used to be solid but…

"Baseball is like church. Many attend; few understand."

by Mezza on Jun 16, 2009 12:33 AM EDT up reply actions

When did catching popups become so hard? For reals.

by RoscoeNats on Jun 16, 2009 10:43 AM EDT up reply actions

Are all of Zimmerman's Throwing Errors (feels like it)?

He made yet another throwing error to first last night. These are not all on hard plays (in fact, he often throws better on the amazing glove plays). This points to lack of focus but maybe better form will overcome even that.

The value of good D, especially in the middle was really on display last night where the Yankees ate up at least a half dozen potential hits and we were again sub-par. We don’t have a bunch of stars and have to play flawlessly to win. Can you imagine how different last night would have been if Cano was a Nat?

by The District on Jun 17, 2009 1:49 PM EDT reply actions