fullcountpitch.com

By Gary Armida

The word inept is defined as without skill or aptitude for a particular task; maladroit. If one were to look up that word, the Washington Nationals’ logo would be next to that particular definition. Besides the fact that the Nationals have the worst record in the major leagues at 44-81, they are an organization with no blueprint, no direction, and no identity. General Manager Jim Bowden takes most of the heat, but this is an organization-wide issue. From the ownership acting as if it were a small market team (they play in the Nation’s capitol, how small of a market can that be?) even when they have a brand new stadium, to the transactions made every day, to the product on the field, the Washington Nationals are in need of serious help. The lack of on-field results is a direct relation to the lack of direction and poor decision making by management. This is not just a case of a team having a bad season. This is a case of a team being so bad that they are irrelevant. Remember, teams can have bad seasons, even historically bad like the 2003 Tigers. The difference is that the Tigers were discussed. The Nationals are simply three wins on everyone’s schedule. Just how bad is it? It’s worse than bad; it’s forgettable.

2008 Ineptitude

OK, so you saw the poor record, but this stat that is about to be thrown out is mind boggling. You may want to brace yourself. The Nationals’ run differential this season is minus-162. Yes, that is correct, negative one hundred and sixty two runs. For people unfamiliar to the run differential statistic, it means that they have given up 162 more runs than they have scored. With that type of differential, the Nationals are lucky to have 44 wins. But wait, it gets worse. They are currently on a 10 game losing streak and have lost 22 of their last 30 games.

The Nationals rank 16^th  (out of 16 teams) in the National League in runs scored, batting average, and slugging percentage. They rank 15^th in the NL in homeruns and on base percentage. Their team leader in slugging percentage is second baseman turned first baseman Ronnie Belliard with a .452 percentage. Only two players, Belliard and Lastings Milledge have more than 10 homeruns this year. No player who qualifies has an on base percentage over .324. The pitching is only slightly better. The Nationals’ team ERA of 4.55 ranks 12^th in the league. Only one member of their starting rotation (John Lannan) has an ERA under 4.00.

While all of these statistics are mind numbing, little else could be expected. The construction of this team could only lead them to this point. With no discernable plan, the team was poorly constructed, leaving it little opportunity to win.

The Transactions

The following is a list of the major transactions made by the Washington Nationals since the Red Sox closed out the World Series. And, for the record, none of this is fabricated.

Acquired a player to be named (Anderson Hernandez) for Luis Ayala

Acquired Alberto Gonzalez for Jhonny Nunez

Acquired Emilio Bonifacio for Jon Rauch

Acquired Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider

Acquired Tyler Clippard for Jonathan Albaladejo.

Acquired OF Elijah Dukes from the Rays in exchange for LHP Glenn Gibson

1/31/08Signed Johnny Estrada

12/11/07 Signed Paul LoDuca

First let’s take care of the easy one-the two catchers signed. Jim Bowden traded his starting catcher, Brian Schneider in the Milledge deal. But, he had 23 year old Jesus Flores waiting to take the job. Instead Bowden signed both Johnny Estrada and Paul LoDuca. With Wil Nieves also in the mix, the Nationals carried four catchers on its roster. Yes, the adage is, “You can never have enough catching”.

Predictably, those two moves failed as both were released a week ago. But, the fact remains that out of 25 men, four were catchers, leaving manager Manny Acta with just two bench players who did not catch for much of the season.

Now let’s get to these trades. The first one was the acquisition of Elijah Dukes from the Tampa Rays. Dukes got off to a decent start in 2007, but fell out of favor in Tampa because of attitude issues. Bowden traded one of his top 10 pitching prospects in Glenn Gibson, a left hander who struck out a batter an inning as a 20 year old. There’s no doubt that Dukes is talented, but given his track record and the already crowded outfield situation (Wily Mo Pena, Austin Kerns, and then Ryan Church), the price Bowden paid for Dukes was way too steep. A successful franchise does not trade away a solid left handed pitching prospect for a troubled outfielder who has not proven a thing on a major league field. For the record, Dukes has only 185 at bats and a batting line of .264/.364/.434 with 6 homeruns and 23 RBI. Gibson is pitching in single-A ball and is struggling (a 1.84 WHIP in 78.2 innings).

The acquisition of Tyler Clippard, a one-time Yankees prospect would’ve been fine if Jonathan Albaladejo had not been the one sent to New York. Albaladejo is a big, hard throwing right handed reliever. Clippard projects to be a back end of the rotation type starter while Albaladejo could be a late inning reliever. Clippard, just 23 years old, was recently called up. It is too early to evaluate his performance, but he does have a 1.839 WHIP in his 10.2 major league innings in 2008. Albaladejo has been hurt most of the season, appearing in only seven games.

Bowden traded away outfielder Ryan Church and catcher Brian Schneider for the Mets’ once top prospect, Lasting Milledge. At first, this looked like a slam dunk win for the Nationals, but it once again illustrated their ineptitude. Church was labeled as a part-time player, someone who can thrive in a platoon situation. Before he got hurt (post concussion syndrome), Church was one of the Mets best every day hitters. Milledge has played quite a bit, posting Elijah Dukes’ type numbers with a line of .261/.323/.407 with a team leading 12 homeruns. Acquiring the 23 year old Milledge is not the issue. The problem is that the Nationals just got someone so similar to Milledge that it seemed unnecessary.

Where the Nationals really lose is their in-season transactions. First, the Nats traded their closer (and former setup man extraordinaire Jon Rauch to the Arizona Diamondbacks. The D-Backs needed to strengthen their bullpen and have a group of young players to deal. The Nationals selected the speedy Emilio Bonifacio. Bonifacio is a speedster (40 or more stolen bases over the past few years. He is not a person to carry a team or even a highly rated prospect. Trading away arguably the best reliever on the marker and just receiving one mid-level prospect is a complete failure. Bowden had the opportunity to restock his farm system like Billy Beane did. It is trades like this that set organizations back for years.

The last two trades are quite similar. First they acquired utility fielder Alberto Gonzalez for hard throwing right hander Jhonny Nunez. Gonzalez projects to be nothing more than a utility man. Meanwhile Nunez is a hard throwing right hander who averages over one strikeout per inning. As we said when breaking down the trade, trading hard throwing pitchers for utility infielders is never, ever good.  Over the past weekend, the Nats send reliever Luis Ayala to the Mets for the famed player to be named later. The earliest rumor has that player being light hitting middle infielder Anderson Hernandez. Wait, didn’t they just get a light hitting middle infielder? Yes, and that is why the Nationals are not rebuilding. Relief pitching is a commodity this late into the season. Although Ayala is having a poor year, contenders tend to overpay for relief help. Getting a young, hard throwing arm for Ayala was needed, not another utility man.

Now What?

This may seem like one of those “kick ‘em while they are down” articles, but it is not. When a poor organization is stamped as irrelevant, their flaws need to be discussed. And, the flaws are plentiful as we didn’t even mention the poor move to extend shortstop Christian Guzman another two seasons, the fact that Aaron Boone gets playing time. While the Nationals are currently the worst franchise in baseball, all is not lost. With just a few simple solutions, the Nationals could be back on the long road (they are very far away) to respectability.

First and foremost, the Nationals need to start over. Their front office needs to be completely re-done, from the General Manager to the assistant to the travelling secretary. The new executives need to come in with a plan and follow that plan.

The plan must include developing players who can get on base, take a walk, and limit strikeouts.  It also must include drafting hard throwing pitchers. A staff of soft-tossers cannot win (right, Pittsburgh?).

Roster construction must also give the manager more options. Two catchers on the roster are sufficient. Having five outfielders should do the trick. Be sure that the bench is balanced with bats from each side of the plate, players who can play multiple positions, and some speed.

Finally, it is time for the Nationals to forget Montreal. They are no longer the poor small market team. They can afford to sign a marquee free agent, although they will have to overpay initially. Building a team in Washington D.C. on a budget is a slap in the face to the fans. It is not a small market and should not act like one.