Spring Training camp on the Washington Nationals side of the CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches had a different vibe from past years. Players showed up early. The air you breathed felt like this was about winning now. “The future is now,” Dylan Crews said. “I think we’ll surprise some people,” James Wood said. The defense looked crisp. The base running looked smart. The at-bats had thought in the batter’s box. Then it all unraveled on Friday as if Cinderella’s time had reached midnight.
Since Friday, the team has given up 18 unearned runs due to poor defense. It could have been even worse if the official scorers weren’t judging a few booted ground balls as gifts to the batters. Then you have the second act of the Keystone Cops running the bases with inexcusable comedic flair. One reliever yesterday literally threw three wild pitches that scored three runs. The sad part is that some of the offenders might actually make the Opening Day roster.
While manager Dave Martinez might have made “The Little Things” one of his mantras that he preaches, and “Don’t give up more than 27 outs,” this has once again not resonated with some of the players. At what point is this a reflection on the manager?
Batting .400 might put Andres Chaparro as a frontrunner for the final bench spot, and he has made it on-base safely 14 times in Spring Training. But then Chaparro took himself off of the bases three times with three base running mistakes. CJ Abrams tried to stretch a double into a triple to leadoff an inning and was thrown out for the first out. Never make the first or third out at third base — you are already in scoring position. Abrams added a throwing error to his infractions yesterday that led to two unearned runs. Rule-5 reliever Evan Reifert allowed three runs to score — all via wild pitches. Catchers Drew Millas and Riley Adams have five errors combined and that doesn’t include their two passed balls.
There are others who have dropped balls, shown poor form, or just mailed it in like they don’t care. Yes, that was Amed Rosario jogging to first base on a grounder like he just hit a walk-off. Not sure what Jorge Lopez was doing on the mound yesterday. He gave up three singles, a walk, and a hit-by-pitch in two-thirds of an inning. Three of the batters he faced have never played in the Major Leagues, and two others had a few cups of coffee. Only one, Albert Almora Jr., had more than 413 career at-bats in the Majors.
The good news is that there are several Nationals players who are hustling and making the right plays. The poor play in the past several days has just overshadowed the players doing everything right. Donny Osmond said that one bad apple shouldn’t spoil the whole bunch. But what about several bad apples?
Make me the decision maker and today would be the last day for Rosario and Reifert on the Nationals roster. After those two moves, send Shinnosuke Ogasawara, Millas and Chaparro to Triple-A camp. Give a little more rope to Lopez and Adams. Abrams had a mixed day yesterday at the same time that he was having his best offensive game. His defense actually looked much better this spring.
Again, have accountability. One-time mistakes can be forgiven. But not having your head in the game for multiple infractions is not acceptable. Allowing this to continue sets a bad precedent. Bad teams might allow it because they have few alternatives. This Nats team has enough depth that you can DFA players who are not exceeding the minimum standards. Set the tone that this is not acceptable at this point.
