The postseason just started and four teams got eliminated in less than 36 hours. There are now 22-teams that are setting tee times today. Eight teams are still standing.
Our Washington Nationals are doing a lengthy housecleaning and expect a few more changes before General Manager Mike Rizzo and his field manager, Dave Martinez, start hiring new people to fill in the vacancies. Off-the-field, the biggest spot to fill is the VP Director of Player Development vacancy after De Jon Watson was not retained. His contract ran out, and he was not extended. Same with a few of his minor league coaches and one coordinator.
Of course most people here want to see big upgrades on the big league roster. Better players translating into more wins. That will take a financial commitment from ownership, and while principal owner Mark Lerner said he isn’t sure if it is the right time — he is leaving tis to Rizzo’s discretion. So Rizzo needs to get it done.
There was a private party for stadium workers last night at Nationals Park. Nobody knew that their bartender was going to be the President of Baseball Operations, Mike Rizzo, and the newly retired bullpen ace of the 2019 season, Sean Doolittle, was going to pose for photos and sign autographs. They graced these employees with their presence. Or is that presents? We posted up some photos that were sent to us with the condition of anonymity — and then word spread and other employees were sending us videos, photos, and stories. These are the little things.
Usually, these are the types of stories you never hear about because positivity doesn’t get you the clicks like the negativity. You learn that in new journalism in the social media era. Journalism changed. Go viral! I just heard it last week on Apple TV’s The Morning Show. If you want negativity, you can dig it up easily. Stir up those old emotions — and pick at the scabs. The triggers are there to tie everything right back to the powder keg — the evil ownership group is what they will keep telling you is the root of all problems. No blame is assessed to the people who did not get their job done — no, the problem is the boss of their boss or the boss two or three levels above.
They did the same when Dusty Baker was not retained after the 2017 season. You were convinced that the move was motivated by saving money because Dave Martinez was taking the job for millions less than Baker. Never mentioned by them was that there were key players who did not want Baker back. It was just another PR nightmare for the team. All roads, they tell you, lead back to the Lerner ownership group and their greed. That is the underlying message even though they don’t say those exact words. Make everything about money, and start a movement to force them to sell the team. The words twisted and turned enough doesn’t need a genius to get you there. I read it enough yesterday in social media tweets that got so ridiculous that the Nats were compared to the lowly Oakland A’s.
CJ Abrams #5 of the Washington Nationals hits a walk-off single at Nationals Park to beat the Braves with Ronald Acuna Jr. in the foreground (Photo by Sol Tucker/TalkNats)
A very happy birthday to CJ Abrams who is celebrating his 23rd birthday today. His 2023 season came to a close on Sunday, and as it turned out, his age-22 was very special. There were only two players who ever hit at least 18 home runs and stole at least 47 bases by age 22 before this year — and they were Cesar Cedeno and Mike Trout. Abrams and Corbin Carroll both joined them this season as the only four members of the 18/47 Club.
Mark Lerner, Mike Rizzo, and De Jon Watson (Photo by Sol Tucker for Talknats)
After the Washington Nationals won 69-games in 2010, Ted Lerner greenlighted a nine-digit contract for Jayson Werth — the largest in franchise history at the time. After the Nats just won 71-games this season, you have to wonder if general manager Mike Rizzo sees it as the right time to start increasing payroll significantly. According to Nats’ current principal owner, Mark Lerner, it is Rizzo’s decision as to making moves this offseason.
Casey Stengel walks towards the clubhouse (yes, behind center field and up the steps) after the last game at the Polo Grounds. September 18, 1963
It wasn’t all that long ago that Southern Maryland was dotted with tobacco farms. It was a crop that produced more money per acre than anything legal other than a winery. A farmer could make a nice living on less than 20 acres of land. 20 acres of corn wouldn’t produce enough money to pay for the fuel required. The money was fair, but was never guaranteed. A hail storm could wipe it all out within an hour. So, it was always a source of celebration when the last plants were “Housed” in the barn to fresh-air cure. Whether it was family, tenant farmers, or an ad-hoc bunch of youngsters doing the work seeing that last stick of plants go in the barn was a cause for some joy. Many times it was simply horseshoes and beer. It always seemed the least excited was the old farmer himself. One old codger told me once; “The thing about this business is that the work and worry never end.” A crop in the barn was still vulnerable to rotting after a week of wet stagnant air. Stripping the leaves required the very humidity not wanted earlier. Then, it all came down to what the buyer was willing to pay. Within days of that, it was time to plant the new crop. The cycle had a timeline that never changed even as every element within it was at least slightly different every year.
The Washington Nationals knew they were not going to be a contender this year short of a miracle. With a 15-game win improvement over last year, there are reasons for optimism — even in a season where the Nats will finish again in last place in the NL East but nowhere close to the bottom in baseball. General Manager Mike Rizzo acknowledged the lack of team power as an issue before yesterday’s game, but team pitching clearly has to improve too. A starter’s ERA right at 5.00 combined before today’s game is a big problem for the squad and a reliever worst K/9 in the MLB are also issues. Rizzo again made it clear that they will be evaluating the coaching staff who are all on expiring contracts.
The Washington Nationals had just lost Stone Garrett to a broken leg at Yankee Stadium at the end of August. A blow to a team that was on a run. The team was just over a 76-win pace on August 27. A sustained winning streak would get the Nats to a winning season. That winning streak never came for the rest of the season. The most the Nats would win the rest of the way was just two consecutive wins against the White Sox. It has been a spiral down since that point. Sure, the team had two walk-off wins at the beginning of September — but mostly the team lost ground as the starting rotation and the clutch hitting just could not find that magic of August. The Scrappy Nats showed up last night at a special time to smash five home runs and put their 70th win in the books. A +15 improvement from last year. And of course there are still two games to go in the season.
The Washington Nationals and their fans are at the final weekend in this season. On one hand, you want this season to end and move forward to 2024 with the hopes of better times ahead. And then you are thrust back to the realization that Opening Day is 180 days away, and there are multiple question markets. We have an uncertain feeling about not knowing the direction the Nats’ ownership will go this offseason. If they spend on some big player(s) and many facets go right, then the Nats could be a team playing meaningful games in September next year. We all know about the disappointment from the 2015 “Where’s My Ring” season when Ted Lerner gifted the fans a one-of-a-kind in Max Scherzer. There are no vintage Scherzers available — and even the real Scherzer is a fraction of what he once was. But who cares, the Hot Stove is for dreaming.
Was this the final start of Patrick Corbin‘s career? Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Winning at the MLB level is about making the toughest decisions. “Best 25 26 goes North” is what they say as Spring Training camp breaks. Large guaranteed contracts generally get spots on the roster due to dollars instead of merit. That’s the business side of baseball. General Manager Mike Rizzo said, “best 25 go North” on April 2, 2012 when he chose Ross Detwiler over John Lannan for the final rotation spot on the roster. It might have been the first time that Rizzo made a move based on winning over a player’s salary. We all know that the 2012 Nats would go on to win the NL East and shock many that season with 98 wins.
The Washington Nationals have faced the Orioles three times this year and lost two Josiah Gray starts by identical scores of 1-0. That is difficult to do once in a season, but twice? Tonight is the fourth and final game against the Orioles as the Nats are in search of their 70th win. They will face the right-handed Grayson Rodriguez who the Orioles drafted in the 1st round of the 2018 draft at the eleventh overall pick. He gave up 2-runs over 4 ⅓ innings against the Red Sox, then a masterpiece against the Rays, followed up six days ago with giving up 2-runs over 5.0 innings to the Guardians while issuing three walks in a no-decision.
