It has been a rough year for the
Nationals. The days when they were declaring “world series or bust” now seem
like a lifetime ago. The Nationals currently ‘boast’ a record of 29-29, 7.5
games behind Atlanta for the division lead.
Not the start most people had in
mind.
Bad fielding and a weak bullpen have
unquestionably played a role in the team’s struggles, but the biggest reason is
the laundry list of injuries they have suffered.
Danny Espinosa was added to the DL
on Tuesday, joining Bryce Harper, Wilson Ramos, Ross Detwiler, and Ryan
Mattheus. Stephen Strasburg was placed on the DL today after the team initially
hoped he would not have to miss a start.
With all these injuries, the
Nationals have held players out a day or two in the hopes that they would not
have to be put on the DL. That, more than anything else, is what makes these
injuries so troubling. Every team gets hit with injuries; some teams get hit
harder than others. The Nationals have had their share of injuries, but have
they made things worse on themselves by not shutting down players immediately?
Harper was placed on the DL due to
knee bursitis. The Washington Post reports he first injured it in Atlanta about
a month ago. Of course, running full speed into the wall in Los Angeles likely
made things worse. Harper was not placed on the DL after that game, however. In
fact, he appeared in nine more games before he was finally shutdown.
Detwiler was not expected to go on
the DL after being pulled May 15 against the Dodgers. The team decided to hold
him out of his next start, but he continued throwing and ended up aggravating
the injury.
Do you see a pattern developing
here?
Espinosa came into the season
declaring he had a torn rotator cuff, but that he would be able to play through
it. Guess what happened. He did not allow himself to heal by continuing to play
and has looked awful all season long.
Why are players being allowed to talk
their way out of the DL only to end up on it later?
When players do not allow injuries
to heal, they can often get worse or at least fail to get better. That is
especially true in a sport like baseball with so many games almost every day.
It is up to the manager and training staff to determine when a player needs to
sit.
The Nationals had no problem with this
last year when they sat a seemingly healthy Strasburg once he reached his
innings limit. Yet, this season they have not exercised the same amount of
discretion.
Harper pinch-hit two days after
running into the wall in Los Angeles. Where was the caution? Why not sit him a few
more days? He may have said he was fine, but that’s what players do. Heck, Harper
tried to convince Johnson he could stay in that game in Los Angeles. Why not
give arguably your best player a couple extra days off to make sure he is ok or
immediately place him on the DL?
The Nationals mercifully put
Espinosa out of his misery Tuesday by placing him on the DL. His season has
been a disaster from the word go. He announced before the season that he had a
torn rotator cuff, but that he would play through it. He was terrible. Then it
came out on May 24 that he was also dealing with a fractured right wrist.
Espinosa has insisted his injuries
were not affecting his play. I sure hope they were because it would explain why
he has been one of the worst hitters in the league. That’s no exaggeration; he
has literally been one of the worst hitters in MLB this season with a .158
average and a .193 OBP.
Why the Nationals allowed this
train-wreck to continue for as long as they did is baffling. The highest
Espinosa’s average has been this season is .200. He reached it once on April 10
and again on May 8. His average has been below .200 for the rest of the season.
Even if you argue that Espinosa is
one of the best defensive players on the team, which both Johnson and Rizzo
believe, you cannot afford to carry this hole in your lineup for over two
months. How could they not see that Espinosa trying to play through his
injuries just wasn’t working? How could the Nationals have made this same
mistake multiple times this season?
The only reason I can think of is
desperation. This team has pushed all the chips into the middle and gone all-in.
They declared openly this spring that they were the team to beat. With the team
already struggling they suddenly faced decisions on whether to put Harper,
Epsinosa, Ramos, Detwiler, and Strasburg on the DL. Hoping everyone just ‘plays
through it’ and then deciding whether to put them on the DL is a terrible
strategy. Had the Nationals been cautious with their star players from the
start, had they listened to the doctors and trainers instead of the players and
the standings, then I think we would be a lot closer to seeing the full lineup
than we are right now.
Hopefully the Nationals did not
gamble their season along with the health of their players.
For the latest DC sports news, check out CSNWashington.com and follow me on Twitter @TheDC_Sportsguy
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