Washington Nationals: Top three disappointments of the early season
We are two weeks into the season now and as the Washington Nationals sit in the middle of the NL East, time to reflect on what has gone wrong thus far.
The Washington Nationals were set to defend their World Series title, shortened season or not. In the offseason, they brought back a lot of the pieces who contributed to the historic playoff run a year ago and even added a couple of fresh faces as well.
Even though Anthony Rendon skipped town for greener grasses along the West Coast, the three-headed pitching monster featuring Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Patrick Corbin were primed to lock down hitters as they did in the 2019 postseason.
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Through the first week and a half of the season, the team sits at a game under .500 and in the middle of the pack in the National League East (Marlins and Phillies have played half as many games).
The Nationals are coming off a four-day break because the Marlins were on the schedule and baseball has been shut down in that part of Florida, and a fourth because of a scheduled off day.
Time to look at what has gone wrong in the early going for the Washington Nationals.
The Washington Nationals defense has been completely atrocious.
A year ago manager Davey Martinez stressed fundamentals were how the team was going to distance themselves from the rest of the pack. Well, this year the team has distanced themselves, though in the wrong way.
The Nationals have the worst fielding percentage in the National League and have committed the second-highest total of errors. Only the San Francisco Giants (who have played three more games) have committed more errors.
Starlin Castro leads the charge with three errors, in only thirty-six chances. Trea Turner has committed two errors on the year (ironically both came on the same play).
Not only are the middle infielders booting the ball, but they also are not turning double plays either. Giving extra outs as well as failing to erase base runners two at a time, is a disheartening combination.
Pitchers have contributed two errors to the mix as well.
Could the abbreviated spring training or shorted “summer camp” schedule have taken time away from fielding practice? Regardless of the time devoted, these are professionals who have been involved in thousands of these types of plays. They need to be made.
If the team wants to go anywhere this year, they need to clean up the mistakes.