April 12, 2011

As the Nationals return home from their first road trip of the season, I wanted to comment on my early impressions of the season so far.  Beginning this home stand with a 4-5 record, I think the team would take that, considering that six were road games against Florida and New York and the three home games were against Atlanta.  This home stand consists of six games against playoff contenders, Philadelphia and Milwaukee, and should provide further insight into the quality of the 2011 Washington Nationals.  Here are my early impressions of the club after just nine games.

Three Up

1)        Danny Espinosa -> I am doing my best to keep my expectations in check, but every time I watch Danny play, he does something that convinces me that he could be a fringe all-star caliber player.  Yes he has made a few questionable plays in these early games, but his defense and throwing arm are close to elite and the home run he hit Saturday night against the Mets was the hardest hit ball I have seen from a middle infielder this year, pro or college.  Many have contracted Bieber-fever in the past year, I have officially contracted Espinosa-disorder (patent pending)….

2)        Wilson Ramos -> Simply put, he is better than advertised.  He sets up beautifully behind home plate and gives the pitchers a big square target to throw to, with very soft hands and the ability to block pitches in the dirt.  True, his current .412/.474/.471 batting line will regress, but I think he could hit around .280 with 12-15 home runs a season, given ample playing time.  With Pudge still with the club, he will not receive enough at-bats to see those results, but the sheer ability to watch Rodriguez and pick his brain this year should be invaluable.  He is a bigger piece of the future than I thought he was prior to spring training: he has a chance to be a good one.

3)        Starting Pitching -> So far, so good.  Marquis, Lannan and Zimmermann have all pitched well through two starts, and Livan Hernandez and Tom Gorzelanny have pitched better than their ERAs might indicate:  Livan had one bad inning in Florida and Gorzelanny the same over the weekend in New York.  The Nationals will need them to pitch deeper into games going forward in order to save the bullpen, but the early returns have been a pleasant surprise.

Three Down

1)                    The early returns of Mike Morse -> .148/.250/.148 with 9 strikeouts in 27 at-bats.  Yes the sample size is too small to draw any conclusions, but as per his reputation, he has really struggled against quality starting pitching and the inside fastball in the early going.  Like clockwork and Murphy’s Law, I hope criticizing him in this column jumpstarts his season and makes my rush to judgment look foolish.

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3)                    Ian Desmond -> Perhaps it is unfair to criticize Desmond, because he does not have any of the skills you want from a leadoff hitter and nothing in his pedigree would make you think that he would be a solid leadoff man.  Desmond slots much better in the #2 or #7 position, as he has the bat speed to turn on fastballs but lacks the batting eye to take enough walks to produce a solid on-base percentage.  And like one might expect, he looks lost trying to hit leadoff, batting .237/.256/.395 in 38 at-bats.  In fairness to Desmond, he has played solid defense in the field and looks to be one of the key leaders for the ball club.  But he needs to start taking some pitches and some walks, or this lineup will continue to struggle with consistency, especially as they cope with Zimmerman’s injury.

These next six games should give a solid indication of how the season and the win/loss record could shape up this season.  With Zimmerman out and two playoff teams coming to Nationals Park, a 3-3 record or better would give the team a boost of confidence these youngsters need in the weeks ahead.  However, a losing record could quickly make the record look ugly and lead to some tough road games in the coming weeks.  I will be out at the park a few times this home stand, so if you see a man in a Fedora, come say hello.

*** As an aside, I am planning to live blog a game during this home stand as well.  I will let you know which game and I hope you join me with your own comments and insights.

Email me at NationalsGM@gmail.com with questions or general feedback and follow me on twitter @natsgmdotcom.  Thanks again for reading.