Spreading blame for the Nationals’ decline
Posted: Thursday, April 23, 2009 3:11 PM
They were still attaching the padding to the outfield wall at RFK Stadium while the Mets took batting practice on a cold early April afternoon in 2005. It was just a few years ago that the nation’s capital was giddy for baseball. Now, the sport was back. A neglected team, just a few years earlier ticketed for extinction, had arrived from Montreal, but in DC it didn’t matter what shape the club was in for things were going to get better.
By season’s end, over 2.7 million fans watched their new team in an aging stadium that offered few comforts. No doubt existed in the mind of anyone attending a game in DC that this incarnation of baseball in Washington would be a rousing success.
Flash ahead to this week: Twice I have watched highlight packages of games from Nationals Park and was stunned by reams of empty seats. Announced attendance is barely 20,000 per game in the second year of a brand new ballpark.
There is local ownership, a well-respected chief executive, and one of the game’s most sought after young Hispanic managers. So how can things in Washington be so ugly?
Blame can be spread: MLB allowed the team to linger in limbo for three years in Montreal. After the aborted contraction effort, MLB commissioner Bud Selig had voices telling him Las Vegas was a perfect landing spot for the club. When it was determined DC was the ultimate home, a lengthy process ensued to choose ownership. During that time, the team’s farm system deteriorated, through the unwillingness to horrid levels of MLB to spend on the future.
In his stint as the team’s general manager, Omar Minaya, made one of the worst deadline trades in recent history. Striving to help the franchise avoid contraction, Minaya made a fateful run at the wild card in June 2002. He sent Cliff Lee, Grady Sizemore and Brandon Phillips to Cleveland for Bartolo Colon, a half-season rental. That steep price dealt a blow from which the Nationals’ farm system has not recovered.
Then there is the Jim Bowden fiasco. Only the owners can explain why Bowden was left in charge so long. His tenure as general manager ended in abject embarrassment for the franchise.
But in Bowden’s ashes may be the gems of a foundation. This week, the Nationals operated on two fronts. First, they expunged much of Bowden’s construction, cleaning out eight players from the 25-man roster in one week. Then they signed their best player, Ryan Zimmerman, to a contract that buys out two years of free agency. And they promoted their best prospect, righty Jordan Zimmermann, who tossed 6 strong innings in his debut.
With Stan Kasten and Mike Rizzo in charge of baseball, the goals are obvious, the same that most losing teams face. Attitude and culture must be changed. The Nationals must find what Torii Hunter said Seattle has gained in their regime change -- “hunger.”
Finally, there will be help in June. With the draft’s first pick, the Nationals will choose righty Stephen Strasburg from San Diego State. He throws 100 mph, was the only amateur on last summer’s Olympic baseball team, and is projected on a fast track to the majors. The Nationals also have the 10th pick in the first round – a rare chance to rapidly improve their system.
With empty seats, miniscule TV ratings, and a massive credibility problem, the Nationals need their young players to hit big.
FIVE SWINGS:
1. ON THE FIELD…interest is starting to form about the stumbling Mets. Steve Phillips, TV’s best baseball analyst, offered a passionate summation of the sad state in the Mets’ world. He pointed to the continued fundamental mistakes, and called for someone on the team to assume a leadership role. He mentioned the need for someone to challenge Oliver Perez to pitch consistently. In essence, Phillips confirmed what this blog has written several times since late last season – that those in the know say the Mets clubhouse is a house divided. It lacks any leadership, a crucial factor in their two September collapses. This continues to be a highly sensitive topic around the Mets. They openly promote their losmets.com website, but if this uneven start extends into the season, the subject will be aired openly in the intense New York media.
2. OFF THE FIELD…a huge story has developed around the empty prime seats in both New York ballparks. Anyone who doubts the state of the economy need simply look at one inning of a game in either setting. New York has been ravaged by the Wall Street and banking crises; unemployment in that sector is growing. Suddenly, the Yankees, who often compare their games to a Broadway show, have felt resistance to their absurdly priced seats. The Mets reduced capacity by 11,000 and, though their top seats are much lower priced than similar seats in the Bronx, they are plagued by the same problem. Given the Madoff affair, in which Mets’ ownership lost a reported $300 million, it is fair to wonder how the Mets can handle any drop from projected budgets.
3. BASEBALL DOES NOT REWARD EXTREMES…as we learned in the last few days when Washington (1-10) took 2 of 3 from Atlanta, and Florida (11-1) was swept in Pittsburgh. But Toronto is worth examination. They lead the AL East (11-5) despite the loss of three projected starters. This week, Jesse Litsch joined Shaun Marcum and Dustin McGowan (both out for the year) on the DL. Roy Halladay is superb, but it’s hard to see the Blue Jays surviving the gauntlet of their division without their good young arms.
4. UPDATES ON EARLY SEASON PREDICTIONS: Both Kansas City and Milwaukee have a screaming need for rotation depth. The Royals have studs in the front in Gil Meche and Zach Greinke, and have gotten a good beginning from Kyle Davies. But their 4-5 spots are a wasteland. Same for Milwaukee, which has a respectable front three in Yovani Gallardo, Braden Looper, and Dave Bush.
San Francisco has its predicted tremendous starting pitching (with 1-thru-5 depth if Barry Zito is decent), but it’s hard to believe the Giants have a worse offense than projected. The Mets can’t get stable starting beyond Johan Santana. And St. Louis continues to benefit from the astounding pitching coach Dave Duncan as Joel Pineiro is 3-0, Kyle Lohse 2-0, and veteran Ryan Franklin has pulled another Lazarus to claim the closer job.
5. INJURIES, INJURIES, INJURIES. Some are unavoidable, some are confounding, but baseball continues to suffer from a rash of injuries that disable key players and cost tens of millions in payroll. A sampler platter: Vlad Guerrero is gone for a month, Xavier Nady at least six weeks, Jed Lowrie for at least two months, Ryan Doumit at least six weeks (Pittsburgh has no catching depth), Chris Carpenter 6-8 weeks (imagine a decent Carpenter with the reborn Cards’ starters). What’s up with catchers: Just over two weeks into the season and three starting catchers are down (Doumit, Kenji Johjima, and Brian Schneider)? And there are critical injuries, none more so than which struck Brandon Webb (tightness in his pitching shoulder), without whom Arizona has little hope.
