A few recent quotes from this message board:
"There's something toxic going on behind the scenes"
"It is just hard to fathom why these clowns are unable to learn from their countless mistakes at the plate"
"do not understand how these eff ups can cash their bloated paychecks with a straight face"

A few recent quotes from the media:
"After Thursday night's win over the Rays, the Nationals (40-27) hit 40 wins in fewer games than any DC-based team since the 1933 Nats, who won the American League. "
"The 2012 Nationals have the fastest start in Franchise history dating back to 1969."

Geez you guys don't want much do you?

Maybe there's something toxic going on in front of the scene - "fans" who don't realize just what they have.

Its like the fact that this is so far the best team DC has had since the franchise moved here, the best team in franchise history and the best Washington team since 1933 is just not enough. Apparently nothing less than the hitting of the 1927 Yankees and the pitching of the 1971 Orioles will stop the tendency to refer to the team and players as "garbage," the atmosphere as "toxic" and the players as "clowns" and "effups."

Look, this is a team which has 3 rookies in the starting lineup (not by plan but due to injuries). Admittedly one is a "super rookie," but he's still a rookie. Espi and Lombo are more typical rookies, but you also gotta realize there has been a lot more pressure on them to hit than if Werth and Morse had been in the lineup all season and Lombo/Espi were maybe platooning at 2B or whatever the plan was.

And I'm not saying I haven't made critical posts on a few players, but in the context of trying to analyse their numbers and figure out why, not describing them as clowns, garbage or whatever.

I sincerely hope that no Nats players read this board (players will do almost anything to kill time in their hotel rooms on road trips :) They might be inclined to think there was something toxic going on.

first off... many comparisons have been made to this team and 2005 which I think is drastic. But there is something toxic going on with this team, our offensive production. you fail to realize just because we're in arguably better than any other year before we still are nowhere near as good as we should be. we're faced with SEVERAL players who are not living up to what they should be hitting offensively as well as a lineup that scores the least amount of runs of any team in first place better yet almost dead last in all the major leagues. Our pitching is excellent no doubt but this is not a playoff contending team. And it is exactly that that upsets people, we should be but we're not. Also LOL on you calling Espinosa a rookie.

Good post.

Sure, I would love to see more offensive production from the Nats. Just keep in mind teams like the Giants have recently won WS with very weak bats. To Rizzo's credit, he assembled the best young pitching staff in the MLB during the off season. I think he did it in a rather expensive and inefficient manner that wasted some resources that could have been applied to the obvious weakness in the offense. However, it's hard to argue with the results thus far.

It's kind of hard for me to be disappointed in the Nats bats. Last year the Nats scored 624 Runs. Rizzo did nothing to improve the offense and guess what ? The Nats are on pace to score about 624 runs this season. That's not all that bad since the heart of the order has been torn out mostly by injury. Morse, Werth, Zimmerman, Ramos are players not easily replaced. Harper and LaRoche have performed well. Desi, Espy, Lombo, and Flores are hitting pretty much where I expect middle INFers and catchers to hit. It's my view, and the run totals sort of bear this out, that the Nats offense and most players are meeting expectations.

Are the Nats a playoff contender ? Sure, just like the '10 Giants.

and 624 measly runs will not cut it this season...and only reinforces what I said, which is that this team does not learn a thing from past mistakes.....'hoping' that everything will turn around for our 3-4-5 hitters is silly....those guys have to sit back and analyze their faulty approach, their undisclosed injuries, study videos, etc...but no...they would rather continue to flail, hoping that some baseball genie will pick up the feeble grounder they hit and hurl it over the fence....

Well said pasqual, I agree with everything you said. The name calling and gloom and doom is wearing thin. I think most of us have some frustration with the offense etc. but juvenile responses solve nothing. Enjoying the ride in Hamilton, ohio... Go Nats!

hoping that some baseball genie will pick up the feeble grounder they hit and hurl it over the fence.... '

I have resorted to rubbing the bottle every time Zimmerman steps into the box

Agreed. There is more negativity and sniping going on here now than when we stunk and were losing 100 games a season.
_____

Let's go Nationals!

Probably not THE best since 1933, but well said. Have to remember, though, that when a team raises expectations such as this one has, it's bound to disappoint people who are maybe expecting the impossible. But I have complete faith in DJ and, ultimately, the lineup. On to the end!

Because the Nats want everyone to believe that they are a contender....but the series against the Yankees revealed their vulnerability/weak spot....one that they refuse to address....and offer no excuses as to why the eff not. Is it a crime to work the pitcher? Is it against baseball tradition to swing at pitches in the strike zone instead of ones bouncing on the ground? Is every ML players supposed to take a certain number of called third strikes down the middle? Is there a bonus for finishing an inning (at bat) in less than two minutes? I doubt that there are rational answers for any of the above questions, which then begs the real question: Why can't they learn from their constant mistakes at the plate?

We love you, Hank, because if you weren’t there we’d have to invent you. We could go on a ten-game tear and when we finally dropped one we’d need you to bring us down to earth by proclaiming feet of clay.

EVERY team wants fans to believe they are contenders. The NYY series revealed nothing more than we already know, that hitting is way off and young guys are easily intimidated; even then, we had a shot in game 1 and only an umpire cost us game 2. The Braves, whom we’d just swept, went to NY and took two of three. But they’re older and more experienced. So it goes.

If you think lunging at balls out of the zone or watching strikes is unique to us you’ve not watched a lot of games. It’s more of a pitcher’s game than ever, and batters don’t have a lot of time, as Bob C has often said, to make up their minds about a pitch coming at 98 mph even if it’s about to drop to their ankles. Been watching the game 50 years; have never seen pitchers as sharp as the best pitchers are today, and a lot of them are facing us.

There may indeed be a coaching problem because except in SLG (9 of 16) overall stats are just above the Pirates and Padres. But the guys we usually rely on are almost all way under their career figures; thus sooner or later they’ll come around. Because it’s a pitcher’s game we’re in first place; and if the pitching holds and they start hitting....

It’s a lot easier to fix a hitting slump than a pitching slump; . A larger worry may be whether our 3-4-5 starters will be good enough in the stretch, and what happens when Strasburg is benched.

Bucky: no doubt may teams think/believe they are contenders...what galls me (as if you hadn't noticed!) is the plain fact that no one on this team seems to be focused at all on their anemic hitting...yet the pitchers are first rate, our pitcher-catcher combos seem to work well, with solid pitch calling, and our defense has been tremendous...with few mental lapses (like in the past) that gives away close games....
We keep seeing the same ole, same ole....hacking instead of working a pitcher, especially on a hot humid day, way too much diving/lunging for incredibly bad pitches, and a strong tendency by our #3 'hitter' to watch centered fast balls float by for a called third strike....so my question, repeated (and condensed) is...WHY isn't anyone, from DJ to Eckstein to the players themselves, spending some quality time addressing these inherent and obvious problems, with the objective of making this team sound across all the dimensions? I have not read any response to my moanings and groanings that lead me to believe that people out there, some no doubt with more baseball experience/knowledge than I, can really say with a straight face...'oh, it's normal to hack away with RISP or dive for bouncing curve balls in the dirt....I mean....what choice do they have?" HUh?
Yes, I've watched some other teams, and see some of them doing the same...but the better teams find ways to reduce unproductive at bats....and produce productive ABs...
for example, how many sac flies have the Nats produced? 2? 3? What about ground balls that bring in a run? 3? Half the team can't bunt for love or money. It feels and looks like they are lost when standing in the batter's box.
Which Nat, as of today, would any opposing pitcher 'fear' at bat? I can't think of one. Two weeks ago I might have suggested Harper, possibly LaRoche...but both of them are moving away from the fundmentals they demonstrated previously and are quickly turning into flailing hackers.
You could throw 96 mph fastballs down the middle ...who would turn on it consistently? I can easily imagine that most times the most difficult thing an opposing pitcher has to do is keep his composure and not laugh at the futile at-bats that most of this line up continually exhibits.
I just don't understand it. Surely with meaningful BP, reviews of the videos, etc, some or all of their current tendencies could be corrected....but almost every inning their zippidy-doo-dah at bats are over so fast (hacking at the first pitch) or standing there immobile watching called third strikes float by, reminds me of that old joke about how to get a mule to do something...answer:"first, take a 2 x 4 and whack him over the head to get his attention.." our players seem as stubborn as a mule, refusing to learn and steadfastly clinging to their unproductive approach to 'hitting.'...so, I'd just like to know....how am I wrong and how are they (Nats) right?
thanks for listening.

I agree about fixing a hitting slump, but see no signs of even duct tape being added speed things along....

Hey Hank. Yeah, I know. But remember, we are seeing only one dimension of this. The manager is seeing it all. That has been BC’s lament about armchair managers. For instance, how do we KNOW that the coaches aren’t telling them to see the ball, be patient, not lunge? They were certainly telling that (especially say Desmond) early in when the patience was good and the hits timely. DJ lately talks about “patient aggressiveness.” Situations vary: early on, Desmond was going for the first pitch and getting hits. This team is young, they’re still learning. We’ve been dead last for so long I think sometimes we expect overnight Yankees.

Watch DJ post-game on MASN. He’s right that we hit the ball hard--when we hit it. Couple more inches and two line drives to short would have broken it open late. Pitching always trumps hitting and Hammel was huge.

DJ is still not moving Zim, says he feels fine and will come out of it. If he’s not injured, a lifetime .288 guy will not finish the year at .222. Hey, it frustrates us all, pal. But until we get a mole in the clubhouse, we don’t have the full picture.

I'm beginning to attract much of the same comments from detractors. Mostly those who find me far too pessimistic. If that's what I am, then I believe it's justified. I could always shut up and die and make plenty happy here, yet that's not the point of a fan forum.

I see correctable problems with this team and its attitude. It won't go away simply by invoking the ol' "Yeah, but they're still in first place" mantra. Doesn't work for me, never will. I expect excellence from professionals and won't make excuses when I believe that what's going wrong for them is correctable. I've been a paid coach before, and I assure you the reason my teams had consistent winning records was because I intentionally analyzed their performance for weaknesses that other teams might exploit. It was my job as coach to shore up any shortcomings to the best of my ability and to the best of each player's ability. It was ALSO my job to keep team performance to the highest level possible, AND CONTINUOUSLY SO.

I like what Rizzo has done to date, but I can see performance slipping and, although I can't understand how so many can accept mediocrity, I can accept it that some do. I'm too competitive for my own good, I guess; I want to win EVERY game, and win BIG. I suppose I'm a loyal supporter AS WELL AS loyal opponent. True, I don't know what's going on behind the scenes, but until Nats management or some spokesman lays it, it's also perfectly acceptable to assume coaches and managers and players are not making adjustments in performanc and attitude.

Interesting reply...thanks....yes, I feel the same way ...that all we hear in the post game wrap up is the usual pablum....'they'll come along, they're a young team...yaddy yaddy yaddy..'...well, far too much time has been spent watching/observing and talking about the same thing...these guys did not just start playing MLB yesterday...many of them exhibited the same tendencies LAST SEASON, 150-200 at-bats ago....hello.....how long does recognizing and adopting sound fundamentals of hitting take? Why do other youngsters already have it? Trout does not have 10 years of experience in the show, yet he's producing numbers Babe Ruth would have been proud of....it can't all be just 'good luck'...
I disagree a little with Bucky, in that a majority of our ground balls are limp as a dishrag and half of the fly balls are equally pathetic...our boys send few opposing outfielders racing to the wall....most of the time, all they have to do is stroll....Zimmerman must have 50 feeble ground outs to SS, half of the line up has grounded out to the pitcher numerous times...so I have not observed the cover loosening up on the ball yet...and whiffing produces nothing but a shift in the prevailing wind....and the Nats' whiff rate is truly depressing.
I get the feeling that most of our boys are not listening and think they can change things by continuing along the same erratic course that thus far has produced paltry few runs, about one highlight reel and strikes no fear in the hearts of opposing pitchers....it is really way past the time to start waking up to the fact that the status quo ain't working....

I can't find a single thing that you wrote with which I disagree. Well stated, my friend.

"Yes, I've watched some other teams, and see some of them doing the same...but the better teams find ways to reduce unproductive at bats....and produce productive ABs..."

The better, competitive teams thus far this season include the Reds, Dodgers, Giants, and Bucs. All of them rank no better than 8th in the NL in run production this year. The Nats ranked 12th. So it appears that many competive teams are having issues with AB porduction. I also seriously doubt that any opposing pitchers are laughing at Nat hitters lunging at bad pitches, when Nat pitchers are make opposing hitters look silly as well.

Mostly those who find me far too pessimistic. "

Not like the Nats don't provide plenty of reason for pessimism.

That still in first place mantra is slowly sinking into the West as the lead shrinks and shrinks. I don't see any turn around. We have a ground ball specialist hitting third; a 4 who hits on occasion and a 5 who may or may not come around to his 2011 self and now Harper has joined the club

Gee Angelo....some may think your statements (like mine) are blasphemous!
I would love to know what the Nats (3-4-5 hitters, especially) do during their free time at the park...are they just hitting gimmee pitches into the stands? (my guess) Or if they are watching videos, are those videos of themselves whiffing or some adult feature? It appears obvious to me that no one is putting in serious BP or else we would see better At-bats, some sign of plate discipline instead of constant whiffing at all sorts of cheese (much of it awfully moldly) and weak ground balls to the SS.