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The Nationals’ playoff hopes are slowly starting to fall apart. It was a double-edged sword last night after they lost to Philadelphia 5-0, and lost James Wood to the IL with an oblique strain. Do you still have faith that Washington will make a playoff push?
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00:00So yesterday we had a caller when we were talking about the Washington
00:03Nationals and the trades say that he goes to a lot of games and he went to
00:08a game after the trades and he detected what he believed to be lifelessness
00:15in James and CJ Abrams.
00:19He was trying to posit that their mood was different after the trades.
00:24And that might be true.
00:25And that that's why they weren't hitting.
00:26Well, James Woods, not even playing now, but it's carried over in the hitting.
00:31They were shut out yesterday, blanked by the Phillies.
00:34They're now five games under 500.
00:37Seven straight L's.
00:3916 runs in the seven losses.
00:42Yeah, that's what they've been relying on.
00:44They've been relying on the offense to carry them all season.
00:47And if that dries up, especially after you deal your best pitcher away in Foster
00:51Griffin, it's going to be tough to string together the curly dubs.
00:54And I don't think it was just with James Wood and CJ Abrams.
00:57I mean, I think probably it affected a lot of those guys probably affected Foster
01:03Griffin because his name was thrown out there and he probably knew he was going to
01:06get dealt.
01:07He just didn't know when to who.
01:08But when he pitched against the Braves over the over the weekend, you know, he he had
01:14probably his worst outing of the year.
01:15You're also playing the really good team.
01:17You're playing really good teams.
01:18We talked about it with Paul a couple weeks ago.
01:20This was a really tough stretch in the schedule because they played Arizona and then Toronto
01:24at home and they were chasing Arizona in a wild card.
01:27Toronto wasn't very good.
01:29Right.
01:30Losing record.
01:31So losing that series definitely hurt them.
01:33Lost that series.
01:34And then you have to go on the road and play Atlanta and Philly for eight games and they
01:38haven't won one of those yet.
01:40So and then James Wood's going to go on the IL.
01:43He's going to be out for about 10 to 14 days.
01:46It sounds like they're optimistic he'll be out the lesser amount of days.
01:50It doesn't sound serious.
01:52But they don't have to rush him back.
01:53They don't have to rush him back.
01:55The season's basically over.
01:57Correct.
01:58At this point.
01:59And that's kind of sad.
02:00I saw Kevin Sheehan had a I saw it on social media, but he had a post that I totally
02:08agreed
02:08with is that because of the surprising start to the season, there was a little juice following
02:13this team.
02:13There was now it's gone to juices all gone.
02:16Juices been squeezed all gone.
02:19Yep.
02:20This is the worst performance I've ever been involved.
02:22I mean, for a hundred games, they were a really cool story.
02:25Right.
02:26I, I have far less interest in checking them out on a nightly basis.
02:33Yeah.
02:34I mean, I watched it a little bit last night, but I understand why you're saying that.
02:36Like if I'm out and about, I've got the app.
02:38I can watch it right there on my phone.
02:40A lot of times when I'm waiting for practices and that sort of thing.
02:43Yeah.
02:44What does it matter now?
02:45Doesn't even really matter.
02:47They've punted the season away.
02:49Yeah.
02:50And look, they probably, there was a few teams that were kind of in the wildcard hunt that,
02:56you know, a few of them probably thought we're really good enough and we should add some pieces
03:00to try and make this, you know, a good stretch run.
03:02And then there's probably a few teams that overachieved and they knew the front office knew deep down,
03:09they weren't going to win a wildcard spot.
03:10So they wanted to get better for the future.
03:12And that's what Taboni did.
03:14But do you think based on what they did this year, Matt, the Orioles are a game and a half
03:20back of the wildcard.
03:21I'm well aware.
03:22Yeah, I know you are.
03:23And they traded Adley for three of Boston's top five prospects.
03:29Yeah, they got a haul.
03:30And Adley only had eight or nine home runs this year.
03:32Yeah, I mean, he's hurt.
03:32He's been hurt a couple times this year.
03:34But, I mean, still, you're selling off one of your young pieces.
03:37They sold off Taylor Ward.
03:38Well, the writing was on the wall for Adley when they gave Basayo that extension.
03:43Correct.
03:44They had that back up.
03:45And so now he's going to be your starter.
03:46Although you played Navarez for who they got.
03:49He can't hit.
03:50Well, both of them have been hurt for the last month.
03:53Yeah, but that's why Boston traded for Adley because their catchers, Navarez and Wong,
03:59just can't hit.
03:59I saw this on our Team 980 Twitter account, and it was what Kevin Sheehan said, and I totally
04:07agree with it.
04:07He goes, they went from gaining some relevance in the marketplace with fans who've been lying
04:12dormant for a while to completely irrelevant.
04:15As long as they get to 67 wins, I'm okay.
04:17That's all you need.
04:18You just need the 67.
04:20I need 60.
04:20I need 12 more wins.
04:23But yes, you are correct.
04:24The season is going to be a disappointment overall, and the last 45 games are not going
04:30to be fun.
04:32Philly last night was kind of weird.
04:35I mean, Philly obviously tried to get better.
04:37They added Arias, who's a really good hitter from San Francisco, and he had two hits and
04:44two RBIs last night.
04:46But they moved all kinds of guys around.
04:48Bryce Harper hadn't played right field in years, and they moved him to right field last
04:53night.
04:53Very first hitter for the Nats.
04:57Dylan Cruz hit a line drive.
04:59Kind of a tough play for an outfielder who hadn't played there in a while.
05:03But Bryce made the play.
05:05But they moved guys all over the place.
05:06They moved their third baseman to first base, their second baseman to third base.
05:11Like I said, Bryce Harper went out to right field.
05:14Arias, who they just acquired in the trade, played second.
05:16I mean, they're going for it, but they had to move a bunch of guys around defensively.
05:22So we'll see how that works out.
05:23Well, their starting pitcher allowed four hits to the Nats.
05:25Well, he's an all-star.
05:26Dylan Cruz got moved into the leadoff spot because James Woods on the IL.
05:31Right.
05:310 for 4.
05:33And that kind of was what it was throughout.
05:35So you're just down on it.
05:37You're just down.
05:38It's just, I agree with Kevin Sheehan that you had a team that we would talk about on
05:44a regular basis because they were in the mix.
05:46Correct.
05:47Surprisingly in the mix.
05:48And we knew that there were flaws.
05:49The fatal flaw was the bullpen.
05:51Yeah.
05:51So I get why they needed to bring in bullpen arms.
05:55However, they've dropped in terms of relevancy.
06:00Eventually, they probably were going to drop anyway, even if they kept all those guys.
06:03Well, I know you don't want to hear that.
06:06Maybe you don't even believe it, but I do.
06:07I know when their season officially ends.
06:09I'm looking at the date right now.
06:11Sunday, September 13th.
06:13That's the day the Commanders kick off against the Eagles.
06:18That's the day their season officially ends.
06:20You could actually say it ends August 29th because that's when college football starts.
06:25I guess that's true.
06:26But it really ends.
06:27Once the football season.
06:28It officially ends.
06:29Once the Commanders start.
06:31Multiple games.
06:32Their official last game is Sunday, September 27th against the Mets here at Nationals Park.
06:37Right.
06:38But their effective last game is Sunday, September 13th.
06:41They host the Angels at the end of a three-game series at Mets Park.
06:46And I wonder what the attendance is going to be like.
06:48For that day?
06:49No, just the last two months in general.
06:51No, it's not going to be great.
06:52I mean, it's going to be sparse.
06:54Especially if guys like James Wood aren't playing.
06:56Yeah, they've waved the white flag.
06:59They've surrendered.
07:01Playing for the future.
07:02I hope this doesn't happen again next season.
07:04I'm looking at their last home game.
07:05They only had 20,000.
07:07I mean, there's going to be a lot of empty seats.
07:09Well, let me look at some of the opponents.
07:11They're hosting Cincinnati for a series.
07:14That's not a real draw.
07:15They do host the Cubs August 11th through the 13th.
07:19I would guess there's going to be a decent turnout for that.
07:21Then they go on the road for an extended bit.
07:23Cubs just beat Scoobo last night.
07:25In late August, they host the Colorado Rockies.
07:28There'll be about 5,000 people.
07:30Four games.
07:31Followed by the Marlins in town.
07:33I mean, that's just...
07:34That is a double gut punch of teams that nobody really cares about.
07:39And bereft of stars.
07:41By the way, had they been able to stay in the mix
07:45and not had this losing skid,
07:48they would have been able to feast towards the end of the season
07:51facing some of those weaker teams.
07:53Yeah.
07:53Maybe.
07:54I mean, the Marlins have a better record than them.
07:57The Marlins are closer in the wild card than the Nats are.
08:00And they close the season with the Mets.
08:02No, but the Marlins have been pretty good all year.
08:04I mean, the Marlins are about 500.
08:07So I wouldn't call the Marlins one of those teams
08:09where you can just expect a sweep.
08:11Yeah.
08:12And they'll close the season with the Mets.
08:14That's the type of series where EB will bring Vinny and Joe
08:17and help add to the invasion of Mets fans at Nationals Park.
08:22Yeah.
08:22Any pictures of Bickle on the beach yesterday with a jersey?
08:24Was he wearing?
08:25I think he was wearing a really faded.
08:26Although I think it rained.
08:28There were some storms down in the southeastern part of North Carolina.
08:32I think he mentioned that they missed where he was.
08:33He was wearing a really faded Gilbert Arenas Wizards jersey.
08:37Oh, he was.
08:37Yeah.
08:38So he's taking pictures every day of whatever he's wearing.
08:41It's the jersey du jour.
08:45So, yeah, I agree with you, JP.
08:48The rest of the season is going to be a downer.
08:50And, of course, we're going to talk to Paul at 9 o'clock.
08:53But Paul's going to be jacked because he's going to be excited about who they acquired.
08:58Now, we'll see if it works out in the next two, three years.
09:01Right.
09:01We just don't know.
09:03And he has a longer view than basically every fan that consumes Washington Nationals content.
09:11Yeah.
09:12Like, he's looking for two, three, five years down the road.
09:16Yeah.
09:16Every fan is just looking at the standings right now.
09:19I know.
09:19We were looking for that.
09:20And in the current day.
09:21Yeah.
09:22So he has to have a different mindset.
09:24He can't just be about what's happening every single day the day that he's in.
09:29But he said on this show that he does both, right?
09:33He's looking long-term.
09:34But he's also looking, all of a sudden, if you're in the mix, you've got to make some moves.
09:39I just wonder if what put this team over the top in the previous regime, a lot of people credit
09:45the signing of Jason Wirth.
09:47Like, that was a marker.
09:48I wonder if this regime will be allowed to have a signing of a free agent that will help them
09:56get to the next level.
09:59Yeah.
09:59It's a valid question.
10:01Or is it going to be the same situation next year?
10:03That's my opinion.
10:04It's going to be very mid-level free agents.
10:07Right.
10:08Guys, you're not going to pay $160 to $180 to $200 million for.
10:13That's my opinion.
10:14It's actually sad that Washington is in that boat where they're looking up at teams like the Kansas City Royals
10:22and the Rockies.
10:25Basically, everybody in the league, payroll-wise, at least this year, outside of Cleveland.
10:31This is a major market.
10:33It's kind of embarrassing that you're not willing to spend the money to make your team be a player amongst
10:39the top spenders in the league.
10:41Now, am I saying you have to be top three or top five?
10:44No, not necessarily, but like a top 10 payroll, top 12 payroll, year in, year out?
10:50Like they used to be.
10:51Yeah, that would be a nice thing for Nats fans.
10:53When Mark Lerner, or excuse me, when Ted Lerner was running the show.
10:56To open up the purse strings a little bit.
10:58And they were three, four, five, maybe seven, but they were never 29 or 30.
11:05I think some fans would take top 20 at this point.
11:08Yeah.
11:09Probably.
11:10If you're 19th in payroll, I think some fans would take that.
11:14I know that you shouldn't have the same payroll as the Athletics.
11:18We're playing in a minor league ballpark waiting for their new stadium to be built in Vegas.
11:22You shouldn't be in the same payroll.
11:24If you're 19th in payroll, you might have six or seven more wins right now.
11:28Yeah.
11:28You might.
11:29It's entirely possible.
11:30Well, if they had just had better relievers and been the second worst team in terms of
11:36blown saves, they'd be an entirely different situation right now.
11:40Yeah.
11:40I agree.
11:41We talked about that a couple weeks ago.
11:43Remember when Zach.
11:44Their 18th inning ERA and their 9th inning ERAs hover around nine.
11:48Yeah.
11:49It sucks that some teams just have to throw openers instead of starting pitchers that are
11:55in your normal rotation like the Nats do.
11:58because they pitched Pongquist again last night and he got one out, gave up two hits
12:03and a run and a walk.
12:05It's not like Littell was great.
12:06No, Littell's been fine.
12:08I mean, you're right.
12:08I mean, he gave up four runs, but it just sucks when your rotation isn't strong enough
12:13one through four or one through five that you got to throw an opener two out of five
12:18games.
12:19Rip Nats.
12:20R.I.P.
12:21They sold one of their pitchers that actually started.
12:24I know.
12:25And was an all-star.
12:26I agree.
12:26Now, you got Jake Irvin back and then maybe Trevor Williams eventually gets back into the
12:31rotation, but it just sucks when you have to do that.
12:33It was a fun run through most of July.
12:35It was.
12:36It was kind of fun, but now it's pretty much just playing taps.
12:41Oh, I mean, they've lost seven straight games and they dealt their best pitcher away.
12:45Oh, and James Woods hurt.
12:46He's out.
12:47Yeah.
12:47And their best hitter is on the IL with an oblique injury.
12:52They got really lucky, though, with injuries.
12:54They didn't have any real serious injuries to any of their big players.
13:00Yeah.
13:00Unlike a lot of teams where a lot of teams were suffering.
13:02They've been dodging those bullets.
13:03Some teams were suffering, you know, tons of injuries.
13:05But the Nats were very fortunate that guys like Abrams and Wood didn't have any serious
13:11injuries.
13:11Now, Wood's going to be out for a couple weeks.
13:13That's fine, but he'll be okay.
13:15But they were very lucky that they stayed relatively healthy.
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