{"id":7252,"date":"2013-07-23T11:45:49","date_gmt":"2013-07-23T15:45:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com.\/?p=7252"},"modified":"2013-07-23T11:45:49","modified_gmt":"2013-07-23T15:45:49","slug":"ask-boswell-72213","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=7252","title":{"rendered":"Ask Boswell 7\/22\/13"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Denard<\/a>

Denard Span is catching a lot of criticism right now. Photo: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n

Well,\u00a0Phil Mickelson<\/strong> came out of nowhere to take the British Open over the weekend, NFL training camps are coming up soon and the Nats just got swept anemically at home. \u00a0I wonder how many baseball questions there are in this week’s<\/a>\u00a0ask\u00a0Tom Boswell<\/strong> chat? \u00a0Lets find out.<\/p>\n

As always, I answer here before reading Boswell’s response, only take his baseball\/Nats questions and edit those questions for clarity.<\/p>\n

Q: Is one of the reasons for the Nats malaise because they know Johnson is a short timer?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The implication of the question is this: if Davey Johnson<\/strong> suggests a change, the player says, “Eh, you’re gone by the end of the season, why should I listen to you?” \u00a0I have a hard time believing this for two reasons:<\/p>\n

1. I’m not convinced there’s that much “coaching” going on in the majors. \u00a0Especially for veterans. \u00a0These guys are professionals, they’ve been playing professional baseball for years. \u00a0If you don’t know how to bunt, or how to field by the time you’ve made the majors then I don’t think you’re ever going to get it. \u00a0Maybe I’m wrong.<\/p>\n

2. I’m also not convinced that managers really have that much to do with a game’s being won or lost. \u00a0Yes, disastrous bullpen decisions can back fire. \u00a0But its still on the hitters to hit, the starters to pitch, the fielders to make plays.<\/p>\n

Related to #2; word came out today that the Nats have fired<\/a>\u00a0hitting coach\u00a0Rick Eckstein<\/strong>. \u00a0Is this sort of like firing the secretary when the entire office puts out bad work? \u00a0Johnson was really upset by it and said so in the media … and I don’t have any doubt that this is a reactionary move to the poor offensive numbers. \u00a0But ask yourself; what is a new hitting coach going to do to turn this team of hitters around between now and September 30th?<\/p>\n

Boswell gives Johnson lots of credit in 2012 for instilling confidence in the youngsters and garnering more respect out of the veterans (in comparison to\u00a0Jim Riggleman<\/strong>).\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Suzuki, Soriano, LaRoche. Any reason the Nats shouldn’t be sellers this year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The Nats will not sell. \u00a0Because that would be\u00a0Mike Rizzo<\/strong> admitting that all his moves last off-season were wrong. \u00a0And he’s not going to admit that.<\/p>\n

Lets play the what-if game though; what if the Nats were to become sellers. \u00a0First guys on the block are FAs in their last (or only) year. \u00a0We only have a couple of those guys:\u00a0Kurt Suzuki<\/strong>,\u00a0Dan Haren<\/strong> and\u00a0Chad Tracy<\/strong>. \u00a0Look at that list and ask yourself who would want these guys and what they’d be willing to give up? \u00a0Even newly acquired\u00a0Scott Hairston<\/strong>\u00a0is signed through 2014. \u00a0But then again, teams are smarter and generally won’t give up good prospects anymore for rentals.<\/p>\n

One last point: the Red Sox blew a 9 game lead in September two years ago. \u00a0The Nats are only 7 out of the division lead, even playing as poorly as they have. \u00a0It’s still just mid July.<\/p>\n

Boswell says wait until July 31st. \u00a0And interestingly he criticizes the\u00a0Denard Span<\/strong> acquisition.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Can we get rid of Span?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Ironic that Boswell took this question right after killing him. \u00a0I have always thought that the Span acquisition was Rizzo being too clever, too focused on defense. \u00a0And so far it looks like the critics were right. \u00a0Span is posting an 86 OPS+ right now<\/a>. \u00a0His OBP is about the same as the guy we had to jettison to make room for him (Michael Morse<\/strong>). \u00a0 Except Morse at any moment can hit the ball 430 feet; it’d take Span 3 swings to get it that far. \u00a0To say nothing of driving out a fan favorite\/good clubhouse guy.<\/p>\n

Can we get rid of him? \u00a0Nope. \u00a0Stuck with him and most of this team through next season. \u00a0But, at that point he seems tailor made to flip to bring up someone like\u00a0Brian Goodwin<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Boswell says that Bernadina isn’t the answer<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Isn’t it galling to the team that Rafael Soriano acts differently on the mound — e.g., windup vs. stretch — depending on whether or not it is a save situation?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The word on\u00a0Rafael Soriano<\/strong> wasn’t positive before he got here, and the whole “shirt untuck” seems to smack of showing people up. \u00a0And it’s clear to me that he’s a “Save snob;” look no further than his numbers in 2010, 2011 and 2012<\/a>. \u00a0In2010 as a closer in Tampa? \u00a0226 ERA+. \u00a0The next year as a setup guy in New York? \u00a04.12 era. \u00a0Then when\u00a0Mariano Rivera<\/strong> goes down and he gets the closer job in 2012? \u00a0Back to being excellent. \u00a0If he purposely pitches differently in save vs non-save situations? \u00a0I’d be really, really pissed as a player. \u00a0But luckily the stats don’t support it; his ERA in non-save situations<\/a> is better than in save situations, by a lot. \u00a0Boswell says that Soriano’s behavior is being noticed. \u00a0great.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Should we start platooning Span with Hairston?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Is this what it’s come to with Span? \u00a0That we’re talking about platooning him with a guy hitting .170? \u00a0Yes Hairston’s lefty splits are good … but come on. \u00a0It isn’t like he’s an all-star slugger. \u00a0At least span brings plus-plus defense to center. \u00a0Bat him 8th, where his damage is limited. \u00a0Boswell says Yes its time to platoon.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Everybody says Nats Park can’t get an All-Star Game because the surrounding area isn’t developed enough. But how does that explain sites like Busch Stadium (their development plan is further behind than ours), Angel Stadium (surrounded by parking lots and freeways), or Citi Field (surrounded by parking lots, a subway line, and a junkyard)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Great question. \u00a0Maybe\u00a0Bud Selig<\/strong> hasn’t seen all the development going on. \u00a0Or maybe Ted Lerner<\/strong> just don’t want to get on his knees and beg for it before the omnipowerful commissioner. \u00a0I do think its kind of ridiculous that baseball has chosen to return to parks that have previously hosted before giving a game to every new park. \u00a0 \u00a0Boswell doesn’t really answer.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0How good has Gio been over the past two months?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Before his 6 shutout\/11k outing last weekend Gio Gonzalez<\/b>\u00a0had won 4 straight starts<\/a>. \u00a0The worst of them was a 6 2\/3 3 run performance that the team won easily anyway. \u00a0Maybe he’s pitching to score (ooh, don’t say that too loudly, the sabre nerds get all pissed). \u00a0Yeah he’s pitching great. \u00a0Boswell agrees<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Should Krol start working later in games?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I’m still not entirely convinced\u00a0Ian Krol<\/strong>\u00a0can be more than a loogy. \u00a0Every time i’ve seen him, he’s been a one-pitch\/one-trick guy. \u00a0I’ve literally never seen him throw his off-speed stuff for strikes. \u00a0Luckily the deception and velocity on his fastball are good enough to let him ride to a very good season statistically so far. \u00a0I’d stick with what we’re doing now; using him and\u00a0Fernando Abad<\/strong>\u00a0as situational relievers and leaving the hard work for\u00a0Clippard<\/strong> and Soriano. \u00a0Drew Storen<\/strong>? \u00a0Now that’s another story. \u00a0Boswell says give him more work<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0I’ve seen a recent increase in the criticism of Davey Johnson’s managerial decisions. I can’t believe fans are blaming him for where the Nats currently stand. I put the blame on the players. It’s execution that’s at fault. Right? What else could\/should Davey do that he hasn’t already tried?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Stop using poor relievers. \u00a0Stop pulling effective starters after 90 pitches. \u00a0Stop batting Span 1st and drop him to 8th where he belongs. \u00a0That’s what I’d do. \u00a0Boswell shared some ancedotes<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0I was so in favor of the Span acquisition, now it just looks horrible. Do you think he can get back to the .392 On Base Percentage he has in 2009 or is he really a .317 OBP guy? Will this team ever solve CF and lead off?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Just had this discussion with someone over email. \u00a0He does look horrible at the plate. \u00a0But he plays a great center field! \u00a0Rizzo just had to have his center fielder; well now you have him, and the guy he displaced (Mores)\u00a0has about the same OBP this year as Span. \u00a0To go along with 200 points of slugging. \u00a0So there’s that. \u00a0You say “well Morse has been injured?” \u00a0I say sure … he got injured in Seattle. \u00a0No reason to assume the same thing would have happened here. \u00a0We gave up Morse’s power in the middle of the order and moved a perfectly capable defender (Harper) off center to acquire Span and have him drag down the top of the order. \u00a0Can’t do anything about it now (or until 2015 frankly): I say bat him 8th until he proves he deserves to return to the top. \u00a0\u00a0Boswell points out that Span’s OBP is only 1% better than league average<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Should we keep Soriano in the closer role?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Pretty much; $11M a year and he’ll be a sullen clubhouse cancer if he’s not closing. \u00a0 He’s being paid way too much money to flip, even to teams that covet closers. \u00a0Well, maybe we can talk to Boston; they seem to be idiots when it comes to paying for closers (as noted in this space<\/a>). \u00a0\u00a0Boswell also mentions Boston but points out how battle-tested Soriano is, implying he has value. \u00a0I’m clearly on the record in my opinion about closers and paying big money for them, disagreed with the acquisition and disagree with Boswell here; if we could trade him, you do it.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Is Jayson Werth immature and\/or a hypocrite?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: You’d have to read the whole question (which clearly implies the opinion of the asker), but there’s some vitriol in there. \u00a0I can’t think of any incidents that make me ever put\u00a0Jayson Werth<\/strong> in the same maturity category as\u00a0Nyjer Morgan<\/strong>. \u00a0I think the questioner is off-base here. \u00a0Boswell predictably defends Werth. \u00a0I will say this: go look at Werth’s hitting stats this year; he’s been very, very good.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well,\u00a0Phil Mickelson came out of nowhere to take the British Open over the weekend, NFL training camps are coming up soon and the Nats just got swept anemically at home. \u00a0I wonder how many baseball questions there are in this week’s\u00a0ask\u00a0Tom Boswell chat? \u00a0Lets find out. As always, I answer here before reading Boswell’s response, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,14,5],"tags":[184,257,365,835,983,137,482,52,1503,385,1695,115,526,1033,171,1870,129,122,1892,1398,276,167,1881,366,125,128],"class_list":["post-7252","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nonnatsbaseball","category-chatmailbag-responses","category-natsgeneral","tag-adam-laroche","tag-brian-goodwin","tag-bud-selig","tag-chad-tracy","tag-dan-haren","tag-davey-johnson","tag-denard-span","tag-drew-storen","tag-fernando-abad","tag-gio-gonzalez","tag-ian-krol","tag-jayson-werth","tag-jim-riggleman","tag-kurt-suzuki","tag-mariano-rivera","tag-michale-morse","tag-mike-rizzo","tag-nyjer-morgan","tag-phil-mickelson","tag-rafael-soriano","tag-rick-eckstein","tag-roger-bernadina","tag-scott-hairston","tag-ted-lerner","tag-tom-boswell","tag-tyler-clippard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7252","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7252"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7252\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7261,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7252\/revisions\/7261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7252"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7252"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7252"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}