Washington Nationals News: Matt Williams not planning lineup changes to spark offense
By Pablo Roa
Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! Before tonight’s game against the Phillies, check out some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses the Nationals’ offense—or lack thereof—and how manager Matt Williams isn’t planning to make any changes to the starting lineup. As Ladson notes, the Nationals have had some serious offensive struggles in the team’s first four games of the 2015 season, going a combined 3-for-22 with runners in scoring position.
Of course, a major reason for the team’s offensive struggles is that Denard Span, Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon are all on the disabled list. While the Nationals will have to figure something out to stay afloat while the top-three hitters in the lineup are out, things should get significantly better once they return.
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That being said, it wouldn’t make much sense for the Nationals to make any significant changes to the lineup, and it’s easy to see why Williams wants to leave it as it is. After all, will the offense really be better with Reed Johnson in there instead of Tyler Moore? Danny Espinosa instead of Dan Uggla? Both Johnson and Espinosa are in the lineup tonight, so we’ll see what happens. But my guess is it probably won’t change much if the heart of the order isn’t hitting.
The Nationals still have some great hitters in the lineup, and the likes of Bryce Harper, Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos should be more than enough to help the offense while the others are out. The answer right now is for those guys to start hitting, not to overhaul the lineup after just four games.
Also in today’s Daily, the Washington Post’s James Wagner discusses Erick Fedde’s recovery from Tommy John surgery. The Nationals selected Fedde in the first round of last year’s draft and the right-hander could play a major role in the team’s future.
Of course, for that to happen he first has to complete his rehab and start working his way up the Nationals’ farm system. But according to Wagner, he’s well on his way to doing just that.
Be sure to checkout the articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Williams not planning lineup changes to spark offense
PHILADELPHIA — The Nationals continue to have problems on offense. Not only have they scored seven runs in the first four games, the Nationals are 3-for-22 (.136) with runners in scoring position. For now, manager Matt Williams doesn’t plan to make any changes to the starting lineup.
“You just have to keep running them out there,” Williams said. “Guys in our lineup have been there before. They have had success, they’ve done it. So, we are not worried about it. Just keep going with it. There are no excuses of not scoring enough runs, but we believe in our guys. We believe in their abilities and we’ll just keep going.” Read full article here.
Erick Fedde happy to be back on the mound
(James Wagner, Washington Post)
Erick Fedde had targeted the date of his first post-Tommy John surgery first bullpen session last month with such anxiousness that, once it was over, it was all a blur. He doesn’t even recall exactly what day it was. (It was March 16.)
“The best way to describe is that when you have such a crazy experience that you hardly remember it,” he said in Viera, Fla, last week. “It was hard even to live in the moment. After I was done, it was only 15 pitches, but I got through it and was like, ‘Holy crap, it’s done!’ I survived and my arm didn’t fall off. It’s more of a shocking experience. You go out there and you’re like, ‘Last time I threw, it didn’t go so well.’ It was good to get through it.”
The earnestness in Fedde’s voice is obvious. The right-handed prospect had surgery on June 3, two days before the Nationals selected him with the 18th overall pick out of UNLV in the 2014 draft. Read full article here.