Washington Nationals: Breaking Down The Winter Meetings
By Ron Juckett
As with most things Washington Nationals, everyone has an opinion on everything. Regarding the Winter Meetings, here are ours.
The first half of the MLB Winter Meetings for the Washington Nationals has been a series of frustrations.
From losing Chris Sale to the Boston Red Sox when the Chicago White Sox slept on Washington’s trade offer to Mark Melancon ditching the club for the San Francisco Giants, none of the team’s objectives have been met.
It is clear GM Mike Rizzo and the rest of the Washington Nationals front office is under pressure to build a team that can win a championship. Three division titles in five years is impressive. Not advancing past the National League Divisional is not.
As the team fails to clear the NLDS hurdle, patience from fans starts to wane.
With continued success comes expectations and, to everyone’s agreement, those have yet to be met. For perhaps the first time since the 1980s, the Expos/Nationals feel the need to perform. In this social media age, these meetings are equally important as a mid-June series against the Miami Marlins.
Pressure, indeed
Recently, we asked the staff here on District on Deck to share their thoughts on what happened the first two days. As with you, they share a mix of dread and guarded optimism over how the rest of the offseason plays out and what the Nats will look like come next April.
Although the expectations were high coming in, the one thing you cannot say is this has been a boring week.