As the losses continue to pile up for the Nationals (7 straight going in to today) I have find myself looking at not the final score so much but the individual performances inside the game and there was some good in Sunday’s loss.
Gorzelanny went 5 innings while allowing only 2 runs in the top of the 3rd inning on a Don Kelly home run. He did give up 4 hits and 2 walks but for the most part was able to get the outs when he needed them most. Of his outing Gorzelanny had the following to say “There were times when I didn’t feel comfortable, but I was able to fight back and make good pitches. I even thought the home run was a good pitch, he was just sitting on it.”
For Gorzelanny it was a big game and could help him to gain ground in an open competition for the 5th spot in the Nationals rotation.
Other Nationals players who stood out were Matt Stairs with a pinch hit home run, Alberto Gonzalez who went 4 for 4 bringing his average up to .326 this spring and Jerry Hairston Jr who shined defensively at third base in place of injured Ryan Zimmerman.
For the Nationals seeing those 3 guys shine is definitely a welcomed positive. Granted barring any unforeseen injury none of those 3 will enter the regular season as starters but in a 162 game season finding depth players is key. So for me spring training is mainly about the young guys and the older depth players because we already know what we have in guys like Zimmerman and Werth.
So try to stay positive and look for the good things even in the losses because its like Nats manager Riggleman said “We have to take the positive things out of the game that we see and hope that those are the things that we take into March 31st.”
Don’t get me wrong though I’d still love to see a win today vs the Cardinals