Good afternoon DoD readers, and welcome to today’s District Daily! Before tonight’s game against the Boston Red Sox, checkout some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web below.
In today’s Daily, MLB.com’s Bill Ladson discusses manager Matt Williams‘ reaction to the poor defense the Nationals have played in the first week of the season. As Ladson notes, Williams is not too happy with the way his team has been playing in the field, and he has every reason to be frustrated.
The Nationals are struggling to hit the ball and two of the team’s best hitters are still on the disabled list. When the offense isn’t clicking, the team has to to the little things in the field to give its pitchers a chance to lock down wins. Unfortunately, that simply isn’t happening.
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From the almost daily errors by Ian Desmond to yesterday’s disastrous defensive miscues in a 9-4 loss to the Red Sox, the Nationals have been giving games away with poor defense, and that simply can’t happen. We’ll see how the defense improves over the next couple of weeks. One way or another, the team has to start playing better, or risk stretching its current slump to a point where we can no longer say “it’s still early.”
Also in today’s Daily, on a more optimistic side, MLB.com’s Richard Justice discusses that the Nationals still have what it takes to win the NL East with ease, despite their slow start. As Justice notes, the Nationals have a deep roster and one of the best pitching staffs in the game, and that alone should be enough to send the team back to the postseason.
Be sure to check out the articles below, they’re definitely worth a read. And as always, stay tuned to DoD for all your Washington Nationals needs.
Williams dismayed by numerous miscues
BOSTON — Matt Williams has stressed defense since he became the Nationals’ manager before the 2014 season, but after Monday’s 9-4 loss the Red Sox, Williams was clearly not happy by what he saw.
On paper, the stats said the Nationals made one error in the game, but the truth is, they misplayed quite a few balls. Williams sounded as if he didn’t want to hear any excuses. Even though Jordan Zimmermann allowed eight runs (seven earned) in 2 1/3 innings, Williams focused on the defense. How bad was the game for Washington?
“It was about as bad as you can get. It’s tough to win ballgames if you can’t catch the baseball. We have to do better than that,” Williams said. “It’s not shocking to pitcher who doesn’t have a good day, but if you don’t help him, it makes the day even worse.” Read full article here.
Despite early struggles, Nationals will rise
BOSTON — Washington Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth sat in front of his locker in the visitor’s clubhouse at Fenway Park on Monday afternoon and was peppered with questions players on really bad baseball teams always get.
Poor defense? Check. Poor hitting? Check. Pitching, attitude, preparation, panic? Covered ’em all, and thanks for asking.
There was just one small thing that made the conversation odd. Werth is noton a bad baseball team. In fact, he’s on one of the five best teams in the game.
Yes, still. That’s not just me talking, either. Read full article here.