Nationals Resembling Fool’s Gold

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As a fellow Washington Nationals fan, I can admit this is not going to be our year. Although I am just as guilty as anyone else for getting my hopes up on this season, they simply just don’t have that “it” factor this year. We can be quick to blame the manager, Dave Martinez, and you would have a lot of ammunition to back up the reasoning as to why he should be the major one blamed. On the other hand, this squad is plagued with underachievers up and down the roster during a season that was supposed to be “magical.”

The Nationals have quietly won 11 of their last 18 games, and currently sit two games above .500, and are a disappointing 5.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. There is still a month and a half left of baseball left to play before the postseason bracket is decided, but I am having a difficult time believing in a team that squanders more opportunities than they cash in on.

The starting pitching, outside of the multiple Cy Young winner Max Scherzer, has been average, to put it mildly. Scherzer can’t pitch every night, so Washington needs to ramp up their offensive production in order to win close games. Whether or not the Nationals can get their players to buy in on Martinez’s locker room remains to be seen, but again, I just don’t see it.

Time will tell whether or not the Washington Nationals can string together enough wins to secure one of the final playoff spots, but I wouldn’t hold my breath. Washington is a bright-looking package that will only turn out to be fool’s gold in the end.

Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports