Written By Ben Boynton
Before this current MLB season began, many fans expected the Washington Nationals to dominate the National League and reach the World Series, potentially even winning the whole thing. Vegas odds makers placed the team’s odds at around 7/1. The team, fresh off a playoff appearance and sporting a loaded roster, looked poised to contend for a championship.
Today, they no longer look like a team ready to win it all. In fact, they barely resemble a team built for postseason baseball. The team, with a 65-63 record, is now is listed at having 25/1 odds of winning the World Series, and sits five and a half games behind the New York Mets for the NL East division lead. Baseball Prospectus gives the team a 7.4% chance of even reaching the playoffs, down from 79% before the season began.
So, what all went wrong for this Nationals squad?
Well, for starters, the team hasn’t had the best luck avoiding the injury bug. Regular players aplenty have missed time for the Nationals, including Stephen Strasburg, Denard Span, Anthony Rendon, Doug Fister, Ryan Zimmerman, and Jayson Werth. Many of those players, particularly Rendon and Strasburg, are among the most important players on the roster, and not having them healthy has hurt the team.
It isn’t just injuries that have hurt Washington; poor play has hindered them as well. Longtime shortstop Ian Desmond has had one of his worst years ever, batting just .235 with a putrid on base percentage (OBP) of .282. Sluggers like Wilson Ramos and Danny Espinosa have hit poorly as well, and stars like Werth and Rendon have been awful when healthy. As a team, Washington sits 21st in the MLB with a team batting average of .249. The pitching staff sits 11th in the MLB in earned run average (ERA) with 3.73, which is a solid ranking. However, when your team doesn’t hit well, you have to pitch even better, and while the team has a winning record, being a single game over .500 ball won’t get you into the postseason. Even the staff is having their struggles, as an injury plagued Strasbourg and Fister have struggled to pitch effectively, as well as starter Gio Gonzalez.
The Nationals more or less have to win the NL East to make the playoffs, as they sit 8 games back in the Wild Card race. The team has had some positives this season, including the brilliant play of superstar Bryce Harper and a very good year from Yunel Escobar, but with the lofty expectations fans had before the season, this year has to rank as a disappointment.
