April 12, 2008 [LINK / comment]
Nats set record losing streak
I suppose the high hopes fostered by the initial three wins this season were bound to get a reality check sooner or later, but does it have to get this ugly??? After the 10-2 thrashing at the hands of the Braves today, the Washington Nationals have now lost nine games in a row, setting a club record for the longest losing streak. That aggravating loss to the Phillies on April 3, blowing a five-run lead, evidently created bad karma or something. If they don't beat the Braves tomorrow, it will be the first time the Nationals have lost two consecutive three-game home series, other than two home series in September 2005 that were separated by a road series.
What the hell is wrong? Pretty much everything except fielding. At the plate, only one regular player has a batting average over .270, and that's Cristian Guzman, currently batting .320. On the mound, Matt Chico and Tim Redding are doing pretty well, but otherwise the rotation is weak. Jon Rauch is not filling Chad Cordero's shoes as closer, and it remains to be seen whether Cordero can live up to the high reputation he established in his first year in Washington, 2005. In the field, the team has only committed four errors, the third best in the NL, but Cristian Guzman was responsible for three of those, and only three other NL players have made more errors this year.