Comments on: The State of the Washington Sports Union, August 2008

By: Lee (PTO)

Lee (PTO) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:53:14 +0000

@ nic
I guess the reason I blame Manny for this team’s struggles is the apparent lack of enthusiasm. Every shot I see on TV is him on the top step with his arms folded, not really interacting much with the players or involving himself (not that I wanna see him swing pom-poms but look alive eh?). The postgame interviews seem to me to be a “gee, shucks” loop that was recorded ages ago but keeps getting used. There have been enough defensive gaffs to have sent Ozzie Guillen into orbit by now, perhaps to Manny’s credit he hasn’t blown up his plug-in guys since technically they’re playing out of position. But heck, guys like Belliard have been “out of position” in the infield so long this season that they should be getting better and I don’t see that either. Guillen might be a hot-head, but if the players don’t see any repercussions from their bad play, why should they work hard to get better here? When you have a team with this bad of a record, all you have to play for down the stretch is pride. A 10-game losing streak tells me that they have little/none, or at least it isn’t consistent up and down the lineup. Too bad baseball is more strict on fighting majors, Brashear would’ve torn someone up by now if he were a National…
I like the guy, he’s been swell to the kid-fans out there and very accessible. But, if/when Nats management feels like trying to win instead of just bring in coin, Manny will probably have to go. Pray that we haven’t welcomed in a KC Royals or Arizona Cardinals-type ownership group to DC, nothing will drive away fan interest faster than an owner who really doesn’t see the point in losing money even if that’s the only way to win short-term in their sport. I know too many Chicago Bears fans that will back me 100% on that topic…

By: pig pile

pig pile — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:54:24 +0000

impatience is probably a good thing…i think it ultimately puts pressure on mgmt to change things up to somehow produce the right winning chemistry. the nats have a great thing going here….they get 30,000 a night and they might lose 100 games!! they aren’t all mets and phillies fans either….i went to a nats v reds game a few weeks back and they had just under 33,000 for that game (and their weren’t all that many reds fans!!!). these are just a bunch of kids….playing like….well kids. this team needs to start making a statement….hiring a new mgr is probably the way to go (no disrespect to mr. acta); we need to create an atmosphere where some good young middle class (relatively–lol) free agents pick dc to ply their trade. if they can get 30,000 for a 100 loss team, can they get the rest from say…a 90 win team? this area is starving for winners (ie Caps).

By: nic

nic — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 04:02:03 +0000

Thank you, OFB, for letting us borrow hockey bandwidth for this baseball conversation.
Lee, can you be specific about the evidence of lack of leadership, besides the fact that the Nats are not winning? I’m not being sarcastic; I’m wondering what you see that I don’t.
To me, the Nats right now most closely resemble the Caps in ‘05-’06, minus Ovechkin…because Zimmerman, bless his heart, is a talented young face of the franchise, but he’s not in that stratosphere. This is a very young, very immature team. I agree that leadership is important, and I don’t want to see them in two-three years still making these mistakes and shrugging them off (and isn’t that what got Hanlon fired this past November?)
I just got home from tonight’s game, and granted I’m sitting up in the cheap seats, but I didn’t see anything that made me say those guys aren’t trying. In fact, I think some of the hitting issues may stem from them trying *too* hard…patience and pitch count is something they need to learn. (Oh, to have Nick Johnson for a full season to mentor these kids!)
Sorry for beating the dead horse…I’m sure you guys get it, I love the Nationals as much as I love the Caps, and what seems like knee-jerk negativity about them gets me worked up. [Only insulting Yvon Labre gets me madder. ]
I wasn’t reading the hockey blogs four years ago, maybe the rhetoric about the Caps back then took the exact same tone.

By: Lee (PTO)

Lee (PTO) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:11:48 +0000

I find it difficult to be a fair-weather fan that only shows up for games or only talks about my team when they’re doing well, politeness aside. I’d like to see more intensity from the Nats, some indication that they’re just as unhappy about their 30+ games under .500 record as I am. I *want* to get into our new team, but they’re making it difficult when they lose ballgames 12-0 half the time (OK, perhaps not half, but c’mon). I’ve attended multiple games each season since they flew south from Montreal, and aside from the first season here I haven’t seen much leadership on the club. Nothing personal to anyone here at OFB since we all share a love for our Capitals, but if this hadn’t started to be said about Hanlon (by his own players in a closed-door meeting, no less), would we get to watch a SE Division Champ banner go up Opening Night? When the skipper doesn’t get his troops enthused to be there, isn’t it time for him to go? For a week, it looked like cleaning house of some of the players might’ve worked, but since then they’ve been embarrassed pretty badly on this latest losing streak. Sorry, Manny, we’re running out of scapegoats here…

By: Victor

Victor — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:48:18 +0000

I’d just like to point out that if the Nats were to lose all of their remaining games this season (which even the most jaded fan would admit is unlikely, while I’ll admit it’s within the realm of possibility), the resulting winning percentage of 0.272 would still be better than that of these two legendary exercises in futility:
1962 Mets: 0.250 (source: Wikipedia)
1974 Capitals: 0.131 (sourse: Wikipedia)
Me? I’m just happy we have a baseball team to call our own. They may be bums, but they’re our bums…just like the ‘74 Caps.
(Ya know, maybe y’all shouldn’t dis the other home teams. After all, this *is* a hockey blog.)

By: Scott in Shaw

Scott in Shaw — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 17:29:36 +0000

Nice. Thanks, Gustafsson.

By: nic

nic — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:39:26 +0000

IMO, it’s not time to fire Acta yet. This season was too bizarre in terms of the injuries [the training staff, perhaps, could use an overhaul] and cobbled-together lineups, and there’s no point in throwing chairs now.
To bring it back to hockey: there was a time when Glen Hanlon was the right coach for the team.
I think LoDuca has a lot more credibility than Lopez, and when he was released, he said of the Nats “This is an organization that’s going to go in the right direction.”
Losing isn’t fun to watch, but it’d be nice to see a little patience and a little support from the hometown fans. Going to a Mets game now is like watching the Caps play the Flyers at the Capital Centre…

By: Lee (PTO)

Lee (PTO) — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 14:11:54 +0000

Warning: Non-hockey comment ahead…
Is Manny Acta’s laid-back approach holding back the Nats? I can’t pinpoint all of that team’s problems but FOR CRYING OUT LOUD, SCORE SOME RUNS DAMNIT!!! I want to cheer for these guys but I get the feeling there’s no energy or mojo in that clubhouse. Felipe Lopez probably had it right even though his own play sucked almost as badly as LoDuca’s (he wasn’t the same player you remember seeing, Shadowplay). I know when they had a more vocal manager (and HoF guy), they were above .500 for a while in ‘05. We would need 10 consecutive series forfeits to get there this season…
Jose, if you’re reading this, get ready. We’re sick of seeing teams lose around here and you’re the only unknown for us going into the season. Don’t let your teammates and us down, we’ve got to have the Cup!

By: Nic

Nic — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 23:11:21 +0000

I grew up with the Capitals (first game I saw was November of ‘74), and I’m a Nats 20-game holder. Believe me, I’ve seen plenty of hockey that is every bit as painful as the baseball I have seen this season, even last night.
But through the pain, you hang on to small things…Zim’s walk-off homer on opening night, for example.
As a fan, I don’t earn victories, I’m not blocking shots or hitting doubles. The only thing I’m investing is my devotion, and that’s what gets rewarded when my team wins.
I suppose it might have been fun to watch the Caps last spring if I’d just become a fan after Thanksgiving, but I suspect that every painful rebuild makes the eventual success that much sweeter.

By: Shadowplay

Shadowplay — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:29:38 +0000

I’m a Mets/Caps fan. I was at the game last night and will be there again tonight. I don’t know how anybody who calls themselves Nats fan can look at the product on the field and think this is the best the organization could have done. Other than Zimmerman at Third, and maybe Jesus Flores, I don’t see much to pin your hopes on in the everyday lineup. The future looks a little bit brighter with Tim Redding and John Lannam. But still, you aren’t going to win a lot of games with Odalis Perez, Aaron Boone and Ronnie Belliard.
If the hope lies in the minors, I must confess I have heard little about much help coming from there in the short term.
The Capitals are definitely the easiest team to get behind in the area. I bought season tickets last season as the march to the playoffs was unfolding and every day I wish the guys were back in action. I think that once you look at the prices that season tickets are going for and the flexible payment options, the tickets exchange program, the ability to sell unused tickets online, it’s the most fan friendly team in the area.
And I’ll be right behind home plate tonight. Oh wait, I’m “only” in the Diamond Club, which in the old stadium would have put me within the first four rows but now that only gets me within twenty five rows of my heroes. Heilman won’t be able to hear me when I boo him now…