Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Most Disappointing Nats: 2010 Edition

I figured since people always love lists, I'd do some more. The postseason starts today at 1:37 PM EDT on TBS. It's a match up between the Rays and the Rangers, and even more exciting, between David Price and Cliff Lee.

To help address the off-season depression of no baseball in DC, I've already started the pitchers and catchers spring training countdown in the right column. Only 127 days.... Until then, let's keep talking about the 2010 season. Yesterday, we talked about the most improved and impressive players of the year. Today, we'll hit the most disappointing Nats of 2010.

1. Jason Marquis - The Nats aquired Jason Marquis in the off-season from the Colorado Rockies for a $15 million contract over 2 years. He showed up. And that's about the last good thing he did until August. He failed to retire a runner against the Brewers in April, had surgery, and disappeared for 2/3 of the season. When he came back, he showed signs of brilliance, but on September 17th against the Phillies, Marquis didn't make it out of the 1st inning for the 2nd time this season. Not the stuff of a $15 million man. Marquis was a huge bust this year, and hopefully he can hang on to the few brilliant moments in the off-season to prepare for 2011.

2. Nyjer Morgan - Man, I don't even know where to start. Between 2009 and 2010, his average dropped from .307 to .253, his on base % from .369 to .319, his stolen bases plummeted from 42 to 34, and all of this happened with more plate appearances. Then there's the multiple mental breakdowns (see: throwing ball at fan, temper tantrum resulting in inside the park home run vs. Orioles, charging the mound vs. Volstad and taunting Marlins fans) and his inability to get on base as a lead of man. All of these things point to Nyjer playing somewhere else next year... maybe Japan... or nowhere.

3. Scott Olsen - Scott Olsen showed signs of brilliance in 2010, taking a no-hitter into the 8th inning against the Braves May, shutting out the Dodgers through 7 innings in April, and... nope, that's it. Other than that, Olsen had some okay games, but nothing great as his ERA crept towards 6.00 in September, ultimately ending his starting career for the Nationals. He developed Oliver Perez syndrome, spouting anger about being thrown into the bullpen, but then got hurt yet again, effectively ending his tenure as a Washington Nationals pitcher. Scott Olsen was supposed to be a workhorse pitcher for the Nats, and instead he couldn't stay healthy or pitch well for long stretches in either of his 2 years with the organization. Olsen turned out to be a huge disappointment.

(Dis)honorable Mentions: Adam Kennedy, Willie Harris

Note, that these weren't the worst players on the team this year. You'd have to look to Kevin Mench and Justin Maxwell for those honors. But I'm convinced that Marquis, Morgan, and Olsen were absolutely the most disappointing players of 2010. Think I'm wrong? Tell me! Enjoy the first Division Series games today!

10 comments:

  1. Kevin Rusch, Section406October 6, 2010 at 1:53 PM

    How can Willie Harris be that much of a disappointment? Didn't we all kinda get what we were expecting out of him? (If not, you'd have to put Wil Nieves in the same place, right?)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I didn't expect Willie to be good, but I did expect him to be aove the Mendoza line. He hit with absolutely no consistency and struck out almost constantly in big situations.

    Wil Nieves is a terrible hitter, but he was exactly what we expected. Managed games and young pitchers well, but couldn't hit the ball. That's what he's always been, so you can't be disappointed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Joe,

    Good analysis buddy, I enjoy reading what you have to say and find myself agreeing with a lot of it (go figure). Nyjer Morgan should never step on the mound with any team after this season, period. You don't assault fans regardless of how angry they make you, and he has proven himself time and time again not to be a team player. Tough luck again this year for the Nats, there's always next year. In the meantime I'll enjoy watching the Phillies work their way to the World Series again!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love your worst player mentions although Nyjer Moron could be on both of the lists!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What? No Brian "What do you mean I lost my arbitration hearing?" Bruney?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Wow, Brian Bruney was gone so fast I didn't even think of him.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Justin Maxwell was far better than you claim. According to WAR (wins above replacement) he had a positive allround value to the team. Sure his hitting was below average, but his glovework as measured by UZR was outstanding. Plus, he was a positive baerunner. It is really hard to get a positive WAR with little playing time yet he did, so in my mind he one of my primary hopes for this teams future. .

    ReplyDelete
  8. Nyjer. He is an embarrassment to the team, remember the ball that bounced off the fence and he threw his glove to the ground?? I would pay good money to see him go!
    Bruney yes, and Marquis. But not Kennedy. He did a few things right

    ReplyDelete
  9. Remember Scott Olsen saying that he couldn't be a reliever because he couldn't spend 20 minutes throwing a little ball in the air to warm up?? Sounds like Haynesworth!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Dave, I didn't even think about Bruney. God he was awful.

    ReplyDelete