Missing the Point

Today's Washington Post complains about the recent inability of the Nats' middle relievers to pitch an endless number of scoreless innings. Then, the story states the following:

"Still, with trade rumors swirling and Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden promising to be a factor in any mid-season dealing, Washington's greatest strength might loom as its most pressing need. If this team is going to win every game 2-1 and 3-2, does it need one more relief pitcher?"

Middle relievers are the Nationals' most "pressing need?" This strikes us as crazy because it assumes that the Nationals will continue to be the lowest scoring team in the National League. If the Nats retain that title, the chances of them winning the East are pretty near zero. The Braves have allowed the fewest runs in baseball--330--and that translates to about 3.8 runs allowed per game. The Nats aren't far behind; they've allowed 348 runs or about 4.1 per game. In other words, there probably isn't a whole lot of room for improvement in the runs allowed category.

If the Nats are to allow somewhere between 3.8 and 4.1 runs per game, they have to average more than 3.8 to 4.1 runs scored per game if they're to have any success. The problem is that they're averaging slightly less than 4.1 runs scored per game. The Nats are one of the best teams in runs allowed, but the worst in runs scored. It doesn't take a genius to realize that the way out of this predicament is to score more runs, and they're not going to accomplish that objective by trading for middle relievers.

We're frustrated too by Luis Ayala's recent proclivity for surrendering runs in key situations, and we're definitely in favor of upgrading the bullpen, but the Nationals can't do that at the expense of solving their biggest problem--their inability to score a sufficient number of runs.