Not Ready For Prime Time

In the midst of a playoff race, when every game has significant meaning and teams are fighting fiercely for one post-season spot, the Nationals are playing like they don't care. Uninspired pitching and anemic hitting now characterize this team most nights, as players like Livan Hernandez and Jose Guillen who were leaders in the first half of a team on a mission now can't help the team when it needs their help most. This team, which in the first half looked like a machine built from disparate but supportive parts, now looks like a collection of mostly average players who wouldn't have much of a role on the league's best teams.

Last night Tony Armas pitched like a high school pitcher. We're told that he has shoulder problems, and he probably does, but Armas has been living on borrowed time for a while. There's only so many times a pitcher can give up two hits per inning and still win. Last night Armas' luck ran out, and he was hammered by one of the league's worst teams for four runs in the third inning.

The Nationals' hitters were unable to mount any serious comeback, managing only four hits in seven innings against Luke Hudson, one of baseball's worst starting pitchers. Prior to last night, Hudson had walked more batters than he had struck out, but against the Nationals he struck out seven and didn't walk a batter. The Nationals are becoming a team that can cure most pitchers' problems in a hurry.

We are watching a .500 team. In the first half of the season we got used to winning streaks, solid performances, and first place, but those days are long gone. What we have seen in the second half is a team coming back to earth because, ultimately, it can't escape the fact that it allows at least as many runs as it scores. We need to get used to this.