Lineups: Royals @ Nationals, 6/21/2010
Washington
1. Nyjer Morgan, CF
2. Christian Guzman, 2B
3. Ryan Zimmerman, 3B
4. Adam Dunn, 1B
5. Josh Willingham, LF
6. Ivan Rodriguez, C
7. Michael Morse, RF
8. Ian Desmond, SS
9. Livan Hernandez, SP
Kansas City
1. Scott Posednik, LF
2. Jason Kendall, C
3. David DeJesus, CF
4. Billy Butler, 1B
5. Jose Guillen, RF
6. Alberto Callaspo, 3B
7. Mike Aviles, 2B
8. Yuniesky Betancourt, SS
9. Bruce Chen, SP
So here it is. This is probably the most depressing pitching matchup I've ever seen. Outside of that, we have two franchises going in opposite directions at the moment.
The Nationals are perennial losers and are quite the comic relief in the National League (remember when they couldn't even spell their name right on their jerseys?). But they have a lineup that isn't much better than the Royals, but its headed in a better direction than the Royals.
While the Royals have Scott Podsednik batting leadoff, the Nats have Nyjer Morgan, a guy with a lot of potential who was traded for Lastings Milledge. Win for Washington. They don't have Jason Kendall batting second. Win for Washington. They don't have Jason Kendall in their lineup. Win for Washington. Christian Guzman and Adam Dunn are actually pretty good veteran players for their big price tags, unlike say...Yuniesky Betancourt and Jose Guillen? Win for Washington.
Pretty pathetic that what was essentially an expansion franchise is further along than the Royals. Oh yeah, Dayton Moore also had Zack Greinke, Billy Butler and Alex Gordon dropped in his lap. The Nats started from scratch. They're further along than the Royals because they're doing it the right way.
Win for Washington.
Think you are being way to harsh on Dayton Moore. I know this big league roster as of now is pretty pathetic, but the minor league system is 1,000 times better than it was when Baird was still here. When he left our farm system was bone dry, now it is stacked with lots of exciting prospects. I know it's hard to see but I for one believe that Dayton is doing the right thing, and in a few years people will start seeing he knows what he is doing.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I am being harsh on Moore, but the way he has constructed the roster is incredibly backwards thinking. He deserves criticism. And after the way he has built the 25 man roster the past 4 seasons, what makes you think he'll bring in the right pieces when Moustakas, Hosmer, Montgomery, et al come up?
ReplyDeleteIt's four years in and the players he's acquired routinely are the problem more so than they're the answer. That's one issue.
ReplyDeleteThe other, is when your team never gets any better (under your watch) and you continually pick in the top 10, you sure as hell better have a "stacked" minor league system.
I think we are going to have to deal with one more year of bad baseball in 2011. Then in that offseason we will see Dayton make moves to help out a ballclub the following year and be long term players and not stop-gaps a la Jason Kendall. Assuming Aaron Crow starts pitching better in AA and Mike Montgomery continues to pitch well we should see them both up in 2012. With Mike Moustakas,Christian Colon and quite possible Eric Hosmer if they promote him from A ball to AA this year. I wasn't trying to say dayton doesn't deserve any criticism because quite frankly he does. I'm just optimistic about the future because the past two years have been the first time in a decade where I have been extremely excited about a number of our minor league players.
ReplyDeleteDavid, absolutely agree. In 2005, the excitement was only about Gordon and Butler. Now the excitement is about several players: Hosmer, Moustakas, Montgomery, Colon, Crow, etc.
ReplyDeleteI'm just saying in the meantime, why not see what you have in your own system. We've already overlooked Maier, Aviles and now we're doing the same with guys like Pena, Kila, etc. I'm not saying those guys are going to be world beaters, but just see what you have with those guys and save some money.
The Washington Nationals were not an expansion team, they were previously the Montreal Expos. So its not like they started from scratch. The Expos always had a pretty good system. You are right they have gutted the team pretty well in the last few years and gone young, unlike the Royals who have tried to supplement with veterans instead.
ReplyDeleteMy next point would be that you give the Nats a win over the Royals for Guzman Vs Betancourt. These two are pretty much the same player. Guzman may have had a little more range in the past but its not really true any more. They both will give you around a .280 but nothing in terms of OBP.