The Washington Nationals have frequently been the worse team in baseball. In their short existence, they have never won a World Series or even made it to the playoffs.
Constantly, the Nats have been plagued by inconsistency and failure to deliver the finishing touch.
This year, however, the Nationals are going to make the playoffs.
Washington has been doing amazingly this year in comparison to previous years and will continue to dazzle fans. However, while dealing with the loss of manager Jim Riggleman, the Nationals must continue to play smartly and not commit pointless errors.
While several of their wins have been due to lucky home runs hit in the bottom of the ninth, many of their victories have been well-fought battles.
One of their key players is shortstop Ian Desmond, who has made countless saves and always hustles to make the out. His ability to sprint, receive, and throw the ball has considerably helped the Nationals make the vital plays they need to win crucial games.
Another factor that has helped the Nationals win is their outfielder, Jayson Werth.
Werth hasn’t been missing fly balls or long hits into the outfield, common mistakes we have seen previous seasons in Washington. Not only is he good at catching incredible hits, but also his offensive play has improved significantly—he now has a .228 batting average and the second most hits on the team.
The Nationals have also improved their ability to hit game-winning home runs and their ability to score just as many or more runs as the opposing team.
The Nats' top hitter, Danny Espinosa, has hit multiple homers in the ninth to secure victory and has hit valuable shots during the middle innings. This is a guy that many teams throughout the MLB desperately need—a guy who can close out tough games and doesn't choke during the ninth inning.
If the Nationals can train more guys to play like that, they will be seeing many more victory days.
With all this said, let’s talk about what the Nationals need to improve if they want to make it to the playoffs.
The Nationals need to not give up runs early in the game, so that they don't have to play catch-up to win. One of the most difficult things to do in any sport is to come back from behind—it is both mentally and physically challenging.
Another thing they need to improve is pitching. Last year, the Nationals called up Stephen Strasburgh, the pitcher that was supposed to save the team and earn them a spot in the playoffs. After about a quarter of the season however, Strasburgh was unable to play due to injury.
This year, pitcher Jason Marquis needs to work on his fastball and curveball.
His batting is decent enough that he should be able to focus on pitching.
If the Nationals do all this, they will be in the playoffs.
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