The Washington Nationals need to find something to fight for the rest of this season

Miguel Cairo and the Washington Nationals players need to figure out how not to get embarrassed like they did this weekend against the Brewers

The Washington Nationals got humiliated in front of their home fans for three straight days. That is the only way to put it. There are a number of ugly stats going around that we will dive in to. Above all else, the people in the Nationals clubhouse need to come together and ask themselves what they can do each day to avoid weekends like this the rest of the way.

At this point, we all know that the last two months of this season are going to be ugly. This team just does not have the horses to compete night in and night out. They also do not have the basic fundamentals most other teams do. However, these are still professionals and there is enough talent in that room to make sure they don’t get humiliated on a daily basis.

Miguel Cairo and the leaders on this team, if they have any, need to take this day off and figure out what they need to do to fight back. Right now, there is just not enough push back from this team. As a fan, it is difficult to watch this brand of baseball day after day. This team just sucks the life out of the fans every day.

Ugly Stats:

This series produced a lot of stats to forget. However, it only feels right to show some of them just to display how one sided this series was. The pitching staff was just totally shelled this weekend. Across the three games, they allowed 56 hits, the most in Nats history, and the most by any team since 2019.

It has been mind blowing to see how much this staff has been hit around. Both the starters and relievers have become wildly hittable. With the pitching being this bad, the team is out of the game in the first couple innings. When you allow 54 runs in five games, there is just no way to win.

However, it is not just the pitching that is struggling. The offense has also been inconsistent. There are some nights where they show up, but too often they struggle to get anything going.

A lot of that comes from the total lack of production from the team’s star James Wood. Since July 3rd, Wood has a .119 average with 41 strikeouts in 84 at bats. Unfortunately, it looks like the 22 year old is just being swallowed up right now. He is being overwhelmed at bat after at bat.

While the rational side of me says that Wood will be ok, it is getting harder and harder to watch this and keep the faith. Wood needs some sort of reset, whether that is an IL stint or something. Seeing a player you have so much invested in look this bad is tough to watch.

What Is Next:

With this grim series wrapped up, the Nationals are getting a much needed day off. They need to be productive in that off day. The veterans on the team need to get this group together and discuss how this team can make these last couple months as productive as they can be.

This whole season has been a wake up call for everybody in the organization. From the players to the fans to the front office to ownership. It has showed us that there is no quick fix here and big changes need to be made.

We know this coaching staff is as good as gone, but what happens to the rest of the organization? So much of it has been left to rot under the Lerner’s leadership in recent years. While the Lerner family made the first step of firing Mike Rizzo and Davey Martinez, this run is showing us how much needs to be done.

Nationals fans have questions about this ownership group. Can the Lerner family lead a full scale reboot of this organization and do they even have the desire to do that? What happens this offseason is going to determine the direction of this franchise for years to come.

It is not even all about spending money on big ticket free agents anymore. There needs to be a total cultural overhaul here. When you see this little push back, you know something is deeply wrong. The Washington Nationals are a team that has limited talent but also gets out executed most nights.

The Milwaukee Brewers are really everything the Nationals should strive to be in a lot of ways. They simply play a better brand of baseball. How many times did they tag up or go first to third on a single? It was constant and so much of that is down to coaching.

The Brewers are a well oiled machine. That is why they are 67-44 with a below average payroll. They punish teams who play bad baseball and that is why they had a field day here in DC.

Nationals fans have gotten a real reality check this year. It is time to get back to the basics and try to become a smart baseball team again. The Washington Nationals need to become a lot more like the Milwaukee Brewers and learn to win on the margins.