You're dreamin'...
Mark Lerner wants the Nationals to be "competitive.' He has set a low bar and Rizzo is still doing his best to clear it.
Good luck with goin' all in...it ain't happening as long as the Lerner's own this team...we're just gonna hope we get lucky someday...
The Lerners are definitely a big part of the problem. Rizzo isn't alone in trying to assemble a bullpen relatively cheaply, since it is a bit of a crap-shoot, but he has a long history of failing to have the right pieces at the start of the season and having to wait until the trade deadline to make up for it. I'd be interested to see if he would act differently if the owners were not handcuffing him. Hard to tell. I know a lot of people like to act like the owners aren't cheap, but they are, and predictably so. I doubt they have ever actually spent a dime of their own money on the team, even the purchase, which was financed. Sure, they have a good payroll, but they should given the revenues. But it was obvious they were never going all in with a signing of Bryce or anything else that would take them over the top. Once the money is spent, they don't like to cut bait, thus you see dead weight like Rosenthal taking up a wasted spot on the roster. It's like having Wily Mo Pena as a position player. With no budget room, they don't make moves.
That said, they will still find ways to remain competitive to keep the revenues up, but the sad thing is that with this starting pitching and the young talent under club control, they could be spending the payroll they have more wisely and actually have better success.
This bullpen really is a disgrace. The team still has bad approaches at the plate with RISP, but they have enough guys now who can actually put the ball in play, that they should be in every game with this starting pitching. If the owners pulled off the cuffs, they could cut bait on most of the pen and actually put something respectable together. The sad thing is that if everyone in the pen was even as good as Suero, they would probably be near the top of the division right now. I loved the Corbin signing, but what is the point if you are literally giving the game away after the seventh inning?
When your closer leads the league in wins, you should take notice. It is no longer "early". They need to make a significant move soon, or the season is over. This team always looked like a .500 club without Bryce, and they are proving that to be the case now.
