The number 9 spot in the line-up, (or as I like to call it, the 3rd hitter of the 3rd set of 1-2-3 innings), has the lowest OPS of any line-up spot, which isn't surprising. A close second is the 4th spot. That shouldn't be allowed to continue and probably should have already been adjusted. Yes, even this early. If you're watching the same games as me, you know that if you're batting Harper 3rd, you'd better have some protection because he gets very impatient very quickly. He's already swinging at more bad pitches, wishfully thinking they'll stay in the strike zone. He had that Barry Bonds wisdom going early, now he's back to thinking he needs to do it all.
Since Zimm is usually hitting (I don't even want to use that term) 4th, he's the one enabling Harper's impatience. With no Eaton or Murphy, the Nats need the improved Zimm and MAT from last year to make up for it. Instead they went the other direction. Good timing fellas. Yes, it's early, it's early, it's early. Tell Harper that as he enters this slump. These games count. I'd be changing the line-up weekly to feature the guys that are performing and bury the guys that aren't. Maybe that's panic, but I remember August of 2015 when the thought was, "Well, I guess we should have panicked earlier".
So in answer to the title of this post, if Zimm is helping in any way, I don't see it.
