Where is Ryan Zimmerman helping/hurting us? (2018)

[Scraps]

Whether Dave is a good manager or a winner is TBD.

I'd like to know how people have determined he isn't. What's that based on?

He isn't responsible for hitters unable to hit with runners on base. Which is the reason for the teams record so far.

I don't like him playing Slow Adams in LF. But he's trying to put guys in that will generate offense.

I don't like him taking Hellickson out. But he's playing the numbers. Third time threw the lineup and beyond is tough for a starter. And Dave lacks faith in the offense for good reason.

Other than the thinking he saw the Ump before a pitching change, I don't think he has made any actual mistakes. Not happy with the results doesn't equal he's wrong for all situations.

I agree.
Martinez is a first year manager and like everyone else that has taken the position will make rookie mistakes and accidentally overlook things he wish he hadn’t. I really believe  he will eventually be a good or very good manager.
That being said, Martinez probably wasn’t the best choice for the Washington Nationals in this final year of desperation before Bryce Harper heads out. Joe Gerardi would have been nice but,  how many years and dollars would it have taken  to get him here?..... and he may not have wanted to come here regardless of the size of the contract.

I’m getting real close to thinking that a fire sale and some new faces around here might not be a bad thing.

Go Nationals!

[PowerBoater69]

Whether Dave is a good manager or a winner is TBD.

I'd like to know how people have determined he isn't. What's that based on?

He isn't responsible for hitters unable to hit with runners on base. Which is the reason for the teams record so far.

I don't like him playing Slow Adams in LF. But he's trying to put guys in that will generate offense.

I don't like him taking Hellickson out. But he's playing the numbers. Third time threw the lineup and beyond is tough for a starter. And Dave lacks faith in the offense for good reason.

Other than the thinking he saw the Ump before a pitching change, I don't think he has made any actual mistakes. Not happy with the results doesn't equal he's wrong for all situations.

I don't believe in intangibles when it comes to players, but the concept makes sense for managers. Down a run heading into the ninth the team should believe that they are going to win, I don't see that confidence.

[Greg_SRT]

I don't believe in intangibles when it comes to players, but the concept makes sense for managers. Down a run heading into the ninth the team should believe that they are going to win, I don't see that confidence.

There's no confidence because the numbers say they can't score.

They are at the top of the league in many offense categories. And that's good. But they have left more runners on all but 2 teams in MLB.

I doubt many in Nats Land believe they can hit with RISP right now.

[Elvir Ovcina]

He appears to be the least of our worries right now: Last ten games: .300 / .349 / .650, 3 HR, 3 2Bs, 1 3B, 3BB, 6Ks in 40 ABs.

If you're making the "right now" argument, there's no reason not to analyze another arbitrary small sample size - last 10 days instead of games.  Because that cuts out a 3-4 with 2HR and a triple game he now looks like this: .250/.294/.438   with 1 HR, those 3 2B, with 2 walks and 5 Ks in 34 PAs.   Take out one fantastic game and he's not looking so good, in other words.   Better, yes, but not great - and that one fantastic game was one the team lost by six runs anyway (that 8th...).

[PowerBoater69]

There's no confidence because the numbers say they can't score.

They are at the top of the league in many offense categories. And that's good. But they have left more runners on all but 2 teams in MLB.

I doubt many in Nats Land believe they can hit with RISP right now.

Their confidence is low because their #s with RISP is low? Seems like that is backwards, if their #s are worse with RISP it's due to lack of confidence.

[spidernat]

I don't believe in intangibles when it comes to players, 

Their confidence is low because their #s with RISP is low? Seems like that is backwards, if their #s are worse with RISP it's due to lack of confidence.

Slate has hacked PB69

[hotshot]

0-4 tonite drops the BA to a robust .184

[Jeff in Gaithersburg]

Zimm will heat up at some point soon, he's been hitting balls hard for weeks now. When the lineup gets completely healthy he'll slot into a spot in the order where he can take advantage of seeing better pitches than he's seeing right now. Pitchers also know that Zimm rarely walks and that he's a free swinger which means he's not going to see much of anything to hit, even with Bryce right behind him.

[OldChelsea]

They're not called 'grounding into double plays' anymore...they're called 'Zimmermans'.

[LoveAngelos]

Zimm will heat up at some point soon, he's been hitting balls hard for weeks now. When the lineup gets completely healthy he'll slot into a spot in the order where he can take advantage of seeing better pitches than he's seeing right now. Pitchers also know that Zimm rarely walks and that he's a free swinger which means he's not going to see much of anything to hit, even with Bryce right behind him.

He hits the ball hard unless they're are RISP then it's weak ground balls or soft short outfield fly balls. This team will continue to lose for weeks while it waits for him to heat up...if he ever does. CAn't have a dead bat with no Eaton, Rendon and Murphy in the line up. I hope he "heats up" but by then it will be too late, me thinks, unless it is now

[aspenbubba]

I can't freakin' believe this but Zim has only grounded into 3 double plays this season. Starlin Castro leads the NL with 8.
But he does have 192 life time and is only 5 behind Ted Williams. They aren't even close to leading the majors life time.

[bluestreak]

I can't freakin' believe this but Zim has only grounded into 3 double plays this season. Starlin Castro leads the NL with 8.
But he does have 192 life time and is only 5 behind Ted Williams. They aren't even close to leading the majors life time.

Albert Pujols has the all time lead and he’s had a decent career. So I don’t know what that means.

[aspenbubba]

Albert Pujols has the all time lead and he’s had a decent career. So I don’t know what that means.

Quite simply it means that I , along with others on this board , believed that it should have been more than a paltry 3 thus far for the season since we mindfact that every time he comes to bat with a runner on he will GIDP.

[HalfSmokes]

Albert Pujols has the all time lead and he’s had a decent career. So I don’t know what that means.

He’s in the same league as that ted Williams fellow- terrible company

[aspenbubba]

He’s in the same league as that ted Williams fellow- terrible company

Actually not even close. Williams 197 and Pujols 365

[bluestreak]

Quite simply it means that I , along with others on this board , believed that it should have been more than a paltry 3 thus far for the season since we mindfact that every time he comes to bat with a runner on he will GIDP.

No I meant that I don’t know what it means that someone as good as Pujols leads in a stat that I consider bad is confusing my brain. I genuinely don’t know what to make of it.

I thought RZ had hit into more DP’s too.

EDIT: I suppose it means he was good enough to hit in the heart of the order for a long time, so he had a lot of at bats with men on base. But that number still astounds me.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

It is a characteristic of some historically very good, HOF-type hitters that, if they are middle of the order hitters who hit the ball hard, then they will hit into many double plays.  Jim Rice (even you don't think he deserves the HOF) is a good example.  Rice was coming up with men on because he always hit 3d or 4th and had good table setters in front of him.  Rice was not fast, and hit rockets.  You hit the ball hard with guys on, and you hit it on the ground, and you are not fast, that's a recipe for double plays.  Zimmerman hits more groundballs than you probably like out of a middle of the order hitter, so, with shifts and decent defense, that will generate DPs.

[Optics]

It is a characteristic of some historically very good, HOF-type hitters that, if they are middle of the order hitters who hit the ball hard, then they will hit into many double plays.  Jim Rice (even you don't think he deserves the HOF) is a good example.  Rice was coming up with men on because he always hit 3d or 4th and had good table setters in front of him.  Rice was not fast, and hit rockets.  You hit the ball hard with guys on, and you hit it on the ground, and you are not fast, that's a recipe for double plays.  Zimmerman hits more groundballs than you probably like out of a middle of the order hitter, so, with shifts and decent defense, that will generate DPs.

That's fine if you're hitting .300+ with homers and driving in runs. Zimm isn't doing anything.

[NatsAllThe Way]

I think it's time to remove "helping" (and the forward slash) from the thread title.

[spidernat]

Don't give up on the juice just yet. It's resurrected many careers.

[catocony]

I was encouraged by the throw to second where he gunned it submarine, right on money.  If that's what he has to do to mask his arthritic shoulder or the yips or whatever mental hurdle he has from throwing it normally, so be it.

[Jeff in Gaithersburg]

He hits the ball hard unless they're are RISP then it's weak ground balls or soft short outfield fly balls. This team will continue to lose for weeks while it waits for him to heat up...if he ever does. CAn't have a dead bat with no Eaton, Rendon and Murphy in the line up. I hope he "heats up" but by then it will be too late, me thinks, unless it is now

If he still continues to badly struggle, I'd get Adams more ABs there and even give Howie some games at 1B as he does have experience there. They need to keep Howie's bat in the lineup anyway, so he is a platoon option there. Bryce is also struggling right now and while I certainly don't expect Zimm to put up anywhere near the numbers he did last year, he is still more than capable of solid production.

[Expos]

Zimmerman needs to be on the bench. He is atrocious.

What message are we sending by continually trotting him out at cleanup to do absolutely nothing?

Matt Adams has been superior this season. If we are serious about winning Adams needs to be the full time 1B and Harper needs to batt leadoff. Go ahead and walk him.

1- Bryce Harper RF
2- Trea Turner SS
3- Howie Kendrick 2B
4- Matt Adams 1B
5- Andrew Stevenson LF
6- Matt Weiters / Pedro Severino C
7- Michael Taylor CF
8- Wilmer Difo 3B

Bench

Ryan Zimmerman 1B
Rafael Bautista OF
Moises Sierra OF
Adrian Sanchez 3B

Injured:

Anthony Rendon 3B
Adam Eaton LF
Daniel Murphy 2B
Brian Goodwin OF

[mitlen]

Zimmerman needs to be on the bench. He is atrocious.

What message are we sending by continually trotting him out at cleanup to do absolutely nothing?

Matt Adams has been superior this season. If we are serious about winning Adams needs to be the full time 1B and Harper needs to batt leadoff. Go ahead and walk him.

1- Bryce Harper RF
2- Trea Turner SS
3- Howie Kendrick 2B
4- Matt Adams 1B
5- Andrew Stevenson LF
6- Matt Weiters / Pedro Severino C
7- Michael Taylor CF
8- Wilmer Difo 3B

Bench

Ryan Zimmerman 1B
Rafael Bautista OF
Moises Sierra OF
Adrian Sanchez 3B

Injured:

Anthony Rendon 3B
Adam Eaton LF
Daniel Murphy 2B
Brian Goodwin OF

Can you imagine in the bottom of the 9th in a crunch, looking down the bench and there's Zimmerman?    If he's in the lineup, you know where he is and you probably won't have to go to him later.

[catocony]

$14 million isn't going to ride the pine.  With another $20 million owed next season, he won't ride the pine then either.