Since CJ Abrams's call up after the 8/14 game, the Nats are 13-16 as of this morning. The Nats are also 7-8 in September, even with a 5 game losing streak.
There's a decent possibility that this group of guys dropped from 40 man rosters (Alex Call), past-prime non-prospects (Joey Meneses), journeymen (Ildemaro Vargas), arguably rushed prospects (CJ Abrams), trade substitute throw ins (Luke Voit), miscellaneous backups and fringe roster types can pull together a month and a half of near .500 ball.
It's been fun, too. The Nats still blow ballgames, but they have been able to take advantage of blown leads, too. Defense has had a huge upgrade (I won't tell it to Gunnar Henderson, though), especially in the infield, while Meneses, of course, and Voit / Vargas / Garcia / Thomas have all looked good at the plate.
Bullpen has been mostly effective, and while the defense can't help on homers, the starters are keeping the team in games.
Call and Vargas and Abbott show there's an advantage to being able to pick early in waivers. Granted, these guys are cast offs, but they (along with Thomas) have a chance to play / pitch regularly, which occasionally leads to swimming and not sinking. Their ceilings might only be MLB average, but that's better than what we've trotted out.
It's going to be a fun last 3 weeks. It's nice to turn on a game and feel it is something other than a wake.
[Edit - originally posted this as a separate topic, but it really is a "Sunshine" post. The only difference I have with the topic is that I think at this point we can say it has gotten much better in concrete ways and not just wishful thinking at this point]
