The Washington Nationals
Hisashi Iwakuma Jersey , who have won two straight division titles and three in the past four years, need a miracle to make the playoffs this season.On
Monday night, the Nationals (76-74) visit the Miami Marlins to start a quick
two-game series. The Nationals enter Monday in third place in the NL East,
trailing the division-leading Atlanta Braves by 7.5 games.Article continues
below ...The Nationals are also six games out of the second and final wild-card
spot with just 12 contests left on their schedule. Worse yet, the Nationals
trail five teams in the wild-card standings.“It’s a bummer we’re not winning
games,” Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper told the media recently. “That’s
the biggest thing on my mind.”If Harper is disappointed, imagine how the Marlins
feel. Miami (58-91) has the worst record in the National League and the
third-lowest win percentage in the majors.Miami hasn’t won consecutive games
since Aug. 24-25, and the Marlins have gone 5-13 in that span.Monday’s pitching
matchup features a pair of 25-year-old rookie right-handers: Miami’s Trevor
Richards against Washington’s Erick Fedde.Richards (3-9, 4.85 ERA) has struck
out at least seven batters in six of his 22 games this season. He has a
below-average fastball (90.8 as opposed to the league norm of 93.1 mph). But he
survives on a nasty changeup.Lately, though, it appears teams have figured him
out. In his past seven starts, Richards is 0-4 with a 6.68 ERA.Perhaps a good
omen for Richards is the fact that he pitched six scoreless innings the only
time he faced the Nationals at Marlins Park this year, allowing just three hits
and two walks while striking out eight.Fedde (2-3, 5.12 ERA), a Las Vegas
native, was Washington’s first-round pick in 2014
Ken Griffey Jersey , coming out of UNLV.His best pitch may be his hard (94 mph) slider, and this will be his first-ever start against the Marlins, so
there could be an adjustment required of Miami hitters.Fedde is coming off his
best start of the season, holding the Philadelphia Phillies scoreless for 5 2/3
innings on Tuesday, striking out nine while allowing just two hits.One of the
batters Fedde will have to pitch carefully to is Marlins right fielder Peter
O’Brien, a 6-4, 235-pounder who has massive power but has yet to get his major
league career untracked at age 28.A former University of Miami star, O’Brien was
picked up by the hometown Marlins earlier this month and has two homers and five
RBIs in his past three starts.“We’re going to get him extended playing time as
we finish up,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of O’Brien. “He has a good
approach and a feel for his game, which is that he can hit the ball out of the
ballpark.”Indeed, O’Brien hit 26 homers in 2013, 39 in 2014, 32 in 2015 and 29
in 2016. He hit just 16 homers last year but has 32 this season in a bounce-back
campaign.Still, out of all those homes, only eight have come in the majors,
where his career OPS is just .699.“I’m looking to have quality
at-bats
http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-ichiro-suzuki-jersey ,” O’Brien told the media on Sunday when asked about his approach. “Consistency is
the main thing.”Harper, of course, is Washington’s big bat. He has 97 RBIs, 97
runs scored and 118 walks. He is on track to become just the sixth player since
2014 to record 100 in each of those categories.A free agent after this season
ends, Harper — who turns 26 next month — needs to drive in two more runs to tie
his career high.“I’m not worried about my numbers because I am who I am,” Harper
said. “That sounds bad, but I am. On any given night, I’m able to do things that
are special.”Harper hit just .214 with an .833 OPS in the first half of this
season. But since then, he has hit .305 with a .985 OPS.The Nationals, who have
won seven of their past nine games, have ridden the hot bats of Harper, Anthony
Rendon and Juan Soto, among others.Rendon has reached base in 25 consecutive
games, hitting .330 during that span. He hit his 20th homer on Sunday, marking
the third straight season he has reached that milestone.Soto, 19
Kyle Seager Jersey , has reached base in 21 consecutive games. That ties Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle for the second-longest streak by a teenager since
1920. Mel Ott, who had a 22-game streak in 1928, owns the record. NEW YORK (AP)
— On the final day of an emotionally draining season, Mickey Callaway knew
exactly how to describe what he just went through with the New York Mets.“It’s
been a roller-coaster ride,” the rookie manager said. “There definitely were
highs and lows.”New York said goodbye to captain David Wright, general manager
Sandy Alderson and former ace Matt Harvey.Jacob deGrom delivered a Cy
Young-caliber performance that went to waste.Zack Wheeler and Brandon Nimmo had
breakout years. Yoenis Cespedes and Jay Bruce got derailed by injuries. Harvey,
Jeurys Familia and Asdrubal Cabrera were traded away.There was pain and
frustration. There was pride in deGrom. There were electric nights and empty
seats at Citi Field.And a sizzling start was wiped out by June, making the solid
finish a formality.At the end of it all, the Mets went 77-85 and came in fourth
in the NL East. It was a seven-win improvement over last year, but a second
consecutive losing season marked a major disappointment for a team that spent
nearly $90 million to fill holes in free agency and entered April with October
aspirations.“I think there’s a lot more in the tank for these guys. I think the
effort was there, but I don’t think we got out of them what we should have
gotten out of them,” chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon said Sunday.The first
order of business in trying to change that will be hiring a new general
manager.Alderson stepped down with a stunning announcement in late June, saying
his cancer had returned. Assistant GM John Ricco and special assistants J.P.
Ricciardi and Omar Minaya ran baseball operations the rest of the season, but
Wilpon said the next boss will come from outside the organization.He said the
search will be “very broad” and include “some untraditional candidates.” He’d
prefer to have someone in place by the general managers’ meetings next month. If
not, then by the winter meetings in December.Wilpon said he would like Ricco,
Ricciardi and Minaya to return — but that doesn’t guarantee they’ll be
retained.“They’re part of the failure that we had this year
http://www.marinersfanproshop.com/authentic-nelson-cruz-jersey , same as I am and the rest of the front office. So it’s only fair to give
somebody coming in an open book to bring in who they want,” Wilpon said. “From
an ownership standpoint, I’d like them to stay. I’d like Mickey to stay. That’s
from ownership, though. We’re going to rely on a new GM to give us that
direction and guidance.”ARMS TALKNew York starters had a 3.54 ERA, sixth-best in
the majors. The team held onto deGrom, Wheeler, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz
at the trade deadline and believes they could still provide the foundation for a
quick turnaround. Wheeler can become a free agent after next season, and deGrom
is under club control for two more years after going just 10-9 despite a big
league-low 1.70 ERA and 269 strikeouts.SEEKING RELIEFThe bullpen requires an
extensive rebuild after compiling a 4.96 ERA that ranked 28th out of 30 teams.
Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman transitioned successfully into relief roles, while
youngsters Drew Smith, Daniel Zamora and Tyler Bashlor showed some promise. But
there’s no real closer on the roster, and several spots are wide open.“I think
that we obviously need some help, and I’m sure that we will address some of that
this winter,” Callaway said. “I’m excited about the bones of it, but do feel we
need to add a couple more guys to be the bullpen that we need to be to be a
championship team.”UP THE MIDDLETalented young shortstop Amed Rosario made
encouraging strides in the second half of his first full major league season. He
still must learn better plate discipline to raise a .295 on-base percentage.
Scrappy second baseman Jeff McNeil was a big hit immediately upon arrival from
the minors. He batted .329 with an .852 OPS in 63 games and played much better
defense than projected. So the Mets might have a double-play combination in
place. Catcher and center field, however, remain critical question marks.BIG
BATSWith Cespedes’ status uncertain
Carlos Ruiz Jersey , the Mets could use some right-handed pop. The outfielder is scheduled for his second heel surgery Oct. 23 — this time on his
left foot — but can’t predict how much he’ll be able to play next year. Wilpon
said the team must plan as though the oft-injured slugger will be unavailable.
Michael Conforto had a huge second half and Bruce, also a left-handed hitter,
regained his power after a long stint on the disabled list. He could move to
first base full-time, though that’s where top power-hitting prospect Peter
Alonso plays. Alonso offers a right-handed bat with success in Triple-A whenever
the Mets deem him ready.CUSTOMER RELATIONSAttendance dropped by 230,000 to
2,224,995, the lowest figure at Citi Field since 2014. There were cheers and
tears in the sellout crowd for Wright’s farewell game Saturday night, but Wilpon
said Mets fans deserve more, “and we’re going to produce that.”
