{"id":29615,"date":"2015-06-02T11:02:28","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T15:02:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seamheads.com\/?p=29615"},"modified":"2015-06-02T11:02:28","modified_gmt":"2015-06-02T15:02:28","slug":"matt-williams-merlin-the-magnificent-or-the-stinky-cheese-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seamheads.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/02\/matt-williams-merlin-the-magnificent-or-the-stinky-cheese-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Matt Williams? Merlin the Magnificent or the Stinky Cheese Man?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I got a text message the other evening from a friend that asserted: “I Hate Matt Williams.” It is part of the conventional wisdom in DC that the failures of the Nationals bullpen are the manager’s fault. The message came to me on Saturday night after the first of two bullpen implosions in Cincinnati. Casey Janssen’s fastball, which ain’t what it used to be, had yielded a four-spot in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hardly a big surprise, but the Washington fan base, which is drawn from a population more highly educated than anywhere in the country, have made Williams the fall guy whose talents rank…well, about as high as those of the Stinky Cheese Man<\/a>.*<\/p>\n

Which brings us to the bullpen that Mike Rizzo has put together for 2015, one that has been a real stinker all too often. Casey Janssen got lit up like a 4th of July Roman Candle in the second half of last season, which is why he came a lot cheaper than the $15 million a year the Nationals were paying Raphael Soriano. Soriano no doubt was highly recommended by Scott Boras, but in truth Raphael was one of the most high risk closers in either league even before signing on to pitch in DC. Soriano was past his \u00a0“Sell-by Date,” and it is looking increasingly like Janssen was even more past that date when he signed over the winter.<\/p>\n

The question is how does Mike Rizzo so consistently end up with bullpen guys whose stuff no longer plays in the deep end of the pool? Part of the answer seemed to arrive when he traded Tyler Clippard to Oakland in the off-season. Yunel Escobar, who came back in that trade, has been a pleasant surprise, but he is a second tier middle infielder whom Billy Beane traded for a upper tier reliever in Clippard. Everyone knew had the stuff to close and he had done so when Drew Storen was injured in 2012. Clippard has been just as dependable for Oakland as he was for Washington, so score one for Billy. Assume on the other end that Rizzo does not value bullpen arms very much, not more highly than? the Stinky Cheese Man?<\/p>\n

As much as fans in Washington want to push their little focus group machines to register their real time skepticism about Matt Williams every time he goes to bullpen, he has to go with the horses he has been given. Casey Janssen and his supporting cast of Triple-A tryouts, are the hand Matt Willliams has been dealt. Matt Grace, Blake Treinin, Felipe Rivero, Sammy Solis and company are not exactly household names, nor are they proven bullpen pitchers. They are all complete unknowns and Matt Williams is sending them out like cannon fodder going into a fog of mustard gas to be mowed down by Major League hitters. There are not many competitive teams trying to make it work with the kind of inexperience Mike Rizzo is using at the back end of his pitching staff.<\/p>\n

St. Louis has a nice mix of guys with several years in the majors and deeper, playoff proven experience. Only Mitch Harris, who is filling in for Jordan Walden, is new to the task. The Dodgers, the Giants, the Pirates, none of the expected Post-Season contenders are trying to fake it with a bunch of young unproven bullpen talent like Mike Rizzo has assembled behind Drew Storen. To be fair, the Nationals have been hurt by the injury of Craig Stammen who has been a dependable bullpen stalwart for the Nationals. But his injury has been magnified by the trade of Tyler Clippard and the passing of his baton to Casey Janssen.<\/p>\n

When Drew Storen failed to execute the simplest of saves last year against the Giants, the Nationals Park focus group was divided as to whether the team needed a new closer. What they knew without question was that it was Matt Williams’ fault that Storen failed to record a single one to win a tight game. However, in making Matt Williams the fall guy for the bullpen’s collapse there was no pressure on Rizzo to change a thing. Storen has been lights out so far this season and it appears he has turned a corner in his career. So those who said he was the man should stand up and take a bow. But other than the 36-year old Matt Thornton, there isn’t a reliable arm to set him up.<\/p>\n

At this point in the season there are really only two places to find help. The first is to continue to hope that guys like Blake Treinin and Aaron Barrett, who have the stuff to get the ball to Drew Storen, can put it together in the next two months. They are largely learning on the fly and they will never have the confidence to get Major League hitters out by pitching in Syracuse.<\/p>\n

But if they struggle, then Mike Rizzo is going to be fishing for help in the troubled waters of the July trade deadline where prices are never cheap and the chances that he can find someone to trade a Tyler Clippard for next-to-nothing are slim. The better option, but one that requires imagination, would be to ask some of the starters at Triple-A, several of whom have Major League experience, to help out. Taylor Jordan–who had success pitching in the Nationals rotation in 2013 before elbow surgery–has been working out of the pen in DC and he has the ability to fill in for Craig Stammen. A.J. Cole has a big fastball and if the Nationals can get Doug Fister and\/or Stephen Strasburg back to where they were supposed to be–pitching every fifth day for the Nationals–then Cole could help the cause out of the pen instead of filling in for what was supposed to be the best starting rotation in baseball.<\/p>\n

Very little has gone as planned so far for the Washington Nationals. Injuries abound. But the one thing that was predictable was Washington’s late innings implosions. If Matt Williams can make do with the group he has been given, he should be called Merlin the Magnificent, because he is using smoke and mirrors instead of reliable bullpen arms. Williams is going to need some big magic to get the Nationals through the next few months with his current bullpen. He was Manager of the Year last season as voted by his peers and if he can make something of this mess he will deserve consideration for the award again. But this is Washington, DC and personally, I am betting Matt Williams will get more votes as “The Stinky Cheese Man”<\/a> from the DC fan base than for Manager of the Year. You can trust me on this one!!<\/p>\n

*Stinky Cheese Man at 6:01<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I got a text message the other evening from a friend that asserted: “I Hate Matt Williams.” It is part of the conventional wisdom in DC that the failures of the Nationals bullpen are the manager’s fault. The message came to me on Saturday night after the first of two bullpen implosions in Cincinnati. Casey […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":73,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29615","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t