The team from Washington--wearing their white uniforms with the red trim and a curly "w" upon the chest--was up 2-1 through five innings. Gio Gonzalez had pitched five strong innings, and after allowing a hit to lead off the sixth, was done.
A World Series contending team should have closed this game out. But not the Nationals. Four Diamondbacks runs scored in the sixth, three in the eighth, and three in the ninth. The Nationals 2-1 lead was not only erased, but they were completely blown out. If it wasn't for two bottom-of-the-ninth runs, they would have lost by nine runs. Every team has those games. They come out of the gate okay and blow a lead down the stretch. And as long as it does not become a habit, they are all right. The issue with the team from Washington is that is has started to become more common. They blew two leads against the Mets in a series where they were swept. (In the first game of the series, they blew the game in the twelfth, but never led.) They lost their division hold and now are looking up at New York. This was the team with the phenomenal pitching staff and dynamic offense. This was the team that was supposed to win the World Series. Not the team that was supposed to be looking up at the Mets in August. They claim it was on injuries. And, yes, the Nationals suffered a lot of injuries throughout the season, losing most of their starting lineup. Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, and Denard Span, otherwise known as 50% of their eight starting position players, spent time on the DL this year. Those guys are coming back now. They still have to find their timing. But the Nationals still should be better than their 56-51 record suggests. Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister, two uninjured, key members of their starting rotation, have had down years. Their bullpen, outside of Jonathan Papelbon and Drew Storen, is relatively thin. Imagine how bad this team could be without the MVP-caliber performances from Bryce Harper and the Cy Young-caliber pitching from Max Scherzer. We might not even be talking about a playoff spot now; we might be talking about what's in store for next season. The Nationals could be teetering towards a September collapse. They're hanging around, but unless they seriously can fix their problems, it will be hard for them to seriously make a run at the postseason. They're standing on one leg; they're hoping that the injured guys can find their timing and produce. They're hoping some things go their way and they can get hot. For a team that's just a half game out of the NL East division lead, there is a lot of work that still has to be done. Who are the 2015 Nationals? --Devan Fink
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The non-waiver trade deadline is officially behind us and one of the busiest months in baseball transactions is over. Despite this, however, teams are still able to make moves to boost their playoff chances with something called waiver trading.
Here is how waiver trading works. Any player on a team's 40-man roster is subject to waivers. So, therefore, all active big leaguers and some upper level minor leaguers will be going through waivers this month. If a team places a player on waivers and they go unclaimed, the team can negotiate trades involving that player with any team in the league, as if it was still before July 31. However, if a team places a player on waivers and a team claims him, the two teams must negotiate a trade within 48 1/2 hours. For instance, if the Padres place James Shields on waivers (which they are likely to do), and the Cubs claim him (which is less likely), the Padres and Cubs have just over two days to talk a trade regarding Shields. If the teams cannot come to an agreement on a trade in the 48 1/2 hour time frame, then the club can either pull their player back (keeping him on his original club) or let the other team claim him for absolutely nothing, but will have to take on his whole contract. Also, if a team is forced to pull back their player in August, they can place the same player on waivers a second time, however, these waivers are non-recoverable (cannot pull them back). So, if the Padres and Cubs cannot come to an agreement over Shields, the Padres could either pull Shields back to San Diego or have the Cubs take the rest of his contract for free. If multiple teams claim a player on waivers, the order in which claims are awarded is: the league the player is in from worst to best record followed by the league the player isn't in from worst to best record. If the Cubs and Red Sox place claims on Shields, the Cubs would be awarded the claim because Shields plays for an NL team and they are the NL. If the Cubs and Phillies place claims on Shields, he will go to the Phillies, as they both are NL teams, but the Phillies have a worse record than the Cubs. Candidates to be moved in August trades are players signed to what is considered to be "poor" deals. The reason these players have a good chance at being moved is that no team wants to risk taking on their entire contract by placing a claim on him, even if they would receive the player for free. This makes Shields a good bet to clear waivers. Players to be named later are often common in August deals, as these players could be on the 40-man roster of the team that was moving them, but not able to clear waivers. Also, players in the lower levels of the minors are also candidates to be moved. Teams can make trades in September as well, but any player acquired after August 31 is not eligible for the postseason with their new team. --Devan Fink |