If you’d watched Michael Morse in Florida last month, you’d understand completely why he went from being — on paper — the right-handed hitting part of a left field platoon to an everyday player. He absolutely mashed the ball this spring, hitting .364 with nine home runs and 18 RBI in 21 spring training games. He was handed the regular position and his previous potential platoon mate Roger Bernadina was optioned to Syracuse.
Entering this weekend, however, Morse was hitting under .200 with no home runs and just four RBI in 16 games. The only upgrade from his spring training performance was a single stolen base.
I’ve used this space before to talk about the real meaning of spring training. That is, it means different things to different people. In Morse’s case, the ballclub hoped to see consistent daily performance at the plate from a player who, in 2010, hit 15 homers and drove in 41 runs in less than 300 plate appearances. He obliged and was handed the gig.
Morse stands pretty far from the plate. Throw him fastballs middle-in, you’ll pay the price. Breaking balls away, and it’s a different story. There’s nothing unique about that scenario; it describes a lot of major league hitters. However, during spring training many pitchers are working on things like location and command, and they’re not approaching each hitter the same way they would during the regular season. Yes, Morse had an impressive spring, but so did Brian Bixler, who hit .316 in 26 games.
Throughout the years there have been numerous major leaguers who did their best work when they played now and then, not every day. Former National Jamey Carroll is a .276 career hitter, playing all over the infield and outfield, but only once has he had as many as 500 plate appearances in a season. Miguel Cairo was a regular 11 years ago with Tampa Bay, but since then has come off the bench with solid results that have made him immensely employable. I can give numerous other examples, the point being that some players actually have better results when they’re not in the everyday lineup.
There’s no disgrace in being a role player, and at 29, Morse still has time to achieve everyday status in the big leagues. One-eighth of the season is a pretty small sample in the grand scheme of things, but there’s a limit to how long the club will wait, particularly with a pretty good lefty swinger in Laynce Nix on hand. Local fans will recall the Orioles’ left field platoon of Gary Roenicke and John Lowenstein in the late ’70s and early ’80s. They had combined homer totals of 36, 45 and 34 in the 1979, ’82 and ’83 seasons, respectively, and equally impressive RBI totals.
I’m not suggesting that Morse and Nix would approach those numbers, but I think a two-headed left fielder might ratchet up the offense. The Nationals’ starting pitching is holding its own; it’s time for the offense to chip in more than we’ve seen so far.
Examiner columnist Phil Wood is a baseball historian and contributor to MASN’s Nats Xtra. Contact him at [email protected].
