It was a simple question: What will the second half of the Washington Nationals season bring. Manager Frank Robinson’s answer was complex.
Maybe the Nats will be disbanded in coming weeks in a fire sale that sets up the future. Perhaps the roster will soon become more youngsters looking to 2008. Then again, Robinson said on Thursday several veterans might not be traded in coming weeks while the Nats will remain somewhat competitive.
In the end, the only certainty with the Nats is they stink and it’s probably going to get worse. Livan Hernandez was rocked like a pinata in the second inning for seven runs on Thursday, with the final blast threatening to kiss the Potomac River.
Robinson held a team meeting before the game to discuss the All-Star break and returning for the final push. He spoke of competingdespite sitting in the NL East cellar.
Robinson is a warrior. He doesn’t want to yield despite incoming president Stan Kasten’s desire to rebuild long-term through the minors. But Robinson’s power is obviously reduced because less than one hour after discussing plans to use pitcher Mike O’Connor over the weekend, the rookie was optioned to Class AAA New Orleans.
The roster is going to flip soon with Trader Jim Bowden doing his thing. Robinson conceded the lineup could be very different in a month.
“Before the season is over, there will be some changes here,” Robinson said. “That’s the natural thing to do, I think. . . . A lot of people speculated that we’ll move four-five veteran players on this team. That’s not necessarily so. Other clubs have to give you something for those players. We won’t just get rid of them to get rid of them.”
The key to the Nats fate over the final two months is tied to Alfonso Soriano. Keeping him signals the desire to keep fans interested in a decent product when the Redskins open training camp on July 31. Trading Soriano means you can start arguing Mark Brunell versus Jason Campbell.
Soriano suddenly says he wants to remain in Washington. Yeah, everyone does for the right price. They all say they want to stay during contract talks. It’s called negotiating through the media.
But let’s ask these questions first — if the Nats trade several other veterans and clearly condemn the next two seasons to rebuilding, will Soriano really want to stay? And do the Nats want to keep Soriano given he’ll be past his prime when the team is hopefully done rebuilding?
As much as fans want to keep Soriano and try to salvage this season, the hard reality is they have to look ahead. That’s what Robinson will reluctantly do despite not knowing his lineup.
“We’ll see where we are in middle of August and that’s time enough to say ‘OK, we’ll play someof the younger guys or call up this person,’” he said. “If [the new owners] want to take that route after the break, that’s fine with me.”
It just won’t be fine with most fans.
Rick Snider has covered local sports for 28 years. Contact him at [email protected]
