Michael Morse found himself Friday night in an unusual place: sitting on the Nationals' bench. Then again, he also found himself in an unusual situation: slumping at the plate.Easily the Nationals' most-consistent offensive player this season, Morse has endured through a mini-slump this month. In 13 September games, he's batting a scant .189 with a .232 on-base percentage and 19 strikeouts.
So manager Davey Johnson decided to give Morse (along with right fielder Jayson Werth) a rare day off for the opener of a weekend series against the Marlins.
What has prompted this decrease in production? Is Morse simply wearing down at the end of his first full season as an everyday big leaguer?
"That can happen," Johnson said. "He's a big guy and plays hard. A change of position, that can also happen. And I would've liked to
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4 comments:
How was Morse doing when he was playing outfield at the beginning of the season? I know he started off slowly, but I don't think his offensive production coincided with being moved to first, did it?
Morse is fine. So he hits .300 instead of .315
No biggie.
Every player goes through rough stretches.
If not, Babe Ruth and Roger Maris would have hit 70 homers instead of 60 and 61.
DiMaggio would have had a 60 game hit streak, etc...
I still don't see it as a lock that LaRoche comes back and plays at the level he played 2 years ago and every day. That's a lot of "ifs".
What happens to Chris Marrero if LaRoche is given 1st base in 2012? Marrero's done a good job since being called up. It's been fun watching him hit, and there's ain't a lot of Nats you can say that about. So now what? Is Johnson saying that LaRoche is so important that Marrero will have to go back Syracuse or ride the pine so he can play? Last time I checked LaRoche isn't a hall of famer. In fact, he had to negotiate hard to get 2 years out of the Nats. Or are the Nats hoping to dispatch LaRoche in late July 2012 like so many other rent-a-vets they've had? Doesn't make sense to me. Finding a home for LaRoche this winter makes sense to me, even if the Nats have to help with the salary.
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