What happened to the Nationals? 国民怎么啦?
By: Mark Zuckerman August 20
缩网址:https://s.yam.com/ZyqcX
原文网址:http://www.masnsports.com/nationals-pastime/2018/08/what-happened-to-
the-nationals.html
这篇是20号国民随队记者写的，当时还没有放弃，他整理了2018国民的一些问题
有些翻译我是用意义翻， 如果翻错意思还请多多指教
It’s the most pervasive question in Washington this summer, at least in the
realm of sports: What happened to the Nationals?
The answer isn’t nearly as simple as many would like.
If only there was one concrete reason for the Nationals’ slow descent from
division favorites to a sub-.500 club trying to hang on for dear life. But
the truth is, a combination of things had to come together this season to
create this mess. Alter any one of them, and the story of the 2018 Nats might
be totally different.
On this off-day, with a last-ditch series against the Phillies set to begin
Tuesday, let’s run through all the reasons and try to make sense of a season
that hasn’t made much sense at all. These are not presented in order of
significance.
这是华盛顿今年夏天最普遍的问题，至少在运动领域： 国民队发生了什么？
答案并不像许多人想的那么简单。
如果有个具体原因解释国民掉到低于五成胜率就好了，但事实是，今年赛季的困境是各种
事情搞在一起。改变任何一个，2018年国民的剧情可能完全不同。
在这个休息日，周二将开始对阵费城人队的系列赛，让我们来了解所有原因，并尝试理解
这一个已经没多大意义的赛季。这些原因并不是用重要度来排。
INJURIES
Yes, every team deals with injuries, but the Nationals legitimately have
dealt with more than most. According to rosterresource.com, the Nats have had
25 separate disabled list stints this season, and their 10.10 “roster effect
rating” ranks third in the majors, behind only the Angels and Mets.
Here’s the key: The injuries have consumed certain parts of the roster at
the same time, severely depleting those units. The lineup was decimated early
on without Daniel Murphy, Adam Eaton, Ryan Zimmerman, Howie Kendrick and Matt
Wieters. The rotation became a shell of itself when both Stephen Strasburg
and Jeremy Hellickson went on the DL in early June. And now the bullpen is a
mess with Sean Doolittle, Kelvin Herrera and Ryan Madson all out at the same
time.
Yes, the 2017 Nationals dealt with a lot of injuries as well (they rated
fifth in the majors in roster effect rating). But those injuries were more
spread out among positions and didn’t quite test the club’s depth to the
same dramatic extent.
伤兵
根据rosterresource.com，国民本赛季有25个人躺过DL名单，他们的10.10 “roster
effect rating”(阵容影响率)在大联盟中排名第三，只落后于天使和大都会。
https://www.rosterresource.com/mlb-disabled-list-tracker/
关键在于：这些病痛同一时间袭来消耗了阵容。在没有Daniel Murphy ， Adam Eaton ，
Ryan Zimmerman ， Howie Kendrick和Matt Wieters的情况下，打线很快就崩解了 。当
Stephen Strasburg和Jeremy Hellickson都在6月初的时候去了DL，先发轮值成了空壳。
然后现在则是崩坏牛棚的Sean Doolittle ， Kelvin Herrera和Ryan Madson全都都帮不
上忙。
是的，2017年时国民队也在处理这些问题(他们在阵容影响率排名第五)。但是这些伤病多
是分散的，并没有对球队的深度有很大的考验。
LACK OF ROTATION DEPTH
This felt like a problem area going all the way back to spring training. And
sure enough, it has proven to be a significant problem. The Nationals opened
the season with A.J. Cole as their fifth starter, then designated him for
assignment after Hellickson joined the rotation in mid-April. Erick Fedde was
going to be the sixth man waiting at Triple-A if needed, but he has made only
six starts and has spent the last seven weeks on the DL with a shoulder
injury.
So the Nats have been left to give 10 starts to Jefry Rodriguez, Tommy Milone
and Austin Voth, who collectively have a 6.07 ERA. The issue has become only
more significant, as Strasburg has missed the better part of 2 1/2 months
with shoulder and neck injuries and Gio Gonzalez has gone 1-8 with a 7.07 ERA
over his last 13 starts.
The biggest shame of all? Edwin Jackson, who opened the season in Syracuse
but opted out of his contract on June 1 (days before Strasburg and Hellickson
got hurt), now has a 2.58 ERA in 10 starts for the blazing-hot Athletics.
缺乏先发轮值深度
从今年春训，这像是个问题，现在也被证明是个极大问题。国民队用了A.J. Cole做为开
季的五号先发投手，却在Hellickson加入了4月中旬轮换阵容后DFA了他。如果需要的话，
Erick Fedde将成为放在3A做为备胎，但是他却只有先发6次就因肩部受伤而在DL上度过
最近7礼拜。
所以后来国民也给了Jefry Rodriguez ， Tommy Milone和Austin Voth 10次;先发机会，
他们一共贡献出6.07的ERA。随者Strasburg肩颈受伤而错过了2个半月，加上
过去的13场比赛中，Gio Gonzalez缴出1胜8败 7.07的ERA的成绩，种种因素让先发问题变
得更加严重。。
最丢脸的是什么呢? Edwin Jackson，他开季在国民3A，但在6月1日选择跳脱合约(在
Strasburg 和Hellickson受伤之前)，现在在火热的运动家并且10场先发缴出ERA2.58。
THE CATCHING PROBLEM
Yes, here’s another area that everyone knew was a problem last winter but
wasn’t adequately addressed before opening day. The Nationals had the majors
’ least-productive catchers in 2017. Wieters, who was under contract for
$10.5 million, wasn’t going to be dropped. But the hope was that he would
have a solid No. 2 to help out and potentially take over as the No. 1, if
merited.
The problem: Miguel Montero was signed shortly before spring training, then
was dumped only a week in after going 0-for-11 at the plate. Pedro Severino,
the organization’s longstanding hope for catcher of the future, was abysmal,
hitting .171 with a .510 OPS over 203 plate appearances, and was sent back to
Syracuse. Spencer Kieboom, the 27-year-old rookie, has done his best to help
out Wieters, but while he has done a nice job behind the plate, he’s
severely lacking at the plate.
Wieters, to be fair, has turned it around of late and is batting .375 over
his last 11 games. But over the big picture, the Nationals still have the
least productive catchers in baseball for the second straight season.
捕手问题
是的，这是另一个部分，去年冬天每个人都知道这个问题，但在开季前没有充分解决。
2017年，国民队拥有大联盟中最没贡献的捕手。Wieters还在1050万美元的合约中，并未
被放弃。但对他期望是能当个稳定的二号，如果能的话甚至找回一号捕手潜力。
Pedro Severino ，国民队希望的捕手长期解，打得非常糟糕，203个打数中打击率.171
OPS .510，并被送回Syracuse(国民3A). Synns Kieboom，这位27岁的新秀，已尽全力帮
助Wiessers，但虽然他在本垒后的工作做得很好，但是他缺乏火力。
平心而论，Wieters正在好转，并在过去的11场比赛中打击率.375。但总的来说，国民队
已经连续二个赛季在捕手这位子上没贡献度。
LACK OF EXPERIENCED LEFTIES
The Nationals opened the season with four left-handers in their bullpen. That
should be a sign of strength, but it wasn’t. Doolittle wasn’t a problem; he
was one of the best closers in the majors before injuring his foot in July.
But the club’s three other southpaws (Sammy Solís, Matt Grace, Enny Romero)
didn’t have much track record and didn’t perform well when called upon to
get big outs late.
Grace has shown himself to be the most effective of the group, though more as
a full-inning or even long reliever than as a matchup lefty. Solís continues
to aggravate with his struggles in big spots and just earned his second
demotion of the summer. Romero had a great arm, but was dumped after only two
appearances and has now pitched for the Pirates and Royals this season, as
well.
Tim Collins has done better when given a chance, but the Nationals’ lack of
a lockdown lefty (a position that doesn’t usually cost much) has proven to
be a major problem all season.
缺乏有经验的左手牛
国民开季有4个左投手在牛棚，这应该是一个强力牛棚的象征，但不是。Doolittle 很好
，他是7月受伤前是联盟最强的终结者之一。但球队的另外三个左撇子((Sammy Solís,
Matt Grace, Enny Romero)并没有太多的比赛功劳，并且在关键的后段局数表现不佳。
Grace 已经证明自己是球队中最有效的球员，但他更像是一般牛或是长救援而不是针对强
力左打的左牛。Solís 继续挣扎，并且刚得到今年的第二次下放。Romero 有一个很好的
手臂，但仅在两次出场后被丢了，然后现在为海盗和皇家队效力。
国民队缺乏牛棚左牛(这位置不用花什么钱)已被证明成为整个赛季的问题。
A ROOKIE MANAGER AND NEW COACHING STAFF
Yes, Davey Martinez has to be included in any discussion of what has gone
wrong this season. Some will argue he’s the No. 1 reason for the Nats’
struggles. The take here is that’s not a fair assessment. No manager (even
Dusty Baker) could overcome all the aforementioned issues and run away with
the division this year. Also, Martinez genuinely seems to be liked and
respected by the vast majority of the clubhouse.
That said, has the rookie skipper made some rookie mistakes? Yes. His bullpen
management has left something to be desired. (Though, to be fair, there are
very few managers truly effective in this department.) His ever-changing
lineup combos haven’t helped that group find some needed stability.
Any discussion of the manager, though, also has to include his coaching
staff. Remember, the Nationals didn’t just fire Baker, they fired the entire
staff except for third base coach Bob Henley. The Mike Maddux-Derek
Lilliquist swap seems to have had a negative effect, with few pitchers ever
even mentioning their position coach when discussing matters positive or
negative. (Maddux’s name used to come up all the time.) Hitting coach Kevin
Long gets more positive reviews from his players, and the resurgence of the
lineup now that that group is healthy has taken some heat off Long. But
defense and baserunning remain problem areas for this team, and the coaching
staff almost always deserves some of the blame when that happens.
菜鸟教头和新教练团
是的，如果有任何今年打这么糟的讨论一定要提Davey Martinez.有人认为它是造成国民
今年困境的第一元凶。但这评论并不公平，没有任何总教练（即使是 Dusty Baker）能克
服前述的问题。而且，Martinez 受到了球队绝大多数人的喜爱和尊重。
那是不是说 菜鸟船长犯了低级错误。是的，他的牛棚管理还有一些不足之处(虽然，这边
很少总教练会有正确牛棚使用说明书)。他不断变化的打序组合也没有帮助团队找到稳定
性。
任何与总教练相关的讨论也必须包含他身后教练团。要记得，国民队并不只是解雇Baker
，而是除了三垒教练Bob Henley之外，他们解雇了整个教练团。Mike Maddux-Derek
Lilliquist互换似乎产生了负面影响，很少有投手在讨论积极或消极的事情时还提及他们
的投手教练。 （Maddux的名字过去常常出现。）打击教练Kevin Long从他的球员那里获
得了积极的评价，但现在团队缺少热情。 防守和跑垒仍然是这支球队的问题所在，错误
发生时教练团应该受到指责。
THE MUCH-IMPROVED BRAVES AND PHILLIES
One reason the 2017 Nationals were able to run away with the National League
East despite injuries to their lineup and ineffectiveness of their bullpen in
the first half was the simple fact no one else in the division was ready to
challenge them. The Mets once again were hoping for the impossible: a healthy
rotation and lineup despite all kinds of injury histories. The Braves and
Phillies weren’t ready to contend yet. The Marlins were ... well, the
Marlins.
That’s not the case this season. Atlanta and Philadelphia each entered the
season with reason to believe improvement was coming. Consensus opinion was
that both teams were probably another year away (moreso in the Braves’ case)
but it turns out both teams were ready to win now.
进步很多的勇士和费城人
尽管阵容受伤以及上半季他们的牛棚效率低下，2017年国民队能够在国联东区拉开的原因
，就是没有其他人挑战他们。勇士队和费城人队还没准备好。大都会队无视各式各样的伤
病史，又一次梦想着不可能的事情：健康的轮换和阵容。马林鱼队......好吧，马林鱼队。
而今年赛季不同于去年。勇士队和费城人队伴随着自信心开季，虽然大家认为两支球队可
能还要等一年，但事实证明两支球队都准备好现在要赢了。
And so here we are on Aug. 20, and it’s the Braves and Phillies sitting atop
the division, preparing to engage in a compelling pennant race with each
other, while the Nationals are stuck seven games back, hoping they haven’t
run out of time to thrust themselves back into the mix.
所以我们在8月20日这时，看着勇士队和费城人队坐在分区龙头，准备参加季后赛，而国
民队则落后了7场，希望他们仍有时间追上。