Without Morgan, the Nationals Go Nowhere

Posted by Jeff Bergin on Sep. 3, 2009 at 9:05 AM
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This season has been marked by events rather than by wins, whether it be Zimmerman's 30 game hit streak, the signing of Stephen Strasburg, the hiring of Mike Rizzo (and firing of Jim Bowden, Manny Acta), or the trade for Nyjer Morgan.  On the last piece, Morgan, that event was a sparkplug that got this team going, however since his broken hand, this team has been listless and unable to compete on a nightly basis.

Here is a breakdown of this team when Morgan plays

• With Morgan 22-26
• Without Morgan 24-62

In the month of July, the Nationals as a team hit .278, were 5th in the league in runs, and surprisingly, 4th in the league in stolen bases with 19, which is more than they had in May and June combined. 

In August, the Nationals were second in the league with 19 stolen bases, and despite a .266 average, they were 5th in the NL in runs with 144. 

Nyjer Morgan went down with an injury on August 27th (and only had 1 plate appearance so we will count that game), and while some of those stats are in August, its important to look at how this team has fared with him out of the lineup:

• 1-6 record
• 14 total runs in 7 games (second to last in all of baseball)
• .194 batting average - second to last in ALL of baseball
• 3 stolen bases - 20th in ALL of baseball

While I dont see Morgan as the next coming of Willie Mays, his style fits well on this team as does his personality.  He is an aggressive player whose ability to get on base set the tone for the other solid hitters in this lineup.  Without him, the Nationals lose that table setter, and as a result, their offense has looked listless and lost ever since.  While this has been a bad break for 2009, fans can now look forward to the type of player who will be at the top of the lineup for all of 2010.  Lets hope Morgan picks up where he left off.