“The whole last week in general has been a tough situation with the weather,” said reliever Drew Storen, the Nationals’ player representative. “There’s really not a whole lot you can do. It’s going to be less than ideal, but the weather is kind of out of our control.”
The Nationals will keep their pitching rotation in order, with Livan Hernandez, Jason Marquis and John Lannan pitching Saturday, Sunday and Monday. The rain delay means Lannan will pitch on normal rest, not three days’ rest as previously had been necessitated by their doubleheader Wednesday in St. Louis.
Even without rain, the Nationals had several early days off jammed into their schedule, including two in the first five days. Manager Jim Riggleman had been weary of so many scheduled days off, and that was before the Nationals became the soggiest team in baseball.
Last Sunday, the Nationals played a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers after having a game postponed Saturday. They had Monday off, as scheduled, and flew to St. Louis to start a series Tuesday. A storm that included hail, lightning and sirens indicating a tornado warning washed out that game and forced another doubleheader Wednesday.
So, in the past seven days, the Nationals have been idle four times. The delays will force Marquis, for example, to pitch on six days’ rest.
“We’ve had so many off days, we need to be playing,” Riggleman said. “Certainly, guys made plans for off days, stuff like that.”
The Nationals’ primary source of disappointment Friday derived from losing a day off at home Monday, a precious commodity for players who spend months on the road. The team had scheduled an Easter egg hunt, and several players had planned on attending with their families.
“Guys are just kind of frustrated,” Storen said. “It’s just not ideal. I think guys wanted that off day. The fact that we had a mutual off day between teams, they said you got to get the game in. Guys kind of just want to spend time with their family more than anything. If there’s any frustration, that’s why.”
From a competitive standpoint, the Nationals would have been fresh Tuesday, when they start a homestand against the New York Mets. Instead, they’ll be flying back to Washington late Monday night. “I think we would have liked to have played a Monday day game if we’re going to be here,” Riggleman said. “But that was not an option.”
The Nationals’ schedule — already “very chaotic,” Storen said — could become even more complicated this weekend. The potential for rain remains in Pittsburgh’s forecast through Monday, and Riggleman wondered if the Nationals may have to play a doubleheader either Sunday or Monday.
“You can’t fight the weather,” Riggleman said, “and we don’t know what we might get tomorrow.”
Loading...
Comments