Nats Bullpen: Nightmare on Elm Street

On April 8th, Washington National's fans are dealing with that same old nightmare, a bullpin that's scraping the bottom of the league barrel this season.

Early hopes after spring training that this mismatched crew could surprise everyone have vanished fast.

Now, it feels like the gnats need to drop 9 or 10 runs just to have a fighting chance, because the relief pitching keeps coughing up leads left, and, right?

Take George Soriano, for example, the gnats grabbed him off waivers, then designated him for assignment, and shipped him out for Andre Grinillo.

Last night, Soriano threw two scoreless innings with a fastball touching the upper 90s, plus nasty changeups and sliders.

Meanwhile, Grinillo's slider-heavy stuff bombed in the majors, and he got demoted to the minors.

Fans are beyond frustrated, and it's hitting hard because this bullpin mess has plagued the team for years.

Even back in the 2010s when the gnats were contenders, relievers were often the weak link.

In their 2019 World Series run, the bullpin ranks near the bottom, saved only by starters stepping up in relief roles.

Young fans might not even recall a truly solid unit.

Right now, no one's ready for high-leveraged spots. Clayton beaters the closest, but his wildness kills reliability.

Last year's hopefuls like PJ Polin and Cole Henry are stumbling too.

Polin with walks and homers, Henry fooling stats, but failing to strand runners.

Or, lockdown extras.

Walks to lead off hitters followed by big blasts have become the predictable script.

Paul Taboni's got to face facts and shake things up, grabbing waivers, free agents, or minor leakers to test the waters.

The offense is carrying the load, but without bullpin fixes, it'll be a long year of heartbreak.

Here's hoping a few arms stick and turn this embarrassment around before it's too late.

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