WASHINGTON — Despite leading the Majors in errors after eight games, Nationals manager Matt Williams insists Ian Desmond’s defensive ineptitude “will work itself out.”
The Nationals, with nine errors, only trail the Yankees in defensive gaffes. Desmond is credited with six of those.
“It sucks,” Desmond said after an 8-7 loss to the Red Sox. “I don’t know what to do. I’m doing everything I can. Sitting here answering questions after every game is brutal. But, I mean, what am I gonna do?”
Fair or unfair, Desmond’s latest error in Tuesday’s loss was the start of a three-run seventh-inning Red Sox rally, which saw the Nationals lose the lead and then give up the go-ahead run. He was at fault for the go-ahead run, too.
And, if errors were charged for throwing to first, instead attempting to nail the lead runner at home, he would have seven.
“We know with Desi that the more he gets into the season, the more he gets into the rhythm,” Williams said Wednesday morning in his weekly radio interview with The Sports Junkies.
“It hasn’t gone well for him so far, defensively,” he said. “But one of my jobs as a manager is to show support for our guys, and let them know that, ‘Hey, listen, I got you. I’m gonna keep putting you in the lineup because you’re so dynamic in every aspect of the game.’ And it will work itself out. And, at the same time, we’ll work on it.”
Desmond has already reached his yearly April average for errors, dating back to 2010, only eight games into 2015.
“So, you know, it’s like, okay, you give him a day off, and say, ‘Okay, take a break,'” Williams said. “He’s gonna get one at some point. The issue is, he doesn’t want one.”
But, he’s struggled at the plate, too.
“I don’t want him out of the lineup either,” Williams said of Desmond, who’s averaging .200 at the plate after 30 at-bats. “I want him in there. I want him in there to slug a double, or steal a base, or make a great play, like he did last night trying to turn that double play ball. The ball is to his right, he comes and gets it, bends over running toward third base and makes a strong throw to Danny [Espinosa], and we almost got two on a really fast guy. I look at those things too, you guys, because it’s important for me, too. It’s important for me to understand that this game is not easy, and it’s difficult to win. We have to give ourselves the best chance, of course.”
Three of Desmond’s six hits on the season did come in last night’s game, in which the shortstop doubled, scored a run and had 2 RBI.
“He’s starting to see the ball better at the plate,” said Williams. “And, he’s one of our most important guys. So I’m not gonna do anything but support the man because he plays the game the right way. And we’ll keep working. That’s all we can do.”
Burke & Herbert Bank ‘Fan Question of the Week':
Q: So far, Tanner Roark’s been used mostly in mop-up duty. Given he is one of the most talented pitchers on the staff, would you consider using him in a setup role giving more importance to his innings? – Michael in D.C.
A: “Of course we would,” Williams answered. “His innings are important, regardless. As we saw two days ago, he’s also a guy that can go multiple innings for us. So if you start playing extra-inning games, and then you get a game like we got Day 1 here, then you have to somebody that can eat those innings. Tanner can do that. So he will float, to answer the question. He floats all over the bullpen. But the fact that he does have the ability to throw multiple innings give him opportunity to do that as well.”
Listen to the full interview here.
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