ANALYSIS/OPINION:
BALTIMORE — Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer will be the standard-bearers for the Washington Nationals in Cincinnati on Tuesday for the All-Star Game.
Clint Robinson will be sitting on a beach in Ocean City. Michael Taylor will be heading home to Fort Lauderdale. Danny Espinosa will stay home in Virginia, while Tyler Moore will hang around Washington.
While the best of the best will be celebrated in the Midsummer Classic, there should be some recognition for the guys at the end of the Nationals’ bench who have helped Harper and Scherzer carry this team to a 48-39 record and first place in the National League East at the all-star break following a 3-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday.
There should be recognition for guys like Robinson, who singled to center with two outs in the top of the fourth inning; for guys like Dan Uggla, who followed with a single to right center, scoring Yunel Escobar to tie the score at 1-1; and for guys like Moore, who hit a two-run double to right field, the game-winner that put the Nationals up by two runs and handed them the series in Baltimore.
If there was an All-Star Game for opportunity, Robinson, Moore and the others would be at that game, instead of taking a vacation during the break.
Former Nationals manager Davey Johnson used to preach the importance of the bench, particularly in National League baseball. He had a strong one in 2012 with Moore, a rookie, who had 10 home runs and batted .263 in 75 games; Roger Bernandina, who had a career .291 average off the bench; and Steve Lombardozzi, who played a variety of positions off the bench while batting .273.
All of them struggled in 2013 — and so did the Nationals, a team that seems destined to have an all-star disabled list every year.
This year, though, in particular, the powerful starting nine has been beset by a tidal wave of injuries. When Washington took the field on Sunday at Camden Yards for the series finale against Baltimore, only four of the eight position players in the lineup were starters — Harper, Escobar, Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos.
Yet it was Moore who delivered the game-winning hit, set up by Robinson’s two-out single.
“You have to take advantage of the opportunities when they come,” said Moore, who is batting just .224 but has had four home runs and nine doubles, many in key situations in 125 at-bats.
“The bench players have performed admirably, and they are the reason we are where we are right now,” general manager Mike Rizzo said before Sunday’s game. “The best organizations have the best depth,” Rizzo said. “We feel good not only about our 25-man roster, but our 40-man roster. My job is to care take the 250-man roster, from the big leagues all the way down to the rookie leagues. We like the roster we have, we like the players that we have coming up, and it is a testament to our player development and scouting that we have had so many important players miss time and still have the depth to be where we are.”
The decisions on the 24th and 25th man on the roster are made at the end of spring training — and they seem inconsequential then. But they have proven to be the most important moves the Nationals have made — such as going with a career minor-leaguer like Robinson, a 30-year-old player with 13 major league at-bats before the season who is now batting .275 in 149 at-bats this year. He was kept over veteran Mike Carp, who was a key contributor to the Boston Red Sox’s championship season in 2013.
“One of the deciding factors for me, anyway, was the fact that Clint could play both outfield positions and first base,” Williams said. “And I felt his swing would play easier off the bench — less moving parts. Less margin for error. Back then, we’re not thinking about him playing first base every day. The consideration was, ’How does it play off the bench, and what opportunities would be there for him during the season off the bench in a big situation?’
“He has been big for us,” Williams said. “He has come up with huge hits for us. His versatility has been key as well. He’s played in the outfield, played first, hit in the middle of the order and delivered. You can’t ask for any more than that.”
While Harper and Scherzer will be introduced to the country on Tuesday as all-stars — and deservedly so — Robinson, Moore, Espinosa and the rest of the bench that has helped keep this team afloat have earned recognition as well.
“To all of their credit, they are all capable and ready to play at any moment and work hard to keep themselves ready,” Williams said. “That is a testament to them and their work ethic.”
• Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
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