Harry Reid Has Some Advice for Washington Nationals
Trea Turner 'has no arm', team needs more pitching, Reid says
LAS VEGAS, Nev. — When Harry Reid isn’t following 2016 politics, he’s following the baseball playoffs, and he has some advice for the now-eliminated Washington Nationals.
“I’ve watched them closely, listened to them, all of them,” the Senate Minority Leader said. “It’s obvious the Nationals have to have a centerfielder. Trea Turner’s a shortstop or — he’s an infielder. He has no arm,” the Nevada Democrat said in an interview between campaign stops in Reno and Sparks. “You’ve heard all the pundits that he doesn’t play centerfield very well. He heads in the wrong direction, which, if it weren’t for his blinding speed, it would be a lot worse than it has been.”
Turner, the phenom speedster who was inserted atop the lineup over the summer by Nationals manager Dusty Baker, helped propel the team to one of the best records in the National League in the regular season.
But Turner and his teammates’ bats could not overcome the Los Angeles Dodgers.
“You know I’m not close to Dusty Baker like I was [to former manager] Matt Williams, but I like Dusty and I think he knows he has to get a centerfielder, and I would suggest he get one and put Trea Turner at shortstop.”
“This new catcher may be OK, but he can’t win anything with two pitchers. That’s all he has now,” Reid told Roll Call. “Strasburg’s hurt all the time.”
Former ace Stephen Strasburg’s most recent injury was described as a partially torn pronator tendon. Starting catcher Wilson Ramos was also sidelined from the division series with a serious knee injury.
So now Reid, who has been a Nationals fan — and particularly of superstar rightfielder and Nevada native Bryce Harper — is all-in behind the American League’s Cleveland Indians.
“Going back to 1949 and ’50, I’ve always been a fan of the Cleveland Indians,” Reid said. “My favorite team of all time, and I can give you the lineup for the world champion Cleveland Indians.”
Reid then proceeded to rattle off most of the lineup and the pitching rotation for that team, which won the 1948 World Series, the most recent for the franchise.
