With deadline looming, Nats keep losing
Foster Griffin and his teammates have tried to block out the noise of trade rumors, but Friday night's loss to the Braves only intensified the talk
ATLANTA – For 90 minutes Friday night, Foster Griffin was allowed to reside in his happy place. Which is to say, the pitcher’s mound. The stoic Nationals left-hander is a competitor, first and foremost, and after a week of unavoidable trade deadline rumors, the opportunity to start this game against the Braves offered him a chance to block out everything else and just focus on his craft.
If only it was that simple.
Whether Griffin’s surprisingly substandard performance Friday night – six runs allowed over 5 1/3 innings during a 6-2 loss – was a product of poor execution, Atlanta’s growing familiarity with him or the distraction of the trade deadline is impossible to know. But it’s not inappropriate to wonder if it was some combination of all three factors. And Griffin himself wasn’t about to deny the possibility.
“Truthfully, I’m human, right? It’s not easy,” he said. “The last week or so has been ... it is what it is. But we’re professionals, right? It’s part of the job. Still have to go out there and play and execute. So that’s not an excuse for how things went tonight. But that’s just the situation I’m in right now.”
