Adam LaRoche on Nationals: “We’ve Played Like Crap”

The Nationals -- you know, the "World Series or bust" Nationals -- are certainly not looking like a team that will be playing in October.

Okay, so it's early June and the baseball season still has about 1,000 games left (read: 105), but the 28-29 Nationals lost ground on the division-leading Braves this weekend, losing two of three to fall 6.5 games behind their NL East rivals.

Washington is batting .229 as a team, 28th out of 30 major-league teams, and has scored only 197 runs, 27th. Its roster has been decimated by injuries to key players. Manager Davey Johnson is starting to look like Colonel Sanders.

I could bloviate about the Nationals' struggles, but I think you'd rather hear from first baseman Adam LaRoche, who certainly has a way with words.

"We deserve to be where we're at right now," he told reporters after Washington's 6-3 loss Sunday. "We've played like crap, and still not in awful shape. It only goes so far, we're pretty deep into the season. We've got to get it going or else we won't be there in the end. I don't sense any panic or anyone stressing over it, but it'd be nice to pick it up a little."

The Nationals return home to face the Mets in a three-game series starting Tuesday.