Will the Real Ryan Zimmerman Please Stand Up?

I could tell you how bad the captain, leader and face of the Washington Nationals has been this season... but he did a pretty good job of doing it after a loss to the Braves yesterday-

"I just stink right now.  It's frustrating."

Well, Ryan Zimmerman is right.  He has been terrible at the plate.  He has hit 9 doubles since coming back from injury.  He has hit into 7 double plays.  He is batting .233, and only has 2 home runs.  This isn't the production we are used to from one of the most clutch hitters over the past decade.  It used to be that, if the Nats needed a big hit late in a game and Zim was up, it was guaranteed that he would come through.  Now, I find myself at games begging him to strike out instead of grounding into a double play, just so Adam LaRoche can come up and bail us out.

The real shame about this situation?  There isn't as much pressure on him as there has been in years past.  LaRoche, Ian Desmond, and rookie sensations Steve Lombardozzi and Bryce Harper are getting on base and driving in runs.  Michael Morse just came back from the DL.  Jesus Flores and Danny Espinosa find ways to help the offense a little bit too.  Our pitchers hit better than almost any in baseball.  There is no need for Zim to force anything, but he is still trying too hard.  Maybe he will snap out of it soon.  He seems confident-

“That’s the beautiful thing about baseball.  I have four months left to turn it around. I’ve been terrible and a couple of other guys have been hurt and we’ve been in first-place the whole year. It’s definitely not what I wanted to do to start this season. I can’t do anything about it now. Just gotta keep working hard and continue to grind it out. It’ll change. It’s been like this before. You just have to stay positive and keep working.”

We will try to stay positive too, Zim.  Cause right now, for the fans, your struggles are driving us crazy.