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Nats’ Paul Toboni says it will take time before pitching returns develop

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NEW YORK — At a fundamental level, Washington Nationals pitchers have struggled in the three most important aspects of their jobs. They have not struck out enough hitters, limited damage in play or prevented walks. Fixing that, at its core, is the most challenging task that lies ahead for president of baseball operations Paul Toboni.

In the visitor’s dugout at Citi Field on Tuesday evening, Toboni said they are already seeing those improvements in the minor leagues. At the affiliates, they have seen an uptick in the quality of stuff, the velocity and the way they’re attacking hitters.

And yet: Toboni said it will take time to see significant improvements from the big league staff. Possibly a good bit of time.

“I’m not sure it’s going to play out here in a month, a year, even 18 months,” Toboni said. “But I am confident that, over the medium and long term, it’s going to start to show up. And when it shows up, it’s not going to be the end of it for us. We’re just going to continue to try and improve and drive those numbers over the course of time.”

This winter, Toboni inherited a group that did not have a track record of doing many of those things. Their relative inability to develop more velocity and nastier breaking pitches for years is part of the reason they’re so hamstrung now.

As such, almost all of Toboni’s offseason spending this winter — at least as it pertained to the big-league payroll — went towards the pitching staff.

The results have been mixed.

Foster Griffin and his 2.67 ERA has been a revelation, especially at a $5.5 million price tag. But Miles Mikolas is making $2.25 million and has an 8.49 ERA. Zack Littell, Tuesday night’s starter who was scooped up in the middle of spring training, has a 7.56 ERA and has given up more homers than anyone in MLB (11).

Toboni was asked about the decision to sign those three players, and his confidence in them moving forward. He said they will continue to stand by Littell, who he is confident will bounce back. He did not address how long of a leash Mikolas had.

They did nail the Griffin signing — or it looks as though they have so far — which gives some hints as to how they could succeed in the open market again. Since Griffin arrived from Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball, there isn’t a one-to-one comparison to traditional free agency. But this should give them an understanding moving forward of how available players can succeed when they have diverse arsenals and aggressive approaches.

“It’s been fun to watch him pitch in the early going,” Toboni said, “and hopefully, he can continue it over the course of the next few months.”

But that’s for another offseason. There’s still a big league season at play, one where the offense has shown up and the pitching has wavered.

In the short term, then, what is he using as a barometer for success on the mound?

“We’re attacking hitters at a decent rate, (but) I think where we were really struggling was putting hitters away,” Toboni said. “Just because that was a fact, doesn’t mean that we can’t attack hitters at an even higher rate. … I think the next step is, hopefully, to put hitters away at a higher clip, and our hope is that that happens over time.”

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Why does Robbie Ure have Robbie Ure on his Scotland shirt?

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“A lot of people will just call me, they’ll always say Robbie Ure,” the Sevilla striker explained.

“They wouldn’t just say Ure, so that was a reason.

“And then, to be honest, I think U-R-E is just so small, I just don’t really like it.

“So, I put my first name in as well. I’ve got it at club level too, I just prefer it.”

It’s his form for club – well, his previous club IK Sirius that earned him his summer move to Spain – that got him here, playing alongside Oli McBurnie as Pocognoli opted for a bold line-up as he made his bow in the dugout.

The aggressive, energetic style the Belgian prefers asks a lot of his strikers. In the three who featured – including Kieron Bowie who replaced Ure after 67 minutes – they have the legs required to do the power of work.

“I loved every minute of it,” the former Rangers youth said of his debut. “Obviously, disappointed not to win the game. With the second half performance we probably deserved to but making my debut for Scotland, it’s an amazing feeling and I’m really proud and hungry for more.

“The gaffer put the team up on the screen in the meeting and I saw my name. It was a great feeling but I still have a job to do so I tried to keep my emotions quite relaxed.”

He might have been hard-pressed to contain his emotions had his long, low drive -the only glimmer of hope in a grim first 45 minutes on Saturday – found the bottom corner rather than caressing the post.

After the break, his pal McBurnie, who “played really well” in his view, had a couple of cracking chances to open his international account on his 17th appearance as the Scots completely dominated.

“We changed the structure up front, I think Oli dropped in a little bit more on the left so was able to play really well with Robbo [Andy Robertson] and Billy [Gilmour], which helped us,” Ure explained of the switch at half-time.

“Hopefully our relationship will continue to grow, I really enjoyed it and thought he played really well.”

In the end, there were plenty of positives for Pocognoli as his side picked up a point in their Nations League opener.

Plenty for the Tartan Army to take away with them too as a new era begins, with Robbie Ure right part of it.

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Cavan Sullivan: The 16-year-old US debutant primed for the Premier League

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Rather than struggle with the weight of expectation, his performances have improved as the spotlight on him has brightened.

It appears he is already outgrowing the North American league, but it might be wise to allow him to play at this level, in his hometown, with his family around him (his brother Quinn, 22, also plays for the Union) for a little while longer, regardless of the other options open to him pre-City.

“I find him to be handling the pressure of everything pretty well,” added Tannenwald.

“Talk with him for long enough, and you’ll know he’s still a teenager, still finding his way with some things as any teen would.

“Yes, he can come across as cocky, but he’s well grounded, not just by Richter, but by having his oldest brother there in the locker room with him.

“Away from the stadium, Sullivan has a strong family at home. Both of his parents, Brendan and Heike, played soccer, and grandfather Larry went from a player in the 1960s to one of the most famous coaches in the Philadelphia region.

“They all keep Cavan grounded too, even as they know he is the best of all of them.”

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Injured Assefa narrowly misses world record in Berlin

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Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa wins the Berlin Marathon but narrowly misses out on breaking the women’s world record because of injury.

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