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It's Nearly Baseball...

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Sat, Jul 13 2013 8:02 AM (20 replies)
  • JaLaBar
    1,254 Posts
    Sun, Jan 27 2013 10:18 AM

    I have been waiting patiently...

    My Nationals are... they...

    They have almost rendered me speechless... almost.

    I do not see a weakness.  Top to bottom.

    Denard Span

    (2013 MVP) Bryce Harper

    Ryan Zimmerman

    Adam Laroche

    Jayson Werth

    Ian Desmond

    Danny Espinosa

    Kurt Suzuki (or Wilson Ramos when fully healed)

     

    Every spot but Span is a double digit home run potential, all but Suzuki being 20+, they have 4 guy who will likely be around 20+ SB.  Everybodys gonna give you .270 plus.  And a few bodys could give you a whole lot more.  Zimmerman, Laroche, and Harper will probably all have 30+ HRs, Desmond may as well, and Espinosa and Werth should be in the 20+ range.  I honestly have Harper as my MVP favorite right now in the NL.  I think the improvement you saw in Mike Trout is the same as that you saw DURING last season for Harper, and he's going to be a .300/.400/.550+ beast next year with 30-30 thrown in, maybe 100 RBI and 120 R.

    Defensively, they should be as good or better than any team in baseball.  Period.  Every outfielder is a sure glove with range and a good to great arm (Harper will have the best arm in the majors for a left-fielder).  Every infielder has a sure glove with range and a good arm (Zimmerman's arm can be erratic, which is why bringing back the gold-glove Laroche was so important).  Both catchers handle pitchers well, play their position well, and have excellent arms.

    Then there is the pitching staff.  Top to bottom the best in baseball, and maybe a historically good staff, depending on a couple factors.  The main, most prominent, as it is for all teams, is health.  If everyone stays healthy, this team has the potential to be historically stingy.  You have a high strikeout, fantastic pitching staff, a fantastic defense behind them, and the ability to potentially have a lot of 6 inning games.

    The starting rotation has the potential to be the best, at least, since the 90s Braves staffs.  It starts with a (relatively) unfettered Stephen Strasburg, whom Nats brass has said they'd like to see throw 200 IP.  If he does, he's my favorite for NL Cy.  I think the shutdown last year is going to motivate the young man beyond belief to say "Shut this down!".  I am super excited to see him pitch this year.  At #2 you have last year's #3 finisher in the 2012 NL Cy race in Gio Gonzales who won 21 with a sub-3.00 ERA, Jordan Zimmermann who got really bad run support and finished 12-8 with a sub-3.00 ERA.  Ross Detwiler at #4, last year was the hardest starter for leftys to hit in the majors, and finished with a sub 3.50 ERA.  And their number 5 starter (how many team's would he be #2 on?) is Dan Haren, who has spent the last 5 years or so on the fringes of the Cy Young race himself.  He is one of those factors that could decide just how good this rotation is.  He was injured last season, but still put up Perfectly Respectable Stats for a major league pitcher, yet a step or two below the norm for him.  If he reverts back (or forward, if you will) to his career norms, he becomes essentially another Ace on a rotation chock full of them.

    Then there is the bullpen.  They have three of the top 12 or so closers in baseball in Soriano, Storen, and Clippard.  They have the ability to turn close games into 6 inning affairs when they are all on their games.  Beyond that, they return Mattheus and Stammen who were integral parts of their 'pen last year.  They brought in Bray as a lefty specialist, as he has been one of the better lefty specialists in baseball over the past few years.  They also have Christian Garcia, who was lights out last year out of the pen but I believe will start this season in AAA working on being a starter.  He has electric stuff.

    This team also has major league bats on the bench in Lombardozzi and Tyler Moore, and I think Chad Tracy is returning as well.  Wilson Ramos will start the season on the bench as (probably) the best back-up catcher in baseball, though he and Suzuki may switch places by season's end.  Ramos is the future of the position in DC.

    And then they have Davey Johnson, reigning NL Manager of the Year.  No weaknesses on the bench either, as Davey should solidify what has been a HoF-caliber career in baseball.

    In short, I expect this team to once again have baseball's best record (in a loaded NL... see also Braves, Dodgers, Reds, Giants... and don't forget Philly).  I expect the bullpen not to implode due mostly to fatigue in the post-season this time (plus having Stras to start some of the games).  I expect them to go to, and win, the first World Series title in DC since Walter Johnson in the 20s.  And cement Davey Johnson's HoF credentials.

  • YankeeJim
    25,827 Posts
    Sun, Jan 27 2013 10:26 AM

    Nothing like the Boys of Summer about to get the kinks out in Spring Training. P and Cs report the Sunday after the Super Bowl. Makes the winter nice and short.

    Oh yeah, this is the time when the Red Sox win the World Series.  LOL

    Just for you, JLB-Baltimore/Washington in the WS-old times, new times.  :-)

  • JaLaBar
    1,254 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 12:27 PM

    I do not see the Orioles in the WS.  The Nats, yes definitely.  Despite the Braves aquisition of the Uptons, the Nats have TOO much pitching.  But the Orioles haven't gotten appreciably better this offseason.  Having Machado for the full year will help, and they have some arms in the minors that should help this year.  But Toronto and California have gotten better, Oakland and Texas haven't gotten worse, Tampa may be better, and the Yankees are still probably better than Baltimore.  I don't see the current Yanks as a WS team either though.  They have too much invested in OLD players right now.  I understand the need to be loyal to those that brought many titles to NY, but they are going to be better off when they can reload without upsetting revered stars and loyal fans.  They need to take a page from the Lerner's in DC and rebuild the farm system so they can use free agency to ENHANCE, rather than as the main building tool.  That is what made the Yanks great, (Rivera, Jeter, Posada, Pettite) but Cano is the only STAR they have produced for themselves in a while.

  • YankeeJim
    25,827 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 2:51 PM

    This remains to be seen and is folly to think about in February. Winners know how to win. Chemistry and smarts are what make them great. They'll be in the mix until the end. Pray your stars can make the entire season. They will be fun to follow, might even get me back in the National League.  :-)

  • mkg335
    5,491 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 4:04 PM

    All I have to say is...Up, Up, and a-Hey!  Potentially the best OF in baseball.  Braves are weak at 3rd, but the bats should improve and pitching, especially the bullpen, should be very good.

    Play ball!

  • borntobesting
    9,685 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 4:25 PM

    JaLaBar:
    Cano is the only STAR they have produced for themselves in a while.

    Huh? Cano was not produced by the Yankees he was another stupid mistake made by the hapless Cubs. They get a decent prospect and then trade him away. Who that is old enough can ever forget this trade. 

    The trade looked innocent enough at the time. The Cardinals would trade two past 20 game winners in Ernie Broglio and the aging Bobby Shantz to the Cubs. The Cubs were willing to part with Lou Brock who in 2 plus seasons had stolen only 50 bases and was hitting around the .300 mark. Both teams were hoping to become enriched by the trade. As it turned out, the Cards got a real steal and the Cubs may have gone down as executing the most lopsided trade in baseball 

  • salamii
    1,058 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 4:51 PM

    JaLaBar:
    the Nats have TOO much pitching.

    There is no such thing too much pitching. The Giants have proved that the last few years. A great manager as well as team chemistry trumps a lineup full of egos

    The proof is in the rings.

    Go Niners ..

  • JaLaBar
    1,254 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 5:44 PM

    salamii:

    JaLaBar:
    the Nats have TOO much pitching.

    There is no such thing too much pitching. The Giants have proved that the last few years. A great manager as well as team chemistry trumps a lineup full of egos

    The proof is in the rings.

    Go Niners ..

    I kinda meant the Nats have too much pitching for the Braves to top.  One can never have too much pitching.

    Sting - Yeah, but he basically broke in with the Yanks.  He wasn't an established star before they acquired him, as has been their MO recently (see Granderson, Texeiera, Martin, Sabathia, Ichiro, others).

     

    I think the Angels might have some say in that 'best outfield in baseball' comment, and the Nats are not far behind.  I think the Angels will have the best offensive outfield in baseball (Hamilton, Trout, Trumbo), and the Nats will have the best defensive outfield in baseball (Span, Harper, Werth) but the Braves may have the best all-around.  People are touting the Upton trade, and uniting him with his brother may rejuvenate both of them, but remember, the Braves gave up a heck of a player in Prado, and one who has made a habit of tormenting the Nationals.

  • JaLaBar
    1,254 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 5:46 PM

    YankeeJim:
    Pray your stars can make the entire season.

     

    Isn't that always the great unknown?  Not only for what can be lost, but what might be gained.  Your Yanks know about that... just ask the spirit of Wally Pipp.

  • JaLaBar
    1,254 Posts
    Mon, Jan 28 2013 5:52 PM

    borntobesting:
    As it turned out, the Cards got a real steal and the Cubs may have gone down as executing the most lopsided trade in baseball 

    NO!!!  The worst trade, hands down, in baseball history was executed by the Baltimore Orioles.  They traded Steve Finley (multiple time all-star in the NL and AL), Pete Harnish (won double digit games at least twice for Houston) and a guy named Schilling to the Astros for a cup of coffee from Glenn Davis.

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