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2018 Washington Nationals - Weak Cheese

@DCGoldPants

By @DCGoldPants
in The Tailgate

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samy316

samy316

Posted
Posted

I predict somewhere between 87-93 wins.  I don't see us replicating the offensive firepower that served us well in the regular season last year.  I see Rendon and Zimmerman going back to career averages batting wise, and Murphy to struggle some after he comes back from his injury.  The person I'm most concerned about is Zimmerman.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him fall off a cliff BA & HR wise compared to what he put up last year.  We might've seen the best of Zimmerman, and he will descend into the abyss as he gets older.

 

I think we'll win the division by an easy 10-15 games.  The Mets will end up being the second best team in the division, but they will scratch and claw to maybe get to 80 wins.  I see the Cubs winning 98 games, and I also see the Dodgers winning 100+ games (they always kill the regular season).  I wouldn't be surprised to see one or both wild card teams with better records than the Nats.  My wildcard teams this year are Milwaukee and Arizona.

 

For the first time, I see the Nats being the road team in the NLDS (at this point, it would be welcome).  I would rather the Nats be the road team in the NLDS, just so that we don't suffer another crushing Game 5 loss at Nats Park.  There have been too many of those already.  If we were to lose Game 5 this year, I'd rather it happen at Wrigley Field, or Dodger Stadium.

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Warhead36

Warhead36

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, skinsfan_1215 said:

I’m on record as being pessimistic about this season. I’d put our win total somewhere between 88-92. 

 

We’ll still take the division by at least 5 games. 

I mean anything is possible but the way I see it:

 

We still have very strong starting pitching at the top with Scherzer and Stras. Gio for all his playoff faults is still at worst a solid #3 regular season starter. The bottom end might not be great but how many teams have good #4/#5 guys anyway?

 

The lineup might drop off a little but I don't expect too much. The big dropoff candidates are Murphy and Zimmerman, but that should be made up for by Werth being replaced by Eaton. I also think Harper will have another monster, 2015 type season.

 

We'll have a good bullpen from start to finish instead of only about half the year.

 

The division still sucks. I mean the Mets might be healthier and the Phillies might improve but the Braves still suck and the Marlins gutted their team.

 

 

The big question mark of course is new skipper Dave Martinez. Never know with rookie Managers but by all counts the guy is bright and knows how to manage egos. I think coaching alongside Maddon means he'll know how to handle expectations. He has extensive experience as a bench coach which is always the Manager's #2 so its not like a Matt Williams situation(Williams was a base coach before being Manager and clearly it showed).

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Riggo#44

Riggo#44

Posted
Posted

The potential drop off from Murphy, Zimmerman, MAT, and maybe Rendon (although I don't see Tony dropping off that much), are potentially offset by a full season of Eaton, Turner, and Harper; with Robles waiting in the wings. Robles, Turner, and Eaton back-to-back-to-back--we'll have catchers begging to sign with us next year.

 

Our bullpen was a steaming pile of **** not even an Eagles fan would eat. With the Lawfirm back in place, this can't possibly be worse. I so, so, so want Glover to make that leap that Rivero made last year. He has the stuff and moxie.

 

We relied on Ejax, AJ Cole and...oh...wait. Thats the same. I have a feeling Rizzo looked at the SP market, what the Nats had, and felt it was better to see what we have, rather than spend millions on a marginal improvement. Cobb and Lynn had 4-something FIPs. Arrieta is a breakdown looking to happen. I also think Wil Crowe will be a fast riser, and will be up in the 2nd half.

 

I think we'll be in the mid-90s for wins, and the #2 seed. NL Central is more difficult, and we're better than the Cubs. ****in Matt Wieters...

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DC9

DC9

Posted
Posted

Wow... I'm probably one of the bigger debbie-downers on the board and I think if Eaton comes back healthy we will have no problem scoring runs.  We were scoring ridiculous runs with him early last year.  I don't expect 10-20 per game, which did happen, but I think we'll be just fine. 

 

My concern will be with 4th and 5th starters and the consistency there. 

 

I think this will be a fun team to watch with a little luck in the health department.

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Dan T.

Dan T.

Posted
Posted

WP article today by Jorge Castillo says that Matt Wieters comes into camp 18 pounds lighter than the end of last season, committed to prove that his crappy 2017 season was an anomaly.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/nationals-journal/wp/2018/02/14/for-matt-wieters-getting-in-shape-is-more-than-talk-his-career-depends-on-it/?utm_term=.4242d714a2ef

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Riggo#44

Riggo#44

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, Dan T. said:

WP article today by Jorge Castillo says that Matt Wieters comes into camp 18 pounds lighter than the end of last season, committed to prove that his crappy 2017 season was an anomaly.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/nationals-journal/wp/2018/02/14/for-matt-wieters-getting-in-shape-is-more-than-talk-his-career-depends-on-it/?utm_term=.4242d714a2ef

 

facilicare-siren.gif

BEST SHAPE OF HIS LIFE ALERT!!!!!!

All kidding aside, I love the Post's coverage of the team, but when it comes to Matt Wieners (not a typo), I'll believe it when I see it.

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