Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

The Washington Nationals Thread: The Future is Near!


Riggo#44

Recommended Posts

Well, over the entire decade, the Nats consistently made the playoffs by winning the division.  Lost Bryce Harper and won the WS by getting in as a WC.  I can see the Nats finding a way to get in again after losing Rendon.  You don’t always have to win your division.  We all know you can slump for a couple months, then get hot and sneak in as a WC.  Obviously you’d prefer to not have to play the pesky WC game.  It’s never easy to make the playoffs but the Nats have made a habit of getting in consistently.

Edited by -JB-
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Bacon said:

 

LOL this is something I never would have imagined a Nationals fan writing. One month of baseball completely changed our entire outlook on the playoffs as a fanbase and I love it.

 

its weird, but it fits. we are positioned well to win a 7 games series, but if i had to place a bet today, I would have us missing the playoffs

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, StillUnknown said:

  

its weird, but it fits. we are positioned well to win a 7 games series, but if i had to place a bet today, I would have us missing the playoffs

 

It would be a crushing disappointment not only for this fanbase but for this roster if they couldn't at least land the 5th most wins in the NL out of 15 teams. Purely in terms of talent, I would say they fall behind the Dodgers and Braves, but there is plenty of wiggle room after that to manage a wildcard win total.

 

I predict a less maddening regular season (is it possible to surpass 2019 in that regard?), but I think we'll see competence and professionalism with this solid veteran roster and an increasingly confident manager in his third season. Contrast that with the dizzying highs and baffling lows of the 2019 season.

Edited by Bacon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, StillUnknown said:

 

my biggest concern is that it leaves no room for natural regression from some pitchers who may be due to slide a little.

i'm


Scherzer has the potential for a fairly precipitous drop off. He was showing signs of it last year, even without the injury. Armor is starting to show a little rust around the edges. 
 

Sanchez is obviously up there but him falling off a bit wouldn’t hurt as much as Max. 
 

Stras should be fine, absent any hangover from playoff innings. Which does happen... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, -JB- said:

Who would you have making the playoffs over the Nats?

 

We lost 6+ WAR in Rendon.  Also had Stras in one of his healthiest seasons in his career.  A little injury bug, lack of replacement for Rendon, suddenly this team is in the mid 80's in wins, in the thick of things for the second wildcard spot.

 

Hopefully we've done enough to improve in other areas to offset, but it would not take some ridiculous scenario to see them miss out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, bearrock said:

 

We lost 6+ WAR in Rendon.  Also had Stras in one of his healthiest seasons in his career.  A little injury bug, lack of replacement for Rendon, suddenly this team is in the mid 80's in wins, in the thick of things for the second wildcard spot.

 

Hopefully we've done enough to improve in other areas to offset, but it would not take some ridiculous scenario to see them miss out.

People thought the same exact thing when we lost Harper.  🤷‍♂️

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, -JB- said:

People thought the same exact thing when we lost Harper.  🤷‍♂️

 

Nah we knew we could get by without Bryce because we had in house replacements and he wasnt at that mvp level anymore. 

 

We lost our one of the top 7 hitters in the league and replaced him with scraps so far. Lot of pressure on soto & eventually robles to pick up that slack

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, StillUnknown said:

 

Nah we knew we could get by without Bryce because we had in house replacements and he wasnt at that mvp level anymore. 

 

We lost our one of the top 7 hitters in the league and replaced him with scraps so far. Lot of pressure on soto & eventually robles to pick up that slack

That’s true, losing Harper when you have Soto, Robles & Eaton surely softens the blow but Rendon was a first time all-star this past season and it was also the first full season in which he got the luxury of hitting in front of Soto.  Coincidence?  He’s still a big bat to lose in any lineup I agree.  Do I think this automatically prevents the Nats from missing the playoffs?  Hell no.  Do we win the WS in ‘19 without him?  Hell no lol

Edited by -JB-
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/28/2019 at 12:49 PM, bearrock said:

 

That's the main thing on why I thought the front office needed to spend on Harper even after the FA additions.  Once Max and Stras are done (or opts out), we may be in steep decline because ace pitchers are simply not easy to find.  Having Max fall into our lap is a golden opportunity and FO should have overloaded during that opportunity to maximize our chance of a ring.  Now our best shot is Max holds on for 3-4 years at his level (not easy at all), Stras stays healthy, Corbin shows last year was his true level, Rendon resigns, Soto and Turner takes a step forward and Robles and Kiebloom pans out.  That's a lot of ifs.  Having a presence like Harper gives you some room for error if one of the above doesn't pan out.  At this point, our best hope may be one of Soto/Robles/Turner/Kiebloom turns out to be league elite level during Max's window.

 

On 2/28/2019 at 4:29 PM, bearrock said:

 

Even in a down year, his wRC+ was top 20.  Nationals have Rendon in top 10 and then after him and Harper, Turner was next in the 70's.  By way of comparison, Red Sox had 3 in top 21 (with 2 and 3) and 4 in top 50.  Dodgers had 4 in top 30-70.  Nationals have a decided gap in offensive production and we would need Turner to step up and someone else (most likely Soto) to take a step forward.  For a WS shot, the equation always should have been Harper and Rendon, not one or the other.  And that's not even banking on Harper replicating the best NL single season in WAR since juiced up Bonds.

 

On 3/1/2019 at 10:28 AM, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

I think it's pretty clear that he was getting special treatment and it caused fractures in the locker room.  It made us combustible, and I think management didn't want to be held hostage by his stardom and undue influence any more.  But that still begs the question of why not trade him?  Would have been nice to get something in return for him if you knew you didn't want to extend him.

 

I think things will be smoother and more consistent in the locker room, but it's going to be hard to replace Harper's offense.  Soto was a God send, but as others have said, he was supposed to be the third guy in the heart of the line up, alongside Bryce and Rendon.  Now it's just him and Rendon.  I like what we've got at the top of the order on paper, but a whole lot rests on Soto and Rendon, and I'm not really comfortable with that.  Nor am I comfortable hoping Dozier and Zimmerman can collectively get it done. 

 

Realistically, we probably need at least one more legit bat to field a championship caliber offense this season.

 

On 3/1/2019 at 10:53 AM, Warhead36 said:

The lineup is good. With Harper it would have been scary good, potentially best in the NL, but its still a lineup you can win with. I see us making a deal at the deadline for a big bat to push us over the top, kinda like what the Mets did with Cespedes a few years back.

 

On 3/1/2019 at 10:58 AM, StillUnknown said:

The lineup has the potential for a high variance of outcomes.

 

A healthy, steady zimm is going to be necessary this year

 

On 3/1/2019 at 12:47 PM, stevemcqueen1 said:

 

In the best possible scenario, Robles hits the ground running and proves good enough to lead off.

 

But if Eaton can stay healthy for a change, then there isn't that pressure on Robles to be good this season.

 

Like I said, I like our natural top of the order talent on paper.  It just needs to be healthy.

 

But we simply don't have reliable 5 and 6 hole options.  Like Still said, Zim is the key to the order.  If we get 600 PAs from him (not likely) then we would be fine.  But if we get less than 300 again, we are in trouble.

 

We'll also be screwed if Rendon gets hurt or Soto regresses.

 

This is what discussion of our offensive output looked like last season shortly after Harper left for Philly. We expected good things, but a dropoff was also anticipated.

 

The reality is that we can try to account for improvements, injuries, regressions, etc. but there is no way to predict the synergy of our players contributing to the team's success. Interactions like we saw in the second half of last season are exciting but mercurial. You can't count WAR to anticipate the confidence level our pitching and management will bring to the offense. I think we have a great organization and team with electric chemistry and that will carry us a long way next season.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 3/11/2019 at 12:29 PM, Barry.Randolphe said:

My guess for Bryce this season:

 

.255/26 HR/88 RBI....and a 3 week period on the DL after getting into an altercation with the Phanatic....that's not worth the salary, so he will receive boos when they miss the playoffs

 

I wasn't too far off....if he went on the DL for a week or two, it's probably dead on:

.260/35 HR/114 RBI

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/28/2019 at 4:27 PM, Bacon said:

Never forget: the Giants won nothing with Barry Bonds and began something of a dynasty a few years after he left. Sometimes losing the face of a franchise can lead to long term success. 

 

^^^^

 

D2G5lzSXcAEus6-.jpg:large

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 2/28/2019 at 7:27 PM, Bacon said:

Never forget: the Giants won nothing with Barry Bonds and began something of a dynasty a few years after he left. Sometimes losing the face of a franchise can lead to long term success. 

They had Posey, MadBum, Pence, and a bunch of JAGs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Bacon said:

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is what discussion of our offensive output looked like last season shortly after Harper left for Philly. We expected good things, but a dropoff was also anticipated.

 

The reality is that we can try to account for improvements, injuries, regressions, etc. but there is no way to predict the synergy of our players contributing to the team's success. Interactions like we saw in the second half of last season are exciting but mercurial. You can't count WAR to anticipate the confidence level our pitching and management will bring to the offense. I think we have a great organization and team with electric chemistry and that will carry us a long way next season.

 

We also couldnt foresee Kendrick putting up consistent all-star production whenever he was in the lineup

 

Another surprise year from someone else would go a long way to offsetting the loss of Rendon

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, StillUnknown said:

 

We also couldnt foresee Kendrick putting up consistent all-star production whenever he was in the lineup

 

Another surprise year from someone else would go a long way to offsetting the loss of Rendon

 

Eaton got really good in the second half of the year and playoffs. Overlooked performer for us last year. Castro also came on later in the year (killed Nats pitching last year). Robles could take a step forward. Zimmerman could sign and then put up a quality 100-120 game season. Or Thames could play 100 games and hit 25+ HR. Obviously some regression candidates too but there is some surprise performance potential. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is Thames an upgrade over Matt Adams? Their numbers look real similar.  And Big City seemed very well liked in the dugout.  He's also two years younger than Thames, not that it matters so much when these guys are year-to-year. 

 

Was Adams asking too much?  He's still unsigned.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, Dan T. said:

Is Thames an upgrade over Matt Adams? Their numbers look real similar.  And Big City seemed very well liked in the dugout.  He's also two years younger than Thames, not that it matters so much when these guys are year-to-year. 

 

Was Adams asking too much?  He's still unsigned.

It was pretty clear (after the parade) that Adams wasn't coming back. I can't remember exactly what it was (tweet/article/tv) but the Nats weren't gonna bring him back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

25 minutes ago, Dan T. said:

Is Thames an upgrade over Matt Adams? Their numbers look real similar.  And Big City seemed very well liked in the dugout.  He's also two years younger than Thames, not that it matters so much when these guys are year-to-year. 

 

Was Adams asking too much?  He's still unsigned.

 

Thames 2019 was similar to Adams 2018. Unfortunately Adams 2019, when we really needed him, was a significant dropoff from that production (injury I believe played a part). 

 

edit- that should read Adams 2H18, when he was with the Nats. His first half with the Cards was disappointing. Also, Thames has better HR #s over the past few years.

Edited by skinsfan_1215
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, skinsfan_1215 said:


Why? His only injury last year was a freak thing. 

 

Because he always gets pelted at the plate, I guess. Freak occurrence, sure. But some dudes just find the baseball more than others, whether it be stance or whatever. I feel like between that and hard contact when trying to steal a base, I always hold my breath

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...