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The Washington Nationals Thread: The Future is Near!


Riggo#44

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Since we're heading into a break, some thoughts on the first two series:

 

I think the team, as it is, has talent. With Eaton arguably the best he's ever been, plus Soto and Kendrick returning, I think the core of the lineup is pretty damn good. Turner and Robles obviously have a lot of talent and deserve to play every night. Castro brings a fair amount to the table. Cabrera is still hitting. And then there's Kieboom, who should be a regular starter and prove his worth as the replacement to one of the best Nats ever. If not in this relatively low stakes season, when? I like what he's shown so far. Overall, it's a pretty good lineup with some depth. Probably not as good as last year, but they can clearly hit.

 

IMO it's way too early to judge the pitching. We haven't even gone through the rotation twice and we had mixed results from Max and Fedde. But I don't think our starting pitching is keeping us out of games. The pen, well...it's been worse. Thank God for Daniel Hudson. I see it as a more talented group than we had last year, but the results have been spotty. 

 

Now, as for the vibe of the season, the thing with the Nats is that I really think we had (past tense) the kind of (N)attitude that could put a team over the top in this rather sad, soulless 2020 season. 2019 so often came down to who wanted it more and the Stay in the Fight Nats rose to the occasion. There were more talented teams in the league, on paper, than the 2019 Nats, but there was a great "old men going for one last score" vibe about it that was so endearing and the chemistry on the field was undeniable. 

 

But it wasn't one last score. Most of the team is still intact. We have one of the best hitters in baseball, one of the league's best young defensive players and the #21 prospect in baseball at third. All age 23 or under. Life goes on, but under the strangest circumstances imaginable. This year, it's so tempting to simply not give a damn. This team's exciting chemistry and love for the game could be an X factor. 

 

The problem is that I'm really not seeing it yet and that comes down to a number of factors. Rendon was such a rock for this team and there's no replacing him. We believed we could do anything with him in the lineup. Soto is the straw that stirs the drink and he's not playing. Strasburg is one of the best players in Nationals history and isn't starting. Mr. Grand Slam Howie Kendrick isn't starting. So, what the hell? 

 

There's a real danger of falling into complacency because it all seems so pointless and we've already seen the peak. But we really can do it again with this group at 100%. Grabbing one of 8 playoff seeds is not a big ask with a roster this talented and experienced. And once we get there, anything can happen. 

 

Besides getting healthy, I think the biggest factor to making another run is having confidence in our young guys. They've pretty much all been there at this point, so it's up to guys like Kieboom, Soto, Robles, Fedde, Rainey, etc to keep growing and keep the fire burning. They have long careers ahead of them and it's time to take up the mantle and be the exciting future that they represent. 

Edited by Bacon
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5 hours ago, -JB- said:

We couldn’t have won the WS without Rendon.  
 

HOWEVER

 

Stock Watch 2020

Carter Kieboom 4-9 .444 avg NATS 3-4

Anthony Rendon 1-9 .111 avg ANGELS 2-5

 

boom. 🙃

Anthony WHO?

 

Kidding of course. Rendon will be fine. Eventually he'll have a 4/5 type game and get red hot.

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12 hours ago, -JB- said:

We couldn’t have won the WS without Rendon.  
 

HOWEVER

 

Stock Watch 2020

Carter Kieboom 4-9 .444 avg NATS 3-4

Anthony Rendon 1-9 .111 avg ANGELS 2-5

 

boom. 🙃

 

Think I'll watch Astros/Angels tonight. Can check in on Tony and since it's the Astros there is a high probability of tomfoolery and/or chicanery. 

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The Angels are rough without Trout in the lineup. Tony had some good at bats, but they are getting outplayed with RISP. So I guess not much has changed in his situation. Terrible pitching makes it worse. 

 

In other news, I didn't notice that we're 4th in relief ERA with 1.50. I'm sure that's gonna hold up lmao

Edited by Bacon
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9 hours ago, Bacon said:

The Angels are rough without Trout in the lineup. Tony had some good at bats, but they are getting outplayed with RISP. So I guess not much has changed in his situation. Terrible pitching makes it worse. 

 

In other news, I didn't notice that we're 4th in relief ERA with 1.50. I'm sure that's gonna hold up lmao

Brian Goodwin is raking!

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