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***OFFICIAL*** Washington Nationals ongoing thread (4 Viewers)

I don't know how good a problem it is. Zimmerman almost seems like he wants to play LF. Rendon has earned the 3B job, his natural position. Espinosa is a flake who needs playing time and constant stroking but I still think he has a future at 2B. He sure is money on defense. And I don't think Matt Williams is just blowing smoke when he says he's having good ABs. I guess what I'm saying is I don't feel good about messing with 2B/3B right now. I'm back to wondering if they might trade La Roche.. but you just don't do that if you're contending.

 
JZilla said:
I don't know how good a problem it is. Zimmerman almost seems like he wants to play LF. Rendon has earned the 3B job, his natural position. Espinosa is a flake who needs playing time and constant stroking but I still think he has a future at 2B. He sure is money on defense. And I don't think Matt Williams is just blowing smoke when he says he's having good ABs. I guess what I'm saying is I don't feel good about messing with 2B/3B right now. I'm back to wondering if they might trade La Roche.. but you just don't do that if you're contending.
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I tend to think these sort of problems are exaggerated for two reasons. One is injury of course- if any of Zimmerman, Rendon, Espinosa, LaRoche, Span or Werth gets hurt before Harper returns than the "problem" is gone.

The other is that platoons, pinch-hitting and defensive replacements give guys plenty of chances to play even if they're not in the starting lineup. So say everyone is healthy on July 4th and they decide Span will be the odd man out of their default lineup. He's still pinch-hitting, pinch-running and/or a defensive replacement every night he doesn't start, plus he'd start any time you wanted to rest LaRoche against lefties (Span actually has a higher career OPS vs lefties than LaRoche even though he's also a lefty), and maybe when a low K, high flyball rate pitcher like Roark is on the mound for you. All of a sudden the guy that got "benched" is on the field for half the team's innings or more.

 
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Injury I agree with, but I don't think it's just a cliche that these guys crave consistency. It's an "OK" problem but I think there might be some unwanted side effects.

 
JZilla said:
Injury I agree with, but I don't think it's just a cliche that these guys crave consistency. It's an "OK" problem but I think there might be some unwanted side effects.
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Yeah maybe, I don't know. If Span Zim and Espi keep hitting this way maybe Harper will be the odd man out!

Perfect time for a huge sweep, by the way. Now they can afford to slip a bit on this brutal road trip without falling too far back. If you offered me 4-6 I'd probably take it.

 
JZilla said:
Doctor Detroit said:
FP Santangelo is so ####### awful. :X
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For a while I was just happy he wasn't Dibble, but he hasn't really gotten any better. Doesn't bother me. I find myself tuning those guys out more and more.
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I don't mind homerism like some people, but you have to second-guess plays and decisions once in a while. I was only half-listening to I may have missed it but I didn't hear either of the broadcast guys even question the decision to let the pitcher hit in the 5th yesterday with men on first and third and no outs and the Giants winning 2-1. Until the Giants put it out of reach late, that was the story of the game, you have to at least address it. Even if you (wrongly) think Williams was right you're not doing your job if you don't highlight the pros and cons there.

 
TobiasFunke said:
JZilla said:
Doctor Detroit said:
FP Santangelo is so ####### awful. :X
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For a while I was just happy he wasn't Dibble, but he hasn't really gotten any better. Doesn't bother me. I find myself tuning those guys out more and more.
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I don't mind homerism like some people, but you have to second-guess plays and decisions once in a while. I was only half-listening to I may have missed it but I didn't hear either of the broadcast guys even question the decision to let the pitcher hit in the 5th yesterday with men on first and third and no outs and the Giants winning 2-1. Until the Giants put it out of reach late, that was the story of the game, you have to at least address it. Even if you (wrongly) think Williams was right you're not doing your job if you don't highlight the pros and cons there.
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Yeah, it's still like amateur hour with him, which was to be expected for a while but he hasn't really developed.. if anything he's just kind of irritating, trying to be a bro

 
Ramblin Wreck said:
Can they get over the mental block against the Braves this weekend?
Click to expand...
They ####### better!

While the Braves currently sit near the top of the National League East, their offense just hasn't been clicking this season. The team has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball (251) to go along with a 23.1 strikeout percentage that's also third worst, and they've particularly struggled against right-handed pitching, sporting a .289 wOBA that ranks in the bottom five.
Click to expand...
 
The B

Swing 51 said:
Ramblin Wreck said:
Can they get over the mental block against the Braves this weekend?
Click to expand...
They ####### better!

While the Braves currently sit near the top of the National League East, their offense just hasn't been clicking this season. The team has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball (251) to go along with a 23.1 strikeout percentage that's also third worst, and they've particularly struggled against right-handed pitching, sporting a .289 wOBA that ranks in the bottom five.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The Braves are really hurting with two starting pitchers, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlin, out with Tommy John surgery. I think it is quite a surprise they have done as well as they have.

The NL East is a really weak division. The division title is there for the taking if the Nats play anywhere near their abilities.

 
Marvelous said:
The B

Swing 51 said:
Ramblin Wreck said:
Can they get over the mental block against the Braves this weekend?
Click to expand...
They ####### better!

While the Braves currently sit near the top of the National League East, their offense just hasn't been clicking this season. The team has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball (251) to go along with a 23.1 strikeout percentage that's also third worst, and they've particularly struggled against right-handed pitching, sporting a .289 wOBA that ranks in the bottom five.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The Braves are really hurting with two starting pitchers, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlin, out with Tommy John surgery. I think it is quite a surprise they have done as well as they have.

The NL East is a really weak division. The division title is there for the taking if the Nats play anywhere near their abilities.
Click to expand...
See, I don't buy this. Beachy's made a grant total of 18 starts in the last three seasons, and he had a negative WAR in his five starts last season. He's not really something they lost as much as something they never had to begin with. And they essentially replaced Medlen with Ervin Santana before the season started. Medlen's slightly better, but the difference isn't that significant. Santana actually had better numbers last year. I'd say the Nats have lost more to injury than the Braves this season. I don't think it's even close.

I think they'll stick around most of the year and finish around 86-87 wins.

 
TobiasFunke said:
Marvelous said:
The B

Swing 51 said:
Ramblin Wreck said:
Can they get over the mental block against the Braves this weekend?
Click to expand...
They ####### better!

While the Braves currently sit near the top of the National League East, their offense just hasn't been clicking this season. The team has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball (251) to go along with a 23.1 strikeout percentage that's also third worst, and they've particularly struggled against right-handed pitching, sporting a .289 wOBA that ranks in the bottom five.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The Braves are really hurting with two starting pitchers, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlin, out with Tommy John surgery. I think it is quite a surprise they have done as well as they have.

The NL East is a really weak division. The division title is there for the taking if the Nats play anywhere near their abilities.
Click to expand...
See, I don't buy this. Beachy's made a grant total of 18 starts in the last three seasons, and he had a negative WAR in his five starts last season. He's not really something they lost as much as something they never had to begin with. And they essentially replaced Medlen with Ervin Santana before the season started. Medlen's slightly better, but the difference isn't that significant. Santana actually had better numbers last year. I'd say the Nats have lost more to injury than the Braves this season. I don't think it's even close.

I think they'll stick around most of the year and finish around 86-87 wins.
Click to expand...
Gavin Floyd, fractured elbow. Ouch. No estimate on his return because nobody fractures this small bone in their elbow.

I remember in 2012 Medlin was compared to Strasburg and the reason Strasburg should not be shut down at the end of the season. Of course Medlin had pitched many fewer inning that year.

 
The level that the Braves are :pokey: the Nationals in the last 3 years is disturbing. They have to at least split this series to get a little bit of confidence against the quality NL teams like the Braves and Cardinals

 
hammerva said:
The level that the Braves are :pokey: the Nationals in the last 3 years is disturbing. They have to at least split this series to get a little bit of confidence against the quality NL teams like the Braves and Cardinals
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To be fair it's not really three years. It's last season + seven games of this season. The Nats outplayed the Braves for most of 2012 (they were 10-5 against them going into September). The Nats also played a crucial role in the Braves' historic collapse out of the wild card in 2011, beating them two out of three in the last week of the season. IIRC some Cardinals fans actually sent Mike Rizzo a thank-you gift basket after the series.

Still disturbing though. Someone should put photoshopped pictures of the Braves' players wearing Mets and Astros jerseys up in the clubhouse. If nothing else the guys would get a laugh out of it and loosen up a bit.

 
Thought Rendon's 2 out 2-run homer in the 9th off Kimbrel might be the turning point in this series. The bullpen retired 18 straight but just ran out of guys. The offense should have been able to score again before the 13th.

 
Hopefully these two weekend games will end the talk about not being able to beat the Braves. Sounds like Harp and Ramos could both be back in about a week too.

 
Marvelous said:
TobiasFunke said:
Marvelous said:
The B

Swing 51 said:
Ramblin Wreck said:
Can they get over the mental block against the Braves this weekend?
Click to expand...
They ####### better!

While the Braves currently sit near the top of the National League East, their offense just hasn't been clicking this season. The team has scored the third-fewest runs in baseball (251) to go along with a 23.1 strikeout percentage that's also third worst, and they've particularly struggled against right-handed pitching, sporting a .289 wOBA that ranks in the bottom five.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
The Braves are really hurting with two starting pitchers, Brandon Beachy and Kris Medlin, out with Tommy John surgery. I think it is quite a surprise they have done as well as they have.

The NL East is a really weak division. The division title is there for the taking if the Nats play anywhere near their abilities.
Click to expand...
See, I don't buy this. Beachy's made a grant total of 18 starts in the last three seasons, and he had a negative WAR in his five starts last season. He's not really something they lost as much as something they never had to begin with. And they essentially replaced Medlen with Ervin Santana before the season started. Medlen's slightly better, but the difference isn't that significant. Santana actually had better numbers last year. I'd say the Nats have lost more to injury than the Braves this season. I don't think it's even close.

I think they'll stick around most of the year and finish around 86-87 wins.
Click to expand...
Gavin Floyd, fractured elbow. Ouch. No estimate on his return because nobody fractures this small bone in their elbow.

I remember in 2012 Medlin was compared to Strasburg and the reason Strasburg should not be shut down at the end of the season. Of course Medlin had pitched many fewer inning that year.
Click to expand...
I will predict that excluding the games against the Nats, the Braves will be under 0.500 this year. That would be at best 71-72 not counting 19 games against the Nats.

 
"When he’s out there, regardless of where he’s at, we’d like him to catch it when it’s hit to him and hit it when it’s thrown to him"

Best job description of a baseball player ever.

 
Not sure why Nats fans are pissy about the All-star snubs. We're a half-game out of first and have a +59 run differential (second in NL just behind Dodgers) and our only all-star is a starter who'll be lucky to get a full inning. Only way you pull that off is by being the best 1-40 roster in the game.

 
I haven't looked to see who made it but feels like Rendon and Laroche deserve to be on the team. Hopefully Rendon wins this fan vote thing and maybe Laroche will end up as an injury replacement.

But yeah, the lineup is so much better with Desmond and Ramos hitting 7th and 8th. Hell, Harper should be hitting 8th right now.

 
Hopefully Rendon gets in on the fan vote. Biggest snub to me is Soriano. I think you could make a strong case that he's been best closer in the NL this year.

 
Don Quixote said:
Hopefully Rendon gets in on the fan vote. Biggest snub to me is Soriano. I think you could make a strong case that he's been best closer in the NL this year.
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I can't imagine him beating out guys like Rizzo and Justin Upton backed by huge media markets (the entire southeast in Upton's case).

Whatever. They'll all take a nice break and come out firing in the second half. Maybe they'll have a chip on their shoulder that helps motivate them through the dog days of late summer or something. Can't really hurt.

This Orioles series worries me, though. Don't want to lose 3 of 4 while the Braves luck into playing the Mets sans Wright and Niese, we'd lose a ton of ground.

 
Don Quixote said:
Hopefully Rendon gets in on the fan vote. Biggest snub to me is Soriano. I think you could make a strong case that he's been best closer in the NL this year.
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I am very surprised Soriano did not make the All Star team. For some reason, Mrs. Marvelous does not like Soriano and could not believe he should be considered for the All Star game.

 
TobiasFunke said:
Don Quixote said:
Hopefully Rendon gets in on the fan vote. Biggest snub to me is Soriano. I think you could make a strong case that he's been best closer in the NL this year.
Click to expand...
I can't imagine him beating out guys like Rizzo and Justin Upton backed by huge media markets (the entire southeast in Upton's case).

Whatever. They'll all take a nice break and come out firing in the second half. Maybe they'll have a chip on their shoulder that helps motivate them through the dog days of late summer or something. Can't really hurt.

This Orioles series worries me, though. Don't want to lose 3 of 4 while the Braves luck into playing the Mets sans Wright and Niese, we'd lose a ton of ground.
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Minor correction: Wright came back over the weekend. Go Mets.

 
As an O's fan, I don't see many Nats games, but I like the club. I had no idea about Ryan Zimmerman - he's about one or two throws away from contracting full-blown Steve Sax disease. How long has that been going on?

 
The_Man said:
As an O's fan, I don't see many Nats games, but I like the club. I had no idea about Ryan Zimmerman - he's about one or two throws away from contracting full-blown Steve Sax disease. How long has that been going on?
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Ryan Zimmerman has a shoulder issue. It has been called degenerative by Matt Williams.

Zimmerman will not be playing 3rd base for long. He has already commented that LF is a good fit for him and how trying it has been playing 3rd base for the past two years. It looks like Zimmerman no longer wants to play 3rd base, but will do what the team needs him to do.

 
Seven total HR on the season from Harper, Zimmerman and Ramos combined and we're in first place and have the best run differential in the National League.

Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

 
dgreen said:
I guess we were getting too healthy and too good.
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I'm not worried about this one at all.

Against lefties we don't lose all that much- Espinosa hits them well enough, not as good as Zimm of course, but he's not an automatic out like he is against lefties, and obviously the defense will be better with Rendon at 3rd and Espi at 2nd.

Against righties is a slightly bigger problem since Espi can't hit them, but with Harper healthy we've got three good LH bats including two heart of the order guys.

Can't really complain, anyway. Nobody's healthy this time of year. The team we're playing now and the next two teams we play are all missing guys who are much better than Zimm (Tulo, Votto, Fernandez).

 
TobiasFunke said:
dgreen said:
I guess we were getting too healthy and too good.
Click to expand...
I'm not worried about this one at all.

Against lefties we don't lose all that much- Espinosa hits them well enough, not as good as Zimm of course, but he's not an automatic out like he is against lefties, and obviously the defense will be better with Rendon at 3rd and Espi at 2nd.

Against righties is a slightly bigger problem since Espi can't hit them, but with Harper healthy we've got three good LH bats including two heart of the order guys.

Can't really complain, anyway. Nobody's healthy this time of year. The team we're playing now and the next two teams we play are all missing guys who are much better than Zimm (Tulo, Votto, Fernandez).
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Why don't they just tell Espinosa to bat right handed against righties too. It can't be any worse.

 
Looks like Walters is up, and Zim going to the DL. Just a matter of how long he'll be out now.

ETA: Oh, and Hairston batting 2nd and Harper still batting 6th.

 
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