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The Washington Nationals (2005-), 2019 WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS! W00000000000T!


DonRocks

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"With Two Shots To Knock Out the Dodgers, the Nats Are in the Driver's Seat" by Thomas Boswell on washingtonpost.com

About the only thing I have to add is that it really isn't important whether or not a team wins a given post-season series; what's important is that they put themselves in the post-season, year after year - then, the odds will take care of themselves, and they'll win a certain percentage of games, series, and World Series. Consistent excellence is what a team wants to strive for; the near-randomness of the post-season almost can't be controlled.

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Seems like the Lerners should buy their own radio station like Snyder of the Redskins, and TV network like Angelos of the Orioles. And dedicate it to coverage of the Nationals. Saturate the airwaves, and that'll go a long way toward building fan loyalty. IMO the MASN deal is not even as bad for building loyalty as the radio domination is.

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6 hours ago, DonRocks said:

About the only thing I have to add is that it really isn't important whether or not a team wins a given post-season series; what's important is that they put themselves in the post-season, year after year - then, the odds will take care of themselves, and they'll win a certain percentage of games, series, and World Series. Consistent excellence is what a team wants to strive for; the near-randomness of the post-season almost can't be controlled.

This makes me feel better about the 2016 Red Sox postseason, so thank you. I wish I could say I'm all in for the Nats now (I'm a Red Sox fan first, but the Nats are my NL team, though I admit I don't pay a ton of attention since my husband is a bigger baseball fan than I am and doesn't care about them at all), but I can't help but want to see the Cubs win the World Series.

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If you're superstitious like me, you also did not like the umpire's bad call strike 3 on Puig and refusal to get help from an umpire in better position to see if Puig checked his swing. I'd rather have gotten Puig out clearly on a strikeout or grounder. What happened just made the Dodgers mad and gave them some juice!

(If nothing else, at least I demonstrated how superstitious baseball fans think!)

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13 minutes ago, MC Horoscope said:

What happened just made the Dodgers mad and gave them some juice!

You make an excellent point, and I don't think there's anything superstitious about it: It *did* make them mad and pump them up (and it *was* a blown call - why the home-plate ump didn't check, I just don't know).

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37 minutes ago, TedE said:

Creeping dread.  Impending doom.  I can't watch.

Nooooo! Keep the faith!

Signed,

a Red Sox fan who kept watching against the Yankees in 2004

ETA a random factoid: Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, stole the base that turned that series around for the Red Sox!

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Who's going? Any tips on where to park or how to get outta there after Metro, in all its wisdom, closes?

On StubHub I'm seeing nosebleeders for around $80, and some baseline box seats for around $180.

All my baseball-loving friends are O's fans.   :(    I'll likely go by myself.

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23 hours ago, dracisk said:

Nooooo! Keep the faith!

Signed,

a Red Sox fan who kept watching against the Yankees in 2004

ETA a random factoid: Dave Roberts, the Dodgers manager, stole the base that turned that series around for the Red Sox!

I'll be watching through my fingers (transferred all of our seats to season ticket partners, for reasons other than wanting to actually be at the game)!  But, seriously, it's great to be in the position to experience that kind of sports anxiety.  Better than absentmindedly checking scores for other teams the morning after the games are played.

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Goodness. Justin Turner just had an at-bat where he was behind 0-2 on 2 called strikes, but then extended the at-bat to 13 pitches, with 7 foul balls, and finally fought for a walk - that was Scherzer's second walk, and second baserunner, of the game.

Man, that was a tough at-bat, like a boxer killing you with body blows - it can show up later in the game.

Scherzer is through 4 innings with no hits, but he needs some run support, like, *now*, because he won't last the game, not after the number of pitches he's thrown (67 pitches!).

They've got to keep Scherzer in until he's spent. He's pitching too well to take him out just because of a high pitch count.

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18 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

They've got to keep Scherzer in until he's spent. He's pitching too well to take him out just because of a high pitch count.

Shit. The velocity of his pitches has dropped 3-4 mph between the 4th and 5th innings.

The Nats batting 3-up, 3-down in the bottom of the 4th did *not* help things.

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21 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Shit. The velocity of his pitches has dropped 3-4 mph between the 4th and 5th innings.

The Nats batting 3-up, 3-down in the bottom of the 4th did *not* help things.

Scherzer just earned his paycheck by getting out a bases-loaded 5th and still maintaining a shutout. 

If the Nats don't win this game, you can't blame it on Mad Max - not at this point.

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17 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Scherzer just earned his paycheck by getting out a bases-loaded 5th and still maintaining a shutout. 

If the Nats don't win this game, you can't blame it on Mad Max - not at this point.

Okay, gentlemen - it's the final game of the playoffs, you're at home, you have your 3-4-5 hitters batting, and you have a quality start - *six shutout innings* - from your ace: It's time to win this with your bats, or you have no one to blame but yourselves.

Jason Werth walks. Runner on 1st, none out, and the hottest postseason batter in baseball, Daniel Murphy, at the plate.

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7 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Okay, gentlemen - it's the final game of the playoffs, you're at home, you have your 3-4-5 hitters batting, and you have a quality start - *six shutout innings* - from your ace: It's time to win this with your bats, or you have no one to blame but yourselves.

Jason Werth walks. Runner on 1st, none out, and the hottest postseason batter in baseball, Daniel Murphy, at the plate.

1-0 after 6 with Scherzer tired, Strasbourg out, and Kershaw injured. 

The Cubs are out drinking right now.

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What the hell just happened?!?!   They had 15 feet to spare to get Werth out at home. Why did he attempt the impossible?!?!!?

And before I could hit "submit reply" the game is tied.

 

Edit - since I posted the message above I've seen the reply and Henley, the third base coach, waving him home from somewhere in the outfield.  WTF was he thinking?!?!

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8 hours ago, dracisk said:

I was going to go to bed if there were no positive developments this half inning. Looks like I'm staying up!

That was such a glimmer of hope!  And then when Werth got up with runners on first and third, I was thinking REDEMPTION!  Here it comes! 

Sadly, it never came.

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13 hours ago, DonRocks said:

Shit. The velocity of his pitches has dropped 3-4 mph between the 4th and 5th innings.

The Nats batting 3-up, 3-down in the bottom of the 4th did *not* help things.

I was watching that little MLB "cartoon thing," so I know for a fact that his fastball dropped from about 97 mph to about 93 mph in one inning - that 13-pitch at-bat may have ended the season for the Nats. 

Both the Nats and Orioles should be holding their heads high right now, even though we all know they aren't.

I hope Scherzer got a standing O when he came out of the game - that guy is an animal, with ice running through his veins.

Take *some* consolation in knowing that there's no way in hell that the Nats could have beaten the Cubs - everything is clicking right now for Chicago. I'd almost bet even money right now that they'll win the World Series, and that's with *two* series to go.

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3 hours ago, Bart said:

That was such a glimmer of hope!  And then when Werth got up with runners on first and third, I was thinking REDEMPTION!  Here it comes! 

Sadly, it never came.

I realized around midnight that I'd probably be up until at least 1am if I watched until the bitter end, so I called it. I heard the sad news on NPR this morning. Oh, well. It was a good run. And now I can root for the Cubs without conflict. :-)

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On 10/12/2016 at 3:31 PM, Al Dente said:

It is inevitable that, due to my presence, the Nats will kick ass!

I take full responsibility.

It took FORTY-FIVE FUCKING MINUTES just to get out of the parking garage-- and I was only 1 level down! Added insult to injury.  :angry:

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1 hour ago, Al Dente said:

I take full responsibility.

It took FORTY-FIVE FUCKING MINUTES just to get out of the parking garage-- and I was only 1 level down! Added insult to injury.  :angry:

You saw a double-elimination, major-league playoff game, and spent only about twice what I spent last night at dinner. Although I had a good meal, you have a lifetime memory, bitter though it may be - you spent your money well.

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1 hour ago, Al Dente said:

I take full responsibility.

It took FORTY-FIVE FUCKING MINUTES just to get out of the parking garage-- and I was only 1 level down! Added insult to injury.  :angry:

It wasn't you.  It was the ridiculous Boswell headline of the Nats being in the "driver's seat"

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40 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

You saw a double-elimination, major-league playoff game, and spent only about twice what I spent last night at dinner. Although I had a good meal, you have a lifetime memory, bitter though it may be - you spent your money well.

Could've done that for free sitting on the couch :lol:

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I was at the game last night, and I'm glad I went Money for a ticket was well spent, and the lost sleep was worth it. My decision to park near Capitol South? Priceless.

Although it was not the outcome I'd hoped for, it was an exciting game. The crowd was fully involved the entire time, and although some had to leave because of the idiotic Metro decision, the park remained full. 

#Natitude

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1 hour ago, reedm said:

 and although some had to leave because of the idiotic Metro decision, the park remained full. 

#Natitude

DC may have gained some cachet with the Michelin Guide, but we'll always be a second or third class city with decisions like this.  And the Marine Corps Marathon is going to be a bigger nightmare.  I'm no fan of Congressional intervention, but I wish some higher power would weigh in and overrule these stupid decisions. 

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The first spring training game of the year couldn't have come soon enough. It means next to nothing but the Nats beat the Mets 8-6 this afternoon. Many Nats regulars started the game and left after a few. Harper HR'd in his first at bat and also got a single.  Hope springs eternal.

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"Down to Final Strike, Bryce Harper Saves Nationals with Three-Run Homer To Beat Phillies" by Chelsea Janes on washingtonpost.com

There is a *great* photo at the top of that article - I would love to accredit the photographer, but the Post's paywall has precluded me from finding Chelsea Janes' (the author's) email, or from doing much of anything else.

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2 hours ago, DonRocks said:

"Down to Final Strike, Bryce Harper Saves Nationals with Three-Run Homer To Beat Phillies" by Chelsea Janes on washingtonpost.com

There is a *great* photo at the top of that article - I would love to accredit the photographer, but the Post's paywall has precluded me from finding Chelsea Janes' (the author's) email, or from doing much of anything else.

You have to wonder if Werth's iconic walk off picture was in his mind. I highly doubt it, this is just an enthusiastic competitor doing what he loves to do best, but they make nice bookends:

153947724.0.jpg

natsphilly08.jpg?uuid=HXzP4iLpEeeSjjYkU5Bg6A

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7 hours ago, TedE said:

You have to wonder if Werth's iconic walk off picture was in his mind. I highly doubt it, this is just an enthusiastic competitor doing what he loves to do best, but they make nice bookends

Great post! I wonder if the only person in both pictures is Ryan Zimmerman (#11). Ryan's not a Hall of Fame candidate (just a super-solid, star-quality player), but we're not *that* far from having three future Hall of Fame players in that second picture.

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The last two innings of that game last night took months, if not years, off my life.

I like Wieters just fine (and I'm sure the Nationals management/ownership enjoyed sticking it to Angelos by signing him), but--Good Lord!!--he needs to use his body to block the ball!  He just sticks his glove out and, if the ball goes in, great (even better if it stays there). Otherwise, he has to get out of his crouch and lumber to the backstop to pick it up while runners are advancing.  To make it clear: I am not blaming the last batter fiasco on him, because that was bad umpiring all the way, but if he had caught the ball cleanly and held onto it, there would have been no basis for anyone thinking the bat (far, far as it was away) had touched it.  Fortunately, he caught basically the exact same pitch in the same place cleanly the second time around (which, of course, should never have had to happen.)  

I also like Treinen and the Nats did a disservice to him by trying to cram him--like a square peg into a round hole--into the closer's spot.  He's good at coming in and inducing ground balls when they need them with that great sinker. Let him do what he's good at. I really hope they haven't messed him up psychologically with this experiment. (Ditto for Joe Ross, who is apparently getting his first 2017 start tonight.)

 

 

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Four games in the ever-changing Denver weather environment (plus that altitude thing) and a 3-1 record:  8-4 loss (the day after playing the ESPN Sunday night game against the Mets), 15-12 win (Turner hits for the cycle), 11-4 win, and 16-5 win (11 of the 16 runs coming in the top of the 7th).  Imagine if they played at Coors field half the season...

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13 hours ago, lovehockey said:

Four games in the ever-changing Denver weather environment (plus that altitude thing) and a 3-1 record:  8-4 loss (the day after playing the ESPN Sunday night game against the Mets), 15-12 win (Turner hits for the cycle), 11-4 win, and 16-5 win (11 of the 16 runs coming in the top of the 7th).  Imagine if they played at Coors field half the season...

50 runs in 4 games or 2.5% of the regular season games they will play this year.  For comparison that is 6.5% of their total runs for the entire 2016 season, on pace for 1022 runs this year.  Of course they won't plate that many, but 900 runs doesn't seem out of the question at all.  This offense is fun to watch.  Of course they might need to score that many to give the bullpen a 5-6 run cushion ...

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2 hours ago, TedE said:

50 runs in 4 games or 2.5% of the regular season games they will play this year.  For comparison that is 6.5% of their total runs for the entire 2016 season, on pace for 1022 runs this year.  Of course they won't plate that many, but 900 runs doesn't seem out of the question at all.  This offense is fun to watch.  Of course they might need to score that many to give the bullpen a 5-6 run cushion ...

The Nats aren't going back to Coors this year unless both teams make the playoffs.  In their 18 non-Coors games this year, the Nats have averaged 5.17 runs.  Project that to 158 games, add the 50 they scored in Coors, and that gets them to 866.  I'd bet somewhere in the low 800s is most likely though.

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1 hour ago, silentbob said:

The Nats aren't going back to Coors this year unless both teams make the playoffs.  In their 18 non-Coors games this year, the Nats have averaged 5.17 runs.  Project that to 158 games, add the 50 they scored in Coors, and that gets them to 866.  I'd bet somewhere in the low 800s is most likely though.

What, you don't think Bryce Harper is going to maintain his .418 batting average?!

Screenshot 2017-04-28 at 3.25.01 PM.png

And you have doubts that the Nats will continue to have 3 out of the top 4 NL RBI leaders?!

Screenshot 2017-04-28 at 3.29.10 PM.png

Pessimist.

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2 hours ago, silentbob said:

The Nats aren't going back to Coors this year unless both teams make the playoffs.  In their 18 non-Coors games this year, the Nats have averaged 5.17 runs.  Project that to 158 games, add the 50 they scored in Coors, and that gets them to 866.  I'd bet somewhere in the low 800s is most likely though.

I didn't say it would be easy, but it's not crazy talk.

Bryce will not hit .400, but can Bryce/Murphy/Zim combine for .340+ along with Eaton (and hopefully Turner) getting on base at this clip?

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4 hours ago, TedE said:

I didn't say it would be easy, but it's not crazy talk.

No offense intended -- recent history suggests that it's crazy talk and I think the chances are virtually zero because they don't play in the AL.  No NL team has scored 900 runs in a season since the 2003 Braves, in the midst of the PED era.  Now that MLB isn't rampant with cheating, NL teams haven't come close to 900 in quite a while, not even the Rockies.  Even the dominant Cubs last year barely scored over 800 and the Nats offense this year isn't as good from top to bottom.  So yeah, even if their start is real, I'll be pretty shocked if the Nats reach 850 this year.

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24 minutes ago, silentbob said:

No offense intended -- recent history suggests that it's crazy talk and I think the chances are virtually zero because they don't play in the AL.  No NL team has scored 900 runs in a season since the 2003 Braves, in the midst of the PED era.  Now that MLB isn't rampant with cheating, NL teams haven't come close to 900 in quite a while, not even the Rockies.  Even the dominant Cubs last year barely scored over 800 and the Nats offense this year isn't as good from top to bottom.  So yeah, even if their start is real, I'll be pretty shocked if the Nats reach 850 this year.

Okay, *but*, just objectively interpreting:

"Pretty Shocked" + 5% Not = "Crazy"

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20 minutes ago, silentbob said:

In the context of run-scoring in baseball, 5 percent is a lot more than you think.

I agree - at the level where we're talking (850-900), it's a run every 3.24 games.

Well, this is why baseball is perfect for bar debates - nobody loses an eye over anything.

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Losing Eaton is going to skew everything in a bad way.  I hope it's not as bad as it seems.  He's been an invaluable addition to the ball club early in the season and absolutely worth what we gave up for him.  

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On 4/28/2017 at 8:51 PM, silentbob said:

No offense intended -- recent history suggests that it's crazy talk and I think the chances are virtually zero because they don't play in the AL.  No NL team has scored 900 runs in a season since the 2003 Braves, in the midst of the PED era.  Now that MLB isn't rampant with cheating, NL teams haven't come close to 900 in quite a while, not even the Rockies.  Even the dominant Cubs last year barely scored over 800 and the Nats offense this year isn't as good from top to bottom.  So yeah, even if their start is real, I'll be pretty shocked if the Nats reach 850 this year.

With Eaton out the chance is pretty much off the table (and with 170 runs in April, the 10th highest ever, I still contend it's a possibility).  A lead off man's OBP is a strong determinant of runs scored over the course of a season.  Unless Trea (maybe) or Taylor (unlikely) can pick up the slack.  It's a huge loss.  I guess now their chance is to have a game like yesterday every other week to pad the stats!

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