Spring Training games have begun so it is time for your annual reminder.
SPRING TRAINING STATS DON'T MATTER
Who was the Nats best hitter last Spring? Why it was Michael Taylor who hit .453 / .491 / .849. That didn't work out. What about second best? Scott Sizemore. OK well that's not fair. What about second best regular? Ben Revere. Dammit. Third best regular? Ryan Zimmerman.
It's a little harsh to say it doesn't matter, but only a little and we're far better ignoring this "information" than we are trying to find a nugget of wisdom from it. Spring Training has everything you don't want from your source of information; small sample size, varying levels of competition, arguably dissimilar goals.You are far more likely to let personal biases effect your interpretation of what are perfectly normal stats under these circumstances than be able to pick out something that is actually useful. Honestly, it's the best time of year to listen to the guys playing the game and see what they are saying (that's not related to how they are doing stats-wise in the Spring)
Max Scherzer update
Max threw off a mound Saturday. That is good. Max didn't use his regular grip during this. That is not good. What does this mean? Not much today. In my head I'm pencilling in Max to start his first game the 9th or 10th (Game 5 or 6). If you believe the same, things are looking "good". If you are hoping Max can be ready for Opening Day, that's still a possibility, we'll probably know by the end of this week if that's off the table. If you are hoping Max is really hurt, first why are you reading this blog?, second we're probably a couple weeks of not ramping up before that comes into play.
Closer update
Neither Treinen, nor Kelley has pitched yet so unless you think Mike Broadway has a real shot at closing for the Nats we've learned nothing.
Clint update
Robinson is one of two players (MAT being the other) who have started both Spring Training games. I'm inclined to think that's far more hoping he gets hot and the Nats can say "Hey! Look at this guy! Trade for this!" than it is evaluation. That's me though. We'll check back in a week and if he's got the most at bats on the team... well I don't think that's a good thing.
Anything else?
Bryce CRUSHED a homer.
Trea had an error. Expect this. Everything points to him having at least 20 errors this year, I wouldn't be surprised if he went over 25. It's a process even for ones that are talented enough to play the position. Trea can, but he's not a wizard or anything.
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6 comments:
Now I will never unsee the bizarre scene of Harper, who coincidentally looks to be about 10 feet tall and very hairy, talking to a scrawny bespectacled Trea Turner. "Yer not a wizard or anything." "I'm not a what?"
I would rather save the hits for the regular season anyways.
With regards to the possible field woes of Trea Burner, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's young, coming off a great season, fast on the bases, and his first year at short. There will be parts about his game that we don't like as his game develops and we see more of him on a daily basis. 25 errors? At that age with the upside he's shown? That's MUCH better than the 27 Ian Desmond had in '15. Do we all remember him costing several games in April? What a disaster.
That being said, though I'm happy he's no longer a Nat, we're gonna miss Espy in the field. Its often overlooked/taken for granted the vacuum and absolute hand-cannon he had. Hopefully Trea and Murph up the middle aren't overly exposed...
If rule #1 is don't pay any attention to spring training stats, then rule #2 is don't believe anything this organization says about the health status of the players, because 99% of the time they're lying through their teeth.
Desmond's propensity to inexplicably make errors in bunches (and then go a month making only one or two, which people forget) aside, Nats fans are going to find out this year how lucky we were to have two defenders with outstanding range and cannon arms at the SS position for the past 7 years. I think the Eaton trade was made in part to maximize the benefit to the offense the Nats get from having potentially one of the best hitting shortstops in baseball. Offensively, the Nats essentially swapped Espinosa for Eaton, which ought to way more than make up for what they lose by no longer having a superior defender playing SS.
Wait for it....."Jeter had 22 errors in his first full year of the season as a SS." The ultimate former bachelor also commited 24 errors in 2000 and he is on the fast track to Cooperstown.
Joe Blanton singing is huge and with Matt Wieters on board my pre-season angst has subsided a bit. Throw in a massive Harper homer in with the newly added pieces and now all of a sudden the MLB media is looking at the Nationals through a rosy lens, which is awesome.
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