You got Corbin. Adams back. Suzuki / Gomes behind the plate. Bear Claw and Rosenthal, who aren’t terrible! And Anibal Sanchez. That’s another division worthy team.
Complain tomorrow. Today be happy you aren’t 20+ other teams who have to hope, not expect, to contend.
I will take it. I am content with where we stand at this point of the off-season. I hope Rizzo has one crazy surprise left in him that makes ask where the rings are. Until then, the memories of 2007-2010 continue to diminish in the overall team narrative. Merry Christmas!!!
ReplyDeleteBy my reckoning, the first Spring Training game is 60 days away. It will be here before we know it!!
ReplyDeleteI did not expect to be this fortunate that the Nats would be this well setup at this point in the off season. I almost expected an 80 win rebuild season.
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas everyone! I'm happy overall with the off-season moves so far, and think the Nats will sign a 2B and a LHRP. Let's go Nats!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas to all, and especially to Harper;great site, always look forward to Harper's insights and the thoughtful comments. Hoping there are lots of good things to talk about in the upcoming season.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, Harper, here we are at Christmas and Fangraphs projects us at 91 wins and the division championship. It's always nice when the season goal is "please meet expectations" instead of "hope that we exceed them." Merry Christmas, all!
ReplyDeleteMerry Christmas and I'm happy with the presents Santa Rizzo has brought so far (or is he just Elf with Santa Lerner??). Anyway, like Positively, I'm just counting down to Spring Training and wondering if Rizzo may make one (2B) or two (RP) moves before then.
ReplyDeleteDezoPenguin where on Fangraphs do you find 2019 projections? I'm not familiar enough with the site to find them thanks.
ReplyDeleteChristmas, a time of joy and optimism. The fans of twenty clubs believe they will be in the playoffs in October. Six clubs still believe they will sign Harper or Machado.
ReplyDeleteIt is the time of ultimate joy and hope. Reality will come to quickly.
I wish you all the best in the coming year...and don't believe every thing you read.
@Mainelaker: Go to "Standings," select "2018 Projected Standings," and then look over at the right-hand section of the chart, which lists "2019 Projected Full Season."
ReplyDeletegot it thank you; always appreciate your thoughtful responses on this site
ReplyDeleteI am trying to figure out how to keep tabs on Spring Training and April games from across the pond. Will be studying at Oxford for a semester that ends April 24th. It will be like olden days of reading recaps on MLB the day after and checking in here a day after to see everyone ranting about Davey or cursing the injury bug! By the time I return we could have already clinched the division or Harper will tell us there is still mathematical hope! (I kid! I am looking forward to the trip and listening to my beloved Nats will be one of my sacrifices.)
ReplyDeleteAppreciate y'all and keep up the good work, Harper! Looking forward to reading this blog to help keep me sane in the land of rugby, cricket, and soccer.
Mythra, you should be able to stream the games through mlb.com while you're over there. No blackouts for home games, either!
ReplyDelete2019 is the year.
-Chaos
Alan,
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can stream and listen to the 1pm games, which start at 6pm across the pond. The problem would be 7pm games. They start at midnight GMT and that'll not be possible to watch.
I'll get by, assuming I have time to listen or watch while studying and playing tourist.
But the MLB streaming is a good idea!
@harper: predictions for rest of offseason? Harrison? Some LHP? Lowrie?
ReplyDelete@Myrtha as someone who studied in London all of last year (and was up till last 6am watching game 5), I will tell you. Put all of the 1 and 4 o'clock games on your. Calendar and make sure to watch those. Otherwise, focus on box scores and being abroad cause that last month will go very quickly.
ReplyDeleteDid get a great photo of me watching game 2 at a royal manor at 2 am though.
Just searching for a logical explanation as to why there was no interest from Rizzo when a good (injured) player is available for $555k and the Jays are paying him to play for you. We did the same thing with Dan Uggla, why not kick the tires on Tulo?
ReplyDeleteIf Tulo didn't want to play in DC or wasn't interested in playing 2B, then I get it. Otherwise, there's no excuse for not even showing interest.
By all reports, Tulo was looking for a spot where he could be a starter at one position, not a utility player. (With the Yankees, he'll either be their starting shortstop in place of Gregorius, or he'll be rapidly DFA'd.) I suspect the Nats simply weren't willing to hand him the second base job outright over Kendrick. (And in fairness, if Kendrick is healthy--always a caveat for these discussions until the season starts--I wouldn't start Tulo over him, either.)
ReplyDeleteHonestly, Kendrick's health is just a huge question mark for these discussions. If he's healthy and able to play a full-time 2B, he's as good or better as any of the FA options out there, likely good for 2-3 wins (or better, depending on his defense). If he's not healthy, then there are serious problems with the Nats' roster and lineup that need fixing. And we as fans have no real idea which is true (plus, as last year's Eaton and Murphy debacles show*, it's entirely possibly that either Rizzo is not getting straight answers from the medical staff or he's got a problem with selective hearing when he gets medical reports; we're not quite LOLMets bad, but assessing the seriousness of injuries is really not something this team has been good at at.)
*I legitimately do not have a problem with Rizzo not giving the public all of the inside injury dope. But when roster construction decisions are being made based upon return-from-injury expectations, then I do expect Rizzo to have an accurate, reliable idea of the risks and timeframes involved.
Been checking back regularly and no Harper; hope he is on sabbatical in Tahiti and everything is alright. Also understand if he has decided to hang it up. Or perhaps he is waiting for the big free agents to sign. Always a great read here and we would miss him if he is done.
ReplyDelete