Less than two weeks left to play and 5 games out of the WC with 4 teams in between? That's too big a task for a team that's not 100%. At this point I suppose you "let the kids play" though in reality that means a lot of Kieboom and Garcia and most other guys you probably feel pretty good about knowing what you got there. It's a shame too because Soto would quite likely get a fair number of MVP votes on a good team. He's likely to finish the season on top of the SLG charts and could easily be on there for OBP as well. But given that this team took a big step back and there are plenty of reasonable candidates out there (Betts, Tatis, Machado) he's going to be well out of it. And this means Trea Turner - who might deserve it just as much because he isn't a statue in the field, will probably get close to zero consideration. Maybe if they let him run wild on the basepaths to end the year.
This will also be the year Max breaks his streak of Top 5 Cy Young finishes. He may not even get a vote thanks to slow pull Davey who left him out to hang again yesterday. Yes, I know he is intimidating but in THIS season you don't need to let him get his way. You need him to stay healthy. Take the ball. Manage the damn team.
There is nothing much interesting. No one is anywhere close to .400. Soto probably can't get enough HRs or RBIs to win the Triple Crown.
What needs to happen from here on out is someone needs to keep Davey from riding the young arms that have looked ok this year into the ground. He probably can't - it's only two more weeks, but who knows what this guy will do. Probably warm everyone up every night from the 5th on or something. Shut it down, reset and figure out what to do with that fact you are under the cap. A relief pitcher or a real bat is paramount. Given how Harris turned out in the pen, I think they go after a bat for 1B. Of course my thoughts have long been move Soto to first and next year even makes more sense with the dearth of 1B options in FA but no one ever listens to me.
@Harper: it was inexcusable for DM to leave Max out there for 118 pitches. That's crazy. Max shouldn't have even started the inning, but at most, you pull him as soon as he gets in trouble, and in all cases, after he gives up the first home run. Yikes!
ReplyDeleteThe Nats lineup looks bad. You have two superstar hitters this year (and Soto every year), and then a large bunch of 0 War replacement level players. There is really no reason for any team to pitch to Soto, and most of the teams don't pitch to him.
What happened to Andrew Stevenson? I always thought he was no better than a AAAA player, but I think the same about Michael A. Taylor. So why not give Stevenson a shot and see what you have.
Take some gotdang bunting practice.
ReplyDeleteSo, I think Garcia stays as 2B next year. Is Kieboom done? Is the experiment over with him?
ReplyDeleteKieboom will play 3rd, I assume.
ReplyDelete@Harper
ReplyDeleteEven with Castro and Garcia available? Seems to me that Kieboom may be a failed prospect. He’s looked pretty rough this year. Can we roll into next year with him a starter? Would it make more sense to pencil Castro in and plan on using Kieboom as a utility player?
Nats fall to 19-31 for the second straight year
ReplyDeleteSomebody’s scouts may like Kieboom more than the Nats now, and the dreck available in free agency is probably going to force a trade to be able to compete. Would they really want Carlos Santana who is 35 and can’t even hit .200? The market for 1st base is awful, they could end up with a guy worse than Thames. Look at what Smoak did. Murphy looks done. Gurriel is as old as Howie. Anyone with a decent year has an option that can be picked up like Moreland. They would have to pay huge bucks and years to get a top OF and all those big boppers are awful fielders besides Springer. Joe Peterson is probably the target.
ReplyDeleteJoc
ReplyDeleteIt feels like the team is done, not just for this year but for a long time. Which is okay, I guess. We got the ring, won the title in our absolute last chance to do it, and if we had to break Stras to do it then it was worth it. I just wish it didn't have to be so downhill, so fast. Worst farm system in the league, and the best chip in it (Kieboom) seems to suck. Robles is not putting it together. I hate to say it but they need to think seriously about flipping Soto for some good young players. Because otherwise what do we have to look forward to? I guess you could say this season doesn't really count, but the oldest team in the league is now one year older even though they only played for ten weeks. If not Soto, who else on the team has any trade value?
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