Injuries beget injuries and Strasburg is now dealing with a leg thing. Is it probably nothing? Probably. A twinge in the calf in a leg still getting used to throwing to real major leaguers. Can the Nats afford it being anything else? Not at all.
Spring Training is 95% "Are they injured" and 5% "How do they look". We talk about the latter a lot more but it's pretty meaningless. It just happens to be all we have on hand because "are they injured" is usually answered quickly and definitively. But again meaningless. Considering I heard that "looks good" talk on a couple podcasts this weekend it's time for my annual reminder. SPRING TRAINING STATS DON'T MATTER
Who was the best Nat hitter in "Spring" in 2020?
Jake Noll : .333 / .429 / .667
Who was the 2nd best?
OK Juan Soto. But then Luis Garcia. and Adam Eaton. and Howie. All pretty damn bad in 2020.
Who was among the worst Nats hitters?
Asdrubal, who I guess was a little off?
Best Pitcher?
Very few IP here but I'd argue Austin Voth (11 IP 1BB 11K 0.82 ERA 0.82 WHIP) had the best showing.
Worst Pitcher?
Both Doolittle and Hudson were well off. Hey it's random! Sometimes it's going to line up!
Anyway remember - these don't mean anything. Sometimes there's a kernal of truth hidden in there but you can't separate from all the kernals of lies... or something.
6 comments:
"Sometimes there's a kernal of truth hidden in there but you can't separate from all the kernals of lies... or something."
Even before the Strasburg calf event, I was thinking about how to respond to the annual "Spring Training Means Nothing" post. What meaningful truths could be extracted from this annual gathering of players? What are the managers looking for that is visible to the fans? Why should we pay attention.
1) So obviously player health is the first empirical we can take away.
2) Preferred lineups and pitching roles. Ten games in, we can begin to see what the line-ups and pitching arrangements will look like. Beforehand, we knew it was going to be Scherzer, Strass, Corbin, Lester. Its looking like Joe is #5, based on use in games.
3) Team priorities with minor-league talent get visibility. Based on spring line-ups, we can see who managers and coaches really want to watch in game situations.
4) There are real battles for those last few slots --- actual performance (not just the stats) by the final bench players and relievers does matter.
5) We can see what pitchers are working on --- how they perceive their weakness and/or need to improve.
Out of curiosity, what are some good podcasts that would be recommended for Nats fans -- or baseball fans in general? I haven't historically been a podcast listener, but have started to explore a little bit and would love to find a good one (or a few) to listen to. Just curious if anyone has any suggestions.
The Racing Presidents podcast is a good one.
I'm not concerned about Stras. Sounds like a conditioning thing more than anything, needs to get his legs under him so to speak. Granted, we're dealing with the Nats training staff, so in all likelihood be probably shattered both his tibia and fibula and tore his ACL.
@JW It's been awhile since I listened, but I liked Buster Olney's podcast as decent background noise with occasional good interviews. I like Fangraphs podcast as well, but only the first half where they interview people. The second half is good, but it's pretty stat focused so not the most exciting of listens, it's the kind of stuff that I prefer to read.
I like Nats Chat with Mark Zuckerman and Al Galdi. They'll report what the Nats give them but I listen because of their honest critique of the team.
Thanks for the recommendations! I look forward to checking them out.
Really appreciate being able to converse with other Nats fans. Glad the blog is back Harper.
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