I don't know. I thought the kids would interest me more. Maybe once the season starts. I think there's general malaise at this not being THE season everything starts.
Anyway the Nats resigned Kyle Finnegan. Is it exciting? Nope. Does he make the pen better? Well simple question - is he better than who would have been the worst guy in the pen? Answer - yes. So answer to the first question - yes.
I will take a moment to do my usual ST schtick.
Did you know Trey Lipscomb hit .400 in Spring last year? Joey Meneses .296. Trevor Williams threw to a 7.20 ERA. Richard Bleier to a 1.69 ERA. 0.75 WHIP?
Again - don't believe these stats
There’s a slim, but non-zero chance the Nats outperform this year. Woods breaking out; Crews taking ROY; Gore becoming an ace. I know it’s hard to be excited about the team, but it’s still possible to be hopeful.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a rift between Lerner and Rizzo. Rizzo made comments that suggest that he wanted to sign guys but Lerner wouldn't approve the salary. At the very least he said that now is the time to 'hit the gas'. Lerner makes comments that they agreed this year wasn't the time to make a big move. It doesn't give me a good feeling about the relationship, and that makes me pessimistic about the future
ReplyDeleteI have weirdly felt the opposite. Not because of any stats or anything like that, I just have enjoyed watching the kids so far this year. I usually don’t enjoy Spring Training very much because it’s hard to watch or listen to — there’s too much talk, not enough calling the actual game. But I have enjoyed watching the kids, especially Hassell and Morales. They have looked more physically ready than I was expecting. House has been more concerning to me; he looks less mobile and slower than I had hoped. Maybe it’s just because everything else is so shit right now and it’s been a nice distraction.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. It feels like another season of kicking the can down the road. I'm starting to wonder about the Lerner's commitment to winning.
ReplyDeleteWho does Hassell replace, even if he does look good. If his stats are good what value does he have in AAA? Does he really need to be at AAA?
ReplyDeleteI’d guess he push out Alex Call for the fourth outfield spot.
DeleteFirst: did you not see Harper's post, particularly the "don't believe the stats" part? Second, Hassell posted a -11 wRC+ in AAA last season with zero HRs.Yeah, only 17 games. But he was more "OK" than "great" even in AA (113 wRC+).
DeleteTL;DR: yes, RHIII needs to be in AAA.
I'm in a similar boat. I'm interested in lots of things - how will the roster shake out, how are the prospects developing, which if any of our young good players will break out and become stars - but I'm not feeling excited.
ReplyDeleteit's awfully hard to go from "it's time to hit the gas" to expecting 1000 PAs from Paul DeJong and Josh Bell.
Nice anecdote on Davey’s impact on Luis Garcia:
ReplyDeletehttps://news.google.com/read/CBMimAFBVV95cUxNS011Uk8tYzlVUXBtcjFlTTg5SDByaktvU014MndKb1dBT0dFa1FNLVhpeHFmWHlDaFlOelBiY1B1QlVBSG90eEV1WVBaNTUtT1kzWElyM2VwdGR5aUhZVjRESmJ3Z1hpMVZqa184czdLQ0drWEVUMzA1Ni13c1NzS2FUOG1mMXVNUjlFX1hYMGYta1dxUWtkc9IBpwFBVV95cUxQOEJxVE1jX1UtSVh2dGI0Ym1zTGdtOE0tcklaVGFOa1g1c0NIbXhOeEgyRzFZMEx3UUtHR0hrM3JRR090eFRhd3ptREZHc01aQXFISGRNeFBCV3FIOFJkbTd2RFljU2hMSnBGa01iUnZ5clpFQ3JPNGczYVJiTjdKMTVLUjluVGdmakxQVUl3VEFEaDVXWHF1emZkeTdvb2tSNkptdDU3VQ?hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US%3Aen
Same news story, but a smaller link this time:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.masnsports.com/blog/how-martinez-s-tough-love-helped-garcia-finally-break-through
The Learners are cheap! But then there was Danny Snyder, who wasn't cheap, but whose flashy signings never worked out. Or the time the temporarily not-cheap Lerners paid Straus a quarter billion through 2029. I wonder which aging, injury prone vets should the Nats have bet the farm on this year. Alonzo and Bregman, maybe. This very youthful team is bubbling with potential. Lots of interesting question marks, and nobody is being blocked. FWIW, I think they'll over-perform the projections models.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up with DC sports, I've gotten extremely tired of the yearly splashy signing of someone who'll be washed up in 3 years when the rest of the team turns the corner. The team's in a phase where we root for the individual kids who don't have big names yet to figure out how to be better. That isn't going to change if we add an Alonso to the mix. It'll just give us an imported name to root for as an individual while the rest of the team struggles.
ReplyDeleteThe MASN situation has been resolved. The Nats regain full television rights following the upcoming season.
ReplyDeleteThis is very exciting.
Saw that. I’m sure Harper will past about it. I’m interested to see who the nats sign with after this year
DeleteI think this portends a sale of the franchise (likely to Leonsis)
DeleteI think the resolution makes a sale possible. I don't think the resolution makes a sale probable. IMHO the most likely outcome is that they sell a substantial minority interest in the Nats and the broadcast contract to Leonis for an amount sufficient to float the Lerners for years.
ReplyDeleteYeah this all but guarantees a Leonsis purchase with Nats broadcasts moving to his company. Complete no brainer. Just gotta hope Mark doesn't try and jack up the price to an unreasonable level now
ReplyDelete