tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post31742968468332783..comments2024-03-28T10:50:33.234-07:00Comments on Nationals Baseball: Two bad betsHarperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-89789188701696854592010-07-12T13:45:13.424-07:002010-07-12T13:45:13.424-07:00"Of course I don't know if the Nats are i..."Of course I don't know if the Nats are in position to make a deal - either the quality or quantity would likely be too much for what they'd get back. It's doubtful teams will take 2-3 mediocre pitchers. They'll either want someone like ZNN in the deal or will want a truckload."<br /><br />The other problem with a crappy farm system is that we can't really trade prospects for players. We stocked a lot of the farm system by trading semi-decent MLB guys for mediocre prospects. And our mediocre prospects have mostly proven to be mediocre with the Clippard exception. <br /><br />While Aaron Thompson makes me happy, he's not gonna fetch much. If Nats are gonna trade prospects for a step forward, it's gonna mean losing a Norris or someone similar (and really there's just not that many).<br /><br />I can't see us picking up a real playoff piece with what we have in the farm system. Unless a team really wants to dump salary.Hoonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-26235778860861503412010-07-12T12:50:42.370-07:002010-07-12T12:50:42.370-07:00Hoo - by 2013 hopefully the team will have 3 of th...Hoo - by 2013 hopefully the team will have 3 of the Top 20. Let's not forget about Bryce.Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-174570232425467162010-07-12T12:49:34.633-07:002010-07-12T12:49:34.633-07:00An interesting choice, if you want to gamble and i...An interesting choice, if you want to gamble and if they are interested, would be Aaron Hill. He's having a terrible year in Toronto but should be much better - is signed for 2011 (5 mill) with a couple team-options after that if he bounces back. <br /><br />Of course I don't know if the Nats are in position to make a deal - either the quality or quantity would likely be too much for what they'd get back. It's doubtful teams will take 2-3 mediocre pitchers. They'll either want someone like ZNN in the deal or will want a truckload.Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-49387459113759635012010-07-12T12:12:37.185-07:002010-07-12T12:12:37.185-07:00I think the Nats have to make a good faith effort ...I think the Nats have to make a good faith effort to start winning in 2011 and make a real run for the playoffs in 2012 or they will lose one of those tentpoles. Zimmerman isn't going to re-sign and wait around 4-5 years down the road to be on a contender. I'd like to see them go after a stud starter free agent if one can be convinced to come here and bask in SS's aura. With SS, Znn, Marquis and whoever can recover of Det/Olsen/Wang that's not a bad rotation. And it's about time that all of our young mediocre pitching talent (Atilano/Mock/Martis/Martin/Stammen) is used as trade bait to get a decent 2B or RF. Could we get someone for 2 or 3 of them?Section 222https://www.blogger.com/profile/17106128453333996193noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-1059410971063147402010-07-12T10:58:52.950-07:002010-07-12T10:58:52.950-07:00Consistent winning will bring out the fans. Check ...Consistent winning will bring out the fans. Check out tampa - easily last every year from 2000-2007 they have slowly climbed up to 10th (so far) this year. If they keep in the race I bet they get a little higher than that. In DC it might even be easier given the large population. So now or later... at this I don't think it'll matter. The people still left in the stands are fans of baseball thick or thin.Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-92059235951830908022010-07-12T09:45:00.170-07:002010-07-12T09:45:00.170-07:00They really don't have a choice. They have to...They really don't have a choice. They have to compete sooner rather than later or risk losing what remains of their fan base. <br /><br />I was there for Dunn's three homer game Wednesday night with 13,700 or so of my closest friends. When the game ended, my wife and I were surprised that it was very crowded on the concourse exiting the stadium. Hardly anyone had left early. <br /><br />Compare that to Strasburg's Friday start, which I also attended. There were 34,000 that time, half of whom departed after Jeezus's exit. They didn't even stick around to see if Dunn could repeat his 3 homer performance, which he almost did.<br /><br />The 13,700 represented the real fan base for this team. And it will keep getting smaller if they continue to flounder. Even SS won't be good for much of an attendance bump by 2012 if this team is still losing 90 games.bdrubenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-55456596175063858962010-07-12T08:00:11.574-07:002010-07-12T08:00:11.574-07:00Hoo - I think it could be a WC rotation but becaus...Hoo - I think it could be a WC rotation but because of the bad luck the past couple years with injury it's going to require a bunch of good luck for that to happen. Look at the rotation FIVE injury returns, one best season in years, and one hopeful comeback. Will one or two of these things work out the Nats way? I think so, but how long will it take to find out? A season? That makes that FA pitcher a good deal more important than what I'd like it to be. <br /><br />The hitting certainly does have less potential - but I like to think you get more value and reliability from FA signings.Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-38106283058541383482010-07-12T07:37:37.574-07:002010-07-12T07:37:37.574-07:00"a back of the rotation built on the "Ho..."a back of the rotation built on the "Hope these other guys come back soon!" strategy."<br /><br />And the strategy would have worked except a) Lannan fell off a cliff which I'm not sure anyone saw coming b) Marquis went down and c) Olsen made it back and then went down (personally, I add D) Dettweiler's injury).<br /><br />I'm sure on paper The Nats had Lannan, Marquis, SS + also rans. Instead it's the good ship SS and the also rans with Livo's emergence making up for Lanna's collapse. Just about everything with the starters has gone wrong but for Znn's return and just about everything with the bullpen has gone right. <br /><br />I think Znn, Stras, Marquis, FA pitcher and the best of Olsen, Dett, Wang, Lannan, Livo could be a rotation that could is a WC contender. Not a strong contender but a possible contender. The assumptions are that Znn and Stras continue to develop and Marquis is middle of the road innings eater. Dettweiler is a lagniappe at this point.<br /><br />A bigger concern to me is the hitting. With pitching, at least the Nats can hope that some of the young farm talent develop as a surprise. With the bats, there's no hope for a long time from the farm system. Which means a lot of improvement on the FA market and the question of Desmond. <br /><br />And of course, Flores had another setback so I'd guess Pudge plays 100 games next year.Hoonoreply@blogger.com