tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post1191207423908017725..comments2024-03-27T19:05:25.362-07:00Comments on Nationals Baseball: The Amazing Jayson WerthHarperhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-17586245707383908742016-08-22T05:32:05.094-07:002016-08-22T05:32:05.094-07:00From three lefties in the pen to none available ye...From three lefties in the pen to none available yesterday. What has Rizzo got against those sinister fellows?blovy8https://www.blogger.com/profile/06888192019412533415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-81405156123507334412016-08-21T09:33:54.519-07:002016-08-21T09:33:54.519-07:00ALL HAIL THE GNOME KING!!!ALL HAIL THE GNOME KING!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-38747673269217525742016-08-20T12:10:40.956-07:002016-08-20T12:10:40.956-07:00holy cow. what a catch! holy cow. what a catch! Zimmerman11https://www.blogger.com/profile/14524103974207323535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-61920664765812691502016-08-19T22:11:18.036-07:002016-08-19T22:11:18.036-07:00"12:15pm: The Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate a..."12:15pm: The Nationals’ Triple-A affiliate announced the acquisition of Burnett from Minnesota in exchange for cash considerations."<br />"cash considerations"<br />"cash"<br /><br />Harper, still think the Nats don't add salary in the middle of the year?????????<br />Booyah. Eat crow.mike knoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-62810025842684632882016-08-19T13:55:00.916-07:002016-08-19T13:55:00.916-07:00Great piece, Harper. Also count me among those wh...Great piece, Harper. Also count me among those who think "Beardy Phoenix" should be JW's official nickname from now on. If only he can teach that "come back from injury and hit well again" thing to Zim.<br /><br />@JohnC: It's crazy what Leon has done this year. So far he has literally contributed more fWAR to his team's success than any other catcher in the AL, even though he's only played 44 games. (Lucroy is more valuable overall, but he accumulated most of that value with the Brewers.) There's a sentence I don't think anybody ever imagined they'd be typing.DezoPenguinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-6631636463237506702016-08-19T12:59:08.397-07:002016-08-19T12:59:08.397-07:00Werth has been great as a Nat in every way. Only i...Werth has been great as a Nat in every way. Only injuries got in the way of his success. He is a great leader and was the right player to sign for this organization.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-66566278336069554132016-08-19T12:19:46.750-07:002016-08-19T12:19:46.750-07:00Bjd: Sandy Leon because he has suddenly morphed i...Bjd: Sandy Leon because he has suddenly morphed into the second coming of Buster Posey or something. After amassing -0.2 rWAR/-0.4fWAR over parts of four MLB seasons, he has put up 2.2 rWAR/2.5 fWAR in just 44 games this season. Remarkably, he has done it mostly by hitting! Yes, a guy who put up a career .654 OPS over ten minor league seasons and hasn't put up an OPS above .700 in AAA since his 2012 season in Syracuse has been absolutely mashing in Boston. In 44 games, he has hit .382/.437/.654/1.091.<br /><br />No, that's not a typo. He's essentially been BRYCE at the plate (with more hits and fewer walks). No one knows why or how. Except baseball.John C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-39544249818282933542016-08-19T12:18:53.693-07:002016-08-19T12:18:53.693-07:00Glad to see Burnett back. Looks like he had some ...Glad to see Burnett back. Looks like he had some good numbers in the minors. I hope this doesn't mean Rizzo is done looking another LHP.Chas Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00306056671418831755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-88163617081037818942016-08-19T12:18:27.756-07:002016-08-19T12:18:27.756-07:00@John C Yes and amen. How many times did the comme...@John C Yes and amen. How many times did the comment board light up last year with 'Trade/Bench/Cut JW!'<br /><br />Great post, Harper, one of the best of the year. Favorite line was, 'Good is great when you are expecting bad.' So trueG Cracka Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16718297381010491862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-4870927190267133382016-08-19T12:11:07.617-07:002016-08-19T12:11:07.617-07:00Great post, Harper - an interesting way to break d...Great post, Harper - an interesting way to break down the contract. I understand your point about it being an underlying bad deal because of the overpay. But that thumps into the "confederate money" problem - without an overpay, the Nats probably don't sign Werth. <br /><br />I know that I've said it before, but as fans we do give up too early on players when they go bad and assume that they will continue to do well when they have a career year. Bryce may well never be BRYCE again (see, e.g., Jason Heyward for a player who was transcendent young and hasn't come close since). OTOH we have written off Werth a couple of times, wrote off ALR a couple of times, wrote off Span, and so on. It's one reason why I don't think it's nuts that Zimmerman has one more solid season in him. At age 35 last year Curtis Granderson put up about as many WAR as he had the previous three seasons combined! It happens. In other Zim news, MLB completely exonerated him in concluding the investigation that arose out of the Al Jazeera America story last offseason.John C.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-72316007165239918182016-08-19T12:02:51.259-07:002016-08-19T12:02:51.259-07:00@z11 - Lol what is Sandy Leon doing in there?@z11 - Lol what is Sandy Leon doing in there?Bjd1207https://www.blogger.com/profile/08595153543505790679noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-23273495810514627092016-08-19T11:50:09.411-07:002016-08-19T11:50:09.411-07:00Bye bye Oliver Perez, and welcome back, Sean Burne...Bye bye Oliver Perez, and welcome back, Sean Burnett.PotomacFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17479027458024348671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-11642031649252418652016-08-19T11:29:51.676-07:002016-08-19T11:29:51.676-07:00@Fries... no way!!! I'll take Burnett as LOOG...@Fries... no way!!! I'll take Burnett as LOOGY anytime!!! :) Now let's bring back Sandy Leon and Ian Desmond and win a WS :) <br /><br />Zimmerman11https://www.blogger.com/profile/14524103974207323535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-222860861328464152016-08-19T10:45:09.391-07:002016-08-19T10:45:09.391-07:00Everyone welcome back Sean Burnett and say goodbye...Everyone welcome back Sean Burnett and say goodbye to Oli<br /><br />http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2016/08/sean-burnett-trade-nationals-twins.htmlFriesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-57903712276339870182016-08-19T10:34:36.073-07:002016-08-19T10:34:36.073-07:00Seriously, I enjoyed how you broke down the contra...Seriously, I enjoyed how you broke down the contract by out of order contract year production Harper. Really puts the overall return on the investment into perspective and into the plus column. At least up to now for sure. <br /><br />The thing I like about Werth is he is the guy that all us middle age guys can semi-sorta identify with if we allow ourselves to dream about who we would be if we were MLB players. He is that cagey veteran mentor dude who the younger guys look up to and say out loud 'wow for an old guy he can still hit' and whatnot. <br /><br />Froggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05425616684415704428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-33766491827952659822016-08-19T10:21:34.330-07:002016-08-19T10:21:34.330-07:009.5 game lead over the Marlins, I'm calling it...9.5 game lead over the Marlins, I'm calling it. <br /><br />Froggyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05425616684415704428noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-49944018579157454182016-08-19T09:32:02.463-07:002016-08-19T09:32:02.463-07:00Great piece, Harper. I really like JW and it'...Great piece, Harper. I really like JW and it's great to see him playing well and contributing at his age. Also, good to see another side to the Werth Bad Contract narrative.Chas Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00306056671418831755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-24974322875467984322016-08-19T09:18:56.073-07:002016-08-19T09:18:56.073-07:00Harper, you're in some kind of Nats-blogging z...Harper, you're in some kind of Nats-blogging zone right now. Is the internet scrolling by in slow motion for you? You are crushing it - great stuff. <br /><br />Huzzah for the ascent of the beardy phoenix. I've felt the same about him... like him as a player, his (at times) unnecessarily surly demeanor notwithstanding. When he slumps, he slumps *hard* and looks bad -- the whole dropping to one knee on the swing and miss gives the appearance of being badly overmatched. And if not contributing at the plate, he's basically not contributing at all at this point b/c of his diminished defense.<br /><br />That said - it's such a great thing to see him play well... as time ravages our own physical abilities (play hoops today, hurt for 3 days now? good times.), one finds inspiration in his defiant production. <br /><br />I think we should refer to him henceforth as the Beardy Phoenix. BP.JE34noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-9930679578187918272016-08-19T09:13:23.619-07:002016-08-19T09:13:23.619-07:00and gut not guy and gut not guy Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-24785892873351093742016-08-19T09:12:28.031-07:002016-08-19T09:12:28.031-07:002011 better than 2010 obv, 2011 better than 2010 obv, Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-80102087174388501082016-08-19T09:12:08.123-07:002016-08-19T09:12:08.123-07:00KR - super hard to gauge. I mean the team was cons...KR - super hard to gauge. I mean the team was consistently improving by year 2009 (an unlucky year) was better than 2008, 2010 was better than 2009, 2011 was better that 2012 in roughly the same fashion. THe question is really if the 2012 explosion would have happened without Werth the teammate. My guy says yes - I imagine a gimpy Werth fighting through an injury wouldn't have been best leader, and guys like LaRoche / Tracy might have been leaders. Plus they always talked about Desmond being the guy. but I'm not in the clubhouse so I literally have NO idea. Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-9843196992836992412016-08-19T09:06:27.964-07:002016-08-19T09:06:27.964-07:00"I always liked Werth the player but was ambi..."I always liked Werth the player but was ambivalent about Werth the guy. "<br /><br />In which category do you put "Werth the teammate"? I know "leadership" and stuff is vague and overrated, but it does seem that when he walked in, he said "I've been on winning teams and this is how it's done" and the team listened. Of course, I have no idea how to quantify it, but the Nats' respectability more or less happened right after Werth showed up, and that's probably not a complete coincidence.Kevin Ruschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00246278523767750179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-11418393332129274692016-08-19T09:03:03.494-07:002016-08-19T09:03:03.494-07:00@Anon - How can you be bored with this? The AL Ea...@Anon - How can you be bored with this? The AL East race is crazy close, and with all the H2H games those teams have, it's still *possible* that Seattle could end up with the second AL Wildcard. NL West is still up for grabs, and Pitt and Miami aren't out of the WC race yet, either. <br />Robotnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-6798647205573587032016-08-19T08:43:54.688-07:002016-08-19T08:43:54.688-07:00Anon - not untrue. Right now it seems like the que...Anon - not untrue. Right now it seems like the questions are "Can Pittsburgh pass St. Louis for the 2nd WC" and "Who wins the AL East" anything else coming together by Labor Day would be a nice surprise. <br /><br />mike k - that's true, but I've often thought injuries can have a flip side - by forcing time off all the non-injured parts of your body get rest. So maybe if he plays everyday for first 4-5 years wear and tear grinds him down to nothing. <br /><br />I always liked Werth the player but was ambivalent about Werth the guy. <br /><br />Potomac - count me among those losing money on that bet. Even if I made it in March. Harperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07738813756060133236noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9207681.post-22917925973065122922016-08-19T08:33:29.224-07:002016-08-19T08:33:29.224-07:00Excellent analysis. Who would have thought that J...Excellent analysis. Who would have thought that Jayson Werth would be outperforming Ryan Zimmerman in 2016? Not me!<br /><br />And a terrific metaphor: "But again, like a beardy phoenix rising from the ashes of a flaming high-speed car wreck, Werth has come back."PotomacFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17479027458024348671noreply@blogger.com