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Thread: Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals

  1. #1

    Juan Soto and the Washington Nationals

    With addition of Denard Span, who everyone assumes will be the lead off guy, and Michael Morse having left (he and LaRoche alternate clean up depending on left or rand handed pitching) it will be interesting to see where Harper goes in the line up. Johnson has said he like Desmond at 6 and you have to figure Zimmerman and LaRoche will still be 3 and 4 but who knows. The great thing last year about Werth and Harper being one and two is that they are both pretty patient and make the pitcher show a lot of his stuff before getting to the power in the lineup. I would almost like to see Werth at 2 and Harper at 3 with Zimmerman hitting clean up if his shoulder is still healthy. I think La Roche is perfect in the 5 slot. I'm really hoping Harper takes another leap forward in his hitting this year.

    Also Werth appears not to have shaved in a good year.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by UtahDan View Post
    With addition of Denard Span, who everyone assumes will be the lead off guy, and Michael Morse having left (he and LaRoche alternate clean up depending on left or rand handed pitching) it will be interesting to see where Harper goes in the line up. Johnson has said he like Desmond at 6 and you have to figure Zimmerman and LaRoche will still be 3 and 4 but who knows. The great thing last year about Werth and Harper being one and two is that they are both pretty patient and make the pitcher show a lot of his stuff before getting to the power in the lineup. I would almost like to see Werth at 2 and Harper at 3 with Zimmerman hitting clean up if his shoulder is still healthy. I think La Roche is perfect in the 5 slot. I'm really hoping Harper takes another leap forward in his hitting this year.

    Also Werth appears not to have shaved in a good year.
    One of the Nats insiders said on the radio last week that he wouldn't be surprised to see either Werth or Harper bat in the middle of the line up. Still expects Zimmerman 3 and LaRoche 4.
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  3. #3
    Man, enjoy your success, Washington fans...The Phillies are going to be back this year! The impossible will happen: Halliday won't look like he aged 10 years, same for Young, Dom Brown will finally blossom into a superstar, Howard and Utley will be healthy all year, the Phillies will find another Worley/Happ to man the end of the rotation, and the Braves and Nationals will drop down to their rightful place.

    Ha ha. It's good to talk baseball.

  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Utah View Post
    Man, enjoy your success, Washington fans...The Phillies are going to be back this year! The impossible will happen: Halliday won't look like he aged 10 years, same for Young, Dom Brown will finally blossom into a superstar, Howard and Utley will be healthy all year, the Phillies will find another Worley/Happ to man the end of the rotation, and the Braves and Nationals will drop down to their rightful place.

    Ha ha. It's good to talk baseball.
    I don't think the Phillies will stay down, but I also don't think Washington's success was any kind of fluke. I think we are going to have some great division battles. Our pitching staff was filthy before and added Soriano. We basically lost all of our set up guys on the off season, or more accurately let them go, so that is the area that is a question mark in my mind. I'm not sure anyone thinks we upgraded there, but the consensus I am seeing is that it is not a step backwards.

  5. #5
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  6. #6
    Quote Originally Posted by UtahDan View Post
    I don't think the Phillies will stay down, but I also don't think Washington's success was any kind of fluke. I think we are going to have some great division battles. Our pitching staff was filthy before and added Soriano. We basically lost all of our set up guys on the off season, or more accurately let them go, so that is the area that is a question mark in my mind. I'm not sure anyone thinks we upgraded there, but the consensus I am seeing is that it is not a step backwards.
    Yeah, I agree with you. Washington is a very, very good team. Unless everything goes perfect for Philly, they will be in third again this year.

    Not having a setup guy is what killed Philly last year. There was at least 10 games that the Phillies had the lead in the 7th or later inning and lost it before they could get to their closer.

    I hope that doesn't kill Washington this year (who am I kidding, I do hope it is what kills Wash this year, ha ha).

  7. #7
    Not a Nats fan (Go Giants!), but if I were filling out the lineup card, I'd have Harper in the 1 or 2 hole. He creates so much havoc on the bases that having him near the top of the order would create lots of RBI opportunities for the middle of the lineup. I don't see Werth as a top of the order hitter. I'd rather see him hitting around the 5 or 6 hole to be a run producer. On the other hand, I'm not too familiar with the Nats lineup so I don't know who a better option to lead off would be.

    Back to Harper. Don't over look the importance of base running. A good base runner can put a lot of pressure on the defense and creates lots of opportunities for the offense. Of all the things Harper does so well, his base running is the most impressive to me.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Going Yard View Post
    Not a Nats fan (Go Giants!), but if I were filling out the lineup card, I'd have Harper in the 1 or 2 hole. He creates so much havoc on the bases that having him near the top of the order would create lots of RBI opportunities for the middle of the lineup. I don't see Werth as a top of the order hitter. I'd rather see him hitting around the 5 or 6 hole to be a run producer. On the other hand, I'm not too familiar with the Nats lineup so I don't know who a better option to lead off would be.

    Back to Harper. Don't over look the importance of base running. A good base runner can put a lot of pressure on the defense and creates lots of opportunities for the offense. Of all the things Harper does so well, his base running is the most impressive to me.
    Sorry, but this would be a pretty egregious misuse of assets, at least until Harper improves his OBP and doesn't improve his power (which is extremely unlikely to happen - he has much more projectable growth as a power hitter than as an on-base machine). Werth, on the other hand, has been an OBP machine, the exact type of guy you want hitting in one of the top couple of lineup slots. Werth's OBP last year was .387, compared to .340 for Harper. Over the past 6 years, Werth has posted OBP numbers over .387 3 times, another .363, and another .373. Combine that with the high likelihood that Harper will be a 40+ HR guy very, very soon, and it would be a big mistake to hit Harper at 1 or 2.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Going Yard View Post
    Not a Nats fan (Go Giants!), but if I were filling out the lineup card, I'd have Harper in the 1 or 2 hole. He creates so much havoc on the bases that having him near the top of the order would create lots of RBI opportunities for the middle of the lineup. I don't see Werth as a top of the order hitter. I'd rather see him hitting around the 5 or 6 hole to be a run producer. On the other hand, I'm not too familiar with the Nats lineup so I don't know who a better option to lead off would be.

    Back to Harper. Don't over look the importance of base running. A good base runner can put a lot of pressure on the defense and creates lots of opportunities for the offense. Of all the things Harper does so well, his base running is the most impressive to me.
    Agree completely with your comments about Harper's base running. The kid is fearless - almost reckless - which puts so much pressure on the defense because they have to focus on him and that disrupts what a pitcher wants to do with the current batter. I'm not so sure I'd put him at the lead-off spot until he starts to be more disciplined at the plate. A quick look at his stats from last year showed that he only drew a base on balls 56 times compared to 120 strikeouts. Of course, that has more to do with him being a rookie than impatience.

    Harper is one of the few players in the bigs that I would pay money to see. By that, I mean that even if I didn't love baseball, I would go to a game just to see him play. He does it the right way - he has fun. Hopefully he'll be that kind of player his entire career and won't fall into a stage of apathy where too many pro athletes find themselves. They play, but it's for a paycheck, not for fun and that's not the right attitude to have if one wants to win.
    "Ninety feet between home plate and first base may be the closest man has ever come to perfection." - Red Smith

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Scratch View Post
    Sorry, but this would be a pretty egregious misuse of assets, at least until Harper improves his OBP and doesn't improve his power (which is extremely unlikely to happen - he has much more projectable growth as a power hitter than as an on-base machine). Werth, on the other hand, has been an OBP machine, the exact type of guy you want hitting in one of the top couple of lineup slots. Werth's OBP last year was .387, compared to .340 for Harper. Over the past 6 years, Werth has posted OBP numbers over .387 3 times, another .363, and another .373. Combine that with the high likelihood that Harper will be a 40+ HR guy very, very soon, and it would be a big mistake to hit Harper at 1 or 2.
    I disagree that it would be misusing Harper at the lead-off spot because of his power. But then, I'm not a conventional thinker when it comes to baseball strategy. I understand why Harper would be good at cleanup or the 5 hole, but as a lead-off, he'd have more of a green light to swing away than in the middle of the line-up. A base runner who can hit with power will cause so many headaches for the defense.

    I will say that you are correct that Harper shouldn't be there until he has a better OBP. But he's a smart player and will eventually increase his numbers there. As a rookie, he was just dumb enough to think that he could approach the game against the best in the world as he did at other levels, in which he was the best player on the diamond. It's a rather steep learning curve for rookies, but he'll figure it out sooner rather than later.
    "Ninety feet between home plate and first base may be the closest man has ever come to perfection." - Red Smith

  11. #11
    The Nationals #1 overall picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts are not busts. Just saying.

  12. #12
    Harper is going to hit 50 this year. There, I said it.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by DU Ute View Post
    Harper is going to hit 50 this year. There, I said it.
    That's a clown comment bro.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by smokymountainrain View Post
    The Nationals #1 overall picks in the 2009 and 2010 drafts are not busts. Just saying.
    Just wait until Randone gets up to the bigs. Then it will be three straight years of sick #1 picks.
    “The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth, that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there's little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”
    Carl Sagan

  15. #15
    Quote Originally Posted by DU Ute View Post
    Harper is going to hit 50 this year. There, I said it.
    Davey Johnson on the radio this morning: "Everything that kid hits seems to find a home."
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by DrumNFeather View Post
    Davey Johnson on the radio this morning: "Everything that kid hits seems to find a home."
    Davey Johnson being interview is like watching molasses flow in the middle of winter.

    Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2
    Da-da Da Da dahhh-ahhh! Screw the Y!

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by SuperGabers View Post
    Davey Johnson being interview is like watching molasses flow in the middle of winter.

    Sent from my MB865 using Tapatalk 2
    I like Davey...he's much better than the previous Manager Riggleman, that guy was salty, and not in a good Shanny way either.
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  18. #18
    Nats fans, anything to complain about after the season's first series?

  19. #19
    Nats starting pitching is incredible and should be very good throughout the season, but I have to think the Marlins order is just that bad. That is a pathetic lineup they trot out there every night.

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by scottie View Post
    Nats fans, anything to complain about after the season's first series?
    Not much...very interested to see the back of this rotation. Plus, this weekend we get Strasburg vs. Johnny Cueto, that's a great early season pitching match up.

    Sent from my Desire HD using Tapatalk 2
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  21. #21
    Jason Werth gets 10 days in jail for driving 100+ on the beltway.

    The real question is, how early do you have to be on the beltway to drive 100 MPH? 3 AM?

  22. #22
    Harper's 15 homers lead the NL, and he is really shaping into a quality MLB player. He's a lock all-star right now and a legit MVP candidate. All hail Bryce!
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  23. #23
    Nats just 2 wins (or I believe a win and a Dodger loss tonight) from having home field advantage in the NLDS vs. the LA Dodgers.

    Nats have 3 left vs. Miami
    LA has 3 left vs. SF and one tonight vs. the Padres.
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  24. #24
    Fifth opening day home run. 24 years old. Yikes!!
    “Children and dogs are as necessary to the welfare of the country as Wall Street and the railroads.” -- Harry S. Truman

    "You never soar so high as when you stoop down to help a child or an animal." -- Jewish Proverb

    "Three-time Pro Bowler Eric Weddle the most versatile, and maybe most intelligent, safety in the game." -- SI, 9/7/15, p. 107.

  25. #25
    So...I guess I should change my avatar then?
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  26. #26
    Quote Originally Posted by DrumNFeather View Post
    So...I guess I should change my avatar then?
    Time for Nolan Arenado.

  27. #27
    I cannot believe the Nats came back to win that game...unreal.
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  28. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by DrumNFeather View Post
    I cannot believe the Nats came back to win that game...unreal.
    I know. After Kershaw came in and struck out the next batter on three pitches, I turned it off and went to bed. MOR BASEBALL!

  29. #29
    Quote Originally Posted by Applejack View Post
    I know. After Kershaw came in and struck out the next batter on three pitches, I turned it off and went to bed. MOR BASEBALL!
    No way!!! Oh man...you missed it!

    His pitch to Soto was an absolute meatball. Eaton made up for it by catching a near home-run ball by Will Smith.
    “It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.”

    Well, because he thought it was good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn.

  30. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by DrumNFeather View Post
    No way!!! Oh man...you missed it!

    His pitch to Soto was an absolute meatball. Eaton made up for it by catching a near home-run ball by Will Smith.
    I watched it. I felt bad for Kershaw. I've always kinda rooted against him because I'm a Verlander guy, and sometimes people overrate Kershaw relative to JV. But I just felt bad for him last night.

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