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Manage Like it’s the Playoffs

2017 Articles 2 Comments
Coming off the Dodgers series, there are 13 games left in the season. I think the best way to get the team ready for the playoffs is to manage like they’ve already begun. The first priority is health. Play the guys coming off injury (Jayson Werth, Trea Turner, Michael Taylor, and eventually (hopefully) Bryce Harper), and give the guys who’ve been playing every day the occasional day off. And then pinch-hit, pinch-run, and defensively substitute like you would in October.
Set the lineup based on the team’s health, then use whatever bench and bullpen options you have that day to win the game. Make the games matter to keep the team sharp. It’s also a great way to sort out the bench and back of the bullpen to pinpoint the most effective playoff roster.

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Use Your Heads, Nats Fans: The Number One Seed Is Good

2017 Articles 2 Comments

I have tried to ignore it for days but it is time the address the elephant in the room — or in this case, the dumpster fire in the room. I am, of course, referring to the Los Angeles Dodgers and their increasingly slim lead for the best record in baseball. An 11-game losing streak and only twos win in September through 13 days of the month have created a gaping opportunity for the Washington Nationals to overtake them for home field advantage. This, along with very little else exciting happening for Nats fans, has created a storm of hot takes surrounding the merits of earning the top overall seed. I have considered all sides of this and have finally come to a definitive conclusion: being the top seed is good.

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Come Out to the Half Street Irregulars’ Nationals Youth Baseball Academy Field Day!

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The Nats just swept the Miami Marlins, their closest division rival, and outscored them eleventy billion to 4*. (*It really isn’t important). The Nats are also about 8ish games either side of the “very mediocre” Chicago Cubs, and the “peaking too quickly” Los Angeles Dodgers. The magic number is 4, and it is barely the first week of September. This season has been over and locked in since roughly May of 1932.

So what does a Nats fan do for the rest of the month? Maybe we could all play outside…for a good cause!

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The Official TNB September Awareness Guide

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Back by popular demand, the September Awareness Guide is here! In the month since we last did this, the Washington Nationals still have an enormous division lead and thus are still not exactly appointment television. With that in mind, there are a few things to follow the last four weeks around baseball besides updates on Bryce Harper’s physical, and mental, health.

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Ryan Zimmerman Goes First to Home to Clubhouse

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Over the bases and through the steps, to the clubhouse Zimmy goes.

The Ryan Zimmerman Renaissance is the gift that keeps on giving. Homers, extra-base hits, infield singles, a renewed spring in his step–all characteristic of this great age in Zimstory. Zimmerman scoring from first on a Howie Kendrick double is another unique byproduct. The beeline he made for the clubhouse after touching home might be even better, though.

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Who Should Make the Postseason Roster?

2017 Articles 2 Comments
As September arrives, we are blessed (or cursed, as some curmudgeonly baseball analysts will argue) with expanded rosters. This allows ball clubs to call up additional players from the minor leagues–whether to help relieve injury and fatigue, to rejoin the club after an earlier stint, reinstate from injury, or reward for having a good minor league season–without worrying about the 25-man roster constraint. Some managers abuse this power more than others, but if used right, the extra roster flexibility can help a team on its way to the postseason.

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Playoffs, Here We Come

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The Nationals are cruising to their fourth division title in six years. Most importantly, they have played well with an MLB-high 12 men on the disabled list. On the night Jayson Werth and Max Scherzer came off the disabled list, they clown-pounded the white-hot Marlins. They followed that up by completing the sweep with Vintage Strasmas: Stephen Strasburg pitching a complete-game shutout in which he also homered. Trea Turner is back and running all over the bases. This team is getting healthy, and game one against the Marlins is a reminder of what this lineup can do when healthy. Regular season success is nice, but the playoffs is what matters. Thomas Boswell put it so eloquently, as emblazoned on the walls of the Hall of Fame:

“Baseball is really two sports — the summer game and the autumn game. One is the leisurely pastime of our national mythology. The other is not so gentle.”

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