With about two more months to go until the regular season ends, and with the postseason picture becoming more clear, it’s become obvious that unless something changes drastically, the Nats are going to play the winner of the NL Central in the playoffs. And right now, it’s looking like that team is going to be the Cubs (unless the Brewers can fulfill my chaos-fueled wishes and unseat the Cubs).
Tag Archives: Tanner Roark
Off-The-Field Recap: Reunions and Reintroductions
The Washington Nationals do on-field stuff. But they also do off-field stuff. Here are those things.
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The Starting Pitching Puzzle
For the last few years, the Nationals have been known for their starting pitching. At the the beginning of the season, they looked to have one of the strongest rotations in the league. Max Scherzer had just won the Cy Young, Stephen Strasburg looked to finally be the full-year, dominant starter we’d expected him to be, Tanner Roark was coming off a career year, Gio Gonzalez got off to an incredibly hot start, and Joe Ross was looking to become a full-time rotation piece. Everything seemed to be falling into place.
The Definitive Nationals Replaceability Rankings
If you follow the Washington Nationals closely, you know that the Lerners, owners of the franchise, and General Manager Mike Rizzo have put together a “stars and scrubs” team for the past few years. They designed it to have the majority of the payroll tied up in elite (and marketable) players with minimal money put into depth. It is hard to say it is not working, considering that after nearly 100 games the Nationals have somewhere between three and five MVP candidates and a double-digit lead in the division. With a plethora of injuries testing the limits of that thin depth, stakeholders all over are wondering if they will be able to hold up to losses to key players. With that said, here is a look at the replaceability of key players within the Nationals organization.
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On the Nats’ Search for a Starting Pitcher
The Nationals already made one big deal as the trade deadline approaches, instantly upgrading the state of the bullpen. Mike Rizzo might not be done wheeling and dealing just yet, though. Rizzo is rumored to be on the lookout for another deal for even more bullpen arms. He could also be looking for a rental, veteran centerfielder for the remainder of the season to replace the injured Adam Eaton and the streaky and currently injured Michael A. Taylor. With Joe Ross succumbing to the Tommy John bug, rumors are he might look to the trade market for a new #5 starter. Hopefully those are just rumors, as that would be a waste of Rizzo’s time and the Nationals’ minor league assets.
Tanner Roark’s Not-so-Hot June
It’s Sunday afternoon under a bright June sun. Bryce Harper is jogging towards the right field bullpen fence as a fly ball from Scooter Gennett sails 391feet over his head into the Nationals pen with one out in the top of the second inning.
On the mound, Tanner Roark, just a few months removed from his performance as a national baseball hero in the World Baseball Classic, is rubbing up a fresh baseball as the Reds diminutive second baseman is rounding the bases, probably wondering what went wrong. Again.
Point-Counterpoint with Dan and Court
In a rare crossover, Dan Zaudtke and Court Swift have teamed up to tackle some of Natstown’s hottest questions from opposite viewpoints. Enjoy!
Who Would the Nationals Protect in an Expansion Draft?
Today is the NHL’s expansion draft. If you’re unfamiliar, here’s a quick primer of the NHL expansion rules: each team is allowed to select a certain number of its players to protect. Any others are eligible to be selected by the expansion team, which must select exactly one player from each team.
So, in the spirit of keeping things topical, I decided to take a crack at seeing who the Nationals would protect in an expansion draft. MLB had its own expansion draft 20 years ago when the Arizona Diamondbacks and Tampa Bay Devil Rays joined, and therefore has its own set of rules.
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Nats Power Rankings: June 19
Welcome back to the latest in a series, in which we review the previous week in Nationals baseball and power rank the players according to their performance. This is an extremely unserious exercise; at no point should it ever be confused with actual baseball analysis. Don’t worry, I will do my best to make sure that is obvious. Without further ado: your Washington Nationals, ranked according to power.
Nats Power Rankings: June 5
Welcome back to the latest in a series, in which we review the previous week in Nationals baseball and power rank the players according to their performance. This is an extremely unserious exercise; at no point should it ever be confused with actual baseball analysis. Don’t worry, I will do my best to make sure that is obvious. Without further ado: your Washington Nationals, ranked according to power. Continue Reading Nats Power Rankings: June 5