Washington Nationals: Are They Legit? A Sirius/XM Conversation...
by Patrick Reddington on May 7, 2010 1:00 PM EDT
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PrintI tuned in to Sirius/XM's Inside Pitch Thursday afternoon for what I thought would be an interview with Nats' catcher and future Hall of Famer Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez, but the Nats' backstop didn't show for some reason, so the show's hosts Jim Duquette and Kevin Kennedy took a few minutes to discuss what's changed in the nation's capital, and ask the question, "Are the Nationals for real?":
Jim Duquette: "...the biggest improvement from last season has been the defense, which we know up the middle is I-Rod, Ian Desmond, Nyjer Morgan and the bullpen, along with the addition of [Matt] Capps. But, the statement, 'The Nationals are for real," are you ready to say that. I'm not. I'm not ready to say that, but I mean they are improved, I have to give them credit. They're definitely improved, when I hear for real, that for me gives me the impression, OK they're a playoff, I don't think that they're there yet..."
Kevin Kennedy: "I can't say that. Obviously I'm not up close and personal seeing them like Rob Dibble is, or somebody on our channel covering the team, but I will say this, they added some nice pieces, and I know Pudge Rodriguez isn't going to hit .400 this year, but he's hitting .405 right now, he had two more hits (Wednesday) night, and Zimmerman's hitting like crazy and he's a Gold Glover right there, and Morgan runs it down, and I know Jimmy Riggleman from many years managing against him in the minor leagues, and Triple-A years ago, and his days in Chicago and San Diego, he is a good, defensive-minded manager, that is a big-time priority for Jimmy, and that will keep you in games no matter what your pitching is if you can catch the ball. So that's big, and I thought, and I said this many times, they had a pretty decent offensive club a year ago and they're just that much better, so 'for real' to me means that they're going to make a difference in the division as far as they're going to hurt a few clubs as far as their chances for the postseason, because they can battle. They're battling and scrapping right now 27 games in. That's the way I take that."
Jim Duquette: "And I think, obviously talking about the power...just one more quote I'll use because I don't want to disclose who the scout is, cause he'll be upset at me, I probably won't get another email from him, no more texts and emails, but you know, he says the key for them, in his opinion, has been the starting pitching. You scratch your head and look for the smoke and mirrors, cause they don't currently have a top-of-the-rotation starter, you know, but Livan [Hernandez] has been leading the way. They do have a guy, potentially, in, obviously [Stephen] Strasburg, who, I wouldn't say he's going to be the number one this year, but clearly his stuff, we know his stuff is there, and he says [Ross] Detwiler and Chien-Ming Wang are on their way, I think you're not going to see Wang very good this year, just because of the injury, coming back from it, it may not be til July or August til we see him pitch, and pitch well maybe towards the end of the season, but again, you're right in a sense they will be factors in the division where I don't think they've been factors in the division in previous years...
?'s For The DC Faithful:
• If the Nationals are around .500 after 50 games will you start to think they're for real?
• Is disrupting the playoff hopes of other teams enough for this season? Will a fourth place finish instead of fifth make a difference to you?
• What do you expect from Chien-Ming Wang this season?
• Does a healthy Ross Detwiler take a spot from any of the current starters?
• Is it June yet? At least we'll get to watch Strasburg tonight?
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I’ve wondered myself how long the Nats have to continue to play like this before they’re accepted as a legitimate team. I’d say at least half the season, if not the entire season, just because they’re coming off two horrendous years. I want to believe they’re legitimate now, but I still think it’s too early to tell for sure. Then again, I predicted they wouldn’t be competitors until 2012, so this is awesome.
i put so very little stock in this type of exchange
i doubt Duquette and Kennedy have watched more than six innings combined of a Nats game this season.
Your voice of doom and gloom. Read more at natsnewsnetwork.blogspot.com
by Dave at District Sports Page on May 7, 2010 1:08 PM EDT reply actions
The Sportscenter Guys had never heard of the Silver Elvis Wig Schtick
When they interviewed Olsen after last night’s game. I think it’s really cool that Olsen wore it though :-)
That's also why I posted this, Dave.
Just to give a feel for what someone who knows baseball and is following but maybe not closely watching the Nats thinks of what they’ve been able to do…
Heck, half the league is still making Natinals jokes…
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on May 7, 2010 1:31 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
It's worthwhile to read what they say, but need to be taken in context.
Your voice of doom and gloom. Read more at natsnewsnetwork.blogspot.com
by Dave at District Sports Page on May 7, 2010 1:39 PM EDT up reply actions
Ed/Patrick,
They are like those guy who did a video interview with you a couple of time during the off season….
They looked like they could barely contain their laughter or keep from rolling their eyes when discussing the Nats prospects…
I don’t think they know squat about the Natinals (other than that they can’t spell…. but who am I to point fingers when it comes to spelling)
If they can just get through May
24 more games… come June I’ll be busting out all over.
A lot has to go right for them to be “for real”, meaning sniffing the playoffs, i.e. Strasburg is “Strasburg”, Storen is “Storen”, Livan is continues to pitch well (and i don’t mean he has to be 4-1 with a .94 ERA, I’ll take 2-3 with an ERA around 4.00 over the next 5 games), someone emerges from the flock of pitchers recovering from injury and is half way decent, and maybe they trade for another stick to put in RF (althought Bernadino has really surprised me).
That’s a lot of “ifs”, but it’s not out of the question.
However, if I had to place a bet it would be that they emerge from the cellar make some other teams sweat and no more.
So, in answer to the question would finishing 4th instead of 5th make any difference to me? I say hell yeah and just wait til next year.
(AND, BTW, I think Desmond is the real deal and that Olsen is looking more and more like the come back player of the year)
They have a lot of good young pitchers
These guys have all had a great game here or there during the last couple of seasons, but lacked any consistency. Now with Pudge as their receiver they have a very good veteran to get their heads in the game. I think he makes the difference. Plus he is hitting great but I feel he will come back to earth and hit .270 by the end of the year
I think they will have trouble if they hit a slump, they will stay in it for awhile and that will put them in the bottom of the division. But it will be a very good building block season with success coming soon
the mets played better than the nationals the first few weeks and weren’t taken seriously.
we’ve knocked teams off the wildcard before (mets come to mind) i don’t remember feeling particularly proud about that.
i think it comes down to starting pitching for a different reason. Legit to me means other teams aren’t looking forward to facing the nationals and I think we’re about halfway there. we have some starters that other linups are probably licking their chops over and others they fear. in the second half of this season, spots on the rotation are going to be more limitied (im thinking hernandez, strasburg, olson, and hopefully improved versions of lannan and detweiler) and i don’t see a lot of teams viewing those as easy games. that will be legitamacy
Agree on the pitching...
Come July/August hopefully no one will want to face the Nats and next year with Zimmermann back, it can hopefully only get better…
I did however take a lot of joy in knocking the Mets for a loop a few years back…was in Shea for one late season heartbreaker. Just quietly cheered to myself while the crowd lost it…
Vivian Jaffe: "Have you ever transcended space and time?"
Albert Markovski: "Yes. No. Uh, time, not space... No, I don't know what you're talking about."
by Patrick Reddington on May 7, 2010 3:36 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Right now I don't see another team being close enough to the Fillies for the Nats to knock 'em out.
Although maybe the Nats will be a factor in the wild card race—even if its not to get a spot for Washington, it makes the games more exciting.
"And everybody lived happily ever after. Except the Phillies and the Mets. The End." --Sasskuash
Friend of Dukes and Desmond #3
They're Not a Playoff Contender ...
But they are a real MLB team, and that’s such an improvement it almost takes my breath away. I have upped my over/under for wins to 75, and I think .500 is a possibility. Riggleman is doing a great job of using the assets on the team, but the team still has obvious holes (RF, Starting pitching, bullpen beyond Clip & Save).
For the record, a healthy Detwiler would easily shove Stamman out of the rotation. He’s 1-1, but with an ERA of 6.39 (blech). Strasburg coming up would move Atilano back to AAA where he can get more work in and continue to develop. I do expect Wang to pitch for the Nats this year, but only for a handful of wins late in the year.
IMHO they do need to re-sign Dunn, though – unless they think they’ve got a shot at Carl Crawford, and the Red Sox and Yankees may have something to say about that. Dunn would come much cheaper, likes it here and is liked in the clubhouse, and the big guy really centers the lineup. He’s Ryan Howard lite, for much less money.
And unlike previous years, there is a plausible "lighting in a bottle" playoff scenario:
Strasburg is Strasburg, Lannan and Marquis get healthy and Wang gets back by July, while Livan muddles through. Suddenly your rotation is Strasburg, Lannan, Marquis, Hernandez and Wang, with Olsen, Atilano AND Detwiler as fallback options pitching in AAA. Storen establishes himself as the 7th inning guy, allowing Burnett to deal with lefties and Clip & Save come back to the pack but don’t crash. On offense, as Pudge cools off Flores comes back and learns from the master; Dunn heats up with the weather and Morgan ups his batting average and SB%. Most importantly Zimmerman, Desmond, Morgan and Willingham stay healthy and effective. And someone finally grabs the RF job with their bat, not just their glove. I’d prefer that Maxwell do it and save TAWH as a swing guy, but I’d be OK if Bernardina jumped up.
Likely? No – as I said, my over/under is still 75 wins. But it’s plausible, with hope for the future, and I’ll take that and RUN with it :-)
In some the recent ESPN Baseball Today Podcasts....
Eric Karibel (not sure of the spelling) has had kind words for the Nationals. He acts like they’re a real team.
"Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?"--The Brain
We are near last in SP ERA and other pitching stats
so the answer is no….Livan won’t hold up, Pudge won’t continue his average, and our SP will continue sucking while we eventually succomb to it and stop getting lucky with late hits/runs
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