Expectations for Nationals Series

[MurphDogg]

3 minutes ago, TheEldestTorres said:

How on earth is Matt Albers still a major league baseball player......

Decent control and smoke and mirrors. He isn't likely to sustain his 11 and 2/3rds innings of 2017 dominance with a sub-7 K/rate. His groundball rate is better than it was with the O's as well.

[Machado13]

10 minutes ago, TheEldestTorres said:

How on earth is Matt Albers still a major league baseball player......

And what is scary is he has been their most effective arm. I think the 3 run game tying HR he gave up yesterday was his first runs given up since he joined their pen.

The Nats are a pretty darn good team with a really bad bullpen. 

[backwardsk]

No Turner tonight.

[25 Nuggets]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

3.58 ERA vs. 5.50 ERA.

That would qualify as "not on fire" vs. "terrible". 

I want to see a 2-2 split.  They haven't played many teams as good as the Orioles either.

[bobmc]

3 hours ago, dan-O said:

This is potentially the worst matchup so far of the season. Every bit as bad as the Yankees series. 

Their bullpen is suspect, but ours isn't exactly on fire right now, either. 

Gio has the 2nd best ERA in the league and just so happens to pitch left-handed.

Gausman is a smoldering trash fire.

Our hitters still aren't exactly hot.

 

You did not mention your whipping boy Dylan Bundy with the dissipating velocity, overuse of the CU/SL and being overpitched by Buck.  What gives?  

[bobmc]

4 hours ago, dan-O said:

Check out 32 year old Ryan Zimmerman. These numbers are bananas.

AB: 108

AVG: .435

HR: 13

BABIP: .472

 

Per Bos last week, he credits Dusty:

"What this gives us is a new baseline assumption about Zimmerman: When he's fairly healthy, he can still bat fifth or sixth (or seventh) and play 1st base for a contending team and be a good contributor. We didn't know that. Over-the-hill was absolutely possible. Gotta give Dusty Baker credit: He was totally 100 percent behind Zimmerman for '17. Baker deeply believes that he understands hitters. He watched Ryan crush the ball for six months last year and get nothing. Yes, he saw too many ground balls and too many K's. But he saw the core player who could still reemerge.

I love stats and stat analysis. But the stat community would have BURIED Ryan Zimmerman, velocity off the bat and bad BABIP or not. He was the SECOND-WORST regular in MLB last year by advanced metrics.

Dusty said (to me, but also to others at various times), "Zim is the key." Or "Zim is my pick to click." At the last exhibition game at Navy, I was standing behind the cage with Baker during BP. Zim was pounding the ball. Dusty said, "Some players know how to drive in runs. It's partly an art. How do you set up pitchers so that when you have two guys in scoring position you know they will probably pitch you away -- and that's the time you slap that single to rightfield for two RBI. He knows all the tricks. I can't wait to move him up (in the lineup)."

https://live.washingtonpost.com/ask-boswell-20170424.html

[Grt 2BA FL Gator]

I'm getting surprisingly nostalgic about Wieter's return. I remember well his ML debut. So much promise attached to his arrival. He did help us back to relevance in some ways. Look forward to seeing what type of reception he gets. 

[sportsfan8703]

As much as I dislike the NL, tonight's game is going to be a tough one. Brach is likely unavailable. He's pitched in 3 of the last 4 games. Even on a good night Ubaldo is only going 5+. That's a lot of outs to get when the only "A" squad guys we have available are O'day(closer), Givens and Hart. 

The winning streak is good, of course, but a product of that has been our pen is taxed. We better bring the bats tonight and Asher is probably going to have to give us 1-2 IP out of the pen if we have a lead after 5. 

[bobmc]

13 hours ago, Grt 2BA FL Gator said:

I'm getting surprisingly nostalgic about Wieter's return. I remember well his ML debut. So much promise attached to his arrival. He did help us back to relevance in some ways. Look forward to seeing what type of reception he gets. 

I was happy to see him and to see us crush a few dingers from his pitch selection.  His double in the ninth was clutch but does anyone think a decent outfielder would have caught that?  Kakes?  Mookie?

 

Fun fact - I saw both Wieters' and Harper's first pro home runs - Matt in Viera, ironically, vs the Nats and Harper in the AFL in Scottsdale.  

[Redskins Rick]

9 minutes ago, bobmc said:

I was happy to see him and to see us crush a few dingers from his pitch selection.  His double in the ninth was clutch but does anyone think a decent outfielder would have caught that?  Kakes?  Mookie?

 

Fun fact - I saw both Wieters' and Harper's first pro home runs - Matt in Viera, ironically, vs the Nats and Harper in the AFL in Scottsdale.  

Didnt you see Babe's first home run?

[bobmc]

16 minutes ago, Redskins Rick said:

Didnt you see Babe's first home run?

I saw you strike out in a PG County slow pitch game (or is that AA County?) at Rips Field back in '81 - that's as far back as I can remember!  

How did we ever survive all the pitchers of beer after the games and driving home?  Town Hall in CP was my fave!  Close to home.

[Frobby]

34 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

The winning streak is good, of course, but a product of that has been our pen is taxed

By which you mean, the A team is taxed.   When you have a lot of leads, the guys you use to protect leads in the close games get used more.    Brach is on pace to throw 98 innings and make 94 appearances.    That's not sustainable.  

[Aglets]

So are you suggesting we need to start losing more games?  

#1st/2ndplaceproblems

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, Aglets said:

So are you suggesting we need to start losing more games?  

#1st/2ndplaceproblems

Naw, let's just win by bigger margins!

[Can_of_corn]

4 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Naw, let's just win by bigger margins!

Does a big enough lead exists that Buck will entrust it to the "B" team?