by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
If you have been following along, most MLB teams have done nothing this offseason except for go into hibernation. There is a very good chance that MLB commissioner Rob Manfred will ask for a delay and shortening of the baseball season, and we will be thrust into the same ugliness we saw all spring between MLB and the player’s union spatting off at each other on what the 2020 season would turn into. Yes, the Covid pandemic has changed lives. But here we are again. Continue reading
An empty stadium at Nationals Park; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Before the news was announced by the media through some anonymous sourced report, Howie Kendrick beat everyone to it by publishing his own words on his Instagram account regarding the decision to retire from baseball. For months he spoke about returning to play again, and even at the beginning of this month he reiterated that. Just three weeks later — something changed — and Kendrick called his baseball career, complete. There will not be a Hall of Fame enshrinement, but he will forever be a part of Cooperstown due to his donation of Nats World Series memorabilia. Not only did Kendrick hit the grand slam in extra innings to beat the Dodgers in the finale of the NLDS, but then he hit the CLANG heard ’round the world in the World Series to win that. Forever a Nationals hero. Continue reading
Davey and Mike are the first ones off the escalator: Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Putting together a roster in the offseason is complicated, of course. Some of it is choosing from the ala carte menu while some of it feels like you are piecing together an intricate puzzle. If general manager Mike Rizzo is choosing a starting pitcher and a backup catcher, they are not as dependent on the rest of the roster as a starting infielder or outfielder would be and as such you could pick them up ala carte. Continue reading
When the Winter Meetings went 100 percent virtual two weeks ago, it was about as exciting as watching paint dry. The normal media scrums that would be held in crammed spaces of a behemoth hotel were replaced by ZOOM meetings on computers. On Tuesday as you know, the Nationals made general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dave Martinez available for their post-Winter Meetings media sessions. Rizzo did his session from his home, and Davey filmed his at Nationals Park. There were no bombshells dropped except for maybe Rizzo’s revelation that the Nats “haven’t had a serious conversation about Kris Bryant in probably two years.” Otherwise, it was staying politically correct while not tipping their hands. Continue reading
Normally during the Winter Meetings, the Washington Nationals hold their center court time at the official hotel, but everything went virtual this year due to COVID, and we never heard from the President of Baseball Operations and General Manager, Mike Rizzo. This afternoon Mike Rizzo and his manager Dave Martinez made themselves available via ZOOM. Continue reading
Photo courtesy of Andrew Lang for TalkNats
To quote Daniel Murphy when he was with the Washington Nationals, “Do you go to FanGraphs at all?” If you did a deep dive into FanGraphs projections, you might know that your Washington Nationals have one of the lowest rated infields in terms of WAR. It gets even worse when you remove Trea Turner‘s +3.8 projected WAR from the mix as the Nats drop to the bottom in all of baseball. Yes, if the Nats do not acquire another player for their infield, they would be the worst in baseball if you removed the Nats star shortstop. The combined number for everyone else is +0.7. Continue reading
Soto sports his “La Leche” shirt exiting Fenway Park; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Nats Single-A hitting coach Jorge Mejia was Juan Soto’s mentor coming up through the Nationals system, and Mejia checks in often on him and in-person during the offseason. It is a process and Soto also had hitting coach Kevin Long working on a plan to make improvements. In 2019, Soto transformed to another level working with Long on the offspeed pitches. It was part of the adjustments to get Soto to the next level, and he improved his chase rate on pitches out of the zone to one of the best marks in the Majors in 2020. It was reminiscent of Barry Bonds where he was willing to take his walks and move the line — but if a pitcher tried to come over the plate in the zone — Soto was going to punish the baseball. And he did repeatedly to win the batting crown with a .351 batting average and the youngest to ever do it in the National League. Continue reading
The first day of the Winter Meetings saw some action in trades. The White Sox traded former Nats top prospect Dane Dunning for Lance Lynn. It was Dunning who was part of the trio of players sent to the White Sox in the Adam Eaton trade exactly four years ago to the day.
The Cincinnati Reds who appear to be cutting payroll as they traded their closer Raisel Iglesias to the Angels. Last week the Reds non-tendered a few players including Archie Bradley. In a year where the NL Central looked to be up for grabs, the Reds are back to penny pinching. That is an alarming trend we are seeing among teams in the central divisions. Continue reading
Swing and miss on another strikeout; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Everyone believes that the new Mets ownership will be spending in Flushing, but they won’t be flushing “stupid money” down the loo like Phillies owner John Middleton proudly did after he exclaimed those words less than two years ago before they signed Bryce Harper as their team’s highest-paid player. Rumors are out there that Harper is on the trade block and will join Jean Segura and now reportedly Zack Wheeler as pieces that the team from Philadelphia could move as the Phillies face a “financial crunch” according to Buster Olney of ESPN. Continue reading
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
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