Will Mike Rizzo sign key players before the Winter Meetings?

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Jeffery Salter

They say the early bird gets the worm, and in free agency last year, the players who signed early got some of the best deals. The free agency market was perhaps the worst it has been in recent history. It was so bad for unsigned free agents last off-season that the MLB Players Association set-up a training camp them at the IMG Academy in Florida. Will free agents take their chances or will they be pushing to sign early? If there was a direction to that answer, maybe it came from Trevor Rosenthal who was the first free agent to sign this off-season and it was Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo who inked him.  Would Rizzo sign other key free agents before the Winter Meetings next month in Las Vegas? Continue reading →

Posted in MikeRizzo | Leave a comment

An Appreciation: The Natural

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Ray Wyvill

Buffalo’s War Memorial Stadium, setting for The Natural

The nature of baseball itself has a dramatic effect on devotees.  The world has many digital-choice realities that dictate how we live.  For those in the Mid-Atlantic about half of the year is spent in short sleeves. The other is spent bundled in some fashion.  The lawn needs a weekly mow seemingly forever, and then it doesn’t for seemingly as long.  The list of polar opposites is long.  Baseball is no different.  The schedule is 27 weeks of 6 games per week.  With an average duration of 3 hours and 4 minutes per game viewing 162 games requires just shy of 500 hours.  Watching a game becomes a part of the evening ritual.  By the end of the season it becomes hard to remember an evening without baseball.  And, then it’s gone.  The huge void creates a bit of disorientation at first.  Daylight Savings Time goes away which compounds the insult.  After the “Hot Stove” talk on MLB TV ends at 8pm here comes the list of (mostly awful) baseball-related movies.  At least one is worthy of attention and a two-hour investment, however, the 1984 gem, “The Natural.”

Continue reading →

Posted in Feature | Leave a comment

The NL East will look different in 2019

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

As we showed yesterday, several NL East standouts are now free agents. The NL East will look very different. Fangraphs has the Nationals ahead of the other NL East teams in combined WAR now. Of course that is prior to all the off-season moves, and then we play the games where WAR goes out the window and game results is all that matters. The Nationals had a pythagorean of 90 wins in 2018, but in actuality the team won only 82 games. The final tally on the team combined WAR for the 2018 season was at just under 40 which was well below the 47.1 they were projected at.  Continue reading →

Posted in Analysis | Leave a comment

Four of the five NL East teams believe they can win it all in 2019

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

2019 pre-season Fangraphs WAR projections

On Fangraphs initial projections for 2019 team WAR, they are only able to compute their numbers based on personnel on the 40-man roster. Some might think that the Braves who won the NL East are getting no respect, but they have some huge holes to fill in right field, the bullpen, and Fangraphs are no longer believers in Dansby Swanson and Julio Teheran while projecting regression for Mike Foltynewicz. The Braves star continues to shine with Freddie Freeman who turns 30 next year. Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Veteran’s Day; QO deadline at 5PM; Rookie of Year awards show at 6PM

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

On this Veteran’s Day, we want to start this article with honoring all who have served and given us the ability to enjoy our freedoms. We are fortunate that the Washington Nationals honor veterans and patriotism at every home game which is a special and unique part of being a Nats fan. It never feels forced or fake.  Today is also the deadline for the players who received Qualifying Offers to accept them or reject them. Today at 6pm is the Rookie of the Year announcements. For Nationals fans, there will be no drama as to whether or not Bryce Harper will reject his Q.O., but there will be some drama as to who wins the NL Rookie of the Year award as Juan Soto posted the greatest teenage rookie season in baseball history. Continue reading →

Posted in Awards, QO | Leave a comment

Mike Rizzo said he needed a spectacular package to trade Bryce Harper. Did a team offer him a spectacular package?

Posted on November 11, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Mitchell Layton for the Nationals; picture with Mike Rizzo (L), Scott Boras (C), Harper (R) and Bryce’s parents in the background in 2010

The kid is all grown up at 26 and is a free agent for the first time in his career. When he was 17-years-old, he was drafted in 2010 at #1 overall by the Washington Nationals. For Bryce Harper a.k.a.  “Baseball’s Chosen One” , he met those expectations in 2015 when he won the MVP award, but his stardom has not been as dominant since that MVP season. If you think of a baseball contract like a marriage, the end of it sometimes feels like a divorce. It is easier to say goodbye when the relationship is not going well — you know — like when Bryce was batting .209 back in June. Harper finished his season strong offensively, and is now officially a free agent. He is the talk of baseball.

The Nationals had a chance to trade Harper before the trade deadline and again when he was claimed by the Dodgers in August, and as we know it did not happen. Nationals’ general manager Mike Rizzo said many times that he would need a spectacular package to trade Harper. One person’s spectacular package is another’s unspectacular package as the beauty is in the eyes of the beholder — but two stories have broken this weekend about packages that Rizzo was supposedly offered.  Continue reading →

Posted in Harper, Lerners, MikeRizzo | Leave a comment

Sorry ladies, Trea Turner got married today!

Posted on November 10, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo from Kristen Harabedian of the couple!

There is a strategy when you set your wedding date in advance as a Washington Nationals player. There are so many key dates to traverse like the World Series (just in case) in October then there is the G.M. Meetings and then there is the Winter Meetings and the Nats Winterfest. For Trea Turner and his fiancé Kristen Harabedian, they set their date back in 2017 for November 10th for a “grand” wedding in Washington, D.C. at the National Museum of Women in the Arts and is referred to as the “National Museum” which is the perfect venue for the Nationals Trea-sure to be married in a National museum. How special was it that the Florida kids got married in Washington, D.C. which is Trea’s second home during the baseball season and the couple got married while surrounded by family, friends, co-workers (Nationals players), and former teammates.  Continue reading →

Posted in Feature, Turner | Leave a comment

One month to the Winter Meetings and it’s the calm before the swarm!

Posted on November 9, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

One month from today the Winter Meetings begin on December 9th in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Resort.  This is a televised event, and this should be the most dramatic Winter Meetings ever because Las Vegas’ own Bryce Harper should be the talk of the town this year. On top of that, Las Vegas resident Kris Bryant was rumored today to have been made available via trade by his Chicago Cubs team. Continue reading →

Posted in Feature | Leave a comment

G.M. Mike Rizzo reiterates his desire to acquire a frontline catcher!

Posted on November 8, 2018 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

With Matt Wieters declared as a free agent, the Washington Nationals have been in “search” mode for a frontline catcher. We can cut and paste our early October article on the subject as Mike Rizzo made this clear at that time it was a priority.  Continue reading →

Posted in MikeRizzo, Ramos, Roster | Leave a comment

Where Will Bryce Harper play next year? A Betting Guide!

Posted on November 7, 2018 by Alex Uplinger

Harper with the gold!

With free agency now in full-swing, much of the speculation surrounds where Bryce Harper will sign his next contract. Rumors are rampant, and everyone seems to have an opinion on which destination makes the most sense. Continue reading →

Posted in Feature, Harper | Leave a comment