Who the heck is that guy? — 2020 edition! New faces at #Nats spring training

Posted on February 12, 2020 by SaoMagnifico

Non-Roster Invitees by Nats Graphics

It’s here! It’s finally here! As pitchers and catchers and coaches descend on West Palm Beach this week, the long, dark winter is finally coming to an end and baseball season is about to begin. Continue reading →

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The Nats open Spring Training camp today; It is all about the pitching!

Posted on February 12, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Laura Peebles for TalkNats.com

As soon as the World Series parade wrapped up, we were counting down the days until camp opened today for the Washington Nationals at their shared Spring Training facility at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida. The offseason is over, and the preseason starts with pitchers and catchers reporting first to camp as is the tradition for all teams. The strength of this Nats team is the pitching, and the Nationals are ranked the best in baseball for starters 1-to-4 in the rotation.  Continue reading →

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Nats News & Notes | Spring Training camp opens! Nats Promo Schedule, Manfred ideas for the future

Posted on February 11, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

The media will be in full force at the World Champion spring training home of the Washington Nationals for the wrong reasons. They are there to cover the Houston Astros cheating scandal on the other side of the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches that they share with the Nats. Sure, the Nats will get more coverage than normal, but this is the time to be happy that “realer” baseball is back as Spring Training camps open around baseball. This pre-season will give us the first glimpses of what this 2020 Nats team will look like plus all of the new faces. Also in the news, the Nats marketing department released the full calendar of promo events which includes the bobblehead releases as usual but this year will have a “Champions Week” to open the home schedule in April! Continue reading →

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Fangraphs first 2020 standings has Nats in first in NL East at 87 1/2 wins; Nats got an A- for their offseason from Bowden!

Posted on February 10, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears


As the offseason for the Washington Nationals officially ends at midnight tomorrow, the pre-season begins as pitchers and catchers officially report to the Spring Training facility at the FITTEAM Ballpark of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach, Florida. Sure, additional roster moves will be made, and there could be some other personnel moves that could impact the rosters. Fangraphs has released their first standings projections for 2020 and the Nats are fractionally ahead of the Mets even though they are slightly behind the Mets in team WAR (+44.0 to +43.4). The computative reasoning is because Fangraphs uses averaged “run differential” to determine the standings. Also, the final grade from former general manager Jim Bowden writing in The Athletic was an A- for the Nats offseason grade as Bowden analyzed each team’s roster moves. Not too shabby when you consider the Nats are still at a +43.4 in Fangraphs with a .540 winning percentage as that is 87 ½ wins with  4.93 runs scored per game and  4.53 runs against. Are those wins enough to get the Nationals back to the postseason is the million dollar question. Continue reading →

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The Mookie Betts blueprint for a trade!

Posted on February 9, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by: Greg Fiume/Getty Images

When a trade falls apart and twenty-eight other competitors see your blueprint in bold ink, a general manager from another team could step up to the plate and propose a deal of their own. How could you acquire Mookie Betts and get the Red Sox more than Alex Verdugo and Brusdar Graterol while getting their CBT cap in order? The cash part of the deal is certainly complicated as is including David Price in the Betts deal. What would a smart GM do if he was one of those top teams looking to give his team a better chance to win it all? Here’s the issue — best teams on paper usually do not win it all. Injuries happen, players improve, players get worse, players perform better and players under-perform. Just because a team gets Mookie Betts does not guarantee a World Series championship. Continue reading →

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Analyzing the groups in West Palm Beach and the 1-0 W-factor!

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

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Posted in Analysis, DaveMartinez, MikeRizzo, Roster, SpringTraining | Leave a comment

T -minus 1 week for #Nats Spring Training camp to officially open!

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Early camp on the backfields of FITTEAM in West Palm Beach; photo by Andy Ward for TalkNats

As the clock ticks towards the opening of Spring Training camp, the rumors just will not go away about the Nats attached to a marquee player. Once again Bob Nightengale is tweeting about a Kris Bryant trade and mentioned the Washington Nationals. The same people who were so wrong about the Nats and Josh Donaldson are at it again. If you believe there is a chance because there is a need, then look around because Fangraphs believes the Nationals greatest needs were at other position where the Nats are the weakest at first base (7th worst) and catcher (6th worst). Maybe the Nats should have been trying to get Brandon Belt (+2.0 WAR) in a trade with the Giants and Yasmani Grandal  (+4.9 WAR) in free agency.  Continue reading →

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Highlights from Bob Davids Chapter SABR Day, February 1, 2020

Posted on February 4, 2020 by ArVaFan aka Laura Peebles

The annual SABR day for the largest chapter of SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) had the usual array of interesting speakers. Some of their research is available on-line, so if you have a particular interest and can’t find the material, post a note below and I’ll see if I can find it. Continue reading →

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Davey Martinez is back to work; Final prep for West Palm Beach!

Posted on February 3, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

We are one week and two days away from the official opening of the 2020 Spring Training camp. The offseason ends and the preseason begins. There should not be many unknowns on who makes the roster, but it will be an ongoing topic as always during Spring Training. Manager Dave Martinez of the Washington Nationals and his coaching staff will put the final touches on their plans. During the disappointing 2018 Spring Training, Martinez had camels on-site. For 2019, it was more subdued. How will the 2020 camp at the FITTEAM Ballpark at the Palm Beaches be this year? Few clues have been given. Continue reading →

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Coming off a 59-103 season and Strasburg in Viera, there was hope 10 years ago!

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears

How did you feel about the Washington Nationals ten years ago? The team assembling for Spring Training in Viera, Florida was coming off of a 59-103 season. We got our first glimpse of Stephen Strasburg who was in camp, and we all knew that if Bryce Harper qualified for the draft as a seventeen year old phenom, he would be the Nats choice in the 2010 draft with the No. 1 pick. The key free agent signing that offseason was on January 6th when closer Matt Capps was signed and quickly traded for Wilson Ramos months later.  A year earlier general manager Jim Bowden resigned after Smiley-gate, and Mike Rizzo took the helm. He had already traded Ryan Langerhans for Mike Morse during the 2009 season, and you could see the makings for the 2012 roster coming together. Hope springs eternal. Continue reading →

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