Going Deep with The Nats

Overall, the amount of “clutch” we have seen in this postseason has to go to the pitching and defense and maybe even to fan interference. Last night’s Astros’ game practically started with an historic umpire call that negated a two-run home run in the first inning on fan interference and the game ended on an Alex Bregman bases loaded line drive that was caught by Andrew Benintendi with only a 21% Statcast™ catch probability. So far this postseason has seen numerous Web Gems as well as some key pitching performances. The debate can rage on if there is a “clutch” gene and whether or not that is even fair to say in small sample sizes.  Continue reading →

Baseball is different from the days of Christy Matthewson and Walter Johnson

Professional baseball is a system.  Within the confines of the game changes apply pressure to one or multiple components.  The system reacts to the pressure with responses of its own.  This can all happen in a short period of time.  Typically, however, baseball is slow to respond to stimulus.  It is only when looking over the decades that the magnitude of the changes is really appreciated.  Today’s game is far different than it was fifty years ago.  It is placing stresses in places that will require a systemic response. Continue reading →

Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

With Matt Wieters headed to free agency, the Washington Nationals depth chart of catchers consists of Spencer Kieboom, Pedro Severino, and Raudy Read. While those pickings seem slim, the Nationals through attrition dug deep in their farm system and plucked Spencer Kieboom, and he finished strong for the Nats batting .375 after September 10th with a 1.108 OPS and a +0.6 WAR on the season.  You can expect Mike Rizzo to upgrade the catcher position through a trade or free agency, and this is a good market for free agent catchers this year. Previously, the Nationals were tied firmly in trade rumors to Miami’s All-Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and nothing ever seemed close to getting done as the rumored asking price was too much. Continue reading →

Today the fine analysts at MLB Trade Rumors prepared their estimates for arbitration eligible players as well as Super Two players. It is clear who six of the Washington Nationals arbitration eligible players are this off-season, but there is a player who could receive 4 years of arbitration if he receives Super Two designation — and that player is Trea Turner. While Turner has 2.135 years of service time, players have not been informed if they have reached Super Two, but consider 2.120-2.150 is the range generally. MLBTR is estimating a hefty raise for Turner to $5.3 million if he receives Super Two status which would be a nice wedding present for the Turner’s. To qualify for the Super Two designation, players must rank in the top 22% in terms of service time among those MLB players who have accumulated at least two years of service time and less than three years.  Continue reading →