by Andrew Lang
by Andrew Lang
Ho ho ho home run Ho-wie Kendrick! It is that time of year again, and while the Astros had Cole in their stockings, the Nats got rings in theirs! A tip of the cap to Casey Stern because nobody can complain any more about that Lucas Giolito, Reynaoldo Lopez, and Dane Dunning trade for Adam Eaton because “Prospects are cool, but parades are cooler!” Continue reading
Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats
Baseball analytics cover most anything you want to analyze including days-of-rest statistics if you can crunch the numbers yourself for position players. If you go to the Baseball-Reference and look at the splits for pitchers, you see their numbers broken down by the number of days of rest. But that split is not there for position players. Presumably because they are expected to play every day. With the expertise of Don Henderson’s data mining, he discovered a pattern with Ryan Zimmerman that was never really discussed like the more noticeable plan manager Dave Martinez used for Howie Kendrick who was returning from an achilles injury.
We know there was a plan in place to try not to play Howie Kendrick on consecutive days, and it paid dividends as Kendrick compiled some impressive numbers in small sample sizes and besides a hammy injury on a questionable “send” home, he stayed healthy. And in clutch spots, Mr. Kendrick was a hero in the postseason! But this goes more to the viability of doing the same with Zimmerman who would benefit from a similar plan. Continue reading
Kevin Long with Daniel Murphy. Photo by Lee Heiman for TalkNats
The 2015 season was a disaster for the Washington Nationals which started with much promise when the Lerners ponied up $210 million to bag the prize of free agency that year in Max Scherzer. In Spring Training, the infamous line was uttered, “Where’s my ring” by a giddy Bryce Harper. The reigning NL East champs looked like they would win 100+ games that year, but the only thing they won was the 17th slot in the 2016 draft because of their 83-79 disappointing record that signaled the exit of that season’s manager Matt Williams. The team also lost Denard Span, Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to free agency and shifted Danny Espinosa to shortstop. It was no secret that filling second base was a top priority for the 2016 season as well as signing a centerfielder. Continue reading
Revisiting some thoughts from last year when the Nationals pivoted to their Plan B, it turned out to be the moves that pushed the Nats over the top. The Patrick Corbin acquisition not only provided the starting pitching depth the Nats needed for the regular season, but he turned out to be the bridge in the bullpen using the theory of highest leverage situations need the highest leverage players. If manager Dave Martinez learned anything from watching his predecessor manager handling a postseason bullpen, Martinez saw in live in 2017 from the opposing bullpen as Dusty Baker in Game 3 on October 9th that you don’t bring in your third worse bullpen arm into a game you are winning 1-0. Martinez saw Dusty Baker do just that in the bottom of the 7th inning. Martinez also knew about keeping his best defense on the field, and going with his best lineup. Howie Kendrick never started a game for Baker in that NLDS but he was an integral part of Martinez’s lineup. Continue reading
The event kicked off with a quick Q&A with (L to R) Ryan Zimmerman, Mike Rizzo, Mark Lerner, Lindsay Czarniak, Craig Melvin; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
Many of you braved the cold weather a few weeks ago to see the premiere showing of the 2019 World Series documentary from Major League Baseball Productions that debuted to a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at The Anthem in Washington, D.C. The red carpet event was attended by Ryan Zimmerman and general manager Mike Rizzo as well as principal owner Mark Lerner, and the narrator of the film Craig Melvin. While Nats fans already know the final outcome in this come-from-behind World Series stunner, the journey to the destination is unique in the eyes of the director of this film, Jed Tuminaro, who tells a story using images you have not seen before and exclusive interviews that tell the story behind the scenes. It is worth getting the DVD of the documentary even if you want to skip ahead to watch only seventh game. Continue reading
Howie Kendrick underneath Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX; Photo by Paul Kim
The Washington Nationals are the World Series champs, and that should give General Manager Mike Rizzo a little bit of extra time on assembling his 2020 roster. He indicated that he would move swiftly after the Winter Meetings, but now he is in a wait and see mode on Josh Donaldson we have been told according to a source. Continue reading
Photo by Andrew Lang for TalkNats
There was little activity yesterday after a lot of action at the Winter Meetings which are officially over for this offseason even though we are not even technically in the winter months. The Nationals, Yankees, and the Angels spent big money, and their deals for respectively for Stephen Strasburg, Gerrit Cole, and Anthony Rendon were all record breaking deals. In each deal, the runner-up seemed far behind leading to speculation that teams were just bidding against themselves. Continue reading
The Washington Nationals announced several changes on their coaching staff that includes one new hire and three new roles for existing coaches. Manager Dave Martinez‘s first base coach, Tim Bogar, will be his new bench coach, and he had actually interviewed for the Mets managerial vacancy. He was considered a “strong contender” before the Mets went in another direction and hired Carlos Beltran. Since Bogar is taking Chip Hale‘s spot as bench manager, Hale will take over as the team’s third base coach, and Bob Henley will move across the diamond to take Bogar’s spot as the first base coach. The final change on the coaching staff includes the only hire from outside the organization as Martinez hired Pat Roessler as the assistant hitting coach. Continue reading
"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
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