NLDS: Cubs vs Nationals

joe dokes

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
30,239
So are "Lobotony" and "Lobatonized" acceptable proxies for "getting picked off in a crucial spot?"
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,430
Harrisburg, Pa.
I told you all, nevvvvvvver pick a DC team to advsncd in a series.

Baker will be fired, yes they’re gonna reorganize their entire structure. I think they trade Harper next year too.
 

Bob Montgomerys Helmet Hat

has big, douchey shoulders
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
One comment from the game: having attended Nationals deciding game playoff losses to the Cardinals, Dodgers, and now Cubs, I can say without question that the visiting Cubs fans were the most obnoxious. There was a group of a half dozen Cubs fans at the end of the game just standing at the top of the stairs to my section, yelling at every Nats fan as they were leaving. I was actually amazed that no one took a swing at them.
They earn their reputation
 

Kielty's Last Pitch

New Member
Oct 6, 2017
118
Am I the only one who finds this more frequent trend of using starting pitchers on short rest to be disturbing? Bauer, Sale, Verlander, Scherzer, etc. Fox put up the numbers since 2014, they aren't pretty.
 

nolasoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jun 11, 2004
6,930
Displaced
They are saying on MLBN that the above rule doesn't apply in this case because the ball was already past Wieters when he got hit by the bat.
So, MLBN’s argument is that it’s ok to hit catchers on the head with a bat? Play shouldn’t stop? Seriously?! That’s their argument?
 

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
I told you all, nevvvvvvver pick a DC team to advsncd in a series.

Baker will be fired, yes they’re gonna reorganize their entire structure. I think they trade Harper next year too.
If the trade him, it will be pre-deadline after the All-Star game, which is in Washington, and when they are out of it. And they are very, very unlikely to be out of it given the division. This is not an Orioles situation; they are reasonably competitive next season.
 

AB in DC

OG Football Writing
SoSH Member
Jul 10, 2002
13,622
Springfield, VA
They are saying on MLBN that the above rule doesn't apply in this case because the ball was already past Wieters when he got hit by the bat.
When was the last time an MLB ump used his judgment rather than following the rules to the letter? I would be fine with that call if they weren't so ticky-tack on so many other plays...like the Lobaton pick-off.

And of course when Contreras missed strike three earlier in the game, the ball caroms right off the umpire's leg and he gets the out.

Amazing that a great series came down to stupid shit like that.
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,430
Harrisburg, Pa.
If the trade him, it will be pre-deadline after the All-Star game, which is in Washington, and when they are out of it. And they are very, very unlikely to be out of it given the division. This is not an Orioles situation; they are reasonably competitive next season.
From the scuttlebutt here (I'm decent friends with the Senators' GM), they won't pay him the money he'll demand (and get).

The division sucks which helps them, but they have major roster construction problems.
 

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
From the scuttlebutt here (I'm decent friends with the Senators' GM), they won't pay him the money he'll demand (and get).

The division sucks which helps them, but they have major roster construction problems.
Makes sense. There is no "replacement" but when you have this guy as a potential successor,

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=robles002vic

you're probably better off moving on.

I say that with no joy. Harper is on one hand among the most exciting players I've seen in decades of watching baseball. But he is often unavailable. And when he is available, he is often not himself because of injury -- like the entirety of last season, and this playoff series.

Somebody will give him $40 for 10, but I probably wouldn't.

There is no plausible charge of the Nats being "cheap" either -- not with the Scherzer signing, the Stras extension and so forth.

Cheap on managers, yes. That's a different story, and a problem.
 

canderson

Mr. Brightside
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
39,430
Harrisburg, Pa.
Makes sense. There is no "replacement" but when you have this guy as a potential successor,

https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=robles002vic

you're probably better off moving on.

I say that with no joy. Harper is on one hand among the most exciting players I've seen in decades of watching baseball. But he is often unavailable. And when he is available, he is often not himself because of injury -- like the entirety of last season, and this playoff series.

Somebody will give him $40 for 10, but I probably wouldn't.

There is no plausible charge of the Nats being "cheap" either -- not with the Scherzer signing, the Stras extension and so forth.

Cheap on managers, yes. That's a different story, and a problem.
I shouldn't have implied cheap - they've given out crazy deals and I think the no results are going to have them go the other way.

I think it's a long, slow decline for the Nats. Which sucks, they're the only NL team I remotely care about.
 

semsox

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 14, 2004
1,742
Charlottesville
I echo the sentiments of many that the 1B replay review violates the spirit of the rules. Starting from that premise though, I think a more interesting discussion is how would you go about fixing it. One could re-write the rules to somehow allow for this type of movement, though I think all would agree that other similar types of movements (e.g. over-sliding or over-running a base) should definitely be outs. Is there a way to write the rules (in a very literal sense) that could cover both of these scenarios in a satisfactory way?

There has been discussion previously in MLB in changing the actual materials of construction of the bases after some of the seemingly freak injuries from landing wrong on the bases. One might imagine that if the base was softer, than Lobaton would not have bounced up like he did, creating the separation. A solution like this might kill two birds with one stone.
 

dcmissle

Deflatigator
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Aug 4, 2005
28,269
I shouldn't have implied cheap - they've given out crazy deals and I think the no results are going to have them go the other way.

I think it's a long, slow decline for the Nats. Which sucks, they're the only NL team I remotely care about.
You didn't. But other people in DC will if it plays out this way.

If you wanted to deal Harper, the time was last year. You're not getting the proverbial haul because in any given year you have no idea what you're getting. And you know he's not extending one season away from FA. It would be a reckless move by the acquirer, and I don't think the Nats will be able to bait anyone into it.

If one is talking about one prospect -- one -- with some upside at the trading deadline, that's a different story. But that's very unlikely to be a transformational haul.

I think we're looking at Bryce as a bridge to Robles during 2018.
 

Max Power

thai good. you like shirt?
SoSH Member
Jul 20, 2005
7,878
Boston, MA
I echo the sentiments of many that the 1B replay review violates the spirit of the rules. Starting from that premise though, I think a more interesting discussion is how would you go about fixing it. One could re-write the rules to somehow allow for this type of movement, though I think all would agree that other similar types of movements (e.g. over-sliding or over-running a base) should definitely be outs. Is there a way to write the rules (in a very literal sense) that could cover both of these scenarios in a satisfactory way?
There was a piece about this on Fangraphs today.

https://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dear-mlb-please-fix-the-slide-replay/

Their suggestion seems fairly simple. Make anything above the bag a safe zone, so if you made contact with and part of your body is still above the base, you can't be tagged out.

It seems like Washington will never win a single series until Montreal gets a team again. It's the curse of Warren Cromartie.
 

loshjott

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 30, 2004
14,943
Silver Spring, MD
Re Harper: Scott Boras and the Nationals: What’s the deal with all these deals? (Feb 2017):

Here are the Boras clients expected to be in the Nationals’ starting lineup: Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon, Jayson Werth and Wieters. Here are the Boras clients expected to be in the Nats’ starting rotation: Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez. Stephen Drew will be on the bench, with Brian Goodwin fighting for a spot there as well. Oliver Perez will be in the bullpen.

It’s 10 players, nine of whom are all but guaranteed to be on an Opening Day roster of 25. Tally up those current contracts (leaving out Gonzalez, who came to employ Boras after signing his current extension with the Nats), and you get — remain seated — $551.425 million, spanning from the first year of Werth’s deal in 2011 to the last of Strasburg’s extension, which won’t be paid till 2030.
Nats have more Boras clients than any other club. He works directly with ownership on the big contracts like Scherzer's. I could see Boras convincing the Lerners to outbid the MFYs for a ridiculously overpaid contract to Harper.
 

sean1562

Member
SoSH Member
Sep 17, 2011
3,620
If Harper leaves, they have an OF of Robles eaton and Taylor. If Robles hits his ceiling (mccutcheon/betts) then it makes sense for them to pass on the $40 mil a year deal Harper will be getting. The Nats got 9.2 WAR from their OFs this year. If they think Eaton, Taylor and Robles can all be 3-4 WAR players, why pay Harper 40 million a year? Rendon was their most valuable offensive player, I dont think he is going to get a $40 million a year deal. It would be smarter for the Nats to save their money.