It is May 1, 2016. I
am still trying to figure out the Nats.
They are clearly a good team, finishing April 16-7. At times, the lineup was awesome, other
times, not so awesome. However, baseball
is a streaky game. At times, any team
can look unbeatable, and any team can look awful.
In my second blog, I looked at the season projections, at least for the first 6 weeks. I said:
However, I have looked through the first half of the season. I see periods where the Nats will be very strong – we are playing weak opponents. And there are really hard stretches. For example, from April 29 – May 8, the Nats have a gut-check road drip: St. Louis, KC, and Cubs.
However, the first decent team the Nats play will be the April 22, with a two game series against the Twins, but they follow that with the Phillies.
At this point in the season, the Nats should be “favored” in all of the games. The Nats are not going to be 22-0 , but they could be 15-7, or maybe 17-5. (14-8 probably has them on a 95 win pace).
First of all, the Nat's had one rainout. So, the first 22 games became the first 21 games. They finished is 14-7, but with a three game loosing streak (to the Evil Phillies who are looking surprisingly good). Now, at 23 games, with two against an expected really good team has them at 16-7. Swept by the Phillies (at home), followed by Scherzer pitching for a sweep of the Cardinals.
Here are my surprises after a month:
Joe Ross, Gio and Tanner are pitching much better than expected; Scherzer is currently the weak link. The bullpen is solid.
Offense has not been outstanding. Now, even Harper is cold. But, JW is heating up...and Harper will find his swing again.
Defense has been outstanding. The team is winning because of pitching and defense. Pitching keeps you in games.
My favorite Nats moment so far this season:
I was at the 16 inning game. First, everyone knew Harper would HR in the 9th. In the 15th, when the Nats were down by one, two outs, and Espy followed by the pitcher were up, I left my seat. I watched them walk Espy from the 300 level concourse. Then, headed down stairs for Perez's AB. I was in perfect position to see the bunt. Then, I looked at who was up in the 16th; all righties. I thought that the ball was going to end up in the LF seats. I went to Section 102. I was two rows back from visiting bullpen. Heisey's ball was heading right for me. I though for a second it was mine, then I realized 1) it was left of me, and 2) it was not curving back. However, if I had moved towards the ball, I might have had it: it bounced towards me. Now, that was a hell of a game. Oh, and Kurt Suzuki autographed my Suzuki Jersey*.
Oh, I am sticking with my 96-98 win projection....but unfortunately, the Nat's only have 13 more games against the Braves.
*
Why I like Kurt Suzuki: It starts on May 1, 2012, four years ago today; that was the day of Bryce's first game in DC; I had hoped to go. But, I got sick overnight on the 30th of April; I was taken to the hospital where they did a CT scan. The CT scan did not find the cause of the pain/illness, but did find a 6 cm tumor on my Rt. Kidney. Later, they discovered it had metastasized to my lung. I had Stage four cancer with an aggressive histology. Prognosis was grim. Horrible. (spoiler...I am still alive). read the following article about Kurt: Post Article on Suzuki, which included the following tidbit:
Suzuki does not like to complain. In 2007, doctors found cancer in Warren Suzuki’s left kidney and operated to remove it. A year later, the cancer came back, and Warren underwent another surgery to remove part of his left lung.
“Knock on wood, I’m fine today,” Warren Suzuki said. “One of the things I constantly stress to Kurt is, you always have to maintain a positive attitude, because you never know what’s going to happen. I’m not sure that’s something he’s thought about. But I’ve always told him, ‘Maintain a good attitude.’ ”
For me, this was someone with my disease that had a good outcome. It has made a difference in my outlook.
