The Nats Thread (old thread link inside, too many load issues)

And am I the only one who thinks Gio isn't a big game starter? When the crowd was chanting "GIO! GIO! GIO!" at deafening levels, I started thinking, this isn't good. Gio needs to be calm and cool. When he's hyped up, he starts to press, and when he starts to press, he starts missing the strikezone. And bad **** happens. Maybe that changes with experience, but who knows.

That was also the problem with the hitters. They were pressing all series. Werth's walkoff loosened them up and they just played baseball again to start the game off last night, but you could tell that went away with Gio's struggle. It was an absolute lock we weren't going to do anything in the bottom of the 9th. See Harper's strikeout.

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Originally Posted by G.A.C.O.L.B.

Yup. And Davey taxed the pen so the starters would still be fresh in September and October. Did. Not. Work.

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Yup. 100% agree. Pitchers either have or they dont for the postseason. If you cant get amped for the playoffs, you shouldn't be a starter

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Originally Posted by chipwhich

I counted 3

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Exact same. I was looking out for them too. All I saw all night long were 3. Two chicks and an old dude.

I hate to say it because I've always enjoyed the throwback nature of the NL game. But it really sucks for us the NL has no DH. We're built like an AL team, and our problems with Morse could be solved with a DH. Also, we don't have to figure out a place to work in Rendon in a year or two if we had a DH.

---------- Post added October-13th-2012 at 05:09 PM ----------

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Originally Posted by G.A.C.O.L.B.

And am I the only one who thinks Gio isn't a big game starter? When the crowd was chanting "GIO! GIO! GIO!" at deafening levels, I started thinking, this isn't good. Gio needs to be calm and cool. When he's hyped up, he starts to press, and when he starts to press, he starts missing the strikezone. And bad **** happens. Maybe that changes with experience, but who knows.

That was also the problem with the hitters. They were pressing all series. Werth's walkoff loosened them up and they just played baseball again to start the game off last night, but you could tell that went away with Gio's struggle. It was an absolute lock we weren't going to do anything in the bottom of the 9th. See Harper's strikeout.

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Young team. Easy to forget how young they are with how good they've been. Young players have to learn how to win. I think that's somewhat true for the fan base too. We've never experienced a heartbreaking loss like that before. If the Nats came out there and cruised to a world series title, it wouldn't be good for the fan base IMO. We'd think it was easy and take winning for granted. We'd get spoiled. You know it would happen.

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Originally Posted by stevemcqueen1

Young team. Easy to forget how young they are with how good they've been. Young players have to learn how to win. I think that's somewhat true for the fan base too. We've never experienced a heartbreaking loss like that before. If the Nats came out there and cruised to a world series title, it wouldn't be good for the fan base IMO. We'd think it was easy and take winning for granted. We'd get spoiled. You know it would happen.

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I'm not going to name any names (you're still my boy so I'm not going to put you on blast) but I had someone who was originally supposed to go with me yesterday. Had to cancel (tickets really were pretty ****ing expensive) but he said "How about we just hit next round?" Man, there might not be a next round for 50 more years.

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Originally Posted by G.A.C.O.L.B.

Exact same. I was looking out for them too. All I saw all night long were 3. Two chicks and an old dude.

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There were 3 right in front of me. One of them was even keeping score. They seemed to be great dudes and were really well behaved.

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Originally Posted by SkinsHokieFan

Of course Nolan Ryan is going to say that

But anybody who paid attention to baseball, and watched that wildcard game could see that Hamilton quit.

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Why do you feel "of course" Nolan would say that? It's not like he's trying to increase his trade value. This is a weird topic in baseball right now, but if he's ever going to wake up, its with who ever signs him next. Not everyone has given up on him, and he's worth a shot with the clubhouse we have now.

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/texas...son-after-2012

---------- Post added October-13th-2012 at 08:23 PM ----------

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Originally Posted by Zazzaro703

Did you get to my posts after this one when I explained why I feel the this way?

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After getting back from school, ya I saw some of it. Loser talk, huh? I am glad we almost won 100 games instead of losing over 100 again. All the **** I have going on in my life right now, you think I'm going to let myself throw a brick through my TV over this ****? Not when I have the skins to deal with. The Nats are going to come back with vengeance because they have the right character guys down there. And honestly, how weird would it have been if we got all the way to the world series without Strasburg? Were we still the best team in baseball? September says otherwise, especially when we went up against St. Louis again.

IF this team stays intact, there's a good chance they can be back here again next year. Guys like Laroche will probably want a big contract, however I think he's worth keeping given that there's no one platooning behind him at first base. I think everyone, but Espinosa is worth keeping. They have a strong four man rotation with Strasburg, Gio, JZ, and Detwiler. They need a 5th starter and need that guy not be Jackson. This team is solid, but the NL East will be stronger next year. The Mets, and Phillies will just be better and the Braves are always in the mix. The opportunity was there this year, but it was definitely not meant to be. The future, however, is bright and this team will be better based on this year's experience.

Tyler Moore, Bryce Harper and Lombo with another year under their belt will be huge. i expect 35+ HRs from Bryce.

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Originally Posted by skinswillwin06

There were 3 right in front of me. One of them was even keeping score. They seemed to be great dudes and were really well behaved.

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This is why I'm not as torn up about losing to St. Louis. They have the best fans in the game.

Now, if we had lost to the Phillies, I would've completely lost my mind.

Ok I got mad on Friday when the orioles lost and have stayed away from ESPN... Last time I saw the nats were up 6-0 late in the game.. You've got to be kidding me.

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Originally Posted by sportjunkie07

Ok I got mad on Friday when the orioles lost and have stayed away from ESPN... Last time I saw the nats were up 6-0 late in the game.. You've got to be kidding me.

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That nats were never up 6-0 late in the game. It was 6-3 in the 5th.

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Originally Posted by thebluefood

This is why I'm not as torn up about losing to St. Louis. They have the best fans in the game.

Now, if we had lost to the Phillies, I would've completely lost my mind.

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There is always that subtle (or not-so-subtle) out-of-town roar from the crowd when the other team does something in DC. Not this series. I was real proud that you didn't hear **** from the crowd when the Cards did something. The crowds were fantastic. I hope they come back and support the team for the entire year next season.

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Originally Posted by G.A.C.O.L.B.

I'm not going to name any names (you're still my boy so I'm not going to put you on blast) but I had someone who was originally supposed to go with me yesterday. Had to cancel (tickets really were pretty ****ing expensive) but he said "How about we just hit next round?" Man, there might not be a next round for 50 more years.

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Ouch. Jinx talk. I was guilty of it too. I was talking with some Os fans Friday about how badly we would love to see a Beltway series. Then what do you know...

I wouldn't even let myself think Giants though. I wanted to see who the pitching matchups would have been and start playing out how it could go in my mind but I wouldn't do it.

This team will make it back to the postseason soon though. They're just too good. Something terrible would have to happen to Stras and Harper and Rendon would have to be a bust and Desmond would have to fall back to crap and all of our young flamethrowers in the minors would have to bust and Zim would have to fall apart with injuries and we'd have to let Morse and LaRoche walk for nothing and Gio and Jordan would have to walk and/or fall apart and Goodwin would have to be crap for this team to completely fall off. Some of that will happen no doubt, but it's just so unlikely all of that happens.

I understand defensive pessimism because of the nature of baseball. But our team will be strong so long as our management is strong, and I don't see Rizzo going anywhere any time soon. Our window just opened. Best to enjoy the long run that we're poised for while it lasts rather than thinking about when the window will close.

---------- Post added October-14th-2012 at 09:58 AM ----------

Rendon and Goodwin probably get called up some point next year. Both already played for Harrisburg this year. They slumped when they got there, but I think they come on strong this year and move up. I see them being in the show by September. There isn't a huge imperative to rush them right now.

My question is, how do we work them in when they're ready?

Both guys are everyday players. CF is Bryce's and RF is Werth's. Third is Zim's, SS is Des. As far as I'm concerned, those positions are pretty much set in stone. If we bring back LaRoche, then first is his. 2nd is Espis for at least next year. If Morse stays around, he's got to play everyday.

So you're looking at a situation where we've already got Eury Perez forced to ride the bench. Moore will probably always ride the bench for a healthy Nats team. And now you're adding Rendon and Goodwin to that bench too.

It's important to have a good bench, and it's important to make guys work for their everyday roles. But that doesn't strike me as the best allocation of resources. Time to start thinking trade. Start pooling resources for a Superstar from a seller at the deadline.

Got a lot of talented minor league arms who are probably a couple years away from the majors that will probably have little chance of being more than our 4th starter even after they finally make it. Maybe start thinking about combining those prospects to get another big time arm to come in today like we did with Gio.

OK, it took a few days, but this made me feel better. Last year was the first time I couldn't wait for spring training to start. It's going to be even rougher this offseason.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntJb6nh3lDs