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

[TheDane]

re: Braves outfield

[the burgundy and gold]

Is Jayson Werth going to be appearing as the caveman in the Geico commercials this year? Saw his interview from fanfest and he looked like a legit caveman.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

Check out Espis beard hes got goin at Nats Fest..

https://mobile.twitter.com/Nationals...019648/photo/1

I guess trying to stay warm?

Man I would kill to be able to grow my beard like that. So jealous.

Few other things:

- Was just looking at Bryce's twitter. it is so freaking cool to see all the young DC athletes--across all the sports--friended and following one another. Bryce has everyone from Bradley Beal to Alfred Morris and many others. Then Morris on there asking people to tweet #mlb13harper so that he can get on the cover of MLB the Show.

- If you have twitter, please add Christian Garcia. When they interviewed him at the fanfest today, he only had 11 followers. People were giving him **** for it @CJGarcia56

- Surprised nobody has mentioned anything about the new edition to the Presidents fam: William Howard Taft, Full time member. Taft started the whole throwing out the first pitch thing and supposedly started the 7th inning stretch too. He was also our biggest president ever: 300+ pounds

Now some stuff I'm,curious to get an opinion on:

- How would you handle the catcher position?

- Which of our moves this offseason will have the biggest impact this year?

[Metalhead]

Check out Espis beard hes got goin at Nats Fest..

https://mobile.twitter.com/Nationals...019648/photo/1

I guess trying to stay warm?

LOL. That's absurd. He's a hairy dude...I'm pretty sure he has to shave between innings.

[bushwack]

Now some stuff I'm,curious to get an opinion on:

- How would you handle the catcher position?

- Which of our moves this offseason will have the biggest impact this year?

I think we keep Suzuki on the roster for the entire upcoming season, especially since Ramos is coming off the ACL injury. Now if Ramos shows he can stay healthy and return to his previous form then we may be able to trade Suzuki and get something for him before he's able to walk next offseason. But if Ramos becomes injured again, I think we have to look at re-signing Suzuki to an extension.

As for which move will have the biggest impact this year I think it has to be Soriano. He's been a great closer and after last year's collapse in Game 5 we need as many arms in the bullpen, even though I would like to see a solid lefty in there, plus if Soriano is the closer we expect then this allows Clippard or even Storen to be expendable and if we're able to fill a hole mid season then so be it.

[Buford]

Considering the stress put on Ramos' knees being a catcher. Even if his injury isn't from crouching, I agree that you ease him back slowly over the year. I've be fine with a 3-1 Suzuki starting ratio in '13. Worry about contracts later.

[Sticksboi05]

Suzuki was one clutch mofo last season. So many clutch hits.

[skinfan2k]

I would ease Ramos into the role but because there are so many games in the season, I would recommend a 80/20 split and move towards a 60/40 split once Ramos become comfortable

[StillUnknown]

Man I would kill to be able to grow my beard like that. So jealous.

Agreed, I would just look bum-ish if I attempted something like that

Few other things:

- Was just looking at Bryce's twitter. it is so freaking cool to see all the young DC athletes--across all the sports--friended and following one another. Bryce has everyone from Bradley Beal to Alfred Morris and many others. Then Morris on there asking people to tweet #mlb13harper so that he can get on the cover of MLB the Show.

He learned pretty fast about support for the home teams

- Surprised nobody has mentioned anything about the new edition to the Presidents fam: William Howard Taft, Full time member. Taft started the whole throwing out the first pitch thing and supposedly started the 7th inning stretch too. He was also our biggest president ever: 300+ pounds

I was disappointed the mascot isn't rotund.

Now some stuff I'm,curious to get an opinion on:

- How would you handle the catcher position?

If Ramos shows he's fully recovered during spring training, I start him. We know what we'll get from Suzuki, we need to see if Ramos can live up to some of his potential. If he shows out, then we have a catcher for the future, if things go south, we can insert Suzuki and start looking for a more permanent solution.

- Which of our moves this offseason will have the biggest impact this year?

I'll say Span only because its been the acknowledged "missing piece" on offense. Span/Harper or Span/Werth at the top of the lineup can turn a our 3-4-5 hitters into serious run producers.

---------- Post added January-27th-2013 at 12:59 PM ----------

http://www.federalbaseball.com/2013/...-avoid-surgery

Espinosa had an MRI in mid-September which revealed a bone bruise and swelling, and he had a cortisone shot at the time which lessened the pain, but as he told reporters this afternoon, another examination by Dr. Lewis Yocum, this one done with contrast dye after the season ended and the issue persisted, revealed a full tear of the rotator cuff in his left shoulder which the second-year second baseman said definitely affected his production down the stretch. Espinosa finished his second full season in the majors with a .247/.315/.402 line, 37 doubles, 17 HRs and 20 stolen bases in 160 games and 658 plate appearances over which he was worth +3.8 fWAR.

The Nationals' 08 3rd Round pick said today he decided against surgery because it would likely have caused him to miss several months at the start of the 2013 campaign, opting instead to build strength in his shoulder with the help of his trainers in the hope that it would be strong enough to allow him to play in the upcoming season.

Espinosa played through the pain last year and is apparently going to try to play with the injury this season. Davey Johnson talked openly last summer about the difficulty he had getting either of his middle infielders to sit out, telling reporters, "I've got to fight the two guys up the middle, whenever I say, 'Let me give you a day off,'" the response he gets is, "'Are you kidding me? Are we trying to win or what?'"

I'm not sure I agree with him trying to play through this injury with rehab alone.

[SkinsHokieFan]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...m-in-baseball/

Jayson Werth: ‘I think we got the best team in baseball

Jayson Werth has perhaps the most unique point of view on the Nationals’ roster. He signed the largest contract in team history before the 2011 season, receiving some ridicule for proclaiming he wanted to be “part of the group that changes perception of baseball in Washington, D.C.” He received plenty of validation when his vision became reality last season. After a winter of moves (adding Rafael Soriano, re-signing Adam LaRoche, trading for Denard Span and exchanging Michael Morse for prospects), the sharp baseball observer reflected on the Nationals’ newest fortune: They’re among the favorites to contend for the World Series.

“I think we got the best team in baseball,” he said Saturday at the team’s Nats Fest. “If that’s your mind-set going in, no one else matters, you just have to take care of yourself.”

Link for rest

[Dave25]

Excited for the season to start, I really really think this is a 100+ win world series team. Just gotta watch out for the Braves they are looking really good as well. As for Espinosa's shoulder injury I hope Rendon is on the fast track down in the minors.

[Dan T.]

Few other things:

- If you have twitter, please add Christian Garcia. When they interviewed him at the fanfest today, he only had 11 followers. People were giving him **** for it @CJGarcia56

I'm predicting Christian Garcia as the Nats' darkhorse surprise of 2013, filling Tom Gorzelanny's role as long reliever and maybe even spot starter. Davey Johnson spoke highly of him late last year, and even mentioned having him come into spring training battling for a starting role (though that was before they acquired Dan Heren).

- Surprised nobody has mentioned anything about the new edition to the Presidents fam: William Howard Taft, Full time member. Taft started the whole throwing out the first pitch thing and supposedly started the 7th inning stretch too. He was also our biggest president ever: 300+ pounds

Also, Taft was a former ally and then a bitter political rival of Teddy. So that could make for some interesting in-race shenanigans. Plus, five horses makes for a crowded field... none of the incumbents are retiring, right?

Now some stuff I'm,curious to get an opinion on:

- How would you handle the catcher position?

Let Ramos and Motorcycle battle it out for starter. Nice having both available. With Ramos a starter, Suzuki might go every fourth day as Gio's pet catcher.

- Which of our moves this offseason will have the biggest impact this year?

Denard at center and top of the lineup.

[Warhead36]

With all the power behind him, Span is going to be a terror at leadoff. I think he'll break out here, hitting over .300. He will see pitches because nobody is gonna want base runners with our mashers in the middle of the lineup.

[skinsfan_1215]

Very curious to see where Werth hits in the lineup and what his approach is like. He put up very good power numbers his last couple years in Philly that he hasn’t replicated here, especially recovering from his injury last year. But he was extremely effective getting on base last year after he changed his approach (because he didn’t have a lot of strength in his wrist).

So you could argue for a Span-Werth-Harper-Zim-Laroche order if Werth is sticking with his get-on-base approach. Both posted OBP over .350 last year, which I believe would mean there’s a better than 50% chance of someone being on base when Harper comes up (slept through Stats class, let me know if that’s wrong). I believe you can make a strong argument for Harper hitting 3rd this year if you’re anticipating a breakout year. He’s shown he can hit well for percentage as well as power (average held back from a 2 month long slump last year). He also gets on base a lot. You could very conceivably have your top 3 hitters all with a .350+ OBP (with Span and Harper having a lot of speed too) before you get to your 4-5 guys with Zim and LaRoche.

Alternately, you can certainly take advantage of a lot of those things by leaving Harper at 2 and bumping Werth back to 5-6. He’ll also be able to take an aggressive approach at the plate further back in the lineup, so we’ll see if he can still hit well for power.

Either way, I really expect to have a high powered offense to go with our solid rotation and bullpen this year. Probably even better than last year as long as a few of these things happen: Harper continues to improve in his second year, Zim healthy all year, Werth healthy, and guys like Laroche and Desmond don’t regress too much off their 2012 numbers.

[Dan T.]

Very curious to see where Werth hits in the lineup and what his approach is like. He put up very good power numbers his last couple years in Philly that he hasn’t replicated here, especially recovering from his injury last year. But he was extremely effective getting on base last year after he changed his approach (because he didn’t have a lot of strength in his wrist).

The article SkinsHokieFan linked to http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/...m-in-baseball/ quotes Werth as saying he still doesn't have full strength back in his wrist, so we might not see that power this spring either. He may be destined to bat second for the time being.