Feeling bad for Nats fans

[b_wiggy_66]

I was just looking through a season preview article and saw their rotation.

 

Rotation

 

John Patterson

Tim Redding

Jerome Williams

Joel Hanrahan

Shawn Hill/cast of thousands

 

Patterson was out most of last year, but is a solid pitcher who still has some health question marks.

 

Redding hasn't had a win since 2004 and was never really good

 

Williams.......well we all know about him

 

I have a feeling this team could lose 110-115 games this year. This rotation is ugly. If your having doubts about the Cubbies this year just thank god your not a Nats fan.

[Mephistopheles]

Tim Redding is interesting. He used to have well above average stuff. No idea how he's looking now though.

[vance_the_cubs_fan]

My friend in Houston swears that Redding was head-case.

[Post Count Padder]

Ouch, that's a bad looking rotation. Redding pitched for the Yanks in 2005 IIRC. He pitched only a few innings but was smacked around pretty well.

[BigbadB]

The Nats will be just fine. They have Christian Guzman manning SS. A guy with a glove like that will save the pitching staff all kinds of runs.

 

[oldstyle81]

Ouch, that's a bad looking rotation. Redding pitched for the Yanks in 2005 IIRC. He pitched only a few innings but was smacked around pretty well.

 

what is IIRC

[Ding Dong Johnson]

I was watching the Cubs last year and I saw their rotation:

 

Juan Mateo

Ryan O'Malley

Carlos Marmol

Shawn Marshall

Les Walrond

Glendon Rusch

[BigbadB]

Ouch, that's a bad looking rotation. Redding pitched for the Yanks in 2005 IIRC. He pitched only a few innings but was smacked around pretty well.

 

what is IIRC

 

If I recall correctly, it stands for if I recall correctly. :D

[Derwood]

a buddy of mine does game notes/recaps and press guide stuff for the Nats and I make fun of him all the time. I asked him why there was no press conference on ESPNews for the signing of Nook Logan :lol:

[David]

What in the hell did we ever do with Jerome Williams anyway?

[Derwood]

if you think the pitching is bad, the starting lineup is just as big a train wreck. This team finished in last placed with Soriano, Johnson and Vidro. Now Soriano and Vidro are gone, and Johnson is hurt. Yeah, good luck with that.

[nilodnayr]

What in the hell did we ever do with Jerome Williams anyway?

 

We put him on waivers early Sept last year, the A's claimed him but I don't think they ever brought him up. They non-tendered him early in the offseason to free up room on the 40 man. The Nats believe they can fill their rotation behind Patterson with minor league free agents and signed him.

[illiniguy]

Poor Ryan Zimmerman.

[rawaction]

Even better, they are rumored to be trying to bat Guzman 2nd. Their opening day lineup, will likely be.

 

Felipe Lopez

Christian Guzman

Ryan Zimmerman

Austin Kearns

Travis Lee

Brian Schneider

Ryan Church

Nook Logan

[Coach C]

Easy now. Remember, the Cubs has history of letting a not-so-good pitchers dominate them as if they're a Cy Young pitcher.

[radarluv1]

and they wouldnt do marshall for church? SMRT!

[Soul]

I can hear the sound of Nats season tickets being canceled all the way back here in Wisconsin.

[BigbadB]

When do they get to the point where they can start assembling a decent team? Baltimore is afraid of this line up stealing their fans?

[Amazing_Grace]

You have to wonder how teams like the Nats, DRays, Royals, and Pirates even get any fans at all to show up? If MLB doesn't do something to even out the small and large market teams, the league is going to get to a point where you have ML teams basically acting like AAAA squads with no chance to have good seasons and constantly breaking in young players just so the large market teams can scoop them up once they get too expensive. That's how the Cubs ended up with Ramirez, DLee, and now Soriano.

[Amazing_Grace]

When do they get to the point where they can start assembling a decent team? Baltimore is afraid of this line up stealing their fans?

 

Baltimore isn't a whole lot better as a team, but their problem is that their pitching stinks. Fortunately for them, fans like offense so they're not in as bad shape as Washington.

 

Baltimore's bigger problem is that they're in the AL East, which is all but unwinnable unless you're Boston or NY, and basically kills your chances at a wild card also. I feel bad for the teams in that division. They basically go into every season knowing their only chance to win a WS is to have one of the 150M+ payroll teams fall completely apart.

[Soul]

You have to wonder how teams like the Nats, DRays, Royals, and Pirates even get any fans at all to show up? If MLB doesn't do something to even out the small and large market teams, the league is going to get to a point where you have ML teams basically acting like AAAA squads with no chance to have good seasons and constantly breaking in young players just so the large market teams can scoop them up once they get too expensive. That's how the Cubs ended up with Ramirez, DLee, and now Soriano.

 

Isn't that already the case? Aren't teams like the D-Rays, Royals, Pirates just basically farming up players for other teams to eventually pluck off their rosters?

[CuseCubFan69]

You have to wonder how teams like the Nats, DRays, Royals, and Pirates even get any fans at all to show up? If MLB doesn't do something to even out the small and large market teams, the league is going to get to a point where you have ML teams basically acting like AAAA squads with no chance to have good seasons and constantly breaking in young players just so the large market teams can scoop them up once they get too expensive. That's how the Cubs ended up with Ramirez, DLee, and now Soriano.

 

Isn't that already the case? Aren't teams like the D-Rays, Royals, Pirates just basically farming up players for other teams to eventually pluck off their rosters?

 

It's too bad they can't do it like the Marlins do.

[CubColtPacer]

You have to wonder how teams like the Nats, DRays, Royals, and Pirates even get any fans at all to show up? If MLB doesn't do something to even out the small and large market teams, the league is going to get to a point where you have ML teams basically acting like AAAA squads with no chance to have good seasons and constantly breaking in young players just so the large market teams can scoop them up once they get too expensive. That's how the Cubs ended up with Ramirez, DLee, and now Soriano.

 

Isn't that already the case? Aren't teams like the D-Rays, Royals, Pirates just basically farming up players for other teams to eventually pluck off their rosters?

 

It's too bad they can't do it like the Marlins do.

 

True, but the Marlins small-market tactics have only worked for 1 title. I think you have to count the 1997 title as really more of a big-market type strategy-they didn't go with what they currently do until after 97, and they've had 1 playoff appearance and one title since then-so they've been successful, but not that successful.

[Amazing_Grace]

You have to wonder how teams like the Nats, DRays, Royals, and Pirates even get any fans at all to show up? If MLB doesn't do something to even out the small and large market teams, the league is going to get to a point where you have ML teams basically acting like AAAA squads with no chance to have good seasons and constantly breaking in young players just so the large market teams can scoop them up once they get too expensive. That's how the Cubs ended up with Ramirez, DLee, and now Soriano.

 

Isn't that already the case? Aren't teams like the D-Rays, Royals, Pirates just basically farming up players for other teams to eventually pluck off their rosters?

 

To an extent, yeah, it already is, but right now there are only 4 or 5 teams that would qualify. You still have a "middle class" in baseball of teams in the 50-80M payroll range. I think that if things continue as they are, that class of teams will eventually go away, with teams choosing financially to either spend what it takes to be competitive or dropping the bottom out of payroll entirely and trying to break even by cost cutting.

[fromthestretch]

The person I feel bad for is Manny Acta. I read his quotes in the local papers here, and the man is saying the right things. He talks about on-base percentage as being important, which is a good start. It sounds like he wants to play Church regularly, if healthy. But as it is now, this team has no hope of winning very often.

 

They have some decent, young players to build around (Johnson, Zimmerman, Kearns, Lopez, and even Church). But their starting pitching is flat out terrible, especially if Patterson isn't healthy. They could have one of the worst rotations in baseball.