roark has been better than Gio all season and he's earned it IMO. however, if they do go with a 3 man rotation I'd be fine with that. Stras, Fister and JZimm. that's tough to beat.
It's going to be a crazy post-season in the Maryland/DC area.
The Os look to me like the best team in baseball right now, and the Nats look like a very good bet to grab the NL pennant. A "Battle of the Beltways" series looks like it's quite possible right now.
Go Orioles!
the Orioles are playing so far over their heads right now
You're certainly right that the Os are far from the best team on paper. Their roster has few star-caliber players, and a lot of mediocre journeymen. But they are playing outstanding right now.
Playing over their heads? I guess you could say that. But they are playing like a true team, with a lot of clutch hitting and pitching that really has improved dramatically as the season has progressed.
The Nats are clearly the more talented roster on paper. But, as the truism goes, nearly anything is possible in a 7 game series.
And congratulations for Mike Rizzo on building the team.
One intresting aspect of this Nats success is that international free agents played virtually no role in it. The Nats have re-built their presence in the Dominican and it may yield some players in the future, but the present team was built on draft, trades and major league FA. They used FA to get Jason Werth, Adam LaRoche and filling rotation when needed (Edwin Jackson, Dan Haren).
Of course, sucking really bad for 3 years played a role and produced Harper, Strasburg and Rendon. I couldn't believe that they fielded a non-competitive team in the first year of the new ballpack (I thought that could doom baseball in washington) but looking back I'm glad they didn't sign guys just to win 70-75 games that year.
And some great trades:
Ryan Langerhans for Michael Morse (and getting good value when trading Morse instead of resigning him as FA)
Jonathan Albaladejo for Tyler Clippard
Cristian Guzman (at the end of his career) for Tanner Roark
Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos
and using drafted players to get Gio, Fister and Span.
Not signing Adam Dunn and using one of the comp picks to get Jordan Zimmermann (this draft pick is typically attributed to Rizzo who was an assistant to Bowden at the time).
Flipping Jason Marquis for Zach Walters for a rental of Asdrubal Cabrera.
Sticking with Ian Desmond who was striking out and making errors at high rates.
There was of course, the controversial decision about the Strasburg shutdown, which is one of the very few Rizzo decisions that people would have an issue with.
It will be interesting next year when the Mets can put up Harvey, DeGrom, Wheeler, etc. against the Nats staff.
You're assuming a 4 man rotation. Many teams go with 3, given all the off days in the playoff schedule.
roark has been better than Gio all season and he's earned it IMO. however, if they do go with a 3 man rotation I'd be fine with that. Stras, Fister and JZimm. that's tough to beat.
Go Orioles!
Playing over their heads? I guess you could say that. But they are playing like a true team, with a lot of clutch hitting and pitching that really has improved dramatically as the season has progressed.
The Nats are clearly the more talented roster on paper. But, as the truism goes, nearly anything is possible in a 7 game series.
God, I loathe Steve Pearce. Sonofabitch couldn't even hit in Scranton last year.
One intresting aspect of this Nats success is that international free agents played virtually no role in it. The Nats have re-built their presence in the Dominican and it may yield some players in the future, but the present team was built on draft, trades and major league FA. They used FA to get Jason Werth, Adam LaRoche and filling rotation when needed (Edwin Jackson, Dan Haren).
Of course, sucking really bad for 3 years played a role and produced Harper, Strasburg and Rendon. I couldn't believe that they fielded a non-competitive team in the first year of the new ballpack (I thought that could doom baseball in washington) but looking back I'm glad they didn't sign guys just to win 70-75 games that year.
And some great trades:
Ryan Langerhans for Michael Morse (and getting good value when trading Morse instead of resigning him as FA)
Jonathan Albaladejo for Tyler Clippard
Cristian Guzman (at the end of his career) for Tanner Roark
Matt Capps for Wilson Ramos
and using drafted players to get Gio, Fister and Span.
Not signing Adam Dunn and using one of the comp picks to get Jordan Zimmermann (this draft pick is typically attributed to Rizzo who was an assistant to Bowden at the time).
Flipping Jason Marquis for Zach Walters for a rental of Asdrubal Cabrera.
Sticking with Ian Desmond who was striking out and making errors at high rates.
There was of course, the controversial decision about the Strasburg shutdown, which is one of the very few Rizzo decisions that people would have an issue with.
It will be interesting next year when the Mets can put up Harvey, DeGrom, Wheeler, etc. against the Nats staff.