Bryce Harper and the 2017 Nationals' depth problem

So, when does the inevitable chokefest begin?

Are you thinking a big enough chokefest to cost them the division? Some other year, not this one.

Oh no, the division is clearly theirs. They easily stomp the Mets/Braves/etc. The question is when they fold against more spirited competition.

But nobody's shit works in the playoffs. I'd be loath to call it a chokefest unless they get swept in round 1 and don't score any runs.

sometimes ya just lose

most of the time

unless you are ned yost

i can't imagine even humoring the term "choke" for any team that isn't houston or LA. this nats team is good but not on that level (and they play in the easiest division ever)

i thought the term 'choke' was reserved to Tom Brady and Derek Jeter fans.

Nats got Dusty Baker managing, things have just not worked out.

Washington teams feel like serial chokers when you're in it.

Eddie Matz
ESPN Senior Writer

With thousands of local campers in attendance at Nats Park, Washington has homered eight times through four innings. That's two shy of the single-game mark set by the '87 Blue Jays. The Nats tied an MLB record by going deep five times in the third, including four straight (also record-tying).

Travis Sawchik recommends catching upgrade:

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/the-nationals-need-a-catcher/

glad my Milwaukee Brewers could make history

@JamalCollier
Ummm… Matt Grace is coming into the game for Scherzer. He threw one warmup pitch and walked off the mound.

@JamalCollier
Scherzer appeared to tell Dusty “I can’t go” and gave the neck slash motion. Wow

Ladson "Whoa!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" in three, two...

@washingnats
William Ladson Retweeted Jamal Collier
Whoa!!!!!!!!!!

hahaha

interesting night for them in Miami

good
- 5-hit game for Howie Kendrick
- 6-0 lead in the 2nd

bad
- Scherzer neck spasms
- lost 7-6

bullpen may not be fixed

Giants found out they wouldn't be playing because someone in press box told them Nationals TV announcers left. Great work, Nationals.

— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) August 12, 2017

seems to be a thing

Whoa!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/6PxtZ7bxN6

— William Ladson (@washingnats) August 13, 2017

he looks very very injured

The photo on MLB.com looks awful--makes me think of Mantle. Can't believe the caliber of players who've gone down this year.

Ken Rosenthal @BreakingSprtNws
BREAKING: Preliminary tests from #Nationals team doctors show that OF Bryce Harper has a torn ACL and PCL. MRI scheduled tomorrow.

motherfuck

Preliminary test says torn ACL and PCL.

ugh

Can't believe the caliber of players who've gone down this year.

In no order: Correa, Kershaw, Kluber, Bumgarner, Syndergaard, Donaldson, Trout, Freeman... feel like I'm missing obvious ones.

kiermaier

this is the price we must pay for a full season of giancarlo stanton

xpost

on a lesser scale, i was bummed when alex reyes went down for the season, although he's obviously not established like the others

Beltre, too. And a scare with Scherzer, though happily nothing came of it.

nomar, the rosenthal twitter account we refered to is fake.

In no order: Correa, Kershaw, Kluber, Bumgarner, Syndergaard, Donaldson, Trout, Freeman... feel like I'm missing obvious ones.

― Van Horn Street, Saturday, August 12, 2017 9:40 PM (one hour ago)

Harper's OF-mate Adam Eaton tore his ACL in April and will not play another game this season.

Doolittle OTM in this whole thread.

It's 2017. Actual Nazis just marched on #Charlottesville. We have to come together & drive this hatred & domestic terrorism from our country

— Sean Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) August 13, 2017

this is all bryce harper's fault

oops, sorry, i thought you posted that on the wrong thread and was trying to make a dumb joke

good for doolittle!

This is encouraging:

http://www.tsn.ca/reports-harper-avoids-ligament-damage-1.829033

Awesome

Surprise!

While pitch counts are crude metrics, only 10 teams have allowed a starting pitcher to exceed 120 pitches this season; only two teams have allowed it to occur on multiple occasions.

Baker and the Nationals have accomplished it four times.

Baker is lapping the field....

It’s not curious just that Baker is leaning on his starters to an unusual degree relative to the league in 2017, but that he’s doing so at a time when the Nationals have a 14-game lead in the NL East and a 100% chance of reaching the NLDS according to FanGraphs playoff projections entering Monday. This would seem like the time to give players more rest when possible.

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/dusty-baker-is-throwing-caution-pitch-counts-to-the-wind/

btw what Nat leads the NL in pitching bWAR?

Gio Gonzalez

I was looking up something about Scherzer this morning and noticed that three of the Top 10 career leaders in K/9 currently pitch for the Nationals. Conceding there's a heavy era-bias there, that's still amazing--could you find another team in history where three of the top 10 anything played for one team? Maybe Ruth, Gehrig, and someone else were once 1-2-3 in career HR, I don't know.

Strasburg tossed a complete game shutout! only his second career shutout, and in his second career complete game. i remember the good ol days when a John Tudor could startle everyone and even himself and throw 10 shutouts in a season.

110 pitches... I suppose acceptable even in a meaningless game.

(ie, John Tudor threw almost 500 innings over his age 31 and 32 seasons, and only pitched one 'qualified' season after that. The price.)

the price of grit and determination, Dr.

the price of throwing your arm out

Scherzer (bruised calf) forced out after 5, hit by a comebacker

https://www.federalbaseball.com/2017/9/3/16247686/washington-nationals-max-scherzer-leaves-start-vs-brewers-after-comebacker-off-left-calf

Is Scherzer/Gonzalez/Strasburg the best front of the rotation since Halladay/Hamels/Lee? Probably forgetting others.

Division Champs!

btw what Nat leads the NL in pitching bWAR?

Still leading! This snuck up on me completely.

he's back, and not just in costume

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/washington-nationals/bryce-harper-jayson-werth-awesomely-lead-nats-game-thrones-dress

not the best news

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/20874992/max-scherzer-washington-nationals-leaves-start-vs-pittsburgh-pirates-apparent-right-leg-injury

They sacked Dusty

along w/ the Chicago mold