David Huzzard: Workmanlike Rendon deserves NL MVP honors

David Huzzard: Workmanlike Rendon deserves NL MVP honors
Years ago, I set in the cold, metal bleachers for a night game at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. I was there not only because I enjoy baseball, but to watch a Nationals prospect named Anthony Rendon. It is easy to tell the legit prospects from the organizational talent at that level and it has nothing to do with skill. Rendon was giant compared to the other minor leaguers. Looking at him now it would be hard to believe. He's not a large major league player but compared to the other...

David Huzzard: Nats need not concern themselves with playoff matchups

David Huzzard: Nats need not concern themselves with playoff matchups
There is going to be a side story to the Dodgers-Nationals series this weekend, and like many side stories, it is flat and pointless, a time-filler to help get to the end of the season. Kind of like my run on sentences. This story is not a tale as old as time but it is one that is asked all the time of fans, players, media and front office staff: Who would you rather play in the first round? The Cubs have suffered a World Series hangover and limped through the season, but still have Anthony...

David Huzzard: Top three in rotation are undisputed advantage for Nats

David Huzzard: Top three in rotation are undisputed advantage for Nats
2.19, 2.50, 2.78 - that isn't just a random collection of numbers, those are the ERAa of the Nationals' top three starting pitchers, Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg. Those three rank second, third and fourth in ERA and first and 11th in FIP (Strasburg and Scherzer are tied). Scherzer is the current front-runner for NL Cy Young with a healthy lead in all the categories the voters are going to look at. He has the second-best ERA in the league, the best FIP and WAR, leads in...

David Huzzard: Does Harper's absence create an opportunity?

David Huzzard: Does Harper's absence create an opportunity?
Bryce Harper is the most important player to the Nationals' success, yet his absence creates an opportunity for the Nationals to find out if they really need him. Ask yourself: How good does a player have to be to be worth what Harper is going to command in free agency, and will Harper really command that much. The second part of that question is important because if the Nationals decide to offer Harper an extension this offseason, they need to be close to what he and his agent believe he is...

David Huzzard: Nationals have prospered against adversity

David Huzzard: Nationals have prospered against adversity
The Nationals have faced as much adversity possible for a team more than a dozen games up in their division in late August. There exists a subset of baseball fans that theorize that the teams that do best in the playoffs are those that have been battle-hardened by a tough division race or fight for the wild card. This is the typical type of adversity people think of, but the Nationals have faced a different kind and it may prove beneficial when they reach the playoffs this season. D.C. is the...

David Huzzard: Commending the job Mike Rizzo has done

David Huzzard: Commending the job Mike Rizzo has done
The Nationals can be viewed as either one of the luckiest teams in baseball or one of the unluckiest. But there is a third option and that is that general manager Mike Rizzo knows what he is doing. I would have said before this season that if the Nationals don't have a deep playoff run, Rizzo is as good as gone as GM. There are just some GMs, good enough to rebuild a team but not good at putting those final pieces in place to win it all. Rizzo has started to look like the latter, but this...

David Huzzard: Waiting for the regular season to end

David Huzzard: Waiting for the regular season to end
The Nationals have such a commanding lead in the division that it has the same feeling as a losing season. It is like the Nationals are playing out the string, but instead of the season ending with golf outings and vacation, it will become exciting again and the Nationals will be in the playoffs. For now though, the Nationals are playing out the string. I'd say it should be a feeling familiar to Nats fans, but how many really exist that suffered through the 2008 and 2009 seasons? Let alone...

David Huzzard: Dusty Baker is better than some think

David Huzzard: Dusty Baker is better than some think
My opinion on Dusty Baker started to change sometime before the Nationals hired him. His name came up often whenever a job opened up and he was mentioned often by broadcasters when Matt Williams was the manager of the Nats. My thought on Baker started to be why is a manager that has done nothing but win in his career so disliked by a certain segment of fans? I've read "The Book" and "Moneyball" and I visit FanGraphs.com on a near daily basis, but at some point when the results are so...

David Huzzard: Stop pointless debates and enjoy what's happening on the field

David Huzzard: Stop pointless debates and enjoy what's happening on the field
When I was growing up, Washington D.C., was the murder capital of the world and currently the Nationals are murdering baseballs at an alarming rate. The third inning of yesterday's game saw a quintuple homicide committed at Nats Park. But as with anything that's fun, there are always people that want to ruin it. Seriously, go to your Twitter right now and type in something you think is fun and declare your joy for it, and I'm sure one of the first responses will be someone looking to rain on...

David Huzzard: Trade for relief help puts Nats in strong position

David Huzzard: Trade for relief help puts Nats in strong position
The recent acquisition of Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson helps the Nationals bullpen. It added two much-needed proven, veteran arms to a 'pen that was lacking everything. Madson brings his 2.01 ERA and 2.39 FIP, and Doolittle his 3.63 ERA and 2.51 FIP. While these two are instantly the best relievers in the Nationals bullpen, all reports indicate the Nationals are far from finished in looking to add talent to a bullpen that has severely lacked it for most of the season. If the Nationals are...

David Huzzard: How Nats can add relievers by adding to payroll

David Huzzard: How Nats can add relievers by adding to payroll
There are two ways to add players from outside the organization. That is by spending money or spending talent. Most trades are completed by spending talent, but there is a way to spend money and make a trade that might present the Nationals with the best option for improvement this deadline. The rumors have begun swirling, and according to one writer's source the Tigers have no interest in moving right-hander Justin Verlander and according to another writer's source they aren't shopping him...

David Huzzard: What is the impact of the the Nats' bad bullpen?

David Huzzard: What is the impact of the the Nats' bad bullpen?
I had a question earlier this week on the Nationals bullpen. It was a simple one: Exactly how many ninth-inning blown saves have they had and where does that compare to the league average? The Nationals have 14 total blown saves, but because a lot of old-timey baseball stats are dumb, that counts a blown lead by a reliever in any inning and not just the ninth. The answer for how many ninth-inning blown saves has to be found by looking at how many times the Nationals had a lead entering the...

David Huzzard: Nats should rekindle trade talks for McCutchen

David Huzzard: Nats should rekindle trade talks for McCutchen
Baseball is considered a slow sport. All the discussions on how to get young people to pay attention to the game recently are centered around pace of play, but it sure does seem to move fast at times. A week ago leadoff hitter and shortstop was the least of the Nationals' concerns and this week it has moved to the top of the docket. With a 9 1/2-game lead in the division and every division rival looking like a seller this deadline, the Nationals place atop the division is as secure as it is...

David Huzzard: Nats should look at other trade possibilities

David Huzzard: Nats should look at other trade possibilities
The 2017 Nationals are a confusing team to follow. They are a combination of the best run-producing team in baseball, a huge division lead, a strong top of the rotation and one of the worst bullpens ever constructed. That last one gets most of the attention and it needs to be addressed, but it is not the Nationals' only weakness heading into the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline. The bullpen is the obvious area of concern and it's where the Nationals focus will be, but it will also be where...

David Huzzard: What will a closer cost the Nationals?

David Huzzard: What will a closer cost the Nationals?
Believe it or not, the Nationals don't have the worst bullpen in the majors. That isn't to forgive or forget just how bad the bullpen has been and how many leads they've blown, or that with even a league-average bullpen the Mets' recent hot streak wouldn't matter one bit. It is simply a fact. The Nats don't have the worst bullpen in the majors and it is going to cause them major issues when the trade deadline comes around. By ERA, the Twins have the worst bullpen in the majors at 5.39....

David Huzzard: Looking ahead to free agency after 2018 season

David Huzzard: Looking ahead to free agency after 2018 season
There is a lot of talk about where Bryce Harper will land when he becomes a free agent after the 2018 season. There is also a lot of discussion of who else is available and if a Golden State Warriors-like super team could be formed in Major League Baseball. It is perfectly possible. Daniel Murphy and Harper are scheduled to be free agents from the Nats, Manny Machado and Josh Donaldson will both be free agents at third base, Charlie Blackmon and Adam Jones will join Harper as available...

David Huzzard: It's safe to love Zimmerman again

David Huzzard: It's safe to love Zimmerman again
Every now and then, my new life in Virginia Beach, Va., takes me down Princess Anne Road to West Neck Road and past Kellam High School. Whenever I drive that way, I think of Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman. An autographed picture of him also hangs in my favorite seafood restaurant, Margie and Ray's, and after the last two seasons and before this one, whenever I thought of Zimmerman, I was filled with sadness. As a longtime fan of the Nationals, Zimmerman is a part of many of my best...

David Huzzard: In NL East, are Nationals battling themselves?

David Huzzard: In NL East, are Nationals battling themselves?
It is still early in the baseball season and yet it feels like it is over. The Nationals are 10 games over .500, while the second-place Braves are six games under. The National League East is a weak division and the Nationals are a team built to contend while the Mets are hampered by extraordinary bad luck, the Marlins have zero identity and an uncertain future, and the Braves and Phillies are both rebuilding teams on the right track but a year or two away from contention. The Nationals are...

David Huzzard: Mike Rizzo's mistake with the bullpen

David Huzzard: Mike Rizzo's mistake with the bullpen
The Nationals bullpen for the next couple months will be the main focus of the club because it is the glaring weakness of an otherwise near flawless team. The rest of the Nationals roster is a close-to-perfect construction of what a baseball team should be. I now sympathize with Mike Rizzo because I understand the mistake he made in the construction of the Nats bullpen. It wasn't that the Nats were unwilling to spend. They tried very hard to give away their money this offseason, but relievers...

David Huzzard: Nats dispelling some back luck by racking up wins

David Huzzard: Nats dispelling some back luck by racking up wins
Adam Eaton is out for the season, Bryce Harper left yesterday's game with a groin strain, the back end of the rotation is a mess with a career minor leaguer just being inserted as the fifth starter and then there's the bullpen, and I think we all know the problems there. Yet the Nationals are 19-9, the best record in the major leagues. The Nationals are having the same bad luck with starters staying healthy they've always had and now have issues with pitching depth. And yet they just keep...