Steve Mears: "Next man up" and the postseason roster

Steve Mears: "Next man up" and the postseason roster
The Nationals have been holding tryouts for the postseason roster, and last night, Dusty Baker made some calculated moves, some interesting moves and some moves out of necessity. The moves out of necessity were to replace Bryce Harper and Daniel Murphy, as both are nursing injuries. Then Baker had to replace Wilson Ramos, who left the game with an apparent right knee injury. Baker went to Pedro Severino over Jose Lobaton in what Baker described after the game as "next man up." While you...

Steve Mears: Could Nats take better advantage of Trea Turner's speed?

Steve Mears: Could Nats take better advantage of Trea Turner's speed?
Are the Nationals taking enough advantage of Trea Turner's speed? On the surface, the answers is yes, as Turner has 27 stolen bases and is now 10th in the major leagues in stolen bases, but consider that Turner has been on first or second base more than 40 times this season where he did not steal. In the game of inches, the Nationals could rearrange the lineup to improve Turner's chances to steal even more bases and be more aggressive. Combine smart with aggressive and you improve your odds...

Steve Mears: Is it time for the Nationals to tweak their lineup?

Steve Mears: Is it time for the Nationals to tweak their lineup?
Is it time to rearrange the lineup to thwart the competition? The Nationals have been stacking left-handed hitters Daniel Murphy and Bryce Harper for months. Both players hit left-handed pitchers well. Harper actually has a higher slugging percentage (eight points) against left-handed pitchers versus the right-handed pitchers, but his on-base-percentage is 53 points lower against left-handers. Would the lineup do better putting Anthony Rendon between Murphy and Harper to take advantage of the...

Steve Mears: Lack of pitching depth has put Nats in a tough spot

Steve Mears: Lack of pitching depth has put Nats in a tough spot
The Nationals' formula to success begins with great starting pitching. "You can never have enough starting pitching," general manager Mike Rizzo said in spring training. The Nationals had signed Bronson Arroyo in the offseason, and it was looking like Arroyo could make the 2016 team, allowing Rizzo to stash Joe Ross in Triple-A. The best-laid plans don't always work out, as Arroyo was injured in spring, and the Nationals' depth looked like a pick 'em from Taylor Jordan, Taylor Hill and...

Steve Mears: The annual September roster shakeup draws near

Steve Mears: The annual September roster shakeup draws near
It is August 30th and many teams will be doing the roster shuffle in a few days to make room for their September call-ups, which also means that any player not on the 40-man roster is not eligible for a call-up. There are strong indications that Mat Latos and Sean Burnett could both be called up if Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo can make room for them on the 40-man roster. Both Latos and Burnett signed minor league contracts, and could both prove to be valuable in September and...

Steve Mears: Nats have struggled with situational hitting

Steve Mears: Nats have struggled with situational hitting
Last night, situational hitting once again was a focus by the discerning eye as to why the Nationals offense sputtered. The lack of execution in productive outs, and hitting with runners in scoring position was beyond poor. In fact the RISP hitting finished at 1-for-9 and there were no productive outs made in the game by the Nationals, even though three times they had a leadoff man on second base and no outs to start an inning. We saw it right from the beginning of the game when Trea Turner...

Steve Mears: Some stats aren't fair to Trea Turner

Steve Mears: Some stats aren't fair to Trea Turner
The standard statistics we have will never be fair to a player like Trea Turner. Trust me, he is not complaining, but you look at a player who puts extreme pressure on the defense to rush their throws on infield grounders and those throwing errors never get credited to the batter when they are forced. Those E-5s and E-6s count the same as outs against Turner's batting average. The other statistic that does not give the appropriate credit to a speedster is stolen bases. They say when Turner is...

Steve Mears: Looking at candidates for a fifth starter in D.C.

Steve Mears: Looking at candidates for a fifth starter in D.C.
One week from today, the Washington Nationals will need a fifth starter for their rotation, and we found out that Joe Ross will not be ready to return to the rotation any time soon due to soreness in his throwing shoulder. To complicate matters, the location for this August 16th game is none other than Coors Field in Colorado, where even aces have been humbled by the altitude. To complicate matters further, the Nats will probably need this fifth starter for a while as the schedule does not have...

Steve Mears: How can the Nats roster change after the non-waiver trade deadline?

Steve Mears: How can the Nats roster change after the non-waiver trade deadline?
In-season trading hit a new high this year as teams made 48 trades from June 1 to the deadline yesterday. It broke last year's record of 43 trades. Trades are best judged in hindsight to analyze the real winners and losers in trades, and quality over quantity. For anyone wondering how MLB.com rated teams after the non-waiver trade deadline, their power rankings in the National League had the top five teams in this order: Cubs, Nationals, Giants, Dodgers and Cardinals. Yes, they ranked the...

Steve Mears: Aroldis Chapman would not have been worth the high price

Steve Mears: Aroldis Chapman would not have been worth the high price
How many postseason saves does Aroldis Chapman have? Zero. Chapman does have a blown save and a loss. Wade Davis has four postseason saves with a perfect save record, and he also has three holds and four wins. Davis has 23 postseason games on his record and no blemishes. There is something called "incremental improvement" that sabermetricians look at to compare a 2.4 WAR player versus a 2.8 WAR player while using their advances stats to determine which player is better. Not so fast:...

Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline

Steve Mears: Balancing want vs. need at the trade deadline
The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and while the trade winds are blowing, we are throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes the best trades you make are the trades you don't. What does that mean? It means that when you are contemplating a trade that does not feel right that it is best to not do it. How many trades would teams want to have back? Plenty. The Orioles want to reverse the deal sending Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Steve Clevenger and Scott...

Steve Mears: What moves does Rizzo have in mind for Nats?

Steve Mears: What moves does Rizzo have in mind for Nats?
The trade deadline is on Aug. 1 this year and that is 26 days away. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo seems poised to make some moves, and all teams in first place will make some moves. What we do not know is what Mike Rizzo has in mind for his top two prospects, Lucas Giolito and Trea Turner. "(Giolito) threw 137 innings last year total," Rizzo said. "We will build off that. We have a protocol in place that we'll stick to and adhere to. We have had it mapped out since spring training,...

Steve Mears: Was Monday night's win the defining game of 2016 for the Nats?

Steve Mears: Was Monday night's win the defining game of 2016 for the Nats?
We never know which game to circle on the calendar as a key game or 'the' key game during themarathon 162-game schedule, but clearly last night's game was 'a' key game for both the WashingtonNationals and the New York Mets. Time will tell whether or not last night was 'the' key game. The key game in the 2012 season was the doubleheader game where the Nats came back to beat theirdivision rival after losing a heartbreaking game the night before and the first game of the doubleheader.The...

Steve Mears: Looking at Nats' other options for replacement starter

Steve Mears: Looking at Nats' other options for replacement starter
The Nationals got all the way to June 20 before they needed a sixth starter, as Stephen Strasburg was scratched from his start with an upper back strain and replaced by Yusmeiro Petit. The Nats were fortunate earlier in the season when Joe Ross had a blister and with days off they could skip his start. Not so lucky this time, and that begs the question as to who would be the Nats' replacement starter if they needed one again? Taylor Jordan is out for the season, and A.J. Cole is really the...

Steve Mears: It can take years to analyze the success of a draft

Steve Mears: It can take years to analyze the success of a draft
Another First-Year Player Draft is in the books, and it sometimes takes years to analyze the impact of a draft class. The Nationals used to always pick high in the draft when the team was bad. With the success in the standings the last few years, the Nats are now getting draft picks at the lower end of each round. It makes the trades, international signings and other creative acquisitions even more strategic to the on-going future progression of this franchise. Ryan Zimmerman clearly had the...

Steve Mears: Turner matching all-time hits leader in hustle category

Steve Mears: Turner matching all-time hits leader in hustle category
Friday night in Cincinnati, Ohio was the setting for the 2016 debut of possibly the most exciting player in baseball, and his name is Trea Turner. He is not a home run hitter and he doesn't crow-hop throwing 97-mph darts across the diamond. Turner is the true throwback to a simpler game to the bygone years of "Charlie Hustle," who is still loved in Cincinnati. Pete Rose was not particularly fast, as he only averaged nine stolen bases a year against seven caught stealing, which surprises most...

Steve Mears: Monday's Nats win paid homage to another skipper's philosophy

Steve Mears: Monday's Nats win paid homage to another skipper's philosophy
The Nationals got a big look at the in-game management style of Joe Maddon earlier in the month in Chicago where they played a four-game series. Maddon also has many philosophies that he shares as the manager of the Chicago Cubs, and his 'TryNot To Suck' advice might have started as a joke, but it is at the core of one of Maddon's core principles that if you are going to 'suck' at one part of your game you had better find other ways to help your team win. Maddon turned the 'Try Not To...

Steve Mears: Opportunity in offing as Zimmerman awaits blessed event

Steve Mears: Opportunity in offing as Zimmerman awaits blessed event
Have you looked lately to see what the one-two punch for the Syracuse Chiefs have been doing? Trea Turner and Brian Goodwin are just tearing up Triple-A while wreaking havoc on the base paths. They are usually running the bases two times a game if they get up five times since both are hovering around a .380 on-base percentage and have found other ways to get on base. Both are almost certain locks to be called up in September or sooner, and the Nationals might have a need real soon as it turns...

Steve Mears: Jayson Werth's transition to left field and his family's baseball history

Steve Mears: Jayson Werth's transition to left field and his family's baseball history
There is this player in Nationals Park who has a cheering section out there in the unheralded part that is tucked in between the foul pole and the visitors bullpen in Section 105. That's right, it's left field where the man they call "The Beard," "The Werewolf" or some just refer to as "J-Dub" - as Bryce Harper likes to call him - plays his position. Jayson Werth started his career as a catcher, tried some first base and then got moved into the outfield. When the Nationals signed Werth...

Steve Mears: Nationals finding success with pinch-hitters

Steve Mears: Nationals finding success with pinch-hitters
The 2016 Nationals bench is winning games singlehandedly by singular swings of the bat. The most memorable singular swing by a bench player is always the one freshest in your mind, which has to be last night's walk-off pinch-hit home run from Clint Robinson. Then you start to think about some of the others, like Chris Heisey in extra innings with the 16th-inning walk-off HR on April 24 which was the first walk-off in Heisey's career. Now rewind back further to the second game of the season...