In today's The Athletic, they highlight some early season numbers. Jake Irvin made the top 10 list for Stuff+ (go figure). They said:
"Jake Irvin completely revamped his arsenal? His cutter has a new shape and he threw it almost three times as often as he did last year. He added a tick of velo and some cut to his four-seamer, his curveball has more sideways movement, and his slider has a completely new shape too. For a guy who used to be all about a wide arsenal with command, he suddenly has the stuff to match. And, generally, the Nationals have seen most of their pitchers increase their stuff — that team may have turned around its coaching fast."
I will always be grateful for Rizzo building the team that was a consistent winner 2012-2019. And I will always be grateful for Martinez' willingness to use creative pitching strategy to mitigate a leaky bullpen and win the World series in 2019.
But by last season it became painfully clear that time had passed them by, and the Nats needed to move with the new analytical times. For all the grief the current Lerner family are getting for not spending money, they seem to have hit a home run in their new hires.
I know it's early, and I may regret this post in July - but so be it.
I need to dig, but I’m like 75% sure either Athletic or FanGraphs has written about Irvin before, highlighting his potential for high Stuff+ while also highlighting that despite that, he refuses to throw the pitches with high potential; he was hitting batters with his fastball which was not good at the time of the article
I frequent a few Nats’ sites. One of them comes off kinda sophomoric with its’ articles/stories, and the commenters (except for a few) make little sense. Another is a typical fan site.
What Mark had cultivated here in a short time is excellent writing and reporting combined with (for the most part) a knowledgeable and respectful commentariat.
Couldn’t agree more! In today’s (online) journalism, this site stands head and shoulders above anything else I read in terms of journalistic integrity and reader/commenter intelligence and maturity. What a joy to read.
There's probably not a bigger JY fan than me but he'll need a better OBP than his career .308 to be my leadoff man. Maybe this is the year he puts it all together but he hasn't done that yet. He also led the league in Caught Stealing last year so... he'll need to show better baserunning too.
No argument from me. And he may just put it all together. (He DID steal a base today, by the way.) It's early yet, and remember, he is essentially still in spring training mode, having missed most of it with his wrist injury at the start of ST.
Quite frankly, I don't care where he hits in the lineup. Just so he's in it. (Big JY fan here, too.)
Probably not the best gamble there by Jacob Young. Didn't seem like he had a real chance at making the diving catch. Nats catch a break throwing out Kyle Schwarber trying to stretch that into a triple, but they also trail 1-0.
Those were some great at-bats by Abrams, Nunez and Young. Each fell behind 0-2, and each got a full count, with Abrams and Young eventually drawing walks.
In today's The Athletic, they highlight some early season numbers. Jake Irvin made the top 10 list for Stuff+ (go figure). They said:
"Jake Irvin completely revamped his arsenal? His cutter has a new shape and he threw it almost three times as often as he did last year. He added a tick of velo and some cut to his four-seamer, his curveball has more sideways movement, and his slider has a completely new shape too. For a guy who used to be all about a wide arsenal with command, he suddenly has the stuff to match. And, generally, the Nationals have seen most of their pitchers increase their stuff — that team may have turned around its coaching fast."
I will always be grateful for Rizzo building the team that was a consistent winner 2012-2019. And I will always be grateful for Martinez' willingness to use creative pitching strategy to mitigate a leaky bullpen and win the World series in 2019.
But by last season it became painfully clear that time had passed them by, and the Nats needed to move with the new analytical times. For all the grief the current Lerner family are getting for not spending money, they seem to have hit a home run in their new hires.
I know it's early, and I may regret this post in July - but so be it.
I need to dig, but I’m like 75% sure either Athletic or FanGraphs has written about Irvin before, highlighting his potential for high Stuff+ while also highlighting that despite that, he refuses to throw the pitches with high potential; he was hitting batters with his fastball which was not good at the time of the article
I am going to need Curtis Mead to homer off of Christopher Sanchez to really bring this full circle
For some reason I like seeing James Wood in right field. To me, he looked more comfortable out there. Glad to see Jacob Young back in the lineup.
Warm, sunny and beautiful day at the ballpark. Cade’s got this today. Is it premature to sense that James Wood is coming around?
Beats being a negative nanny
Behnke of Behnke’s nursery fame?
Nope from the other side of town
I frequent a few Nats’ sites. One of them comes off kinda sophomoric with its’ articles/stories, and the commenters (except for a few) make little sense. Another is a typical fan site.
What Mark had cultivated here in a short time is excellent writing and reporting combined with (for the most part) a knowledgeable and respectful commentariat.
Looking forward to more.
Couldn’t agree more! In today’s (online) journalism, this site stands head and shoulders above anything else I read in terms of journalistic integrity and reader/commenter intelligence and maturity. What a joy to read.
Beltsville strong.
And we're underway on a 79-degree Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia.
Wood Swinging the bat for an out > Going down looking
I’d prefer seeing the leadoff guys force a few more pitches. 2 outs on 3 pitches means we will see Sanchez well into the game
True, I’ll note the pitch he swung on was middle middle and hit hard—just straight at the ground. That’s baseball for ya
A 10-pitch walk for Jacob Young. THERE'S your lead-off man!
There's probably not a bigger JY fan than me but he'll need a better OBP than his career .308 to be my leadoff man. Maybe this is the year he puts it all together but he hasn't done that yet. He also led the league in Caught Stealing last year so... he'll need to show better baserunning too.
No argument from me. And he may just put it all together. (He DID steal a base today, by the way.) It's early yet, and remember, he is essentially still in spring training mode, having missed most of it with his wrist injury at the start of ST.
Quite frankly, I don't care where he hits in the lineup. Just so he's in it. (Big JY fan here, too.)
Early or not, that .308 is who he is.... so far. I do agree, though, that his defense justifies having him in there.
Probably not the best gamble there by Jacob Young. Didn't seem like he had a real chance at making the diving catch. Nats catch a break throwing out Kyle Schwarber trying to stretch that into a triple, but they also trail 1-0.
But the walk and wild pitch set the table and even if Jacob played it on the bounce the run scores
Well the good times were nice for a few days
Booo, focus on the development side of things. CJ got a decent rally and throw
Great AB there by Young!
Those were some great at-bats by Abrams, Nunez and Young. Each fell behind 0-2, and each got a full count, with Abrams and Young eventually drawing walks.
My mentality this season has been to ignore the score, and find the highlights. Already this game, I’m happy:
- Turn a misplay by Young into an out
- Big league takes against a guy who has a very legitimate chance of beating Skenes for the Cy Young this year
Ego challenge by Sanchez 😳
C’mon JW. This is your moment.
Weak and meek. Dang!
105.2 mph off the bat... better than watching strike three, I guess.
Really heads-up base running by Wiemer.