I feel teased by Toboni on what the follow up move to Vivas is, maybe we get another mid-game move; McGarry is not who I thought would be optioned, and surely we don’t intend to have both Tena and Vivas on the bench.
The curiousity in me wonders if they’d really want Tena to do the homecoming red carpet walk later tonight if he might not even be on the team within the next day.
Cubs looking for bench infielders apparently, would be funny if that’s where he’s headed and just waiting to announce the move once the team is there to facilitate travel.
The Nats still need to clear a spot on the 40-man to add Cionel Perez to the roster. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Jose Tena will be the one on the chopping block.
I have to imagine that the hitting instruction that the team has started getting over the last 4-5 months is wildly different than anything they’d been getting with the Nats over the last 4-5 years. I’m holding out hope that these new offensive woes are a transition period, and that things will resolve naturally over the next few months as bad habits formed by bad instruction are unlearned. We already know this isn’t going to be a competitive season - so they can take the extra runway to rework these guys’ mechanics methodically.
It's spring training. it is totally meaningless. not only did the best team in 2025's spring training, the SF Gigantes, not win the WS, they didn't even win the NLW nor make the playoffs. it ain't baseball.
That has been talked about before. Their emphasis since day one was pitch recognition and zone awareness, whereas a lot of emphasis from the previous regime was on swing mechanics and timing. Even though they talked over and over again about not chasing and choosing the right pitch, if they weren't helping them recognize which pitch is the one to swing at, telling them to wait for it doesn't do a lot of good. What these guys have been working on this spring is a mental change, which can take a lot longer to adopt than a physical one.
The days of "be yourself" need to be put in the past if "yourself" means a sub-.300 OBP and getting yourself out by putting bad pitches in play. Some guys will not be able to make the change - and they will be gone.
While none of them official, they've pretty much pared it down to whether they carry an extra infielder or outfielder on the bench. Its basically two of Wiemer, Franklin, and Tena. Odds are on it being 5 outfielders as all of them have options and Tena doesn'. If Perez has his contract selected, they will need to eject someone. Then there are 10 relievers vying for 8 spots. 4 of those are almost certain (Henry, Beeter, Lord, Perez), but after they released Smith, this could really go in any direction.
You can't read much into today's BP game in terms of who they roll out. A guy may pitch because he's made the OD roster and they want him to get a little work before the trip to Chicago. A guy may pitch because they are on the fence and want to see him one more time.
If Nunez is going to be a starter, seems suboptimal to have Nunez at 2B and Abrams at SS. I wonder what it is they see in CJ’s latent talent that they want him to stick there?
I'm just looking for more offense from these guys. Maybe it is a gradual build, and I can be very patient. I am looking for good quality ABs with little chasing and hard contact.
Reading between a few lines, something like this appears to be their player acquisition and development philosophy at each position:
hitters: they want batters that make good swing decisions and believe that they can train bat speed / power / impact. This leads me to believe that Taboni, too, would have picked Willits 1/1. Also explains why they are swapping Tena for Vivas.
fielding: they want quick actions and athleticism. They believe that they can improve range. (this is also why they are keeping CJ at SS)
pitching: They want velocity and stuff and believe they can harness location (biggest change from Rizzo). Thus, all their minor league phase Rule 5 picks and why they traded Bennett for Perales, etc. Of course everyone in MLB is chasing the same thing, so nothing earth shattering here
So when monitoring the waiver wire, or looking forward to Draft this summer, I'd say focus on hitters with elite BB/K and contact numbers, pitchers with gas/stuff and defenders with twitchy athleticism.
Meanwhile we have two later R5 P picks making their teams. Carter Baumler who lived in A ball with Baltimore, making the Rangers and Peyton Pallette (great name alert!) formerly PaleHose now Gwardianz.
How in good conscience can a manager use 9 TBA's in an exhibition game? For Gawd sakes, man, have some self-respect. Booby M needs to change that rule before the game gets overtaken by fly fishing in popularity and the typical fan is in the seventh decade. SAD! and thank you for your attention to this matter.
Well, it all starts for real at 2:20 ET on Thursday. The real question is what will the Nats’ record be after 3 games in Chicago, 3 in Philly and a weekend at home vs. L.A.
The first month is always wonky. Maybe we see the Nats in FIRST PLACE! The Braves announced that Strider is hurt so with their rotation missing a handful of players, they may be in last place for a bit.
This is the Oreos and they have no respect at all toward the Nationals or the citizens of the DMV why Lerner agreed to this farce is the great mystery of all time just because Rubenstein owns them doesn’t change the hostility they have toward DC
My boy CB has never forgiven the Woerioes for trying to block DC ball. CB still has his Angelos voodoo doll that gets a few pricks every night before bedtime. And I say, keep on keepin' on, CB!
There are a few fanbases that I would say are real vile but the Oreo hostility is off the rails and this goes back to my first years at Maryland I meet some real Baltymorons and man did ever want to punch their smirking faces on more then a few occasions and the years have not changed them at all ,Hun
So I see the Removal of the Washington Post from the fabric of DC life is complete as the Ad on the scoreboard is GONE replaced with a Pharmaceutical company (to go with a retirement lobby group patch what’s next crematorium field ads )
So the Junkie Boys had their 10 mins of Nationals coverage for March this morning and among the discussion if you can call it that was a comment that Crews was pissed off with the demotion. is that TRUE ? That would be very troubling
According to MLB.com’s 2024 Scouting report on Vivas : “Vivas has fringy speed and arm strength that limit his value on the bases and in the field. He has sure hands and average range at second base but isn't really suited to play elsewhere. The Dodgers tried playing him at third base, but the game speeds up too much on him there and he doesn't have the arm for the hot corner.”
A lot of dropouts this year and we are still looking for Yahoo fantasy baseball team managers. No money and no harassment. It's a great way to get to know the middle relievers of the Colorado Rox for all those one up ya moments with friends. Send me a dm and I'll give you a link to sign up.
I feel teased by Toboni on what the follow up move to Vivas is, maybe we get another mid-game move; McGarry is not who I thought would be optioned, and surely we don’t intend to have both Tena and Vivas on the bench.
The curiousity in me wonders if they’d really want Tena to do the homecoming red carpet walk later tonight if he might not even be on the team within the next day.
Cubs looking for bench infielders apparently, would be funny if that’s where he’s headed and just waiting to announce the move once the team is there to facilitate travel.
The Nats still need to clear a spot on the 40-man to add Cionel Perez to the roster. It seems like a foregone conclusion that Jose Tena will be the one on the chopping block.
I have to imagine that the hitting instruction that the team has started getting over the last 4-5 months is wildly different than anything they’d been getting with the Nats over the last 4-5 years. I’m holding out hope that these new offensive woes are a transition period, and that things will resolve naturally over the next few months as bad habits formed by bad instruction are unlearned. We already know this isn’t going to be a competitive season - so they can take the extra runway to rework these guys’ mechanics methodically.
It's spring training. it is totally meaningless. not only did the best team in 2025's spring training, the SF Gigantes, not win the WS, they didn't even win the NLW nor make the playoffs. it ain't baseball.
That has been talked about before. Their emphasis since day one was pitch recognition and zone awareness, whereas a lot of emphasis from the previous regime was on swing mechanics and timing. Even though they talked over and over again about not chasing and choosing the right pitch, if they weren't helping them recognize which pitch is the one to swing at, telling them to wait for it doesn't do a lot of good. What these guys have been working on this spring is a mental change, which can take a lot longer to adopt than a physical one.
Spot on!
This is an excellent point.
The days of "be yourself" need to be put in the past if "yourself" means a sub-.300 OBP and getting yourself out by putting bad pitches in play. Some guys will not be able to make the change - and they will be gone.
How many positions do the Nats need to cut between now and Opening Day? I’ve lost track.
While none of them official, they've pretty much pared it down to whether they carry an extra infielder or outfielder on the bench. Its basically two of Wiemer, Franklin, and Tena. Odds are on it being 5 outfielders as all of them have options and Tena doesn'. If Perez has his contract selected, they will need to eject someone. Then there are 10 relievers vying for 8 spots. 4 of those are almost certain (Henry, Beeter, Lord, Perez), but after they released Smith, this could really go in any direction.
You can't read much into today's BP game in terms of who they roll out. A guy may pitch because he's made the OD roster and they want him to get a little work before the trip to Chicago. A guy may pitch because they are on the fence and want to see him one more time.
If Nunez is going to be a starter, seems suboptimal to have Nunez at 2B and Abrams at SS. I wonder what it is they see in CJ’s latent talent that they want him to stick there?
His trade value is higher as a SS although everybody, including the Padres, know he should be playing 2B.
Tena and Vivas together in the line up. Interesting.
I'll be at the Park shortly. Open those gates!
If a fight breaks out between the two of them, I hope you'll have Jorbit's back.
I'm there.
I'm just looking for more offense from these guys. Maybe it is a gradual build, and I can be very patient. I am looking for good quality ABs with little chasing and hard contact.
GO NATS!!!!!
Reading between a few lines, something like this appears to be their player acquisition and development philosophy at each position:
hitters: they want batters that make good swing decisions and believe that they can train bat speed / power / impact. This leads me to believe that Taboni, too, would have picked Willits 1/1. Also explains why they are swapping Tena for Vivas.
fielding: they want quick actions and athleticism. They believe that they can improve range. (this is also why they are keeping CJ at SS)
pitching: They want velocity and stuff and believe they can harness location (biggest change from Rizzo). Thus, all their minor league phase Rule 5 picks and why they traded Bennett for Perales, etc. Of course everyone in MLB is chasing the same thing, so nothing earth shattering here
So when monitoring the waiver wire, or looking forward to Draft this summer, I'd say focus on hitters with elite BB/K and contact numbers, pitchers with gas/stuff and defenders with twitchy athleticism.
Meanwhile we have two later R5 P picks making their teams. Carter Baumler who lived in A ball with Baltimore, making the Rangers and Peyton Pallette (great name alert!) formerly PaleHose now Gwardianz.
How in good conscience can a manager use 9 TBA's in an exhibition game? For Gawd sakes, man, have some self-respect. Booby M needs to change that rule before the game gets overtaken by fly fishing in popularity and the typical fan is in the seventh decade. SAD! and thank you for your attention to this matter.
Well, it all starts for real at 2:20 ET on Thursday. The real question is what will the Nats’ record be after 3 games in Chicago, 3 in Philly and a weekend at home vs. L.A.
Hoping for 3-6 or even 4-5.
The first month is always wonky. Maybe we see the Nats in FIRST PLACE! The Braves announced that Strider is hurt so with their rotation missing a handful of players, they may be in last place for a bit.
This is the Oreos and they have no respect at all toward the Nationals or the citizens of the DMV why Lerner agreed to this farce is the great mystery of all time just because Rubenstein owns them doesn’t change the hostility they have toward DC
Wow, CBinDC, that might be overstating it a bit.
My boy CB has never forgiven the Woerioes for trying to block DC ball. CB still has his Angelos voodoo doll that gets a few pricks every night before bedtime. And I say, keep on keepin' on, CB!
It’s good to see the passion!
There are a few fanbases that I would say are real vile but the Oreo hostility is off the rails and this goes back to my first years at Maryland I meet some real Baltymorons and man did ever want to punch their smirking faces on more then a few occasions and the years have not changed them at all ,Hun
Too bad they weren’t born yet to see the Orioles’ last WS victory 43 years ago.
So I see the Removal of the Washington Post from the fabric of DC life is complete as the Ad on the scoreboard is GONE replaced with a Pharmaceutical company (to go with a retirement lobby group patch what’s next crematorium field ads )
Selling dates now to have your ashes scattered on the field!! Hurry - don't wait until they're gone.....
VANDA Pharma
The ads write themselves:
Here lay your Washington Nationals fans!
With every season ticket comes a lovely keepsake urn celebrating the 2019 World Series season. Get your before it's toooo late.
Welcome to the squad, Jorbit!
So the Junkie Boys had their 10 mins of Nationals coverage for March this morning and among the discussion if you can call it that was a comment that Crews was pissed off with the demotion. is that TRUE ? That would be very troubling
ignore (just...in general, ignore). They don't know ball.
Truly. They talk a good game, but . . . .
They say dumb stuff all the time.
So much for the sun. Chilly down here. And breezy.
I've seen worse for a March game.
Hope the Nats can warm you up by giving you something to jump up and cheer about!
Thanks. That and one of those Limearitas. -:)
Or 2
According to MLB.com’s 2024 Scouting report on Vivas : “Vivas has fringy speed and arm strength that limit his value on the bases and in the field. He has sure hands and average range at second base but isn't really suited to play elsewhere. The Dodgers tried playing him at third base, but the game speeds up too much on him there and he doesn't have the arm for the hot corner.”
It’ll be interesting to see how he does today.
He has played a lot of 3B in the minors, particularly after the LA trade. He even got in 75 innings with the Yankees last year.
A lot of dropouts this year and we are still looking for Yahoo fantasy baseball team managers. No money and no harassment. It's a great way to get to know the middle relievers of the Colorado Rox for all those one up ya moments with friends. Send me a dm and I'll give you a link to sign up.
count me as one who's really happy to see the ABS system
Nailing it early
also count me as one who really dislikes these silly in-game interviews
It's the kind of thing that sounds like a really good idea to people who don't watch baseball.
`mlb has an audio option so i have our radio crew