14
2012
The Nationals Are Going To Win The NL East, And It May Be The First Of Many
An article by 
Bryce Harper and Stephen Strasburg: The duo that should strike fear in the hearts of Mets fans
I wrote the post, which you can read below, titled “Do We Need To Start Fearing The Nationals, Could They Win The NL East?”, at the beginning of Spring Training. At the time I wrote this article I was just speculating at the possibility that they could be really successful. The idea that Miami would not be as strong as people thought, Atlanta’s many holes, Philadelphia’s injuries, and the Mets overall lack of talent led me to believe the Nats had a real shot to win the East.
They are not only going to win the NL East, but it’s not even going to be close. They currently hold a 8.5 game lead over Atlanta, not to mention they own the best record in all of baseball.
Washington is scary good.
They boast a young duo in Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez that are going to be extremely formidable going forward. They locked up their star 3B Ryan Zimmerman, Ian Desmond looks like a budding star, Bryce Harper is just two homers shy of hitting 20 as a 19 year old rookie, and he didn’t even make his debut until April 28th!
We are all hoping that we can turn this thing around, but what happens when we do? By that time Strasburg and Harper will be in full form as they will probably be dominating the Majors and the NL East. I hope we get things going in the right direction soon, but when we do I’m not so sure we will even be able to compete with this team.
Original Post: February 3, 2012.
With the Nationals acquisition of Edwin Jackson yesterday, we need to start seriously considering them as legitimate contenders to not only have a good season, but to potentially win the NL East or at minimum steal a wild card berth.
With their off season additions the Nationals will have a very well rounded and talented starting rotation. A rotation of Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez, Edwin Jackson, Jordan Zimmermann and John Lannan (it ended up being Ross Detwiler) spells trouble for NL East and the rest of the National League.
Not only are they talented but they are extremely young. Their rotation is now full of young power arms who consistently sit in the mid-90′s. This team is not only building to win now, but they are setting themselves up for an extended run of success.
Why are they good enough to win the NL East?
The Nationals have been basement dwellers for a long time, and as a result happened to come across two all generation type players in Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, who were both taken 1st overall in back to back years. They have 3B/2B Anthony Rendon who was taken 6th overall, although he would have went #1 if he did not get injured. Many scouts believe he will be ready to join the Nats this season, if he does the Nats will have to decide who he is going to replace in the lineup. They have a very talented bullpen starting with young closer Drew Storen and all-star setup man Tyler Clippard.
They have some very solid veterans in Adam Laroche and Jayson Werth, Michael Morse has a ton of power, and Ryan Zimmerman is an all-star third baseman. Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa both showed flashes last season, although they struggled a little bit at times.
Off season additions such as Brad Lidge, Edwin Jackson and most notably lefty Gio Gonzalez from Oakland have pushed them into the discussion of possible contending teams. Gonzalez struck out 200 batters last season and sported an ERA of 3.12, down from 3.23 the year before.
Why the NL East may be winnable.
Many people believe the Phillies are going to run away like they did last season. I disagree with that assessment, although it is possible. While great, their rotation is getting older and both Lee and Halladay have an injury history. Rollins is not the same player and they lost Roy Oswalt .
Howard is going to miss a few months due to his torn achillies tendon, and Chase Utley is one bad tweak of his knee from season ending surgery.
Atlanta still has very little offense, even though their pitching will carry them for the most part.
Florida, while much improved, is still a bit of a question mark. Their major offensive addition is VERY injury prone as we know, but is a great player and catalyst when healthy. Their pitching rotation is improved, as well as their bullpen with the additions of Buehrle and Heath Bell, but they are both in their mid-thirties. Carlos Zambrano is an enigma, and could be great or have another psychotic breakdown on the field.
The Mets….well….are still waiting for the cavalry to arrive in 2013-2014.
The days of the Nationals being cellar dwellers and considering mediocrity a successful season appear to be coming to an end. They are no longer going to be the whipping boys of the National League East. It’s time to start seriously worrying about them, because at this point they have the brightest future of anyone in the National League East.
What do you think?
About the Author: Dan Valis
I am a staff writer for Mets Merized Online. I am a Mets team analyst with a focus on the minor league system, as well as the major league club. I am a lifelong New Yorker who was born and raised to be a Mets fan. The ups and downs of being a Mets fan is what makes following this team so much fun, but at times so frustrating. You can follow me on Twitter @BgAppleMetsTalk.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 22 | 18 | .550 | - |
| Nationals | 22 | 19 | .537 | 0.5 |
| Phillies | 19 | 22 | .463 | 3.5 |
| Mets | 15 | 23 | .395 | 6.0 |
| Marlins | 11 | 30 | .268 | 11.5 |
Last updated: 05/17/2013
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could happen. they are certainly primed to have a window here.
but as always, no guarantees. Being the best on paper does not always trasnlate to the standings.
still, if 1 team that is not the Mets is going to dominate the division, they are my #1 choice given the other options!
I don’t think so… I think next year the Phillies if healthy won’t be a cake walk and the marlins will be better, and of course, the NY METS with wheeler and Co will give them a run for their $…
I already have the Phils penciled in to win the division (or be right there with the winner).
Since the end of July (or mid, forget the exact day) I think they have the best record in the NL. If they don’t get hammered with injuries again, they will still be a team to be reckoned with. Plus they have a lot of money to spend.
Putting aside the issue of other clubs improving next year, the Nationals will still be in the races as well. They put together a great organization which is proof that no matter how great their draft picks might become, they have to be complimented by shrewd trades and free agent signings (some good, some bad like Lidge). Take for example that supporting cast playing key roles for baseball’s best record:
Free agents:
Mike Gonzalez
Edwin jackson
Adam LaRoche
Re-signed to mutli year contract:
Ryan Zimmerman
Trades (which included giving up on many minor league prospects):\Sean Burnett
Tyler Clippard
Gio Gonzalez
Tom Gorzelany
Mike Morse
Ryan Muttheus
Rule 5 Draft:
Jesus Flores
That amounts to 40 percent of the roster. This does not include four utility players who are providing them with bench strength:
Mark DeRosa
Wilson Ramos
Kurt Suzuki
Chad Tracy
That brings the total to fifty-six percent of their roster – not including those who are not performing well.
Just shows that building from within and not trading highly ranked prospects does not a team make. It helps, but if that’s the master plan, it’s no blueprint or vision.
Well the did not make any of those shrewd moves until they stunk for years, drafted high and waited on the kid to be ready. Lets hope we don’t have to follow that mold. I can’t handle about 10 years of last place.
TR,
After a few years you will get used to it like us original new breeders did.
losing weeds out the light weights.
the Nats did take a while. Their record really does look like a classic mediocre tread water team that ripped it apart and rebuilt, with this year being the coming out party!
as the nats (2005-2011), their win totals:
81
71
73
59
59
69
80.
so that is a long stretch of true also ran with a couple of horrid in the middle, just trying to get back to break even. Losing 103 games 2 years in a row is just nasty.
and tell old man Davy to cram his comments about Citi field. until some point last year Nats park was a morgue too, with no particular fan base.
Hi Stick,
The important aspect about all this is that the Nationals made attempts to improve themselves and actions speak louder than words. Being successful or not is not a guarantee but at least is doing something beyond emphasizing let’s see what our draft picks do.
As far as bad contracts, that is part of the game and usually wind up as financial write-offs. Every team that is willing to take chances is going to be burned at some point. And to simply avoid being burned at all results in something worse than being burned – nothing at all!
This team can’t sell out games unless big opponents are in town (or when Third Eye Blind is playing afterwards). The Metro shuts off at 10:00 which will be awesome when those playoff games start at 8:30.
They’re locked into some terrible long-term deals (Morse, Zimmerman, Werth) that could impede other signings later on.
They’ve had a lot of guys step up for injured position players but they have been very lucky with their starters more or less remaining healthy this season.
This town is definitely more obsessed about RG3 than the Redskins.
This team can’t sell out games unless big opponents are in town (or when Third Eye Blind is playing afterwards). The Metro shuts off at 10:00 which will be awesome when those playoff games start at 8:30. Funny to hear Davey call Citi a morgue when RG3 gets more ink than the Nats.
As for the team… They’re locked into some terrible long-term deals (Morse, Zimmerman, Werth) that could impede other signings later on.
They’ve had a lot of guys step up for injured position players but they have been very lucky with their starters more or less remaining healthy this season.
Regardless of who wins the NL East we can rest assured that our beloved Mets will be aiding that team with free road wins.