The Nats Thread

[DeathFromAbove1979]

Anthony Rendon is on fire. He looked great on 3rd last night too.

I hope the beating up on shitty team things translates to being able to duke it out with the heavy hitters. Hopefully it's not like last year where we'd whoop the shit teams and then fall miserably to the big guys.

[hutch]

have really liked Rendon since he first came up.

[vansmack]

have really liked Rendon since he first came up.

I'll just leave this here:

There's an easy fix for the Nats offensive woes - call up Rendon, and have him play second base, like he has been in Double A ball.  He's hitting .350 down there - even if he hits .240 in the bigs, it's .100 points better than Espinosa.

The Nats have a helluva problem when Zimm returns.  Can't sit LaRoche while he's hitting, probably can't move him until the trade deadline, but Zimm has to be a first baseman the rest of his career.

[stevewizzle]

agree completely.  zimm is done at third.  i'm perplexed at his issues... high school third basemen have less issues in the field than he's having.

[vansmack]

agree completely.  zimm is done at third.  i'm perplexed at his issues... high school third basemen have less issues in the field than he's having.

Focal Dystonia.

Haven't seen a case this bad since Knoblauch (not counting Ankiel because he was a pitcher).

[DeathFromAbove1979]

agree completely.  zimm is done at third.  i'm perplexed at his issues... high school third basemen have less issues in the field than he's having.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10748667/ryan-zimmerman-washington-nationals-play-some-first-base-due-arthritic-shoulder

It got real bad last year. Maybe Rendon being out there got to him too? I'd like to imagine that didn't rattle him. I'd have no problem with him moving to 3rd. He could play at 1st every couple of games. LaRoche and Rendon are kind of carrying the team offensively right now.

[stevewizzle]

yeah nice to see adam showed up this year in april instead of his typical late-May emergence.

booked a trip to chicago to catch nats/cubs in June.  pretty stoked.

[chaz]

agree completely.  zimm is done at third.  i'm perplexed at his issues... high school third basemen have less issues in the field than he's having.

Focal Dystonia.

Haven't seen a case this bad since Knoblauch (not counting Ankiel because he was a pitcher).

Have you read The Art of Fielding?  Although I thought it borrowed too heavily from A Prayer for Owen Meany, it's a good read in which the protagonist, a college shortstop poised for the majors, deals with a nasty case of this.

[James Ford]

Isn't this a contract year for LaRoche?

yeah nice to see adam showed up this year in april instead of his typical late-May emergence.

booked a trip to chicago to catch nats/cubs in June.  pretty stoked.

[stevewizzle]

Isn't this a contract year for LaRoche?

yeah nice to see adam showed up this year in april instead of his typical late-May emergence.

booked a trip to chicago to catch nats/cubs in June.  pretty stoked.

yes. might have an option for a third year, but regardless, he's a free agent the end of this season.

[gaaaaaaaaah]

laroche has a mutual option for next year

i think it goes without saying that he wont be back

itll be a shame if he keeps hitting like this all year, but its clear where zim is headed

[vansmack]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/10748667/ryan-zimmerman-washington-nationals-play-some-first-base-due-arthritic-shoulder

It got real bad last year.

I'm not buying the arthritis.  His offensive numbers have been fairly consistent, which would be hard to do with a roughed up shoulder.  And he's still gloving above average - I read yesterday that he made something like 21 errors last season, which wasn't too high for a third baseman - especially one with above average range, but the problem was that the majority of his errors were throwing errors on routine plays.

yeah nice to see adam showed up this year in april instead of his typical late-May emergence.

Must be a contact year...

Have you read The Art of Fielding? 

I have not, but will add it to my list.  Thanks!

[sweetcell]

Intentional walks: Where to eat and drink near Nationals Park
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/going-out-guide/wp/2014/04/03/intentional-walks-where-to-eat-and-drink-near-nationals-park/

apologies if this has already been posted.

[Julian, Bespoke SEXPERT]

agree completely.  zimm is done at third.  i'm perplexed at his issues... high school third basemen have less issues in the field than he's having.

Focal Dystonia.

Haven't seen a case this bad since Knoblauch (not counting Ankiel because he was a pitcher).

Have you read The Art of Fielding?  Although I thought it borrowed too heavily from A Prayer for Owen Meany, it's a good read in which the protagonist, a college shortstop poised for the majors, deals with a nasty case of this.

I love this book for the first three quarters of it. I thought the ending was absolutely bizarre, albeit I'm referring not so much the actual baseball plot, but the bizarre grave-robbery b-story. I do still highly recommended however.

Full disclosure: I am an associate of the author.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Rendon is the truth. Zimm is completely done at 3B.

This much is obvious, but when people talk about this I feel like they gloss over how much Zimm has meant to this franchise. Given his past exploits and hitting potential over the next 5 years, Zimm is underpaid at 11/$135MM, and the Nats need to clear room for him at 1B.

LaRoche has become a veteran leader, but Werth and Zimm will fill that void. Wait until LaRoche's trade value is the highest and deal him.