{"id":7456,"date":"2013-08-19T18:44:06","date_gmt":"2013-08-19T22:44:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nationalsarmrace.com.\/?p=7456"},"modified":"2013-08-19T18:44:06","modified_gmt":"2013-08-19T22:44:06","slug":"ask-boswell-81913-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/?p=7456","title":{"rendered":"Ask Boswell 8\/19\/13 edition"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Arod,<\/a>

Arod, the greek tragedy figure. Photo John Munson\/The Star-Ledger via nj.com<\/p><\/div>\n

With somewhat of a lack of topics to write about lately, I turned to find a relatively deep Ask Boswell discussion on the Washington Post website 8\/19\/13<\/a>. \u00a0Tom Boswell<\/strong>\u00a0takes baseball questions, I provide my own answers.<\/p>\n

As always, I’ll write answers here before reading his, and edit questions for clarity. \u00a0All stats quoted are as of 8\/19\/13.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Leave it to the Red Sox to make A-Rod into a sympathetic figure!<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Agree. \u00a0I wouldn’t normally have tuned into the expected 4.5 hour 8pm Sunday night game between Boston and New York, but just happened to see the first\u00a0Alex Rodriguez<\/strong> at bat last night<\/a>. \u00a0My immediate thought:\u00a0Ryan Dempster<\/strong>‘s actions were pretty gutless and he should have been immediately ejected. \u00a0 You throw at a guy once and miss? \u00a0You’ve made your point. \u00a0You had your chance to make a statement and missed. \u00a0But then throw two more balls inside then blatantly drill the guy on 3-0? \u00a0Sorry; that’s just bush league. \u00a0The umpires badly mismanaged that situation; Dempster should have been immediately ejected. \u00a0Joe Girardi<\/strong> had a very legitimate point at the time, and continued with very intelligent observations afterwards (where, paraphrased, he said that Dempster was a union rep, should have known better, and if he had a problem with the process of his own players’ union the time and place was elsewhere, not on a nationally televised game).<\/p>\n

So, yeah, Alex Rodriguez did earn sympathy there. \u00a0How poetic was his home-run later in the game<\/a>? \u00a0Were it me, I would have milked it for everything it was worth, making it a poster child for every egregious home-run celebration. \u00a0Bat flip, slow trot, kisses to the stands, fist pumps and multiple pointing to the sky. \u00a0But that’s just me.<\/p>\n

Boswell doesn’t really say much about the question other than stating the obvious about the athlete and the situation<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Wouldn’t it be better to show up the Braves by actually beating them once in a while, rather than throwing at them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Not the point. \u00a0As I posted in this space over the weekend<\/a>, there’s a code in the game that the Nats, for some unknown reason, were not keeping to. \u00a0Kudos to\u00a0Stephen Strasburg<\/strong> for finally standing up for his own. \u00a0It has nothing to do with wins or losses on the field, it has to do with protecting yours. \u00a0Boswell says the\u00a0Justin Upton<\/strong> plunking was done perfectly, but then questions the ejection for what a lot of people thought were just very wild pitches to\u00a0Andrelton<\/strong><\/em> Simmons<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Why did the Nats not keep Oliver Perez?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Who said it was just the Nats decision? \u00a0Oliver Perez<\/strong> piched as a starter for our AA team in 2011 and then signed another minor league deal with Seattle for 2012. \u00a0Only then he converted to a reliever and has had success since. \u00a0We don’t really know what happened; maybe the Nats offered to keep him but wouldn’t promise a AAA spot or a spring training invite. \u00a0Maybe Perez saw our rotation for 2012 and thought Seattle would give him a better shot at a MLB job. \u00a0Honestly I don’t remember a single word at the time indicating that either side wanted a 2012 deal. \u00a0Perez was good but not great in AA for us in 2011 (3-5, 3.09 ERA. 1.3 whip in 15 starts<\/a>), far less than a guy who was once a very effective MLB starter. \u00a0Maybe we just though he was washed up. \u00a0Boswell questions whether a guy with a 4.25 ERA is even worth discussing. \u00a0Fair point<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Who would the Nationals “third-string” catcher be? If, for instance, Suzuki got injured and Ramos pinch-hit. -Who would be the preferred position player to pitch if they ran out of pitchers?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Great question. \u00a03rd string catcher? \u00a0I have no idea, maybe\u00a0Steve Lombardozzi<\/strong>. \u00a0I do remember the team saying that despite\u00a0Bryce Harper<\/strong>‘s youth position being predominantly catcher that he was not an option. \u00a0Pitcher? \u00a0Boy, another who knows. \u00a0 I can’t remember a single positional player who has taken the mound for the Nats since they moved here. \u00a0The best guess would be a utility guy, either Lombardozzi or\u00a0Scott Hairston. \u00a0<\/strong>Boswell guesses the same names I do.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Do you think the Nats will make a serious effort to keep him next year? (I’m already writing off 2013) I’m sure he wants to play every day, but given Ramos’ physical issues that isn’t out of the question.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A:\u00a0Kurt Suzuki<\/strong> is gone. \u00a0His $8.5M option for next year is way, way too much for what he has become; a once-a-week catcher. \u00a0Even given\u00a0Wilson Ramos<\/strong>‘ fragility, you just can’t waste money at the backup catcher position. \u00a0Look for a 2014 spring training fight between\u00a0Sandy Leon<\/strong> and\u00a0Jhonatan Solano<\/strong> for the #2 catcher spot, and look for the team to add a lot of depth in the minor league ranks in the off-season. \u00a0Boswell notes the horrific catcher ERA of Suzuki compared to Ramos, and predicts a minor FA signing this coming off-season.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Is there a more insincere human being in sports than A-Rod? Has he always been like this?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: The above answer was my weekly quota of Alex Rodriguez discussion. \u00a0I will say this though; how do you really KNOW that A-rod is an “insincere human being?” \u00a0Do you know him personally? \u00a0Or are you just following the media narrative? \u00a0Boswell makes a good point; the damage he’s done to the game outweighs any sympathy you could have for him.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: You’ve said in the past the Nats would return to their career averages…eventually. Are the Nats reverting to their mean, or is this the new mean?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: If 2012 was the high, maybe 2013 is the low. \u00a0Lets hope for somewhere in the middle for 2014. \u00a0Hell, i’ll settle for league average. \u00a0I did a quick little runs-scored analysis<\/a> at the end of June that showed where the Nats record would have been if they had a league-average offense (tied for 1st place) or their 2012 offense (best record in majors). \u00a0You could quibble with the math, but I think we all know what has let down the team this year. \u00a0Boswell summarizes many of the same points I made … and then has some great stats isolating the bench’s collapse this year<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0Given Haren’s performance since returning from the DL, does Rizzo make him a qualifying offer for 2014?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Good question. \u00a0I just don’t see how you can give Dan Haren<\/strong> a qualifying offer. \u00a0The Q.O. \u00a0amount is going to increase; lets assume its $14M\/year. \u00a0Would you give a guy with this stat line $14M? \u00a07-11, 4.79 ERA<\/a>? \u00a0Probably not (those are his season numbers). \u00a0His last 8 games (since coming off D\/L?) \u00a03-2, 2.25 ERA. \u00a0 Yeah, that’s worthy of a Q.O. \u00a0 Maybe the team avoids having to make a decision and flips him to someone needing a starter for September, since he passed through waivers. \u00a0That’d be advantageous to Haren too, meaning his signing next off-season won’t have compensation associated with it. \u00a0In any case, I think the performance of\u00a0Taylor Jordan<\/strong>\u00a0has clearly made Haren expendible, giving as good as or better performance for 1\/26th the cost. \u00a0Use that $13M towards some hitting. \u00a0Boswell says no.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0When does Drew Storen replace Soriano as the Nats closer? \u00a0(After another blown save).<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: When Soriano’s contract is over. \u00a0You bought him, you’ve gotta use him. \u00a0Rafael<\/strong> Soriano<\/strong>‘s m.o. was always “good when he’s the closer, sullen underperformer when not.” \u00a0He was a poor signing when they got him, and continues to be wasted money. \u00a0But hey, its not my money. \u00a0Boswell agrees<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0When Magic Johnson’s group purchased the Dodgers, he was going to fire Mattingly, whom you said would be a very good manager. Does he still want to fire Donnie, now that the Dodgers have gone 42-8, the best MLB win stread in 100 years? Would you like to see him managing the Nats?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Well of course\u00a0Don Mattingly<\/strong> isn’t going to be fired; he’s now neck and neck with\u00a0Clint Hurdle<\/strong> for manager of the year. \u00a0I don’t have a good sense for what kind of manager he is; after\u00a0Davey Johnson<\/strong>‘s laissez-faire attitude I know what kind of manager I do want; I want someone with some emotion.\u00a0 Girardi proved a lot to me last night; lighting into an umpire who failed to control the game. \u00a0That’s the kind of emotion I want in my skipper. \u00a0Boswell gives some good managerial candidates<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Who are the young pitchers the Nats thing are coming soon?<\/p>\n

A: From AAA on downwards, here’s a few starters to keep an eye on:\u00a0<\/strong>Nathan Karns, A.J. Cole, Robbie Ray, Taylor Hill, Sammy Solis, Matthew Purke<\/strong>,\u00a0Blake Schwartz, Jake Johansen, Austin Voth<\/strong> and\u00a0Lucas Gilioto<\/strong>. \u00a0 Almost every guy on this list has performed well and\/or earned a promotion in 2013. \u00a0\u00a0Boswell points some of these guys out and then mentions that we need to produce some hitting too<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: Should I be worried that the Nats are going to become the new Caps, a talented team who just lacks the discipline to get it done when it matters?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: No, because at its heart this is still the same basic team of guys who nearly won 100 games last year.\u00a0 They need a new voice in the skipper’s office, one who reverses the course of Johnson and who properly motivates them.\u00a0 Boswell says not to judge a team because of 3\/4’s of one disappointing season.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Zim’s surgically-repaired shoulder clearly affected his throwing this year — whether physically or mentally. However, his power numbers at the plate are down too, and we haven’t seen his usual late summer hot streak. Do you think his shoulder affected his hitting? If so, what’s the prognosis for next year for Zim’s hitting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: If his shoulder really is\/was as bad as everyone seems to think, then yeah you can derive all sorts of bad performance indicators from it.\u00a0 Next year?\u00a0 Who knows; he should be healthy.\u00a0 Of course, he was promised to be healthy by spring training of THIS year.\u00a0 It takes me back to what I now perceive as disinformation from the team about the whole shoulder issue from the onset.\u00a0 Either way, I think he’s playing 3B for this team in 2014 no matter what (well, unless the team somehow unloads Adam LaRoche<\/strong>). \u00a0Boswell shows some good stats showing Zimmerman’s consistency over the years, then goes on to rave about Jayson<\/strong><\/em> <\/strong>Werth<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Q: Will baseball be ruined by the addition of instant replay or have the times changed?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I think times have changed.\u00a0 But from all accounts, the implementation will be typical of everything MLB does; half-done, ham-handed, inefficient and not going nearly as far as its counterparts.\u00a0 Boswell isn’t a fan<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Q: With two years under his belt, he has a 3.00 ERA and a pretty good 27-19 record. He doesn’t hit 100 mph anymore. He hasn’t proven so far to be anything better than mediocre in the clutch. Not a bad track record, of course, but not anywhere near great. He’s 25 years old now. Is it time to adjust expectations?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: Is this a baiting question? \u00a0 Quotes ERA and W\/L record as the sole ways to evaluate a pitcher (especially a pitcher who hasn’t yet pitched a full season).\u00a0 What proof is there that he’s “mediocre in the clutch?”\u00a0 He’s still the highest or 2nd highest average fastball of any starter in the league despite dialing it down, he’s still a league leader in K\/9.\u00a0 His ERA+ is still significantly above average both for this year and for his career.\u00a0 What more do you want from the guy?\u00a0 Ask any baseball pundit to give you a list of his top 5 starters in the league and he’s still on it.\u00a0\u00a0 Boswell gives some great historical stats, putting Strasburg in pretty elite company thus far.<\/em><\/p>\n

Q: Why has Bryce Harper not made the 20 year old leap we expected him to? Did the collision with the wall in LA derail his entire season?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: A fair point; everyone saw his splits pre and post-LA wall.\u00a0 His lefty splits are abhorrent.\u00a0 But he hasn’t been the second coming of Mike Trout<\/strong>.\u00a0 Maybe we just need to appreciate him for what he is right now.\u00a0 Boswell mirrors what I said<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With somewhat of a lack of topics to write about lately, I turned to find a relatively deep Ask Boswell discussion on the Washington Post website 8\/19\/13. \u00a0Tom Boswell\u00a0takes baseball questions, I provide my own answers. As always, I’ll write answers here before reading his, and edit questions for clarity. \u00a0All stats quoted are as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,5],"tags":[184,17,357,1921,1815,1280,164,430,983,137,656,1812,115,461,1395,425,1033,852,1072,166,456,196,78,1398,18,838,36,19,529,1881,38,142,197,24,125,147],"class_list":["post-7456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nonnatsbaseball","category-natsgeneral","tag-adam-laroche","tag-aj-cole","tag-alex-rodriguez","tag-andrelton-simmons","tag-austin-voth","tag-blake-schwartz","tag-bryce-harper","tag-clint-hurdle","tag-dan-haren","tag-davey-johnson","tag-don-mattingly","tag-jake-johansen","tag-jayson-werth","tag-jhonatan-solano","tag-joe-girardi","tag-justin-upton","tag-kurt-suzuki","tag-lucas-giolito","tag-magic-johnson","tag-matthew-purke","tag-mike-trout","tag-nathan-karns","tag-oliver-perez","tag-rafael-soriano","tag-robbie-ray","tag-ryan-dempster","tag-ryan-zimmerman","tag-sammy-solis","tag-sandy-leon","tag-scott-hairston","tag-stephen-strasburg","tag-steve-lombardozzi","tag-taylor-hill","tag-taylor-jordan","tag-tom-boswell","tag-wilson-ramos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7456"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7456\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7462,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7456\/revisions\/7462"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nationalsarmrace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}