NL East showdown B4B-style
B4B is headed to DC to check out two of the best teams in baseball. The Nationals take on the Atlanta Braves in an extremely crucial series for each team. The Nats have been consistently 3-5 games up on the Braves in the NL East most of the season, and the series this week is a chance for either the Nats to distance themselves or the Braves to make a move on the division leaders.
Look at these pitching matchups. The Nationals have the best staff in baseball, and despite being wrecked by injuries and starting 10 different pitchers this season, the Braves have a very good deep staff.
Monday: Tim Hudson (12-4, 3.59) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (9-7, 2.38), 7:05 p.m. ET
Tuesday: Paul Maholm (2-1, 1.57) vs. Stephen Strasburg (14-5, 2.91), 7:05 p.m. ET
Wednesday: Kris Medlen (4-1, 2.03) vs. Ross Detwiler (7-5, 3.25), 7:05 p.m. ET
Nats shortstop Ian Desmond has returned from a four-week stay on the disabled list, which hasn’t been as bad for the Nationals as it probably should have. Rookie Steve Lombardozzi got some valuable experience at second base and he can play outfield as well. I have a feeling he’s going to play an important role as a utility player in the playoffs. Desmond’s absence from the line-up should have been more devastating because even after missing a month, he still leads the Nats in hitting WAR this season. His bat in the line-up only makes the best team in baseball even better.
The Nationals have had two major storylines most of the season that the media has focused on. The first is rookie phenom Bryce Harper, and while he has been good, fellow rookie Mike Trout of the Angels has overshadowed him. Trout is the frontrunner for AL MVP and Harper is batting .175 over the last 30 days while striking out almost 24% of the time. Over the season he has been slightly above average, with a .248 batting average and a .157 ISO, which measures power and fangraphs says .140 to .180 is slightly above average.
But the biggest story about the Nationals recently is general manager Mike Rizzo’s decision to shut Stephen Strasburg down at 180 innings this season. Much has been written about this. Here, and here. Here too! Oh, and right here. Basically, given Strasburg’s injury past, Nats management feels like they should limit his inning’s pitched this season. This decision could alter the Nationals postseason chances greatly, shutting down the team’s most valuable pitcher at the most important time of the season.
Other players have voiced displeasure with losing their best player. I understand their argument because they aren’t ever guaranteed to play for a team as good as they have this season. Some more veteran players realize their time playing baseball is limited and they want to take advantage of playing for a winning team this year. I know this idea is out-of-box, but why didn’t the Nats wait a month to start pitching Strasburg so he would be available in games that are more important than early-season April games. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out the rest of the season.
With all of the hoopla surrounding Strasburg, more attention should be paid to how good the rest of the pitching staff is. Gio Gonzalez is having a season that is as statistically successful as Strasburg, including more WAR than Strasburg. Jordan Zimmermann has had an under-the-radar season with the lowest ERA among Nats starters of 2.38. Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler round out the staff that ranks as the top rotation in baseball with a 3.27 ERA and a 3.52 Fielding Independent Pitching, which measures what ERA should have been assuming the defensive performance was average.
We’re excited to check out this important series because our favorite teams* aren’t playing any meaningful games the late in the season this year. We get to see it firsthand!
*We claim the Royals, Rockies, and Twins as our teams. Ouch!