Almost Certainly the Most Boring Club in Baseball
So, yesterday afternoon I was reading yet another navel-gazing PECOTA article over at Baseball Prospectus and I stumbled upon this little gem:
As for the Nationals, I’ll be looking forward to seeing them come through Wrigley in July, but purely for the novelty effect: this is almost certainly the most boring club in baseball, and its having a GM who is rumored to be trading for Neifi Perez doesn’t exactly inspire confidence.
Well, to begin with, Mr. Silver, the article you link to talks about the Nationals being interested in Damian Jackson, Pokey Reese or Wilson Betemit as a backup shortstop. Of course, Baseball Prospectus is the organization that employs “Always Wrong” Will Carroll, so fact-checking clearly isn’t high on their list of priorities.
But it isn’t Mr. Silver’s inability to read the articles he links to that has caused me to write today. It’s his assertion that the Nats will are “almost certainly the most boring club in baseball.”
I’ve decided to help Mr. Silver out with a list of interesting questions about this team that will be answered over the course of the season:
- Will ¡LIVAN! finally be recognized as one of the most valuable pitchers in the National League?
- Was Cristian Guzman’s apparant improvement in defensive performance last season entirely a function of the turf in Minnesota, or has he learned how to better position himself?
- Has Jose Guillen figured out how to manage his anger more effectively?
- Will Vinny Castilla’s defense and veteran leadership (yes, it exists—it’s just not as important as some sports writers claim) be enough to make up for what I expect to be an offensive black hole?
- Will RFK play as a pitcher’s park like everybody expects, based on 1960s performance and humid summers, or will the spacious power alleys lead to more doubles and triples?
- Will Zach Day figure out how to control his pitches a little better, resulting in a possibly breakout season?
- Can Jose Vidro still play second base with his knee problems?
- Will Tony Armas, Jr. and Nick Johnson finally be revealed to be constructed entirely of tinker toys, or will they stay healthy all season while delivering on the promise they’ve so often shown in the past?
- Will Ryan “Soul Patch” Church hit even a fraction as well as he did last season in AAA?
- Will the real Esteban Loaiza please stand up? And is Randy St. Claire a good enough pitching coach to make said real Esteban similar to the 2003 version?
Look, this may be my homerism talking, but I look at this roster and see, potentially, the best pitching staff in the NL East. Unfortunately, it’s coupled with one of the worst offenses—but a couple of fluky performances and this team could win 85 games, although I expect the actual number to be more like 75. And 85 games could win a division that’s not nearly as strong as most people seem to think.
At any rate, Mr. Silver has convinced me of one thing. Baseball Prospectus isn’t worth my money anymore.