5 Reasons Why The Washington Nationals Won't Win The World Series
Chris Ransom tells you why the Washington Nationals won't win the 2015 World Series.
5. Max Scherzer Is The Top Starter In The Rotation
Stephen Strasburg was the #1 starter in this rotation last year? Why affect the team chemistry by ruining a good thing?
Max Scherzer was a #2 pitcher in Detroit until the struggles of Justin Verlander in 2014. Scherzer posted an 18-5 record. Eight of his 18 wins came when Verlander was the top pitcher in the rotation. Not just that, Strasburg had a 2.14 ERA which is better than Scherzer's 2.15 ERA.
Scherzer had 10 more strikeouts than Strasburg in 2014 as his 152 strikeouts best Strasburg's 142 strikeouts. At the same time Scherzer also had 20 more walks with 62 walks compared to Strasburg's 42.
Scherzer has 3 plus pitches with his fast ball, curve ball, and slider. At the same time, there is some uncertainty as to how Scherzer performs once he receives a massive contract.
4. Anthony Rendon Begins The Season On The 15 Day DL
Anthony Rendon begins the season on the 15 Day DL. Rendon had questions about his durability dating back to Rice. That was the biggest reason he fell to sixth overall in the 2011 MLB Draft.
Most people projected Rendon to go in the top 5. Leading up to that Draft, some though he could go first over Gerritt Cole. Injuries caused him to slide in the Draft, and he had 1 injury in AA when he first started. Besides that, Rendon has been pretty durable since arriving on the Nationals.
Rendon's knee injury is his first signficant injury in the majors. He began his career in the MLB by the fall of 2012. Rendon went through some struggles at first, but he finally broke through in 2014 with a .272 batting average 21 home runs, 83 RBI's, and 17 stolen bases.
When healthy Rendon may be the most underrated third baseman in the National League. His history with injuries makes him a question mark to an extent.
3. Bryce Harper Is The Overrated
Bryce Harper only batted .273 in 2014 which is worse than what Rendon did last season.
The other thing to notice about Harper is how he's regressed each season. Going from 22 home runs as a rookie to 20 home runs in 2013 to only 11 in 2014. His RBI's and stolen bases have gone down each season as well.
When you are in the MLB the goal is to match or improve those numbers. Harper isn't matching or improving his numbers. Having a minimum of 94 strikeouts in each of his first three seasons doesn't help either.
2. Drew Storen Won't Not Record Enough Saves
I get that the Washington Nationals took Drew Storen with a top 10 pick in the 2009 MLB Draft. At the same time, Storen has durability issues and a lack of saves to show for his durability.
Storen has never pitched more than 100 innings. He had one good season in 2011 where he pitched 75 and a 1/3 innings in 73 games. He recorded 43 saves that year.
Storen only has 66 career saves. He got eleven saves in 2014 and posted a career best 1.12 ERA. Maybe Storen is making a comeback and finally starting to blossom.
At the same time, I'd like to see this guy get 30 saves in back-to-back seasons before we call him a premium closer. There's no doubt that Storen would be awesome as a middle reliever, but sometimes I question why the Nationals made him a closer simply due to his inconsistent play when it comes to recording saves.
Storen has a 93 mile per hour fastball that goes up to 98 when he warms up in the bullpen. I get that this guy has stuff. There's one big thing we need to see from Storen. That's the ability to record saves on a consistent basis.
1. The Nationals Are Not The Same Team Against Quality Teams
Every time the Nationals go to the MLB Playoffs, they lose to the San Francisco Giants. It happened in the 2012 NLCS and now the 2014 NLDS.
Go ahead and call the NL East a cakewalk. Rave about how good this starting rotation is with Scherzer, Strasburg, Jordan Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez, and Doug Fister. Besides Storen nobody in this bullpen recorded a save. I get that everyone has an ERA under 4.00. That's outstanding. At the same time nobody on the Nationals hit 30 home runs. If you had 8 batters that could hit 10 home runs like the Orioles, I would not be concerned and could look past that flaw. The Nationals don't have that much variety in a 9 man batting lineup which is why they will play like a National disaster come October.
The Nationals have never defeated the San Francisco Giants in the postseason. Teams like the St. Louis Cardinals, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Pittsburgh Pirates all have a variety of home run hitters. Even if you avoid playing the wild card game, you are not going to defeat any of those teams in a playoff series unless you get generate more runs with your batters.
Chris Ransom on 4/2/2015
