How good are we really?

Tino25Dynasty

Tino25Dynasty

Arizona Fall Leaguer
Since our 12-1 hot start, we've been a .500 team..., But luckily the rest of the teams in our division are .500 teams or worse themselves so we've stayed in first but overall, we've got a lot of holes. I don't think anyone here can say we're the best team in the league or anything (based on performance anyway)

But do people still believe we're an elite team or just a so-so team in the right division after a hot first two weeks of baseball?
 
I look at it this way.

If we have another last month collapse like 2011, Fredi is gone most likely.

I don't see this team playing .500 ball the rest of the way. We're either going to suck really bad or get hot.

With how talented this team is, I see it more of the latter than the former.
 
The team is talented. No doubt. But it seems to me (underline the seems) that there is a lack of motivation and drive to excel in action. The talent is on paper for sure. The question is why this team cannot win on the road even against obviously inferior teams?
 
Hard to say. Thank heavens what looked like one of the stronger divisions in baseball hasn't been as strong as projected. I don't think we are a shoo-in for anything, but the Nats and Phils aren't taking advantage of our uneven play. We've built a nice lead while being maddeningly inconsistent.

I think we can keep things patched together enough and win the division, but I don't see the team as being particularly well-suited to compete in the post-season. But, of course, the post-season is a total crapshoot. What the Nats and Phils do at the deadline will tell me a lot about what they think their chances are at overtaking us. To this point (and to be fair injuries have played a role), the Nats have to be the most disappointing team in baseball this season.
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
The team is talented. No doubt. But it seems to me (underline the seems) that there is a lack of motivation and drive to excel in action. The talent is on paper for sure. The question is why this team cannot win on the road even against obviously inferior teams?
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The team is too complacent. It starts in the clubhouse with our manager and I don't think he's the type to motivate our guys or fire them up. In contrast, players loved playing for bobby and gave their all for him. With this team, it's like business as usual, there's no urgency and it seems to lead to a lack of focus.
 
tlroom112 said:
The team is too complacent. It starts in the clubhouse with our manager and I don't think he's the type to motivate our guys or fire them up. In contrast, players loved playing for bobby and gave their all for him. With this team, it's like business as usual, there's no urgency and it seems to lead to a lack of focus.
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Cue JPX.
 
Those are all fair and honest analogies... I agree with pretty much all of them... Right now, I'll just go ahead and say that we're NOT a good team. We're NOT a BAD team either. We're exactly as we've been playing. A .500 team. Don't know what to expect on any given night.

We've got overperformers and underperformers. Very few sure things on our team most of the season other than maybe Freddie, Kimbrel, and pleasant surprise Chris Johnson.

And I don't really see most of it turning around or at least there are no signs of it. BJ Upton. Just one of many examples. The dude is gonna finish the season below the mendoza line. Embarrassing. And yet he's still gonna make more money this season than I will in my lifetime despite doing pretty much nothing.

Basically if everything stays as it is, our best hope would be to somehow all of a sudden get hot come playoff time, otherwise gonna be a familiar early playoff exit for us.
 
If Heyward/Upton don't start producing offensively we won't win a game int he postseason.
 
There are some things we can't control. For example, as things stand we would face the Dodgers in a five game series. With Kershaw and Greinke their chances would be pretty good. But we have no control over that and it really isn't something that would generate an interesting discussion.

There are some things the team/manager/front office can control. To me those are the interesting things to be discussed around here. We have decisions to make regarding the rotation, choices to make about which lefty we trade for and what price we are willing to pay for him. As we get into September and hopefully October, Fredi will have to make choices about which players to play and which to sit. And come the off-season decisions about McCann and others. Always something interesting to talk about.
 
nsacpi said:
There are some things we can't control. For example, as things stand we would face the Dodgers in a five game series. With Kershaw and Greinke their chances would be pretty good. But we have no control over that and it really isn't something that would generate an interesting discussion.

There are some things the team/manager/front office can control. To me those are the interesting things to be discussed around here. We have decisions to make regarding the rotation, choices to make about which lefty we trade for and what price we are willing to pay for him. As we get into September and hopefully October, Fredi will have to make choices about which players to play and which to sit. And come the off-season decisions about McCann and others. Always something interesting to talk about.
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Personally, I'd like to see if we can catch lighting in a bottle with Alex Wood in the rotation and just let Medlen finish out this year in the pen. I know that destroys his value but at this point we need to do what is best for the team and there is something wrong with Kris. His control is just not there anymore and maybe a trip to the bullpen would be best for him to get it back.
 
He is just back to reality...other than last year he was just an average pitcher...

thethe said:
Personally, I'd like to see if we can catch lighting in a bottle with Alex Wood in the rotation and just let Medlen finish out this year in the pen. I know that destroys his value but at this point we need to do what is best for the team and there is something wrong with Kris. His control is just not there anymore and maybe a trip to the bullpen would be best for him to get it back.
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thethe said:
Personally, I'd like to see if we can catch lighting in a bottle with Alex Wood in the rotation and just let Medlen finish out this year in the pen. I know that destroys his value but at this point we need to do what is best for the team and there is something wrong with Kris. His control is just not there anymore and maybe a trip to the bullpen would be best for him to get it back.
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We are at the point in the season where you have to start giving more weight to performance than pedigree. Bochy was great at doing that for the Giants last year. He went with Zito over Lincecum for example. Fredi has to be willing to do the same. Play the guys who are performing. It might mean Gattis in left. Or Schafer in center. Or Medlen in the pen. It should all be about who is turning in the performances on the field as we get into September and October. And that might mean demoting someone with a big contract or big reputation. A manager gets paid to make those calls, and do it in a way that minimizes disruption to team chemistry.

I'm a big Medlen fan. But its gotten to the point where I want to see Wood and Beachy in the rotation. Medlen will bounce back, but given we have some good alternatives he is running out of time to do so this year.
 
What has Wood done exactly to prove he's better than Medlen?

Beachy was our best pitcher last year prior to the surgery, but Wood?
 
PawPawMaxwell said:
The team is talented. No doubt. But it seems to me (underline the seems) that there is a lack of motivation and drive to excel in action. The talent is on paper for sure. The question is why this team cannot win on the road even against obviously inferior teams?
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The answer has to be Uggla.
 
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