The Nats Were 27-33 & 13/15 In The NL After The First 60 Games Of Last Year, Let's Fucking Go
Everyone knows the story of last year's World Series champion Washington Nationals. Horrific, horrific start. 19-31 through the first 50, last place, doom and gloom, fire everyone. They then turned the ship around, remembered how to play baseball, won the World Series. But with a 60 game season on the horizon, it's a great reminder that anything can happen. Legit anything.
Because during the Nats best 60 game run, they went 41-19. How bout them apples? Same team with Max, Stras, Soto, Rendon (RIP), etc had 2 completely different 60 game stretches. Amazing how much injuries and variance can play into a 60 game season. If you remember, Trea got off to a hot start and then got hurt. The pitching staff was never healthy til mid-Summer. The bullpen was so bad- never forget Trevor Rosenthal and the infinity ERA. It was the most ridiculous of seasons, and that's why I'm excited for the new one.
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Usually we watch baseball like a marathon. 26.2 miles of running. Guys pass back and forth, but mostly the leaders lead and then people make a push at the end. Some favorites drop out or don't live up to expectations, and some new guys come out of nowhere and make noise.
But now we have to get ready for a sprint. It reminds me of the 800. Can't sit back and coast. Just balls to the wall, 2 lap sprint with all your energy and try not to die in the end. This 60 game season leaves no time to get comfortable. No time for a bad string of games. Forget going 2-8 over a 10 game spell, going 5-5 isn't going to cut it. Not when the schedule is so heavily weighted in division, and then also vs AL East. It's going to be tough.
I wonder if teams should hire a math genius and figure out optimal pitching strategies. Do you go 4 man rotation? How will have an "opener" fit in? There has to be a more mathematically optimal approach in a 60 game season compared to a 162 game season, and I'm sure the smart teams will pay MIT graduates to figure it out.
I'm excited though. Full sprint to defend the title. Go 1-0 every day. Nats Year.