Nationals at Dodgers, NLDS Game 1

[hohoho]

We really need to start hitting.

LA team era is 3.37 best in mlb.

[NatNasty]

Get ‘em tomorrow.

They'll go 1-0.

[Capsman]

Did a calculation going back to the beginning of August.  Among sub 4.00 pitchers the Nats have faced, their average ERA was 3.42.  Nats average runs per 9 against this group is 3.05.  Without that meaningless game against Clevinger it would be under 3.00.  This team is unusually prolific against mediocre to bad pitching, but struggles more than other good teams against quality pitching.

[Scrapple]

Maybe this fires up the Nats

Need to regroup tomorrow and hope dave doesn’t get his dumb-dumb pills mixed in with his blood pressure medication again.
Strasburg will have to be close to perfect tomorrow. We are CLEARLY OVERMATCHED  offensively and will have to overcome the numb jackass at our manager’s position.
This game was the proof in da puddin’ you can’t ask dave to think any harder than, “starter, 8th inning guy, 9th inning guy”. Anymore thinking than that for dave would likely cause a short circuit or fire in his blockhead.

And we’re STUCK with this )@&#@ss  for at least another year. 

[hohoho]

Need to regroup tomorrow and hope dave doesn’t get his dumb-dumb pills mixed in with his blood pressure medication again.
Strasburg will have to be close to perfect tomorrow. We are CLEARLY OVERMATCHED  offensively and will have to overcome the numb jackass at our manager’s position.
This game was the proof in da puddin’ you can’t ask dave to think any harder than, “starter, 8th inning guy, 9th inning guy”. Anymore thinking than that for dave would likely cause a short circuit or fire in his blockhead.

And we’re STUCK with this )@&#@ss  for at least another year. 

Not outmatched offensively: Dodgers (ranked 5 offensively)  only scored 13 more runs than Nats (ranked 6th) all season, or .08 runs per game. But Nats (ranked 11th in pitching) gave up 142 more earned runs than Dodgers (ranked first), or .88 runs per game.

[Scrapple]

Did a calculation going back to the beginning of August.  Among sub 4.00 pitchers the Nats have faced, their average ERA was 3.42.  Nats average runs per 9 against this group is 3.05.  Without that meaningless game against Clevinger it would be under 3.00.  This team is unusually prolific against mediocre to bad pitching, but struggles more than other good teams against quality pitching.

Good work.

And it’s because our guys are uneducated situational hitters that continue to chase out of the zone. Example; Bases loaded on “3 walks” yet Cabrera swings at a breaking pitch in the dirt for strike one???????? TERRIBLE situational hitting at any and every level of the game. Can’t give at-bats away like that yet we do it all the time versus the better competition.

 

[bluestreak]

Did a calculation going back to the beginning of August.  Among sub 4.00 pitchers the Nats have faced, their average ERA was 3.42.  Nats average runs per 9 against this group is 3.05.  Without that meaningless game against Clevinger it would be under 3.00.  This team is unusually prolific against mediocre to bad pitching, but struggles more than other good teams against quality pitching.

What did you use to calculate it? I can’t find a good way to look at those stats.

[Natsinpwc]

Watching the highlights here with the cute girl in the short skirt makes it easier to take. Think I will pass on the full replay.

[Natsinpwc]

Did a calculation going back to the beginning of August.  Among sub 4.00 pitchers the Nats have faced, their average ERA was 3.42.  Nats average runs per 9 against this group is 3.05.  Without that meaningless game against Clevinger it would be under 3.00.  This team is unusually prolific against mediocre to bad pitching, but struggles more than other good teams against quality pitching.

The Nats don’t have the lineup to match the Dodgers. Or the Braves for that matter. They really outperformed their capabilities this year offensively this year.

I’m skeptical of Strasburg being ready tomorrow but hope he is. Need some offense.

[Slateman]

Did a calculation going back to the beginning of August.  Among sub 4.00 pitchers the Nats have faced, their average ERA was 3.42.  Nats average runs per 9 against this group is 3.05.  Without that meaningless game against Clevinger it would be under 3.00.  This team is unusually prolific against mediocre to bad pitching, but struggles more than other good teams against quality pitching.

And where does that rank with the rest of baseball?

[RobDibblesGhost]

This team was due for a dud. They showed zero patience at the plate (Hello, Asdrubal Cabrera) and swung at something like 20 pitches out of the strike zone. Hopefully they can get it together tonight.

[Mighty Casey]

Scrapple said it best...this team consistently demonstrates a total lack of situational hitting skill...with RISP, they fail to work the pitcher and swing at everything except those pitches coming down the middle...those they watch and act surprised when the ump calls it a strike...small ball is an unknown skill among these windmilling clowns....of course, DM has no clue either....everyone wants to hit a home run and often just connects with dead air.

[Capsman]

What did you use to calculate it? I can’t find a good way to look at those stats.

It’s imperfect (not taking into account number of innings pitched by each pitcher to that point in the season)but good enough to get the gist.  I took the ERA of all sub 4.00 starting pitchers at the time for each game and averaged it out going back to August.  About 20 such games.  Then I summed up the number of runs they scored over how many innings against these starters. From that I averaged the runs per 9 innings and made the comparison. 

[Slateman]

This team was due for a dud. They showed zero patience at the plate (Hello, Asdrubal Cabrera) and swung at something like 20 pitches out of the strike zone. Hopefully they can get it together tonight.

Big question is how do you prevent this from being a down streak? This team seems to hit in streaks.

[Capsman]

And where does that rank with the rest of baseball?

Very difficult to say because there could be a few teams that skew the ERAs of these pitchers up, ie maybe without playing LA and Atlanta their ERAs would be closer to what they are against the Nats.  But I think it’s reasonable to say that at very best we are in the middle in that regard, possibly below average.  When I get the time I’ll do the same for all the playoff teams, I’m curious. 

My point is that this team having hitting and scoring problems in the playoffs was inevitable.  You better have incredible starting and relief pitching to succeed in this context.

[varoadking]

You better have incredible starting and relief pitching to succeed in this context.

We just ran into some bad luck is all... 

[Slateman]

Very difficult to say because there could be a few teams that skew the ERAs of these pitchers up, ie maybe without playing LA and Atlanta their ERAs would be closer to what they are against the Nats.  But I think it’s reasonable to say that at very best we are in the middle in that regard, possibly below average.  When I get the time I’ll do the same for all the playoff teams, I’m curious. 

My point is that this team having hitting and scoring problems in the playoffs was inevitable.  You better have incredible starting and relief pitching to succeed in this context.

Then you have not supported your position. You claim that other good teams are better, but offer nothing to compare it to. When you face great pitching, runs will be a premium.

Against Scherzer, Corbin, and Strasburg this season, the Dodgers are averaging 1.67 runs per 9 innings. Does this mean the Dodgers struggle against great pitching?

Against pitchers with an ERA of 3.45, we score 3.05 runs. That actually sounds about right.

[Capsman]

Then you have not supported your position. You claim that other good teams are better, but offer nothing to compare it to. When you face great pitching, runs will be a premium.

Against Scherzer, Corbin, and Strasburg this season, the Dodgers are averaging 1.67 runs per 9 innings. Does this mean the Dodgers struggle against great pitching?

Against pitchers with an ERA of 3.45, we score 3.05 runs. That actually sounds about right.

If this was a medical study one would say make a likely conclusion but say further study is needed.  A 3.05/9 inning average against 3.45 ERA pitchers on the surface is below average.  It means these pitchers give up more runs against other teams on average.  It’s about right for a mediocre to below mediocre hitting team. 

[Bookman]

We just ran into some bad luck is all... 

As long as DM insists on using Rodney and Wander, plan on 4 to 7 runs and we will still have to outscore our bullpen to win.

[GburgNatsFan]

Yep. Nine wins in a row at home. Let's hope that this is just turbulence, not a death spiral.

This team was due for a dud. They showed zero patience at the plate (Hello, Asdrubal Cabrera) and swung at something like 20 pitches out of the strike zone. Hopefully they can get it together tonight.