How Long til the Nationals Make the Playoffs?

[Rhonda Rousey's Sports Bra]

With the signings of Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper in back to back years the Washington Nationals have just gotten two amazingly good players on their roster and are only looking up. I've said it a million times, potential gets you fired, but this team has the potential stars and cornerstones of a baseball team to be good for years to come. So I'm asking you how long until the Washington Nationals make the post season?

I'd say about 5 years of grooming and signing other players til they build a good enough team to win a wild card or maybe even the NL East. That's a tough divison but I think if these two guys pan out they can do it.

Please remember this is a non spam section so don't just say 5 years and be done with it. Back up your choice and have fun.

 

[Megatron]

I think 5 years may be more then enough time, actually. Adam Dunn is only 30 and sounds like he wants to stay in Washington after this year, so you have your big power hitter at first. They seem high on Ian Desmond, despite him leading the MLB in errors at my last check. Ryan Zimmerman is a future multi-all star and is possibly the 2nd or 3rd best 3rd basemen in the game today. Josh Willingham has done great hitting at #5, Morgan is a good leadoff guy, and I think Harper might be up in the big-leauges by mid 2012, which would pretty much solidify their OF. The catcher of the future is Jesus Flores, although they appear to be bringing him along slowly. So their normal day starters look to be set for a while.

The rotation, though, will be a tough spot. Obviously you have Strasburg, who already looks like he's gonna be special. Jason Marquis and Livan Hernandez should be the leaders of the rotation, although they aren't great options at #1 and 2. Then the back of the rotation/bullpen are always questionable to almost any team, but they could always go get a arm during the trade deadline if they were in need of one.

On the whole, looking at their position players and some of their guys with potential, I actually see them making it within the next 3-4 years, especially if Harper comes up in 2012 and has a solid rookie year. This team is on the rise and they got a lot of talent, I expect them to make a postseason run sooner rather then later.

 

[The People's Peep]

I'm not gonna give a definite answer. Instead, I'm going to say that they will make the playoff in Bryce Harper's sophomore year.

I say this because I believe that Harper is the missing piece. With him, they have another good hitter with Zimmerman, and possibly Dunn, if he is still there. If they can put a decent line-up together around those guys, they should be able to pull out a wild card birth.

However, like Papa said, it also depends heavily on how they build around Strasburg. If they can get a good #2 and #3 starter, it should be enough to get them to the playoffs. I can see a .500 season in the next year or two, but the playoffs dont come until they get the above.

 

[klunderbunker]

I think it's going to be a bit longer than that. In baseball, one pitcher can only do so much. Look at Jimenez in Colorado. He's almost unbeatable, but the team is barely .500 and nowhere near the playoff hunt. In baseball, making the playoffs is far more difficult than in any other sport. Most of the time only one team from your division is going to go on. It's not like in basketball or hockey where you have to be better than like 5 other teams in your conference. Here you have to be at the absolute worst the second best team in your division to make the postseason. It's not just about making the Nats good. They have to be better than the rest. Based on that, it's going to be a good while before they make it, barring a major breakthrough.

 

[Theo Mays]

The NL East is still a very good division, so who knows how long it'll be. The Phillies have plenty of talent and the core of the team is in their early 30's, so that could be another 3-5 years before they start to fall off. The Braves have a good mix of talent and will probably hinder around the upper echelons of the divisions. The Marlins are always up and down, and you can never count them in or count them out. The Mets could be good, but they can't put it together and can't stay healthy. I think a new manager might be in need for the Mets to make any kind of move. The Nats have all the young pieces and plenty of potential to be a top notch team. And in terms of baseball you can never tell when a team is going to make the move to the top or remain stagnant at the bottom of the division.

I'd say the Nats will have a capable playoff team in 4 years and a potential division winner in 6 years or so. But you can never tell with baseball.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Probably never. Both Ted Lerner and Peter Angelos are cheap fucks, so that explains why the Nationals and Orioles suck so much. Expect Stephen Strasburg to be with the Yankees soon; Lerner would rather draw crowds in with Free Hot Dog and Bat nights than with a well-paid pitching phenom.

 

[Megatron]

Probably never. Both Ted Lerner and Peter Angelos are cheap fucks, so that explains why the Nationals and Orioles suck so much. Expect Stephen Strasburg to be with the Yankees soon; Lerner would rather draw crowds in with Free Hot Dog and Bat nights than with a well-paid pitching phenom.

Erm, what? The Nationals just gave Bryce Harper the highest rookie salary ever. Sure they aren't gonna go out and get the big-name free agents, simply because they don't have the money to. They're trying to take a route like the Twins and build from within, along with getting critical pieces to add around that they can afford. Their batting looks good, it's the starting pitching that's gonna need some work. And I doubt they're gonna let Strasburg go when his contract is up, because then they'd probably be crucified by the Nationals Fans.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Erm, what? The Nationals just gave Bryce Harper the highest rookie salary ever. Sure they aren't gonna go out and get the big-name free agents, simply because they don't have the money to. They're trying to take a route like the Twins and build from within, along with getting critical pieces to add around that they can afford. Their batting looks good, it's the starting pitching that's gonna need some work. And I doubt they're gonna let Strasburg go when his contract is up, because then they'd probably be crucified by the Nationals Fans.

They gave him the highest rookie salary ever for: a) a position player, and b) a rookie who had not become a free agent after the draft. That being said, he's making about 2 million dollars a year.

You know what Strasburg's getting paid? With the precedent CC Sabathia's contract set for pitchers, if Strasburg keeps on playing the way he does for the next four years, then there's no way Lerner's going to cough up the 20 million a year that he'll be able to command.