I heard some Nats fans are bitching because the Nationals have't made any big moves to try to be competitive in the offseason. Sure, they made a strong deal to a top pitcher, but has the club done more than shuffle around some players? This team definitely overacheived last year, perhaps because of the prospect of actually playing to an audience, but can they do the same this year?

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Originally posted by Ygrene This is deserving of a Lifetime CORe Whore Achievment award.

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Originally posted by bangoSkank I heard some Nats fans are bitching because the Nationals have't made any big moves to try to be competitive in the offseason. Sure, they made a strong deal to a top pitcher, but has the club done more than shuffle around some players? This team definitely overacheived last year, perhaps because of the prospect of actually playing to an audience, but can they do the same this year?

you heard wrong.
the Nats have made a huge move in getting the best second basemen in baseball.

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Originally posted by Spartan you heard wrong. the Nats have made a huge move in getting the best second basemen in baseball.

Too bad we're going to be sticking him in the outfield, where he doesn't want to go.

Yeah and we haven't been making any moves except trading some key players (Wilky and Castilla) and letting pitchers go (Carrasco, Armas & Loiza). Our Farm system is a joke and where are all the pitchers that Bowden was "promising" to get?

I dunno, (if the Nationals are here next season), I don't see them finishing the same as they did this season.

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Originally posted by Spartan you heard wrong. the Nats have made a huge move in getting the best second basemen in baseball.

Ummm... no.

Last year, Brian Roberts, Chse Utley, Jeff Kent, and Marcus Giles were all better.

And next year, I'm sure there will be even more who are better. Soriano's offense deficiencies are going to exposed playing 81 games a RFK. Wilkerson is certainly the more valuable player.

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*can't imagine it feelin' much better...
i wish it would just last forever.
and so, to feel like that?
i'd pay any price just to get that back.*

We'll see how Wilkerson plays in Texas. Wilkerson was killing the team with his strikeouts. I can't tell you how many times he looked at strike three and walked back to the dugout.

Wilkerson hit .248 with 11 home runs, 57 RBIs and 147 strikeouts. Let's see how long the Rangers tolerate the strikeouts. If Wilkerson hit .330 with 50 home runs and 130 RBIs, the strikeouts would be less of a concern.

Wilkerson doesn't make as many outs as Soriano does. A strike out for Wilkerson is definitely better than a strike out for Soriano. If Soriano hits the ball on the ground, he has a *chance* to beat it out. If Wilkerson hits a ball on the ground, it's a 6-4-3 double play. The Strike Out is overrated. I'd rather have my player strike out than ground out any time.

And... it's not like Soriano doesn't have his share of K's either... 125 last year. With 33 walks. Wilkerson: 147 Ks with 84 walks. BIIIIIIG difference. Like I said, Soriano got on base .308% of the time last year. Wilkerson? .351% of the time.

And last... look at the lineup that Soriano had to work with as opposed to the one Wilkerson was in. People tend to forget that RBI totals are almost entirely based on how well your team is getting on base. Soriano had Teixiera and Michael Young on base in front of him. Wilkerson batted lead-off which means he was following the pitcher.

___________________
*can't imagine it feelin' much better...
i wish it would just last forever.
and so, to feel like that?
i'd pay any price just to get that back.*

Good point. I just think a strike out is just visually more disappointing. With a potential ground out (or seeing the ball hit into what you think could be a ground out)there's always the possibility of an error by the infielder or something.

Plus, yeah like you said, i don't think Wilkerson will be leading off for the Rangers.

Yep. I just checked.

Soriano = 288 At-Bats with runners on base.
Wilkerson = 157 At-Bats with runners on base.

Huge difference.

Soriano w/ RISP = .235/.275/.458
Wilkerson w/ RISP = .283/.471/.465

___________________
*can't imagine it feelin' much better...
i wish it would just last forever.
and so, to feel like that?
i'd pay any price just to get that back.*