NLCS

[89Hen]

Tickets for Game 3 of the WS are listed for $950 and up on the resale sites.

[CAA Flagship]

Tickets for Game 3 of the WS are listed for $950 and up on the resale sites.

The Yankees are a big draw everywhere.

[GannonFan]

Tickets for Game 3 of the WS are listed for $950 and up on the resale sites.

The Yankees are a big draw everywhere.

People will come just to watch the Yankees watch the Astros play the Nats? Weird.

[GannonFan]

Nats are simply a better team without Harper. It was the Washington Harpers before. Now they are a team.

Sure they are. Or rather, their pitchers are pitching like they're capable of doing. I guess Harper was holding them back before. Probably yelling stuff like "we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher" from right field all the time.

[89Hen]

Nats are simply a better team without Harper. It was the Washington Harpers before. Now they are a team.

Sure they are. Or rather, their pitchers are pitching like they're capable of doing. I guess Harper was holding them back before. Probably yelling stuff like "we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher" from right field all the time.

Sorry Ganny, it's the truth. Harper is one of the best players in baseball when he's on, but you can rattle off the great athletes at their individual position that were poison in the locker room. I don't think Bryce was poison by a long shot, but IMO he was a bit of a fly in the ointment or stick in the mud when it came to team chemistry. I'm not the only one who thinks this...

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/276 ... yce-harper

While Harper always gave the Nationals plenty of production in between the lines, he was viewed as increasingly aloof outside them, and was involved in the infamous 2015 incident in which closer Jonathan Papelbon choked him in the dugout, a flare-up that served as the poster moment of the team's dysfunction.

[dbackjon]

Two interesting stats on ESPN radio this morning:

Since 2006, the team to clinch the league series first has only won two world series.

Of the eight teams that have swept the league series, only one won the world series.

That was a little disheartening, but the one team that did it was the Braves with Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz. They were reliant on starting pitchers who appreciate the rest and can go about their normal routine. My guess without looking is the seven teams that lost their bats went dead and/or made fielding errors.

Good point on the rotation.

[89Hen]

Tickets to Game 4... $750
Beer and a dog... $25
New Soto jersey... $100

Watching the Nats sweep the Cardinals to reach the World Series.... Bryceless

[GannonFan]

Sure they are. Or rather, their pitchers are pitching like they're capable of doing. I guess Harper was holding them back before. Probably yelling stuff like "we want a pitcher, not a belly itcher" from right field all the time.

Sorry Ganny, it's the truth. Harper is one of the best players in baseball when he's on, but you can rattle off the great athletes at their individual position that were poison in the locker room. I don't think Bryce was poison by a long shot, but IMO he was a bit of a fly in the ointment or stick in the mud when it came to team chemistry. I'm not the only one who thinks this...

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/276 ... yce-harper

While Harper always gave the Nationals plenty of production in between the lines, he was viewed as increasingly aloof outside them, and was involved in the infamous 2015 incident in which closer Jonathan Papelbon choked him in the dugout, a flare-up that served as the poster moment of the team's dysfunction.

Please, Harper has been and always will be harmless in terms of the clubhouse. Are you now saying that Papelbon was the rational good guy in that story? You're suddenly pro-Papelbon? We all get it that you're happy the Nats won the pennant, but let's not reinvent history here just to smear Harper. If the Nats got the pitching they did over the last two series (which, let's be honest, they wouldn't have even been in had the Brewers not had a huge gaffe of an error in RF in the Wild Card game) in any of the years that Harper was with the team they would've won a playoff series before this year. Show me proof that these guys couldn't pitch in the other years because of Harper and you have something, otherwise you're like a jilted divorcee who just had a rebound one night stand with a hot babe from the bar. And the irony for you is that the Astros, seemingly out of nowhere, are still likely to be standing between the Nats and the title. And they have pitching too.

[89Hen]

Sorry Ganny, it's the truth. Harper is one of the best players in baseball when he's on, but you can rattle off the great athletes at their individual position that were poison in the locker room. I don't think Bryce was poison by a long shot, but IMO he was a bit of a fly in the ointment or stick in the mud when it came to team chemistry. I'm not the only one who thinks this...

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/276 ... yce-harper

Please, Harper has been and always will be harmless in terms of the clubhouse. Are you now saying that Papelbon was the rational good guy in that story? You're suddenly pro-Papelbon? We all get it that you're happy the Nats won the pennant, but let's not reinvent history here just to smear Harper. If the Nats got the pitching they did over the last two series (which, let's be honest, they wouldn't have even been in had the Brewers not had a huge gaffe of an error in RF in the Wild Card game) in any of the years that Harper was with the team they would've won a playoff series before this year. Show me proof that these guys couldn't pitch in the other years because of Harper and you have something, otherwise you're like a jilted divorcee who just had a rebound one night stand with a hot babe from the bar. And the irony for you is that the Astros, seemingly out of nowhere, are still likely to be standing between the Nats and the title. And they have pitching too.

WTF?? How could you possibly read into that anything about being "pro-Papelbon"?

The Nationals ARE better without Harper. Period. Go back to watching the Eagles until April.

[GannonFan]

Please, Harper has been and always will be harmless in terms of the clubhouse. Are you now saying that Papelbon was the rational good guy in that story? You're suddenly pro-Papelbon? We all get it that you're happy the Nats won the pennant, but let's not reinvent history here just to smear Harper. If the Nats got the pitching they did over the last two series (which, let's be honest, they wouldn't have even been in had the Brewers not had a huge gaffe of an error in RF in the Wild Card game) in any of the years that Harper was with the team they would've won a playoff series before this year. Show me proof that these guys couldn't pitch in the other years because of Harper and you have something, otherwise you're like a jilted divorcee who just had a rebound one night stand with a hot babe from the bar. And the irony for you is that the Astros, seemingly out of nowhere, are still likely to be standing between the Nats and the title. And they have pitching too.

WTF?? How could you possibly read into that anything about being "pro-Papelbon"?

The Nationals ARE better without Harper. Period. Go back to watching the Eagles until April.

Sixers. Trust the Process. Parade is in June 2020, you're welcome to attend.

[89Hen]

If Harper were still a Nat, they wouldn't have been able to afford Corbin, Suzuki, Gomes, Dozier...

Your homer is showing GF. That's very unlike you.

[GannonFan]

If Harper were still a Nat, they wouldn't have been able to afford Corbin, Suzuki, Gomes, Dozier...

Your homer is showing GF. That's very unlike you.

Hey, your the Nats fan who all of sudden has determined Harper was everything that ailed the Nats before when they couldn't win a playoff game. Like I said, your giddiness over the pennant is clouding your judgement. They could've afforded all of those guys plus Harper's $11M cap hit this year. Only Corbin is making over $10M this year, and Corbin is the only one of those guys listed who has a long term deal. The other guys have contracts done this year or cheap options for next year. Strasburg, Scherzer, and Sanchez are driving the bus for the Nats right now, and if they had pitching like that before then this wouldn't have been the first year the Nats won a playoff series. None of those guys were being held back by Harper. When you have two guys take no-hitters into the late innings of two different games, it's hard to say the change in right field is the difference.

[89Hen]

Hey, your the Nats fan who all of sudden has determined Harper was everything that ailed the Nats before when they couldn't win a playoff game.

You're so irrational regarding this issue you can't see straight. Where did I say he was everything that ailed the Nats? I said they are a BETTER TEAM without him. They were a good team with him. They are a better team without him. Sorry you're so upset.

[GannonFan]

Hey, your the Nats fan who all of sudden has determined Harper was everything that ailed the Nats before when they couldn't win a playoff game.

You're so irrational regarding this issue you can't see straight. Where did I say he was everything that ailed the Nats? I said they are a BETTER TEAM without him. They were a good team with him. They are a better team without him. Sorry you're so upset.

Well, you've gone for the spelling, so I'll take that as the white flag in this argument. Let me know if I've dangled a participle too. The team there now is a better team, but it has pretty much nothing to do with or without Harper. You're the one making that connection so you're the one trying to make the case that he's a significant reason why the Nats won a pennant this year.

[AZGrizFan]

[CAA Flagship]

. They could've afforded all of those guys plus Harper's $11M cap hit this year.

I just got an understanding of the Nats owners the other day after reading the linked article on Daniel Hudson missing Game 1 for the birth of his third child. You would think that getting your effective closer (something that was sorely missing in DC for years) back in time for Game 2, and well rested, would be a priority for the team's management. Instead, he booked his own flight on Southwest Airlines after just 3 hours of sleep and had a coach seat. WTF?

I'll admit that I'm shocked he didn't just charter a Wheels Up flight or similar on his own. After all, he makes good enough money to spend a couple of thousand dollars on something that could lead to millions more next year. But the Nats ownership should have ensured he got back, in time, and well rested.

Point is, they are cheap asses.


Long read, but pretty good.
https://africa.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/ ... udson-life

[89Hen]

The team there now is a better team