2012 Playoff Push (September-October)

[Rafael122]

As of September 5, 2012, the Nationals are 7.5 games ahead of the Braves and 31 games over .500.

It has already been reported that Strasburg will be shut down and his last start will be September 12 against the Mets. A lot of differing opinions about the shut down itself, but one thing's for sure, the Nats still have one of the best rotations in baseball and arguably have the best rotation w/out Strasburg of the contending teams in the NL.

Jayson Werth is back and he's raking it, with several multi-hit games since his return. Power still isn't there, he's only hit 4 home runs, but the guy is drawing walks, getting hits, getting on base. Basically doing everything a lead off hitter should do.

Harper has had his ups and downs, but remember, he's only 19 years old. He's hitting a respectable .256 with 15 homers, and 45 driven in. Also has 13 steals.

Team MVP(s) in my opinion have been Adam LaRoche and Ian Desmond. Adam has been a god send for this team. Hurt most of the year last year, has come back to hit .266 with 27 home runs and 87 rbis. Good chance of him getting to 100 rbis before the year is out.

Ian Desmond, I was all over this kid saying he was trash, error prone on the field, but he's proven me wrong this year. A 20/20 guy on the year, improved glove, your prototypical #5 or #6 hitter.

In short, it would have to take a monumental collapse for the Nats to miss the playoffs. At this point, I think it's safe to say we can start talking about who would start Game 1 of the NLDS (Gio)