TheSecretWeapon wrote:bsilver wrote:TheSecretWeapon wrote:The first one is debatable -- at least in terms of him being the last piece. I'd have figured they needed another bat somewhere in the lineup. As it turned out, their pitching and defense is what really let them down last season.
It must be debatable since they weren't very goodHowever, lots of experts made them the pre-season favorites to win the world series based mostly on the starting pitching.
Hitting was also a big problem, mostly due to injuries. Rendon, Zimmerman, Span and Werth missed so much time, and when they came back they were pretty bad for a while. By the time they (not including Span) got back to their old selves, it was too late.
Yeah, the pitching/defense really under-performed last season -- at least compared to expectations. Interesting that they were third in runs scored and seventh in runs allowed.
The problem with the Nats hitting is that its VERY streaky. They'll score 10 runs one game and score a combined 3 in the next 3 games. The averages look good but overall they aren't a great hitting lineup at all. Way too many streaky hitters who strike out a lot.
The pitching was a huge let down though for sure. Even Scherzer had that two month stretch where he was mediocre at best, but everyone else regressed if not regresed significantly(although Strasburg when he returned from his DL stints was dominant).