Written by Emmett Rosenbaum at The Sports Quotient
The Nationals were supposed to win the World Series this year. They were coming of a 96-win season, were loaded with all-star talent in the middle of the lineup, and had just added Max Scherzer to what had been the best rotation in baseball in 2014. They were an unstoppable juggernaut in the weakest division in baseball. No one was picking against them.
Then 2015 happened. By all accounts, excluding those of Bryce Harper, it was an unmitigated disaster. Almost everyone on the team performed worse than expected, the team lost scores of men to the disabled list, and a late season free fall ended Washington’s playoff aspirations.
Things look bad for the Nats moving forward. They are losing two-fifths of their starting rotation to free agency, Bryce Harper might never be as good as he was in 2015, and it looks like they are stuck with proven choker Jonathan Papelbon for next year.
However, don’t be fooled. This is a very good baseball team, and they are going to win the National League East next year. One might ask how an 83-win team going to win a division home to reigning NL champs, but the answer is quite simple. Their players are going to be better.
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