2013 MLB: Strange Days Indeed

Boopotts

Doesn't it feel a little unsettling to live in a world where the Washington Nationals are the bookies' odds-on favorite to win the World Series? It's a little like waking up one morning and discovering that the smart money is on Northwestern to win the BCS Championship, or that everyone's already penciled in the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Stanley Cup Finals.

WTCG

Simply based on how baseball is always reported, the odds on favorite can only be one of six or seven teams. It doesn't matter which team won the title last season because according to baseball minds, baseball doesn't exist west of the eastern time zone.

lanemyer85

If the Rays hadn't already traveled the same path it might. As it is, like the Rays, if a club has that many consecutive high draft picks (including the galactically fortunate bounce of receiving two potentially generational talents in back to back drafts) ...and be relatively fortunate enough to have most of them pan out, it's kind of what one should expect.

1st round
2005 Ryan Zimmerman
2007 Detwiler
2009 Strasburg & Storen (two high first rounders including the additional pick for failing to sign Aaron Crow from the '08 draft)
2010 Harper
2011 Rendon & Alex Meyer(who was just flipped to Minny for Dernard Span)

2nd round
2007 Jordan Zimmermann

3rd round
2004 Ian Desmond
2008 Danny Espinosa

2007 & 2010 4th rounders Derek Norris & AJ Cole + 41st rounder Brad Peacok flipped to Oakland for Gio Gonzalez

add in a couple shrewd moves in trading AAAAer Ryan Langerhans for Mike Morse(since flipped to bring A.J. Cole back), a fringe closer in Matt Capps for then catching prospect Wilson Ramos, and plucking Clippard from the Yanks for a bag of bagels and there you have five starting positional players and 3/5 of the starting rotation drafted and/or developed within. That scenario usually ends well for you as the result of not having to rely on (aging/aged) free agents.

prthd

<< <i>..... or that everyone's already penciled in the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Stanley Cup Finals. >>



Come on man, why you got to go there. Thats just mean.

Brick

Blue Jackets just had an impressive winning streak. As for the Nats remember what I believe it was Spanky who said "Washington, first in war, first in peace, last in the American League."

CEOBIDMC

Washington will go as far as Strassburg can carry them; hopefully they let him pitch all year; they wont be getting very far if they make the playoffs and he sits on the bench again. For Gods sake he isnt made out of glass.