OT: Nats, Wiz, O's, Ravens, Terps, DC United, etc. : Version VI

[g00n]

I hope the Wiz miss the playoffs (duh) and Randy and Ernie are gone ala the Caps pre-GMBM and HCBT.

I rarely root for missing the playoffs, but yeah. They're not going anywhere this season and the only justification for making the playoffs would be experience for...Oubre and that's it. Would rather see him getting a fresh start with new leadership.

 

[RandyHolt]

Go Terps

 

[usiel]

I hope the Wiz miss the playoffs (duh) and Randy and Ernie are gone ala the Caps pre-GMBM and HCBT.

Pretty much this. I mean they definitely went into this season planning for KD pursuit/free agent season this off season at a sacrifice to this season. Still depressing another year wasted of JW's youth. Beal's injury issues are also depressing with him due with a contract coming up.

 

[Slateman]

Would the Wiz missing the playoffs have any effect on enticing Durant to come to DC?

 

[usiel]

Would the Wiz missing the playoffs have any effect on enticing Durant to come to DC?

Well...the Bullets could have fielded a better team but wanted to preserve enough for a max contract FA offer this off season which I think is the best move. At this point I think their lukewarm play this regular season is a little more damning than missing the playoffs. Whitman needs to go. His coaching in the 3rd quarter tonight was pathetic. Lineup was not working.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Happy to see the Wiz imploding. They need to take a step back to move forward. Bye, Ernie and and Randy.

 

[g00n]

Well...the Bullets could have fielded a better team but wanted to preserve enough for a max contract FA offer this off season which I think is the best move. At this point I think their lukewarm play this regular season is a little more damning than missing the playoffs. Whitman needs to go. His coaching in the 3rd quarter tonight was pathetic. Lineup was not working.

Meaning zero coaching or timeouts when the team was clearly off the rails. Way too many bad shots and needless 3pt attempts, with no post presence. They were something like 5 of 21 from the field late in the 3rd because of it. Gortat did nothing.

This team misses the Pierce swagger. Badly.

 

[g00n]

Terps now #2 in the AP poll

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...ays-sell-short-potential-400-million-contract

Who's ready to pay Harper $400 mil?!?!

 

[strungout]

Pay the man.

 

[Ovechkins Wodka]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...ays-sell-short-potential-400-million-contract

Who's ready to pay Harper $400 mil?!?!

Have to. Makes me sick that Yankee fans already think Byrce is theirs

 

[Hivemind]

Jeebus. MLB needs a salary cap.

 

[Caps Circle]

Pay him a billion for all I care. Just keep him here. Without him, the Nats are nothing. Even with him, DC is not an attractive free-agent destination. Imagine if our only good player was gone too. 2010 Greinke all over again.

 

[BiPolar Caps]

Have to. Makes me sick that Yankee fans already think Byrce is theirs

Yep, it's gonna be either them or the Dodgers that will be the front runners.

 

[hockeykicker]

lets not forget scott boras is his agent. this isnt gonna be a cakewalk even if they offered 400 mil

 

[Ridley Simon]

I'm torn on the Orioles signing Gallardo.

One one hand, their team is maybe good enough to do some damage in theEast, and with 6 picks in top 91, they can afford to spend picks on players. Once the open that door, they could also sign Fowler as well, stil have 4 picks in the first 89, and get a few things done. Fowler would round out their line up nicely, their bull pen is still tremendous, and theyd have enough SP's to be truly dangerous.

But their farm sucks. So keeping the picks could really accelerate righting that ship.

What does everyone think? I'm partial to signing the pair and going for it this year and next. No real FA's after this season (Weiters and Trumbo) for them to deal with, so maybe this is a Caps like window to try for it.

 

[CapitalsCupReality]

Have to. Makes me sick that Yankee fans already think Byrce is theirs

It's rare that the Evil Empire doesn't get their target. Hate them...

 

[BiPolar Caps]

It's rare that the Evil Empire doesn't get their target. Hate them...

Harper said he chose to wear No. 34 because "I always loved Mickey Mantle, three and four equals seven." Nuff said, I'm sure Harper would love to see 34 in pin stripes retired and join the other numbers enshrined at Yankee Stadium and I'm a Mets fan.

 

[Ridley Simon]

Terps now #2 in the AP poll

Terps are way overrated. And I'm a huge Terps fan. They won't make the final 8, unless they change their game in a big way. I don't see it.

 

[Slateman]

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/1...ays-sell-short-potential-400-million-contract

Who's ready to pay Harper $400 mil?!?!

Pay the man.

If Bryce Harper were willing to take 400 million, now, Rizzo would run to the phone to agree to that. Dude is going to be worth 600 million if he puts up another season like last season.

Have to. Makes me sick that Yankee fans already think Byrce is theirs

Pay him a billion for all I care. Just keep him here. Without him, the Nats are nothing. Even with him, DC is not an attractive free-agent destination. Imagine if our only good player was gone too. 2010 Greinke all over again.

Except Harper wasn't MVP quality in 2012 or 2014 and the team won. Furthermore, teams have survived without an MVP candidate. The Cards survived without Pujols and the Rangers did better without A-Rod.

The Learners will not run the team at a loss, or even come close to the luxury tax. One of the reasons the Nats took Papelbon last season was because the Phils were willing to eat salary. Rizzo was unable to expand payroll.

Baseball isn't basketball or even football, where you can assemble an average team around one player and make the playoffs. As we saw last season, Bryce Harper cannot carry this team to 90+ wins. You have to have a team around him. And if there are budget issues, having one player taking up 25-35% of your available budget is going to make it really hard to consistently win, year after year. Rizzo is going to have to be on his game, every season, in order to be competitive. Otherwise, we're looking at a Tampa Rays type existence. Every two or three years, the right pieces fall in to place and guys exceed their salary in terms of performance. The rest of the time, they won't be very good.

 

[g00n]

Terps are way overrated. And I'm a huge Terps fan. They won't make the final 8, unless they change their game in a big way. I don't see it.

I only saw some of the 2nd half today and it was all Trimble and Sulaimon chucking up 18-20 foot bricks with nobody rebounding. That's not going to do it. They're most effective when they have their inside game clicking, which allows for more wide open perimeter shots. Some of that comes from Trimble penetrating and dishing instead of just hucking up prayers.

Teams are going to cover the backcourt close whether they're hot or cold so making jumpers doesn't have the reverse effect of opening up the frontcourt. If Stone and Carter are bad like I hear they were tonight, the Layman and Dodd need to fill the gap or it's game over.

Just looked at the boxscore. Trimble was 1-14 with 5 assists and 5 turnovers. Sulaimon 5-12. I know shooters are told to just keep shooting, but at some point you really have to start distributing instead of essentially turning the ball over every time you shoot.

 

[Ridley Simon]

I only saw some of the 2nd half today and it was all Trimble and Sulaimon chucking up 18-20 foot bricks with nobody rebounding. That's not going to do it. They're most effective when they have their inside game clicking, which allows for more wide open perimeter shots. Some of that comes from Trimble penetrating and dishing instead of just hucking up prayers.

Teams are going to cover the backcourt close whether they're hot or cold so making jumpers doesn't have the reverse effect of opening up the frontcourt. If Stone and Carter are bad like I hear they were tonight, the Layman and Dodd need to fill the gap or it's game over.

Just looked at the boxscore. Trimble was 1-14 with 5 assists and 5 turnovers. Sulaimon 5-12. I know shooters are told to just keep shooting, but at some point you really have to start distributing instead of essentially turning the ball over every time you shoot.

They went almost 16min (16!!!) in the first half without making a hoop. That's an entire half. That's also on coaching. With their talent, draw up some plays that gets you simple or easy shots. I get even a 10min drought. That's bad, but it happens. But 16min from a team with that talent? How the hell does that happen?

Turgeon, as great a recruiter as he is....is no Williams when it comes to coaching em up and game management. To win it all, you need a coach that can do both. It remains to be seen that Turgeon has the coaching stripes to go deep/win it all. I hope he does, but early returns are not strong.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Terps will be an early out. There's no synergy or identity on offense. The sum is less than the parts.

 

[g00n]

Terps will be an early out. There's no synergy or identity on offense. The sum is less than the parts.

They're inconsistent overall, but imo consistent in tightening up when their ranking improves. They'll sink a few slots and find a groove, then rise and gag.

They'd better learn to play under pressure or else it will be a short tournament.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

They're inconsistent overall, but imo consistent in tightening up when their ranking improves. They'll sink a few slots and find a groove, then rise and gag.

They'd better learn to play under pressure or else it will be a short tournament.

They're not especially good at any one thing on offense and their defense isn't good enough to win a game 58-55 or something like that if the offense sputters. They certainly have the talent but they need a lot of work to be dangerous in the dance, and I don't think they have the coaching to make the necessary improvements.