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PLAY HIS MUSIC! Jesse Dougherty is back on the Nats beat, and back with The Junkies to break down the latest Washington Nationals news!
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00:00Welcome back in after too long of an absence, Jesse Daugherty, sports writer now for Notice.
00:07He covers the Nationals for them.
00:10You can follow them at NoticeReports on Twitter.
00:14Spells N-O-T-U-S.
00:16N-O-T-U-S.
00:17Jesse, welcome back, man.
00:17It's been too long.
00:18How have you been?
00:19Yes.
00:20Thanks, guys.
00:20I've been great.
00:22It's great to be on.
00:23Have you been locked in throughout, like even when you weren't technically covering them?
00:28Yeah, I would peak.
00:30I don't think I was watching every single night, but a lot of the guys on the team now I
00:34covered
00:34in Wilmington or Fredericksburg in the really, really, really, really bad days.
00:39So it'd be cool to check in and see them playing in the majors and in some cases doing well.
00:43So you were a long time with the Washington Post.
00:45Now you work for Notice.
00:47Tell us how that transpired and what you're responsible for there.
00:52Yeah, so my old employer decided that sports don't exist, really.
00:58And I, you know, so I landed with this new website, Notice.
01:02It's going to cover the D.C. area.
01:04It's going to cover sports on Capitol Hill.
01:06My job's going to be a few different things.
01:08I kind of keep telling people it's like a mashup of all the things I covered at the Post.
01:11So I'll do nationals coverage.
01:12I'm going to do some college sports in Congress.
01:14I'll do kind of a broader sports and politics when those overlap because we know they do.
01:18And it's going to be really fun.
01:19I mean, it's, you know, I was at Nets Park last week and it was just like there were a
01:24few
01:24people who are still there and I'm talking to them and I'm thinking, what freaking year
01:27is it?
01:27So it's been a time warp and yeah, it's cool.
01:30I feel really lucky.
01:31It's a place that cares about telling really good stories.
01:33And in this day and age, you know, that's rare.
01:35So we're going to, I think we're going to do some cool things.
01:38By the way, how crushing and surprising was it for you that the Washington Post eliminated
01:42the sports department?
01:43Like, did you ever like envision that happening even right up until when it happened?
01:49Yeah, I mean, it was, it was crushing and you know, we had heard rumbles in the month
01:53before that big changes were possible, especially for sports.
01:57I mean, in the week ahead, we were a fascination of the media reports.
02:01It ends up being more than 400 people.
02:02So it went well beyond the sports section, but yeah, I mean, I was crushed.
02:06I mean, I was there nine years.
02:07I made lifelong friends.
02:09I mean, it's all cliche, but it was one of the most important things in my life.
02:12Like, and I think being able to serve like real people in a real city and like have stories
02:19delivered to their doorstep.
02:20Like, you know, when you say it like that, it sounds so analog and so crazy, but like we
02:24did that at a really, really high level, like every single day up until the end.
02:28And I guess I'm, I guess I'm proud of that.
02:30Like even in the last six months we were there when things were really, really bad and the
02:34rumors were flying, like the work was as good as ever.
02:36And I know you get in this, you get in this sort of like moment and you kind of roll
02:41your
02:41eyes as you sound like a coach giving a locker room speech, but I guess you realize why
02:44that stuff works.
02:44You know, we just kind of kept, kept plugging along and, um, and, and really like, like
02:49the evidence is that almost everyone.
02:51And, and I want to say almost everyone, cause not everyone is, has landed at great spots.
02:55So like, you know, it's, you look around and you think, well, if you took all these people
02:58who are now at the Wall Street Journal and the athletic and ESPN and ProPublica and notice
03:02like that would make a pretty damn good sports section.
03:04You could probably make some money off of that.
03:06So, I mean, it's not like we're all just sitting at home, you know, uh, twirling our thumbs.
03:09There was, there's real evidence that, that I think we're all, could be really valuable
03:12to news organizations.
03:13Sure.
03:14Hey, Jesse, I know that, uh, yesterday was, was a bad day for the Nats, um, blowing that
03:19huge lead, but just as a whole, I mean, and I talked about it earlier today, the two, the
03:24two biggest surprises on the positive side in major league baseball, at least to me, uh,
03:29in the, in the American league, it's the white socks leading their division and they won
03:3360 games last year and they've already got 36 this year with a bunch of guys I've basically
03:38never heard of and the Nats and the national league, um, you know, they had a chance to
03:42go three games over 500 yesterday, but they, uh, they lose that big lead and they're, but
03:47they're still 35 and 34.
03:49So the fact that the white socks are doing what they're doing in the American league
03:52and the Nats and the national league, um, it's huge.
03:55It's huge.
03:56Certainly here.
03:57Yeah.
03:58I think, I think that's like one of the biggest things to me is like, it's not like Paul
04:02Tivoni and his group and Blake Dutera came in and went on the waiver wire or, you know,
04:08went out and did trades or made small signings.
04:10And now those guys are all playing well.
04:12Like they're doing it with players who've been around for three, four years in some cases.
04:15And to me, it's like, this year was always about figuring out who from the old days could
04:20be part of the next foundation.
04:22And that extends to me beyond James Wood and CJ Abrams.
04:26Like there are a lot of players now who are playing, you know, Luis Garcia, Caber Ruiz,
04:30like, um, who are playing at a much higher level than they were.
04:34So, you know, the obvious pitching is a huge question yesterday.
04:37It came to fruition in San Francisco.
04:39But the fact that like some holdover guys are playing at a much higher level, like to
04:43me, that shows you have the right group in place now development wise, that when you
04:46start bringing in more players, when you add in free agency and trades in future years,
04:50like there's, there's actually a process there.
04:52Like you actually can make guys better too in the majors.
04:54Like that, that's not a novel concept.
04:55Like that, that can happen.
04:56And, and they're proving that in a big way.
04:58So like, I think you're right.
04:59I mean, as far as surprises, you know, relative to preseason, I think Vegas had them at 65
05:03wins.
05:04It was already at 35 and, you know, early June.
05:06Like that's a, that's a massive, massive leap.
05:08Yeah.
05:10And, um, you know, you were kind of mentioning the, the guys that are just pounding the ball and
05:14of course they're leading the league and run scored.
05:16Um, and what, what's kind of crazy, and maybe this is just random is how good they are away
05:24from Nats Park.
05:25Um, 23 wins away from Nats Park, just 12 here.
05:29Um, you know, I don't, again, maybe that's based on matchups or I'm not going to dive too,
05:34too deep into it, but it's kind of surprising.
05:37Yeah.
05:37The only thing I'll say on that and like, and like, you can't, you can't actually prove
05:40this cause it's totally subjective and kind of theoretical, but like, it's a lot to play
05:45at home when you're just getting ready, like just getting your feet wet in the majors.
05:50Like you might have your girlfriend or your wife or your small kids around your family
05:53often comes in more often when you're at home.
05:55Like, I do think there's a lot of responsibility that like, maybe when you're a 35 year old
05:59Ryan Zimmerman or her 36 year old, Harry Kendrick, like you're a little more conditioned to like
06:04shut that out or know your routines.
06:05Like I can see a world in which guys who are still super new to this, like that being at
06:09home is an overwhelming thing.
06:12You know, it's just, it's just so much, right?
06:13People are grabbing for tickets.
06:15People are want your time.
06:16They want to get breakfast.
06:16And then you get on the road and you're like, oh man, it's so nice just to like play baseball
06:20or just like sleep in or play video games at the hotel before I go to the yard.
06:23Like I do think, and again, that's, that probably like, they might just flatten out in time and
06:28the splits kind of become more normal.
06:30And it's like, what was he talking about?
06:31But I do think there is something like home games are really stressful.
06:34Like I always, as a reporter, didn't like talking to guys at home because they were frazzled.
06:37They would get to the park later.
06:38They would sort of be like rushing around for people to talk to old friends.
06:42And then on the road, it was like, you get someone to talk for 40 minutes about their
06:45life because it was just like a totally different mindset.
06:48So I think that might have something to do with it too.
06:50Jesse, why do you think it's not happening for Dylan Cruz?
06:55Yeah.
06:55I mean, I think one is like, I think he's chasing a lot and that's just, it's hard to, you
07:01know,
07:01it's definitely just like hard to excel when you're not swinging at the right pitches.
07:04That's just a very basic part of the game.
07:06I mean, I think that's fixable.
07:08I mean, I think when you're not doing well, the numbers start to kind of, you start to
07:11chase and then you start to like, you start to like crave hits.
07:13And then you, you see a pitch, maybe a little bit off the plate and your eyes get big.
07:16You think you can handle it because maybe at another level when the stuff was a little
07:20different and guys weren't quite as nasty with their pitches.
07:22Like you can think a single or you can rip a double into the gap off something that maybe
07:26is like an inch or two off.
07:28And right now he's just not able to do that.
07:30So I think that's fixable just by sort of settling in more.
07:33And I know they've given him time, but if you think of the grand scheme of things, he
07:36hasn't had like a ton of reps, ton of plate appearances.
07:39And the reality with this team is it wasn't necessarily built to make a big run or make
07:44a big playoff push.
07:45Now we'll see how the calculus changes if it continues to win, but like he should be afforded
07:49time to work through.
07:50And it's sometimes that can be tough as a fan or as a team to kind of watch a guy
07:54do
07:54that in the majors.
07:55But, uh, you know, there's tons of examples of guys going through really, really rough
07:59years, but clocking a lot of sort of mental images or mental reps and then going in the
08:03off season and making swing changes.
08:05And like, I bet on the guy who was one of the best college hitters, you know, in the
08:08modern era and the second overall pick.
08:10Um, so we'll, you know, we'll see how that shakes out, but I do think it just really comes
08:13down to just bad pick selection.
08:14I wouldn't bet as much today as you would have a year ago.
08:18Well, that's true.
08:19Um, so, so obviously they're, they're way ahead of where anybody kind of, you know, talked
08:24about, you mentioned the, the, the, the total was 65.
08:28Um, they're way ahead as of yesterday, you know, before the loss, they were actually in
08:31the wild card spot or the playing game, whatever the hell you want to call it.
08:34Um, you know, I know that they have young arms that they're looking towards and they have
08:39some young studs, you know, in the next couple of years that should come through.
08:43They're not going to spend, just the assumption is while the learners here at this point in
08:47the, the, you have the work stoppage ahead, that they're not going to spend a lot of money.
08:50I don't see that happening.
08:52Um, even at the deadline, is there anything though in the minors that could help the bullpen
08:58or some of the pitching issues that they have?
09:01Yeah.
09:01I mean, there are some, there's some top arms like, and like, like, like there's Jackson
09:05Kent and there's, there's some other really, you know, impressive arms down in the minors,
09:09but like teams have done that and I think you're alluding to it is like when you're
09:13ahead of schedule, uh, and you, you know, you, you, you sort of surprise yourself, but
09:17you're, you're not necessarily in go mode or your free agency market isn't right in
09:21front of you.
09:21Like it would be if this was December, like people take up starters and have them become
09:25long relievers.
09:26And, and this team uses openers in creative ways.
09:28So I think like there's a way to take them to these top arms and start cycling them through.
09:31Now, you know, this is, I think the front office would say, how much do we want to do
09:36that and shake up development curves, you know, versus what we think we can be this year.
09:39And, and then, but that's sort of the disconnect or sort of the tension always between sort
09:43of a, a slow build, a methodical plan.
09:46And like the people in the 300 level, right.
09:48Who are just like, I want to see a better picture.
09:49And you guys are, you guys are one game out of a wild card and you're telling me we shouldn't
09:53have our best players on this roster.
09:54So I think there's some dissonance there, especially because this group didn't come in and the group
09:59by group, I mean front office didn't come into this year thinking.
10:01Like, okay, this is the roster that we're going to push the, you know, push the gas on,
10:05or we're going to really like make a run or, or once that guy shows, he's even like sort
10:08of ready.
10:09We're going to make sure he's in the eighth inning.
10:10Even if we think he's a starter in 2028 or whatever, like that's not the mode I think
10:14they came into this year with.
10:15Now, when I talked to Paul Tivoni last week, he was like, you have to be willing to let the
10:19team make you adjust.
10:21I don't think one game over is quite that level.
10:23Like they have to go on a pretty good run here, especially pre deadline to make the front office
10:27say, maybe this team does deserve to, you know, kind of soft vibe.
10:31You get a few veterans in the door, you know, and then also bring up some prospects.
10:36You know, I think we're, we're a little ways from that, especially given days like yesterday,
10:39which shouldn't be like, you know, shouldn't set the stage for the rest of the season,
10:42but did show a lot of flaws, right?
10:44With the current roster.
10:45So I do think like, you know, it's, it's not unprecedented for, for teams that sort of
10:50make these sort of leaps really early for you to actually pull from your own crop and
10:55stick guys in the spots, maybe that they're not going to be in longterm.
10:57I think it's a great point and it's something to definitely watch as the summer goes on.
11:01So 69 games in to be hitting the ball that they are, it's not a fluke.
11:05So I don't think that's going to stop.
11:07Do you think they're going to be kind of at least offensively still hanging around that
11:11wildcard spot at the deadline?
11:13Or do you think they'll slowly fall back?
11:15Yeah, it's a good question.
11:16I mean, I think the offense isn't a fluke either.
11:18I mean, a lot of guys are doing well.
11:19I do think like you, you weren't, you wonder if it's, it's extremely wooden Abrams dependent.
11:24And I think that they're excellent baseball players, but, but I think if they tailed off
11:28even a bit, which would be, which would still mean they were having career years, probably
11:32for both of them.
11:32If they did, then I do wonder if it keeps up at its current pace.
11:35And the reality is it has to keep up close to its current pace to win games because the
11:39pitching just isn't there.
11:41Um, I would say that they would say, by the way, Lyle can hit.
11:45Yeah.
11:45Lyle can hit too.
11:46And he's been really good lately.
11:47That's a good point.
11:47Um, I, I, I think, I think the pitching, they fade a bit with the pitching.
11:52I think you saw yesterday with what happens is like, like good, like, you know, teams
11:58that are not built to, to win.
11:59So teams that are not sort of have money pumped into them, uh, or kind of ready to go don't
12:04really have guys who can cover the fifth, sixth, seventh inning.
12:07And those are the guys who were in the game yesterday, uh, because they're end of a road
12:11trip.
12:11They're, they're being really, really rigid and disciplined and not pitching guys three days
12:16in a row.
12:16So you saw some guys that sort of are in that middle relief role.
12:19Like there are not in, in a lot of cases, there aren't enough, you know, great middle
12:24relievers on the planet for all 30 teams to have three or four of them.
12:27So that's just, that's just the math.
12:28And that's why teams like the nationals, you know, find themselves in those spots.
12:31Sometimes I think if they keep this current group, you're, it could be a tough, you know,
12:36July, uh, you know, end of June as arms start to wear down.
12:39Um, and maybe, maybe I'm wrong.
12:40Maybe the offense is just going to be so potent that, that it covers for that.
12:44But I do think that it's going to become more of an issue moving forward, not just because
12:47of yesterday, just because, you know, as guys are going into the season, as the starters
12:51maybe wear down here and there, um, I think you're going to maybe see that part of the
12:54roster exposed more real quick.
12:56Once Brady house, once he figures it out at the minor league, um, once he was sent down
13:01to try and figure some stuff, especially defensively, if when he's ready to come back, do you think
13:05Cruz is going to be sent down or do you think they'll keep Cruz back up on the big roster
13:09and send someone else down?
13:10No, I think they can keep both of them.
13:12I mean, especially just positionally, it's, it kind of matters how you want to, you know,
13:15situate your, your utility infielders and, and, and what you think you need from your
13:20outfield.
13:20But, you know, good thing for Cruz is he's a good defender.
13:23He can run, like, even if he's not hitting at the, you know, the way you, you kind of
13:27envisioned yet, or even if he never does, I mean, I think he's still has some value in
13:31the other tools he has besides his bat.
13:33So that's why I don't, I don't think they're mutually exclusive to each other in that way.
13:36Okay.
13:36All right.
13:37Jesse.
13:37Great.
13:38Uh, reacquainting ourselves with you.
13:40Don't be a stranger.
13:41We'll have you on again soon, man.
13:43Yeah.
13:44Anytime guys.
13:44I really appreciate it.
13:45Yep.
13:45Thanks Jess.
13:46Good to hear from you is Jesse Doherty now works for notice.
13:48You can go to at N O T U S reports on Twitter.
13:53And you can see his work there coming up at eight 45.
13:57We're going to give you a chance to win tickets to go see Dave Chappelle.
13:59Also tickets to the black crows to where, when it comes to Meriwether post
14:04pavilion, that is Tuesday, June 16th.
14:07So that is not that far off eight 45.
14:09We'll give you a chance to win those tickets here on the junks.
14:12me to do that. You're
14:12welcome. You're
14:13You're
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