- 23 hours ago
Washington Nationals Radio Broadcaster Dave Jageler joins The Kevin Sheehan Show to give a recap on the National’s first half of the MLB season and gives his analysis on how the rest of the season could play out with the team’s deficiencies being highlighted.
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00:00All right, so let's get to this team.
00:02They will open up the first of their, what, final 65 games tomorrow night.
00:08You'll be there when they face the A's.
00:12So if they had just a normal bullpen,
00:16where do you think they'd be right now in the standings?
00:20I think they'd be in wildcard position.
00:22I don't know that they'd be in first place in front of the Braves,
00:25but they'd be in wildcard position.
00:27I mean, we can run through the laundry list of games
00:29that haven't gone their way, that had late leads,
00:32but when you have the number one offense in baseball
00:35with just an average pitching staff, I mean, look where they would be.
00:39I mean, unfortunately, that's not been the case,
00:41but I give this team credit and kind of look at it as a glass half full
00:45that after all these tough losses, the offense keeps coming back the next day
00:49and scoring more runs.
00:50So they're probably in a better position
00:53than what we thought they would be going into the season,
00:55but considering how it's played out,
00:57you're almost a little disappointed they are where they are
00:59because it could...
01:02Oops, did we lose Dave?
01:04I think we just lost him briefly.
01:07Try to get him back.
01:10Sorry about that.
01:11Oh, that's all right.
01:12I got you now.
01:13Okay, yeah.
01:13I mean, you kind of cut off when you said,
01:15you know, look, 48 and 49,
01:17we'd probably all take it back in late March,
01:20but here they are and it could have been a lot better.
01:25Yeah, and those are the games, you know,
01:26the three games against the Phillies where they were one strike away,
01:30nine to one against the Giants,
01:32six to one with the Dodgers leading late early in the season.
01:35I mean, there's a bunch of them.
01:37But, I mean, honestly, they didn't, you know,
01:40the bullpen wasn't an area that was addressed in the offseason.
01:43In fact, they traded away their top two relievers
01:45over the course of last season,
01:47Kyle Finnegan during last season
01:49and Jose Ferrer in the offseason.
01:51So, obviously, this team has achieved more sooner than we thought.
01:55So, I mean, if you're an optimist, glass half full,
01:57you feel good about the first half in that respect.
02:00We're watching, you know,
02:01one of the best single season offensive performances
02:04in Nationals history with what James Wood is doing
02:06and an all-star first half from Abrams
02:09and Foster Griffin, what a find he has been.
02:11So, for the Nationals to have three all-stars
02:13was a tremendous first half.
02:14So, if somebody hadn't been paying attention
02:18to the Nats 48 and 49 season, you know,
02:21at the all-star break,
02:22is it as easy as just saying,
02:24this is a really good baseball team
02:26with a terrible bullpen?
02:27Is that it?
02:28Is it that simple?
02:30Well, I mean, yeah.
02:31I mean, you could boil it down to that.
02:33Now, are there things they could do better?
02:35Yes.
02:35I mean, defensively, they struggled.
02:36They still have committed the most errors
02:38in the major leagues,
02:39but they played better
02:40as the season has gone along in that respect.
02:42I think the starting pitching,
02:44you know, has had at times some good things.
02:46I think, you know, like we said,
02:48Foster Griffin, what a tremendous find that is.
02:50But credit to Blake Deterra
02:52and the coaching staff.
02:54You know, you had Zach Littell
02:55and Miles Michaelis struggle
02:56right out of the gate.
02:57But, you know, going to the opener strategy,
02:59which is something the Nationals
03:00have never done in their history,
03:01has kind of maximized
03:02what they've been able to give the team.
03:04And so, the Littell games
03:05and the Michaelis games
03:06where they're getting openers,
03:07those are games they have a chance to win
03:09late in games.
03:10So, I think that the whole process
03:12of the new front office,
03:14the new coaching staff,
03:15the new manager,
03:15I think that's something
03:16that has to be in the positive column
03:18this season.
03:19And I just like the versatility
03:21of this offense.
03:22They're right near the top of the league
03:24in home runs,
03:24but they're near the top of the league
03:25in stolen bases, too.
03:26So, it makes it a fun offense to watch
03:28and that they can beat you
03:29in a number of ways.
03:30So, not to simply say
03:32it's a great record.
03:33There's a lot of things
03:34that have gone into
03:34making the record what it is.
03:37So, they sit here at 48 and 49.
03:39It was a shame what happened
03:40over the weekend.
03:41You mentioned the Philly series.
03:42You know, get a couple of those back
03:44and you're even closer
03:45than four games out
03:46from that final spot.
03:47And there are a lot of teams
03:48in contention
03:49for that final wild card spot.
03:52But, what would you hope
03:55that they would be thinking
03:57in terms of their mindset
03:58approaching the trade deadline?
04:00Do you need to be somewhere
04:02in terms of games out
04:04from a spot
04:05to behave differently?
04:06How does that all get handled
04:08here at the end of this month?
04:10Yeah, I think they could go
04:11a number of different ways, Kevin.
04:12I mean, this is a key road trip.
04:14You've got the A's
04:15who dropped nine in a row
04:16and the Rockies
04:17who are, you know,
04:18at the bottom of the standing.
04:19So, you've got to make some hay
04:20on this road trip,
04:21get back over 500,
04:23and then go into a homestand
04:24against Arizona and Toronto.
04:26Arizona's a contender
04:27in the National League.
04:28Toronto, last year's
04:29American League champion.
04:30And if you have a good two weeks,
04:31I think that definitely
04:33could chart the course
04:34to this team
04:35trying to add to the bullpen.
04:36If they kind of tread water,
04:38I think that you could
04:39kind of see either way.
04:40You could see them buy and sell
04:41or perhaps sell.
04:43And if they don't play well,
04:44I think then you'd see
04:45that they would sell.
04:46So, it's totally up
04:47to these next two weeks.
04:48And so, there are a number
04:49of different charts
04:51that you can, courses
04:52that you can chart
04:53depending on what they do.
04:54First over this road trip,
04:55then over the next homestand.
04:56So, that's a hard question
04:57to answer right now.
04:58And I think Paul Tivoni
04:59is open and waiting
05:00every time he's talked about it.
05:01He's kind of said,
05:02we'll wait and see
05:02where we are August 3rd.
05:04And obviously,
05:05the next two to two and a half
05:06weeks of baseball
05:06will tell us a lot.
05:08That's an excellent point.
05:10Given these first six games
05:12out of the gate
05:12on the road
05:13against two teams struggling,
05:15these are the games
05:16that could really
05:17sort of drive that decision.
05:19What did you make
05:20of the Bob Nightingale
05:21USA Today report
05:23where he reported
05:24that the Nats
05:25were perhaps,
05:28let everybody know
05:29that C.J. Abrams
05:31and James Wood
05:32were available
05:34during last winter
05:35for trade?
05:37Yeah, I mean,
05:38I don't really,
05:41obviously I think C.J.,
05:42there was discussion
05:44a lot about C.J. Abrams
05:45in the offseason.
05:46The James Wood thing,
05:47I don't buy at all.
05:49To me,
05:49this is a franchise player
05:51that you have under control
05:52for at that time
05:53five more seasons.
05:54So I didn't put
05:55any stock in it at all.
05:57And I think with the first half
05:59that C.J. Abrams
05:59has put together,
06:00you look at him and say,
06:02well, you know,
06:02the next time the Nationals
06:03are a contending team,
06:04which is this year
06:05and hopefully next year,
06:06you'd like him
06:07to be a part of it.
06:07So I think how well
06:08he's played
06:09makes it that much harder
06:10to try to trade him.
06:12Why has Foster Griffin
06:14been so good
06:15didn't come out of nowhere?
06:17Well, he's a pitcher's pitcher.
06:18I mean,
06:19we didn't know a lot
06:20about him when he was signed.
06:22I mean, we heard
06:22he left the United States
06:24three years ago
06:24with four pitches
06:25and came back with seven.
06:26So apparently,
06:28you know,
06:29he found those three pitches
06:30and he found
06:30a whole bunch of maturity.
06:32He had been injured.
06:33He had never really
06:33had much of a chance
06:34to establish his footing
06:36in the Major League.
06:36So he goes over there.
06:37He has a chance
06:38to have success,
06:39finds out who he is
06:41as a pitcher
06:41and what works.
06:42And he's different.
06:43I mean, you saw
06:44what he did
06:44in the All-Star game.
06:45He had the hitters
06:46lunging at his changeup
06:48and then,
06:48well, they think
06:48he's going to go away
06:49and then he busts him
06:50inside with a cutter.
06:51He can be a different guy
06:52every time he faces a hitter.
06:54And that's why
06:54I think Blake Butero
06:56has shown the confidence
06:56to allow him to face
06:57a lineup three times,
06:59occasionally four times,
07:00pitch into the seventh
07:01or eighth inning
07:01because it's not like
07:02he's the same pitcher
07:03in the first inning
07:04and the fifth inning.
07:05He can attack a hitter
07:06so many different ways
07:07and that makes him
07:08very unique
07:08among today's pitchers.
07:10He doesn't wow you
07:11with velocity,
07:12but he can pinpoint
07:13all of his pitches
07:14to the different quadrants
07:15of the strike zone,
07:16stay out of the middle
07:17of the plate,
07:17change speeds,
07:18and if you're a hitter
07:19trying to guess,
07:20you know,
07:20it's a lot easier
07:21to guess when a guy
07:21throws two pitches
07:22than when a guy
07:23throws seven.
07:23Odds are you're going
07:24to be wrong
07:24if you're guessing
07:25with Foster Griffin.
07:27How many pitches
07:27did Annabelle Sanchez
07:29have when he was pitching
07:30for the Nats
07:31in 2019?
07:32Well, it felt like five.
07:34I mean, he had the changeup
07:36and he had the dead fish
07:37changeup.
07:38He had like this...
07:38Max Scherzer said it best.
07:40He said,
07:41Annabelle Sanchez
07:42changed speeds
07:43on his changeup
07:44better than any pitcher
07:45he ever saw.
07:45And he could mix in,
07:46you know,
07:47a sinker
07:48and a slider,
07:49but the beauty
07:50of Annabelle was
07:51he could throw you
07:51a changeup at 75
07:53and then a changeup
07:54at 65
07:54and then a changeup
07:55at 71.
07:57And so,
07:57the changeup
07:58was the kind of
07:59three different varieties
08:00of it,
08:00even though he called
08:01it the same thing.
08:02And by the way,
08:03back when Annabelle Sanchez
08:04was with the Nationals,
08:05the sweeper didn't exist.
08:06That used to be a slider.
08:07We've renamed everything.
08:08So,
08:09the fact that you have
08:09more names
08:10allows Griffin
08:11to have seven pitches
08:12because four years ago
08:13if he was throwing
08:13that same sweeper,
08:14it would be called
08:15a slider.
08:17Yeah,
08:17we're talking to
08:18Dave Jagler,
08:19of course.
08:19You guys recognize
08:20the voice.
08:20I was wondering
08:21because when
08:22he started to pitch
08:24well,
08:25you know,
08:26Tommy and I,
08:26Lavero and I
08:27were talking
08:27and I said,
08:28who does he remind
08:29you of?
08:30Who's the comp?
08:31Like,
08:31this guy is clearly
08:32pitching more with
08:33his brain
08:34than anything else.
08:35And I'm wondering
08:35if you've
08:36comped him
08:36to anybody.
08:38Well,
08:39I mean,
08:39Sanchez would be
08:40pretty good in that.
08:41The other in
08:41Nationals history
08:42is LeVon Hernandez
08:43because LeVon,
08:44the tail end
08:45of his career,
08:45when he first
08:46came up with
08:46the Marlins,
08:47he threw gas.
08:47But when we saw
08:48him in 2005
08:49and then the
08:50later iteration
08:51of Levo,
08:52which was like
08:522010,
08:542011,
08:54he was a pitcher's
08:55pitcher.
08:56And he would
08:56throw that
08:58lollipop curveball
08:58and then he'd
09:00paint the outside
09:00corner with a sinker
09:01at 89.
09:02And while 89
09:03might not seem
09:04like a lot,
09:05if you were
09:05looking for the
09:0560,
09:06the 89 would
09:06look like 109.
09:08And that's
09:08what Foster Griffin
09:09does.
09:09So, I mean,
09:10kind of a left-handed
09:11version of Levo
09:12is one that
09:13jumps out to me.
09:14I just always
09:15remember that
09:16performance against
09:17the Cardinals
09:18in the NLCS
09:19from Sanchez.
09:20I don't know
09:20if anything hit
09:21much more than
09:2382 or 83
09:24miles per hour
09:25in that game
09:26and he was
09:26brilliant.
09:28Give me a
09:29player that
09:30you think
09:31is on the
09:37verge of
09:38making a
09:39much bigger
09:39contribution
09:40than he has
09:41already.
09:42Well, I mean,
09:43I'd like to see
09:43that be Dale
09:44and Lyle.
09:44I mean,
09:44you look at
09:45what Luis
09:46Garcia Jr.
09:46and Curtis
09:47Mead have
09:47done,
09:48they've been
09:48a nice
09:48compliment to
09:49the Wood
09:50Abrams
09:50duo.
09:51Lyle,
09:52with what he
09:52did last
09:53September,
09:54looked like
09:54he was on
09:54the verge
09:55of a
09:55breakout.
09:55And Lyle's
09:56had some
09:56moments this
09:56year,
09:57but I think
09:57just kind
09:58of consistently
09:58he's probably
09:59been a little
10:00bit disappointed
10:01in the total
10:02output,
10:02but we know
10:02it's in there.
10:03We saw it
10:03at the tail end
10:04of last season.
10:05Now, this is
10:05his first full
10:06year in the
10:07major leagues.
10:07Teams have a
10:08book on him.
10:09Can he make
10:09the adjustment
10:10and get back
10:10to being the
10:12dynamic player
10:12that he was
10:13at the end
10:13of last season?
10:14He's made
10:14tremendous
10:15strides
10:15defensively,
10:16but I think
10:16the impact
10:17offensively,
10:18if he can
10:18have the
10:19second half
10:19that he had
10:19last year,
10:20that'd be
10:21huge to have
10:21him back
10:22behind
10:22Abrams.
10:22Because right
10:23now you
10:23have that
10:24Wood-Abrams
10:24pocket,
10:25one through four,
10:26which if it's
10:27Garcia against
10:28a righty,
10:29Meade in there,
10:29that's a pretty
10:30stout portion
10:31of the lineup.
10:31If you can get
10:32deeper in that
10:32lineup with Lyle
10:33and Cruz,
10:35and Ruiz has
10:35done a nice job
10:36at the bottom
10:36of the lineup,
10:37and you have
10:37the speed down
10:38there,
10:38if Lyle can
10:39have a big
10:39second half,
10:40I think this
10:41team will
10:41continue to be
10:42at or near
10:42the top of
10:43the league
10:43and run
10:43score.
10:45It'll be fun
10:46to see them
10:46in contention
10:47when we hit
10:48September.
10:49Real quickly,
10:50on the All-Star
10:50game from the
10:51other night,
10:51what do you
10:51think the future
10:52of this game
10:53is?
10:56Interesting you
10:56say that.
10:57I was frankly
11:00kind of losing
11:01interest once
11:02Foster Griffin
11:02was done.
11:04I think it's
11:05still a good
11:06exhibition and
11:07there's a lot
11:07to it.
11:08It's just that
11:09particular game,
11:09not a lot
11:10happened.
11:10There were so
11:10many strikeouts.
11:11There was not
11:12a ton of action
11:13or exciting
11:14plays.
11:15I think the
11:16game is in a
11:17good place with
11:17it.
11:18I like that we
11:19went away from
11:20putting the
11:20home field
11:21advantage on it.
11:22It is an
11:22exhibition game
11:23and you like
11:24to see the
11:24best players.
11:25I like the
11:26fact that
11:27the starters
11:28get two
11:28at-bats,
11:28the reserves
11:29get in there.
11:30I like seeing
11:31all the different
11:32players.
11:32I think it's
11:33fine as it is.
11:34I think this
11:34was just a
11:34one-off.
11:35There wasn't
11:36a whole lot
11:36of action,
11:37too many
11:37strikeouts.
11:38It was kind
11:38of a snoozer
11:39after the top
11:40of the first
11:40inning.
11:41Much more
11:41excitement at
11:42the end of
11:42the home run
11:42derby.
11:43I think over
11:44the course of
11:44time,
11:45it's still
11:45the top
11:46All-Star game
11:47of the four
11:47major sports.
11:48I don't even
11:49watch whatever
11:49they do,
11:50flag football now.
11:51I've never
11:51been a big fan
11:52of the NBA
11:52All-Star game,
11:53but I think
11:54baseball still
11:55has the best
11:55All-Star game.
11:56It's just the
11:57other night
11:57was not its
11:58best.
11:59I think that's
12:00true, by the
12:01way.
12:02No Shohei
12:02Ohtani.
12:03You've got to
12:04get the
12:04superstars in
12:05the game to
12:06not opt out
12:07of this thing.
12:08When you look
12:09at that,
12:10you look at
12:10no Aaron
12:11Judge because
12:12he was hurt.
12:12The Ohtani
12:13thing was going
12:16to be in
12:16there if not
12:16his knee was
12:17flaring up.
12:18You're absolutely
12:19right.
12:19If guys bow
12:20out of the
12:20game,
12:21that's not a
12:22good thing.
12:23I still think
12:24it was a good
12:25showcase for
12:26some of the
12:26young stars
12:27who were
12:27there.
12:28I'll ask
12:29you a question
12:30you may not
12:30want to answer,
12:31but just give
12:31me trade
12:32deadline a
12:33couple days
12:34before.
12:35How many
12:35games out
12:36of the
12:37wildcard
12:38third spot
12:39do they need
12:39to be for
12:40them to be
12:41more buyer
12:42than anything
12:43else?
12:46Probably
12:46two to
12:47three.
12:47What are
12:48they now?
12:49Four?
12:50Gaining
12:51ground on
12:51where they
12:52are and
12:52over 500.
12:54I think
12:54if they
12:55can dominate
12:57this road
12:58trip and
12:58have a
12:58good
12:59homestead,
12:59I think
12:59they're
13:00right there
13:00and can
13:01make
13:01Paul
13:01Teponi's
13:02decisions
13:03difficult.
13:03I don't
13:04think anyone
13:04assumed that
13:05the Nationals
13:06would be in
13:06position to
13:07be asking
13:07for folks
13:08in trade.
13:09I hope
13:10this is a
13:10great couple
13:11of weeks
13:11of baseball
13:11and that
13:12forces the
13:12hand.
13:13Have a
13:14safe trip.
13:15I appreciate
13:15you doing
13:15this.
13:16All right,
13:16Kevin.
13:17My pleasure.
13:17At
13:18Dave
13:18Jagler,
13:19everybody
13:20on X.
13:21I'll see you
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