Breaking news! A trade

[Bil522]

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories ... w-100-mph/

Hows this for a crazy trend. There were 140 pitchers who threw 100 MPH this year IN THE MINOR LEAGUES!

It sure isn't that rare anymore, not saying it is. But how many are late inning LH Relievers? You may end up being correct, but I don't think it was an over pay. Sounds like there is a lot to like about this kid, and we gave up a Catcher that might not play Catcher and doesn't hit for power.

Again, who makes this team better? I don't believe Ford is the guy that would get this team over the hump as a DH and part time Catcher. But I do believe that adding a high leverage arm was needed, and the fact that he was throws from the left side makes it even better.

The point is that just because the guy throws 98 doesn't mean he is a high leverage arm. People are falling in love with the radar gun and just overlooking the fact that among 147 Qualified relievers in 2025 he ranked 130th in ERA, 99th in WHIP and 95th in K/9. Expand that out to the 325 guys that pitched at least 20 innings and he ranked 225th in ERA, 165th in WHIP and 181st in K/9. The fact is you didn't trade for high leverage arm, you traded a top 100 prospect for a reliever that is a project. The dude is basically a left handed Carlos Vargas. I hope they can maximize some things with him and turn him into a stud. I'd just rather use my trade capitol on players that we have already seen play at an above average Major League level.

Geno, a MLB hitter who clubbed 49 HR's last year, was traded for Carlos Vargas. Guess JD learned his lesson and only is trading blocked prospects that no one else wants to give anything substantial for instead of MLB power hitters.

[D-train]

Harry is now the Nats #2 prospect per MLB.com

[D-train]

A Washington Post writer talks about Ferrer. Are the Nationals Pitching coaches idiots or what???

https://sports.mynorthwest.com/mlb/seat ... en/1831949

[Seattle or Bust]

A Washington Post writer talks about Ferrer. Are the Nationals Pitching coaches idiots or what???

https://sports.mynorthwest.com/mlb/seat ... en/1831949

When you throw a pitch 120 times over 2 years and it results in 2 hits and it's a pitch you only utilize 8% of the time...

Yes. They're idiots.

[D-train]

And did they not notice the success that pitcher that they traded to the Tigers and think huh maybe we should try that with some of our guys???

[D-train]

Good analysis of the handling of Harry Ford.....I don't see how his athleticism didn't translate be being at least an average catcher defensively. He seemed more than fine whenever I saw him back there.

https://sodomojo.com/insider-report-on- ... kbzmvbyjv2

[Seattle or Bust]

Good analysis of the handling of Harry Ford.....I don't see how his athleticism didn't translate be being at least an average catcher defensively. He seemed more than fine whenever I saw him back there.

https://sodomojo.com/insider-report-on- ... kbzmvbyjv2

Divish was on with Puck yesterday and echoed these sentiments.

He said that the consensus was athleticism and traits weren't translating to catching prowess or overall baseball abilities. He compared Ford to Taylor Trammell... said Trammell was insanely athletic but he didn't play athletic.

[D-train]

Good analysis of the handling of Harry Ford.....I don't see how his athleticism didn't translate be being at least an average catcher defensively. He seemed more than fine whenever I saw him back there.

https://sodomojo.com/insider-report-on- ... kbzmvbyjv2

Divish was on with Puck yesterday and echoed these sentiments.

He said that the consensus was athleticism and traits weren't translating to catching prowess or overall baseball abilities. He compared Ford to Taylor Trammell... said Trammell was insanely athletic but he didn't play athletic.

Bizarre, I have never heard of such a thing. So how is he a top 50 prospect??? Maybe the Nats have a Catching Lab that can fix him. lol

[Hy Feiber]

A Washington Post writer talks about Ferrer. Are the Nationals Pitching coaches idiots or what???

https://sports.mynorthwest.com/mlb/seat ... en/1831949

I bet that if you go back to what reporters in New York were saying about Russ Davis or Jesus Montero, you get the same laudatory comments.

They always praise guys they get rid of.

Baseball‘s unwritten rule.

[Michael K.]

A Washington Post writer talks about Ferrer. Are the Nationals Pitching coaches idiots or what???

https://sports.mynorthwest.com/mlb/seat ... en/1831949

I bet that if you go back to what reporters in New York were saying about Russ Davis or Jesus Montero, you get the same laudatory comments.

They always praise guys they get rid of.

Baseball‘s unwritten rule.

Praise? Did you read the article? I found this hilarious, considering how many times during the playoffs the announcer talked about how the pitchers needed to work OUTSIDE the zone more. How often did we hear that "this is a great spot to throw a strike/ball", referring to a pitch that starts in the zone but breaks out.

“When you look at the Nationals and how their pitching development was, I think a lot of their repetition was pound the strike zone with fastballs over and over again,” Golden said. “I think an example that’s interesting is Kyle Finnegan. When he got traded to the Tigers at the trade deadline, he changed his pitch mix completely, had a ton of success with that. I can see Ferrer having a similar thing where hitters aren’t sitting on his fastball as much as he’s adding the slider.”

Basically? Washington told their pitchers what a little league coach says. Let your defense work. I'm guessing in today's "swing from your ass and hope for a HR" MLB? That doesn't work all that well.

This makes me very happy. Find someone that knows how to use the guy, which is what the article is inferring. That Washington DOESN'T understand that.

Before the trade, Finnegan was throwing a fastball/splitter/slider mix, leaning heavy on the fastball by throwing it 65.7% of the time and the splitter being his No. 2 pitch at 29.6%. With Detroit, Finnegan led with the splitter, throwing it at a rate of 54.8% with the fastball falling to 40.9%.

In that time, Finnegan’s ERA dropped from 4.38 in 40 appearances with the Nationals to a 1.50 in his 16 appearances with the Tigers. His strikeout rate soared from 7.38 to 11.50 K/9. It was a dramatic jump in just 16 innings, but the Tigers appear to be believers, re-signing Finnegan to a two-year, $19 million deal this week.

Sorry, Harry Ford wasn't helping this year's team....but this guy has a real good chance to be a difference maker.

This forum is going to be interesting next year. I see half the forum praising this guy after every good outing, and the other half going nuclear in here every time he gets knocked around a bit!