Trea Turner had a breakout year; Photo by Sol Tucker for TalkNats
It is a bittersweet finish to a season that was a sprint to the finish. Sixty games within the confines of COVID. The Nats made it to the end with no in-season issues at all with COVID infections. The same cannot be said before the season started. There were also plenty to be frustrated about a last place finish in the NL East.
“We all knew this season was going to be 60 games,” Max Scherzer said. “A short season. You knew you had to get out to a good start immediately — and we didn’t. This is a frustrating year to not back it up as well as we played from the second half on. … We weren’t able to replicate the success we had last year into this year.”
“Everybody has to reflect upon on what they did, and try to make those adjustments into next year. … That is life in the big leagues. I’m sure there’s people that are going to look at this and say, ‘Hey, it’s only 60-games, screw it.’ But that’s not my mentality. I came into this year fully prepared to win, and we didn’t win.”
This is why we love Max Scherzer. Always accountable, and he always reflects with looking into the mirror. Sure, he had his own issues including inefficiencies including high pitch counts, and stamina issue where his numbers towards the end of games were problematic at times. With that all said, Scherzer was still the best starter on the staff.
If your name isn’t Juan Soto, Trea Turner, Andrew Stevenson, Luis Garcia, Tanner Rainey, Josh Harrison or Kyle Finnegan, you probably have to wonder what went wrong and what went right. There is going to be massive turnover in this offseason from this Nats’ roster..
There will be some fun parts to watch today such as Juan Soto‘s quest to win the batting crown in a tight race against Freddie Freeman.
Over the next 4 ½ we will do daily dives into the 2021 team and how it should be built. Scherzer will end up with new teammates next year, and that is inevitable.
By the way, Austin Voth is on the mound today to finish this season up!
