So good that articles were written about how they would go to the World Series this year....
Here are all the links.
http://espn.go.com/mlb/preview15/story/_/id/12592129/five-indisputable-reasons-washington-nationals-win-world-series
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/the-nationals-are-the-odds-on-favorite-to-win-the-world-series-%E2%80%94-again-193010589.html
http://www.sbnation.com/odds/2015/4/4/8338265/world-series-betting-odds-nationals-enter-season-as-futures-favorites
They even entered the season as 6/1 favorites to win it all in Vegas which was higher than anyone else... What happened?
Don't blame pretty boy Bryce Harper
He is leading the league in batting by two points over Dee Gordon, home runs over Giancarlo Stanton who has missed 60 games, and on base percentage. He is getting on base 46 percent of the time....that number is ridiculous. His wins above replacement is 8.1 meaning he has accounted for 8.1 wins more than some scrub from the minors playing his spot. That is what they expected and hoped out of Harper.
The rest of the team...
They are all batting career lows. They were once even relying on Dan Uggla (the strikeout king) to save them. Their studs on the mound just aren't following through on their big contracts. Max Scherzer who is being paid almost 30 million dollars a year could not even beat the Marlins last night!!I love my Marlins but when you are fighting for the playoffs and you have your best pitcher on the mound against the lowly Marlins....you should dominate.
You have to give credit to the Mets who have seized the opportunity in the weak NL East and are now running away with the division and then remember that in baseball money doesn't seem to buy championships anymore...
Stadium 8: Great American Ballpark
The Great American Ballpark is located on the southern most area of Cincinnati, Ohio and opened in 2003
Located on the banks of the Ohio River, you get a scenic view into the state of Kentucky which makes it the only stadium in which another state is visible from it. You do get the river which has actually had home run balls fall into it!
The Reds tap into their extreme history with a Reds Hall of Fame on the outside of the stadium
which makes for a great and fun experience before entering the ballpark. They will not only indulge you with Reds history, but with baseball activities including doing your own play by play!
Skyline Chili....
Cincinnati is known for its chili and yes it is all over the ballpark. The ridiculous amount of cheese and chili makes for a nice night of indigestion, but it goes down so sweetly!
The river boats going down the river are cool and the smoke stacks in right center are dedicated to them. Going off after strikeouts, runs scored, and home runs by the Reds. Just don't run into the mascot of the Reds...he means business.
Don't look into his eyes.....
The Great American Ballpark is sincerely that....a true American past time that's fun for baseball and falls 8th on this list.
Next up: Third oldest stadium in baseball and oldest west of the mississippi.
No comments:
Post a Comment