When the Nationals signed Jayson Werth, a lot of fans thought that the team was pulling one over on the Phillies. We were taking one of their offensive players, bully for us. Well, who needs hitting when you have one of the greatest collection of pitchers ever assembled?
The Phillies agreed to a contract with Cliff Lee last night, the last remaining big prize in MLB free agency. As a result the rest of baseball, particularly the NL East, is in major trouble. Let's take a look at how the Nationals rotation stacks up against the Philadelphia All-Stars.
- Livan Hernandez vs. Cliff Lee: This one might have been a fair fight in 2002, but Lee is one of the best pitchers around while Hernandez doesn't throw harder than 85 on most days.
- John Lannan vs. Roy Halladay: This one is even more one sided than the first.
- Roy Oswalt vs. Ross Detwiler: I know the Nats beat Oswalt in his first game with the Phillies, but I don't think you can expect that success to continue.
- Cole Hamels vs. Jason Marquis: It took Marquis a few months to win his first game last year, while Hamels is a former World Series MVP. whoa boy.
Maybe Stephen Strasburg comes back next year, or Jordan Zimmermann reaches his potential, and they help turn the tide on this. But as of now, the Nationals don't have a single starter who could crack the rotation in Philly. That spells trouble for the Nats.
Today's must-reads from around the SB Nation network:
- Hogs Haven on the newfound apathy of Redskins fans.
- Bullets Forever on an impressive week for some of the rookies on the Wizards.
- Japers' Rink with their weekly evaluation of everyone on the roster.
On tap today at SB Nation D.C.: