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The Nats can't spend like the Dodgers, but they can take a cue · District Territory

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of the District Territory Podcast. I'm
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Eric Shellhouse from BAP Boys Baseball and joining me today,
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: Spencer Nussbaum of The Athletic. Late night Nats out on
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: the West Coast, but they couldn't get the job done
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: last night. They did have a late rally. Nationals dropped
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: it five to three. But Spencer, you wrote about these
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: are two very different teams. Go ahead and walk me
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: through this story that you released earlier today. The Nationals
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: are not the Dodgers. The Dodgers are not the Nationals.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: But they can start trying to spend like them.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, you nailed it. I will dive in a little
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: depth here. So as Friday was playing out, even before
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: the game, and frankly during the game, I was reminded
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: of an Andrew Friedman quote from the Los Angeles Dodgers
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  Speaker 2: president of baseball operations. Ten years ago, he said if
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: you're rational about every free agent, you'll finish third with
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: every free agent. And the crux there, right, is like
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: you can't be disciplined all the time. You think about
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: then also where the Nationals are at, right? Are they
• 1:16
  Speaker 2: the Dodgers? No. Can they ever spend like the Dodgers?
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Also no. And I think that's a major point of
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  Speaker 2: frustration for Nationals fans, baseball fans. But I will say,
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: and I've looked into this, the Nationals have about $ 50
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: million coming off the books right from players who aren't
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  Speaker 2: even on the 40-man roster right now. If they went
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: into next season with the same roster or similar roster
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  Speaker 2: that they have right now, they would be by far
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: the least expensive team in baseball. The Marlins payroll is
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: about $ 76 million this year. The Nationals would be far
• 1:54
  Speaker 2: below that with... with their current setup. And so for me,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: when I look around and I look at that, I say, Hey,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: the nationals have a pretty good foundation. I don't necessarily
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: think they need to be that irrational, but it also
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: wouldn't be wild or, you know, overly irresponsible for them
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  Speaker 2: to spend on a few big free agents. They could spend,
• 2:17
  Speaker 2: you know, 40 million annually this winter. They could spend
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: 50 million annually this winter and still have one of
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: the smallest payrolls in baseball. And so, for as frustrated
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: as Nationals fans might be or Nationals players might be
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: or anyone might be about the way they've spent the past,
• 2:33
  Speaker 2: and I think there's plenty of reason to feel that way,
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  Speaker 2: I suppose, they're in a spot now where that has
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: actually served them well. And I know that might be
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: frustrating to hear, but it also bodes well for the future, right?
• 2:54
  Speaker 1: Where.
• 2:55
  Speaker 2: You have this opportunity, so to speak, and the Nationals
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: have been so disciplined that they've put themselves in a
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: position where they don't have to be. And I think
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  Speaker 2: that's really interesting looking ahead to the winter.
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's going to be a fun offseason. I think
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: there's going to be a lot to talk about. You
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: don't want to miss any episodes down the stretch, so
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: make sure to subscribe. I'll put that up later. But
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: really quickly, I think we should talk about Jackson Clare,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: who was promoted to the major leagues the other day
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  Speaker 1: and made his major league debut last night and looked
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: quite good. uh, Spencer, what can he add to this bullpen?
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: A little versatility down there. Obviously the relief corpse is
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: what it is right now. Um, but what'd you see
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: from Jackson Claire last night at the major league level? Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I mean, I, I saw 99, which I was not expecting.
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: Right.
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  Speaker 2: Um, we even talked to her before the game where, uh, He,
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: like many others this season, as we've said in this podcast,
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: I don't know, 45 times, 55 times, added velocity, which,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: you know, served him well. It helped all his other
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: pitches play better. It is not the only thing he improved,
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: but it is a major sticking point when you can
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: go from, you know, sitting 94 to 96 or 93
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  Speaker 2: to 95, right? He was sitting 97 yesterday. Which is
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: not even really what I was expecting, right? Because that
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: was even more than he was doing in Rochester. So
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  Speaker 2: when I think about what he might add to this bullpen,
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  Speaker 2: he is another option for them to look at down
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  Speaker 2: the stretch. He has good stuff. He is someone who,
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: like Eric Tolman, like... God, I could basically name everyone
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: in the Nats bullpen, so I won't do it. as
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: someone who is fighting for a chance to be a
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  Speaker 2: part of this team's future needed to be added for
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  Speaker 2: the rule five draft. And candidly, you know, you don't
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: want to read too much into one outing. We said
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: that with debuts, both good and bad, but looked, looked
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  Speaker 2: the part, right. And, you know, if nothing else, that's
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: something to read into after, after one outing, which is
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: really cool. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: I think so, especially in Dodger Stadium, too. We talk
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: about the third deck and the big leagues are different,
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  Speaker 1: but at Dodger Stadium, too, you definitely probably feel the
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: pressure there a little bit more. And he looked sharp
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  Speaker 1: last night.
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  Speaker 2: He did, yeah. It's funny, we were kind of thinking
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: of that, too, up in the press box. It was
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: the same way, and again, this is part of why
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: read into debuts how you will, but Mitchell Parker made
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: his debut at Dodger Stadium last a couple years ago
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  Speaker 2: and did not look rattled at all and just rattled off.
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  Speaker 2: I think it was six or seven really sharp innings. Yeah,
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  Speaker 2: it's a different environment there. It's a different atmosphere. There's
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: honestly probably nothing in baseball to compare it to. San
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  Speaker 2: Diego up next always sells out. Really cool environment. Yankees, Mets...
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  Speaker 2: Phillies gets close at times. Red Sox can get close
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  Speaker 2: at times. But when that place has 49,000 people with
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: sustained energy throughout the game, even in a low leverage situation,
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  Speaker 2: it does not feel low leverage there.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. One of those few ballparks that I think like
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  Speaker 1: on any given night when you pack it, it can
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: kind of feel a little bit like a playoff atmosphere.
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  Speaker 1: And you mentioned San Diego. I'll go ahead and pull
• 6:39
  Speaker 1: up the schedule here. Nationals have a West Coast road
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: trip and then some interleague play when they come back
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: home against the Angels. But if you've never been to
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: San Diego, do yourself a favor and get out there.
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  Speaker 1: That is an exciting ballpark to go watch a baseball
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  Speaker 1: game in. I pulled up to a random August game
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  Speaker 1: and it felt like a playoff atmosphere out there. We
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: have a couple of fan questions to go through that
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: I put out on Bat Boys Baseball the other day.
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  Speaker 1: I'm not sure. How we're going to take this first one,
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: maybe you'll bring it into the clubhouse later today, Spencer.
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  Speaker 1: But Daylon Miles Fan Club asked, what is Daylon's favorite
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  Speaker 1: word in the dictionary? Maybe that's one that you'll be
• 7:19
  Speaker 1: asking later today. I wouldn't be brave enough. And I'm
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: not sure what Daylon's favorite word in the dictionary is,
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: but I felt that if I wasn't putting it up,
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: I wouldn't be doing it justice to our viewers. But
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: I'd say clutch as of late. He's certainly hitting the
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: baseball well. Dalen has been on a roll. I don't know.
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  Speaker 1: Do you have a stab at his favorite word, Spencer?
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  Speaker 2: I got a thing on that one. That's why I
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: love this job. That is a better question than I've
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  Speaker 2: probably asked in a few weeks. Let's circle back to
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  Speaker 2: that one at the end. I need some time to
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  Speaker 2: think on that, but I bet I have an answer
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  Speaker 2: in there somewhere.
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  Speaker 1: We didn't have a ton of fan questions, but the
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: other one was, I think maybe I should have been
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: asking a national this question, but if you could play
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: with any all-time national, Who would it be? I think
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: it would be foolish to not say Ryan Zimmerman, right?
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: You look at this franchise, he's probably an obvious pick.
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: But I'd say, man, Kevin Franzen. When he's not on
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: the show here, he probably had to be a fun
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: guy in the dugout. But Spencer, I'm excited to hear
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  Speaker 1: your answer. I'm targeting you. You have to pick someone
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  Speaker 1: from your time on the beat here.
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  Speaker 2: Oh.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. You can go all time. That wouldn't be fair. But,
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: you know.
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  Speaker 2: No, no, I can get both. Yeah. I think of
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  Speaker 2: it in the context and I even asked this question
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: to fans earlier this year, who they'd most want to
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: see on the active roster. Um, Scherzer was pretty close to, um,
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: there wasn't a consensus, but I would say it was
• 8:47
  Speaker 2: the plurality of answers. Um, again, just think about him
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: on this roster, uh, prime Scherzer, you know, lifting a
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  Speaker 2: pitching staff that, that would need him. Um, Yeah, I
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: guess in terms of who I would want to play alongside,
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  Speaker 2: it's tough to pick one name there. I think it
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  Speaker 2: would be... Yeah, I hate to give some dead air here.
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  Speaker 2: I would say as a pitcher, if I was a pitcher.
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: It would be pretty nice to have Jacob Young in
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  Speaker 2: center field because I would probably give up a lot
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  Speaker 2: of tanks. And so having someone who might be able
• 9:37
  Speaker 2: to reel one or two of those in would be
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: the same way. And then James, again, same way, can
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  Speaker 2: probably rob some home runs, hit some home runs, and
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  Speaker 2: put me in a good spot. So, yeah, just basically
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  Speaker 2: someone in the outfield who can stop me from giving
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  Speaker 2: up a bunch of tanks.
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  Speaker 1: Might have to change my answer. That would probably be wise, too.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: considering I would probably be giving up a lot of
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  Speaker 1: tanks as well. I mentioned it earlier, but don't forget
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: to subscribe to the District Territory podcast on YouTube, Apple, Spotify,
• 10:06
  Speaker 1: wherever you're listening right now. You don't want to miss
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: any of our episodes down the stretch. Nationals have a
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: month of baseball here, but we're going to keep going
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: into the offseason. We're going to keep covering national stories. Spencer,
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: is there anything I suppose you want to toss in
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  Speaker 1: before we wrap up a shorter episode today?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I need to toss in what Dalen's favorite word
• 10:27
  Speaker 2: might be, but I'm still blanking a little bit on
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: this one. Here's what I'll do, Nationals fans. I write
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: the title and description of every episode. I will make
• 10:38
  Speaker 2: sure in the description, if you go down there, that
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: I have the word in there. I know this makes
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: for absolutely terrible podcasting, but I do feel the need
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: to get an answer here and um it is before
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: 8 a.m on the west coast so unfortunately it's not
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: coming to.
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: Me yeah cut cut spencer some slack he had to
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: get up very early for this episode um and it
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: was a late night late night nats uh he works
• 11:03
  Speaker 1: very hard on the title and description of these episodes
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: and and uh he carries he carries for that so
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: go check it out down in the description leave us
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: a comment um I'll just toss him really quickly. It's
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: been so much fun to cover this team. It's, it's
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: been such a privilege to be able to bring you
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: all a nationals content like day in and day out
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: throughout the season. And it's been really cool for me
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: to be able to pick up sort of a B
• 11:27
  Speaker 1: role here where bat boys, I'm covering 30 teams at once.
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: And my head is in a thousand different places. So
• 11:33
  Speaker 1: it brings some normalcy here and to see your all's
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: comments and support has really meant a lot, but we'll
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: be back next week. We're going to have some banger
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: episodes until then. Stay safe with the weather that's going
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: around in D.C. Spencer. Enjoy the nice West Coast weather.
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: We'll see you later.