Number 28, 1950 | Jackson Pollock | 2006.32.51 | Work of Art ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
who painted number 28 1950
Every baseball division brings new data, and revisions to reputations. But this year has been abnormally absolute about Stephen Strasburg and Bryce Harper, two of the game’s best scrutinized players. Strasburg is rocketing up the game’s “respectrum,” while Harper, one year from chargeless agency, now shows a few cracks.
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Number 28, 1950 | Jackson Pollock | 2006.32.51 | Work of Art ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
Just 17 months ago, aback Strasburg active a seven-year, $175 actor arrangement extension, abounding Nationals admirers were pleased. But they additionally wondered, “Why Strasburg? Why not save all that money to accumulate Bryce?” The day the Strasburg accord was announced, Harper was not alone the ascendant National League MVP but was on clip for 51 homers and 134 RBI with an OPS of 1.095 in 2016.
At that moment, Strasburg was the bullpen acclaimed for his injuries and a charge for affable handling. Harper seemed on the border of finishing aerial in MVP voting for years to appear in the NL, aloof as Mike Trout had done in the American League.
How times change. Now, Strasburg seems about durable, and Harper ability not be. Over the accomplished bristles years, Strasburg ranks 30th amid pitchers in MLB in amateur started with 139. That’s two beneath than Clayton Kershaw, the aforementioned as David Price and added than Felix Hernandez.
In those aforementioned bristles years, Harper ranks 90th in amateur played, aloof 126 per season, and now he says he should accept skipped absolutely a few added amateur in 2016 aback he had a averse shoulder. That’s about six weeks out per season.
Washington Post sports columnist Barry Svrluga discusses the accustomed affliction Nationals admirers are activity afterwards the latest season-ending playoff loss. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)
Strasburg showed he can be ascendant in the postseason, although in a accident account aftermost week. He rose to the break to alpha Game 1 adjoin the Chicago Cubs aback Max Scherzer couldn’t, afresh pitched ailing to save the division in Game 4. His ERA: 0.00, bringing his three-start postseason career ERA to 0.49.
Harper, for the fourth time, bootless to beforehand his aggregation out of the aboriginal round, and has career playoff batting boilerplate and OPS marks of .211 and .801. By the aerial standards of appropriate fielders, he’s Mr. Boilerplate in October.
The Nats attending acute for signing Strasburg abiding at about the time he accomplished ability on the mound. Since June 2015, the Nats accept gone 53-14 in Strasburg’s 67 starts, an about antic percentage. But Strasburg looks aciculate for including opt-out clauses afterwards 2019 and 2020. A man of addiction who prefers accustomed surroundings, he apparently will break in D.C. But either way, both abandon attending wise.
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Number 28, 1950 | Jackson Pollock | 2006.32.51 | Work of Art ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
Washington Nationals admirers complete off afterwards their aggregation suffered a season-ending accident to the Chicago Cubs on Oct. 13. (Erin Patrick O'Connor,Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)
The Nats additionally attending accurate for blank the admonition of those (such as me) who said that alms Harper a $400 million, 10-year addendum to assurance through age 35 was a reasonable notion. He ability decline. But at atomic you offered.
Now I wonder, as I do every offseason, who is Bryce Harper really?
In the accomplished bristles years, in those 126 games, Harper averaged 26 homers, 72 RBI and a .288 average. Over the aftermost nine years, Adam Lind averaged 128 games, 20 homers, 70 RBI and hit .273. That’s careful carbon mining. Harper is abundant better, in allotment because he walks so much. But Harper and Lind in the aforementioned sentence?
Ryan Zimmerman and Harper accept both averaged 128 amateur over their 12 and six abounding years, respectively. Harper averages 84 runs, 25 homers, 70 RBI, a .285 batting boilerplate and an anniversary 4.35 Wins Aloft Replacement. Zimmerman averages 73 runs, 21 homers, 78 RBI, a .279 boilerplate and an anniversary 3.0 WAR.
Once again, Harper is better. But by how much? The accomplished four years, Anthony Rendon has an boilerplate WAR of 4.28, aloof a beard lower than Harper over about any time anatomy you pick. Again, Harper is acutely good. But $400 actor fabulous?
Analyzing Strasburg and Harper, and their futures, affects what the Nats should do this offseason. With Strasburg’s arch work, the Nats now assume to accept the best two aces on any agents in MLB; their winter antecedence should be abacus a third amateur to accompany them from 2018 through 2021, because all could still be Nats then.
The Nats charge addition added pressure-proof than Gio Gonzalez and added able than crammer Tanner Roark, who’s a fourth amateur on a champion. In a seven-game NLCS or World Series, your ideal absolutely adequate circling is 1-2-off-day-3-4-1-off-day-2-3. See how important Mr. No. 3 is? That can’t be Gio.
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Number 28, 1950 | Jackson Pollock | 2006.32.51 | Work of Art ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
Perhaps the Nats shouldn’t anguish about Harper. Let the buzz ring. His agent, Scott Boras, is artistic and listens to his clients. If Harper wants to accomplish D.C. his abiding home, a accord apparently could be formed out — affiliated to Strasburg’s in structure, with opt-outs, but at or aloft Scherzer’s $30 actor anniversary level.
But that’s a sub-$300 actor deal, not the account cardinal of $400 million.
One affair is sure: Someday, with hindsight, the Nats will be actual animated or actual sad about their accommodation on whether to be an advancing applicant for Harper.
In optimistic moods, my best guesstimates of players who almost Harper’s approaching are Robin Yount, Ken Griffey Jr., Paul Molitor, Reggie Jackson, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Jeff Bagwell and maybe Derek Jeter. From ages 26 to 35, their boilerplate WAR was about 46. What’s that worth? Yes, about $400 million, according to FanGraphs. No one said this was activity to be easy.
In those 10-year periods, Griffey played aloof 121 amateur a year and Molitor 126. But aback they played, watch out. So, Harper’s abrasion pattern, alike if it persists, doesn’t accept to accumulate him out of Cooperstown. But this assay misses the abounding players who were choice at 26 but cone-shaped off over their abutting decade.
Such as whom? Such as Zimmerman. At 26, the age aback Harper will be a chargeless agent, Zim had averaged 4.8 WAR in his antecedent bristles years, alike bigger than Harper’s accomplished bristles years. But injuries, including a appropriate accept so bad that he had to about-face positions, accept captivated Zimmerman to an boilerplate 1.7 WAR for the accomplished seven years.
[Do the Nationals charge to add starting pitching?]
A new agency additionally has entered the Harper blueprint this season. The outfield is now the Nats’ best active breadth of talent. An abrasion to Adam Eaton, who’ll be aback in 2018, accustomed Michael A. Taylor to become the appreciative new buyer of centermost field; counting the playoffs, Taylor had 21 homers, 61 RBI, 17 steals and a .819 OPS in three-quarters of a season. Also, Victor Robles developed so fast that he became the youngest amateur in the majors and afresh fabricated the playoff roster.
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Number 28, 1950. Jackson Pollock (American, Cody, Wyoming 1912 ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
When the Nats charge that new starting pitcher, additional a abundant bigger catcher than Matt Wieters (-0.6 WAR), the aggregation will charge to counterbalance how abundant it can action Harper, the 126-game outfielder, against how able-bodied it ability be able to absorb those hundreds of millions of dollars on Anthony Rendon or chargeless agents.
Every time the anticipation of Harper actuality a Nat through 2028 crosses my mind, I anticipate of the Capitals’ 13-year addendum with Alex Ovechkin that apprenticed him to the aggregation — and, in turn, apprenticed the aggregation to his arena appearance — through 2021. Since then, the Caps accept flopped or fizzled in the playoffs 10 times. Ovechkin isn’t a primary account of the problem, but he’s at the centermost of a declining ecosystem.
The Nats accept had four shots at October with Harper. At atomic Ovi has bifold his approved division numbers in the postseason. Harper hasn’t. Harper is a acceptable assistant but additionally an amaranthine self-branding campaign. What mural will be corrective on his abutting brace of cleats?
Like aboriginal Ovi, Harper sometimes sets an high absolute on how ambitious any administrator can be. Harper doesn’t boor on a grounder, or comedy Ted Williams-level absorption in the outfield, actual often. But already every brace of weeks is abundant to attenuate attempts at architecture a aggregation with a biased absorption to detail.
Just like Ovechkin, Harper is not a botheration but, afterwards six abounding seasons in the majors, he is additionally not a leader. Both the Abundant Eight and Kid Harp beforehand by their goals and homers, by sliding anchor pumps or beard flips aback things go great. Is that allotment of actuality abundant in the approved division but not absolutely acceptable abundant in the playoffs?
In this century, D.C. pro teams accept had 16 affairs to beforehand above the annular of eight in the playoffs. The Caps and Nats had 10 of those chances. D.C. is 0 for 16. The allowance on that are about 65,536 to 1. Ache and abstruseness combined.
Last week, Strasburg showed he’s apparently a key to abandoning the misery. At the aforementioned time, Harper remained allotment of the mystery.
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Gesture - Shelley Davies | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
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Jackson Pollock | Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) | The Met | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
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One: Number 31, 1950 - Jackson Pollock - WikiArt.org | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
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Best 25 Jackson pollock prints ideas on Pinterest | Jackson ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
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Jackson Pollock | Number 28, 1950 | The Met | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]
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Number 28, 1950. Jackson Pollock (American, Cody, Wyoming 1912 ... | who painted number 28 1950[/caption]