In a vacuum, what’s not to like?
Bryce Harper is back. So is Max Scherzer, who may again win the National League Cy Young Award this offseason. Stephen Strasburg has reached his peak. Daniel Murphy is around for one more year. Ryan Zimmerman just had a career season. The bullpen, that dreaded rectangular abyss for much of last season, has a clear closer and setup man.
Seemingly, prospective Washington Nationals managers would be consistently knocking on the Lerner family’s door, or at least buzzing the gate. They would be telling Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo how they could vault the team out of the first round of the playoffs, a prerequisite for the position, according to him.