The Nats Need Stellar Years From 1/2 SP Punch Scherzer + Strasburg Similar To Johnson + Schilling Duo In 2001 – To Win World Series

Max Scherzer was filthy in the 1st half of 2015 – with a 2.11 ERA heading up to the ALL – Star Break, and Stephen Strasburg ended the 2nd half of the year with a 1.90 in his Post ALL – Star games. If these 2 day aces can be in top form for the whole year, and then carry through to the playoffs, it would go a long with their chances to win a World Series. Since Jordan Zimmermann and Doug Fister left, the rotation is not as deep as it once was, yet these guys could make for an unforgettable 1 -2 punch in the postseason, and combined with Bryce Harper, potentially win the Fall Classic this year.

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With Zack Greinke flying the coop in Los Angeles over the winter, all of a sudden, this dynamic pair of Nationals chuckers should be the best back to back starting tandem in the Majors right now.

It is a walk year for Stephen Strasburg.  He has shown flashes of brilliance, but has yet to put it together for the whole year.  You could say his career has kind of been like Schilling’s prior to his arrival in Arizona.

I think both guys could near 20 wins each. have mid 2 ERA’s – and both compete against the NL’s elite for the NL Cy Young Award.

If they have great seasons, it should equal a playoff berth – and if not the NL East Division.  Strasburg’s best two years were in 2012 and 2014, so maybe he is just a better even year pitcher himself.

Scherzer is 53 – 20 with a near 1.00 WHIP and ERA of 3 since the start of the 2013 season.  No doubt these 2 guys will pull up awesome numbers in playing the Marlins, Phillies and Braves for almost 40% of their total games.  Add in the Brewers, Reds, Padres, Rockies to the fold, and that becomes half of the year.

Should Washington make the playoffs, that is exactly why they doled out $210 over 7 years for Scherzer in the first place.  The former Tigers pitcher was pretty damn good in the 1st RD of the postseason for Detroit, going 3 – 1, with an ERA of 2.79 and WHIP of 1.034 in 29 Innings worth of work in the LDS rounds.  I think he could take the next step beyond that.

Last year Scherzer threw 2 no-hitters and nearly tossed 2 more.  He has shown he can last longer than ever before.  He was a workhorse with his 228.2 IP. It was a career high, just like his 276 Strikeouts in that timeframe and his incredible WHIP of 0.918 were.

It is time to for Strasburg to leave it all on the table.  Much like his 34 Game Starts in 2014, where he logged 215 Innings and a NL Leading 242 Strikeouts, the former #1 overall pick could really make a fortune in Free Agency with a banner year. At Age 27 until late July when he turns 28, he is still in his prime years coming for the next few campaigns.

In what can be classified as the best tandem starting duo we have since in the 2000s, Johnson and Schilling were electric in 2001 and 2002, featuring a 90 – 25 combined record, with well over 1300 Strikeouts between them. Johnson won 2 straight NL Cy Young Awards, and Schilling was the runner up. In 2001, they ran through the postseason – collecting 9 of the teams 11 wins – en route to a prevailing 7 game world series win over the 3 time reigning champs – the Yankees. These 2 guys logged 90 Innings over 12 Game Starts in the 2001 playoffs, including Johnson coming out of the pen for 1.1 IP in Game 7 to beat New York a night after starting Game #6 and throwing 7 Innings in a 15 – 2 victory.

16 years ago the D’backs made an unbelievable trade to bring in Curt Schilling in order to combine him with Randy Johnson for a mammoth 1 – 2 pitching duo.  It didn’t workout in 2000 with Schilling only making a few months worth of starts, but it would pave the way for an incredible run the next year.

Both in 2001 and 2002 the 1 – 2 tandem finished in the top 2 spots for the NL Cy Young Award.  While Johnson won both, Schilling was equally as dominant.   Going with records of 45 –  12 and 45 – 13 is incredible for these 2 gentlemen.

For those counting at home, that is a 90 – 25 record spanning 2 seasons, with over 1300 total Strikeouts.  Heck, they both fanned over 300 batters each in 2002, which would be unheard of now,  Johnson fell just 11 K’s short of reaching Nolan Ryan’s all time new modern era mark of 383 whiffs. 

In their first full year together in the desert, the two won the World Series by firing 9 wins and throwing a combined 90 Innings in the postseason.  It really was a 2 man show that completely destroyed the field.

Despite the Yankees pulling rabbits out of their hats against the Bullpen in Games 4 and 5, the two guys helped the Snakes prevail – by pitching almost the entire games in Game 6 and Game 7 at Chase Field.

I saw the majority of Stephen Strasburg’s 2nd half starts, and the most of Max Scherzer’s 1st half starts during 2015. These guys can mow down batters with the best of them. In order to have their legacies fulfilled, they need to capitalize on their 1 year together here. Strasburg in particular, has to stay healthy for the entire season. A nice trend is his best years ths far have been in 2012 and 2014. Like the Giants, he reserves his best stuff for even campaigns. Strasburg was the #1 overall pick in the 2009 Amateur Draft, and is in the last year of his contract with the Nationals in 2016.  At age 27 – turning 28 in July, he can earn himself a fortune with a good season.

Ironically, the 1st year of play for the duo of Scherzer and Strasburg didn’t go as planned either. 

Schilling and Straburg have had similar starts to their careers.  Prior to heading into Arizona. Schilling had spent 9 years with Philly, authoring a 101 – 78 record, with a 3.35 ERA and WHIP of 1.120. Strasburg is 55 – 37. with a lifetime ERA of 3.09 and WHIP 1.095.

Now there is no doubt that ‘Hall of Famer’ Randy Johnson had a bigger pedigree to Scherzer when Schilling joined him, as he was in the middle of 4 straight NL Cy Young Awards, so it would be too much to compare the duo’s.

What I am suggesting is that it will take Scherzer and Strasburg taking the reigns to dominate the playoffs like these two guys did.  Part of that will also to be the best versions of themselves in the regular seasons too. 

In a league that has so few aces, this type of 1 – 2 combination would be even more filthy.

With Bryce Harper playing at an all world level, combined with these aces firing on all cylinders, it could really be a magical year in DC this season.  Perhaps even the franchise could make it first World Series in their existence, and the 1st in Washington since 1933.

There are many great aces in the league that would be considered better favorites to be the best pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Zack Greinke, Madison Bumgarner, or heck even Jake Arrieta, Matt Harvey or Jacob deGrom,  however the ceiling with these 2 guys this season may trump any other pitcher that these clubs could throw in game #2 of a playoff series, as a lot of these throwers may be opposed to Washington if they make it. 

Bumgarner’s one man wrecking crew routine in the 2014 playoffs was a phenomenal display of dominance, however Kansas City couldn’t really send an ace up against to match him pitch for pitch.  Having to go against Scherzer and Strasburg firing on all cylinders would provide a high level of competition for any club to handle.

It will take both men to have career years at the same time – and to perform on the biggest stage of their lives.  Much like 2001 where Johnson and Schilling had their hands in mostly all of the clubs victories, the Nats could ride on the backs of their two #1’s all the way to the promise land.

Max Scherzer was in the running for NL Cy Young Voting in the 1st half of 2015. Despite a small hiccup in July and August – he still authored 2 no hitters for the season, with 2 near misses – in finishing in the top 5 for the Cy Young last campaign. His increased stamina in games for Innings durability, coupled with higher strikeouts and pinpoint accuracy has seen the man improve every year for the last 5 seasons.  Scherzer has won a Cy Young in the American League before in 2013, and does have plenty of playoff experience with his days in Detroit.  2016 represents the best chance for Washington to win the World Series with Strasburg still in the DC area, and Bryce Harper emerging as the best player in the National League.  They probably have no chance to do it without their top 2 Pitchers carrying them.

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