The Nationals first round selection was officially protected withe the results of the games of 9/9. The first 15 picks of the first round are not used for Type A free agent compensation., the Nats can pick no lower than #13.
| MLB | W | L | GA | Left | Tragic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 47 | 92 | 0.0 | 23 | - |
| Kansas City | 54 | 85 | 7.0 | 23 | 16 |
| Pittsburgh | 54 | 84 | 7.5 | 24 | 16 |
| Baltimore | 56 | 83 | 9.0 | 23 | 14 |
| Cleveland | 60 | 79 | 13.0 | 23 | 10 |
| Arizona | 62 | 79 | 14.0 | 21 | 8 |
| Oakland | 62 | 77 | 15.0 | 23 | 8 |
| NY Mets | 62 | 77 | 15.0 | 23 | 8 |
| Toronto | 62 | 77 | 15.0 | 23 | 8 |
| San Diego | 63 | 78 | 15.0 | 21 | 7 |
| Cincinnati | 63 | 76 | 16.0 | 23 | 7 |
| Milwaukee | 66 | 73 | 19.0 | 23 | 4 |
| Houston | 68 | 71 | 21.0 | 23 | 2 |
Eliminated (17): Yankees, Angels, Cardinals, Dodgers, Red Sox, Phillies, Rockies, Rangers, Giants, Tigers, Marlins, Rays, Mariners, Cubs, Braves, Twins, & White Sox
#1 by joNAThan - September 10th, 2009 at 08:56
Thank you KC.
#2 by Berndaddy - September 10th, 2009 at 09:57
Brian not to sound stupid but what does the actual tragic number signify? Why 16? I’ve been afraid to ask…
#3 by Brian Oliver - September 10th, 2009 at 10:02
Berndaddy – Any combination of Nationals losses and Royals wins that sum to 16 clinch the #1 overall pick.
You start with 162 games. Subtract the number of Nats losses. And then subtract the number of the Royals wins.
It’s like calculating the Magic Number for clinching a division, but in reverse. And since the Nats hold all tiebreakers based on having the worst record in 2008, they “win” any time they have an identical record to another team.
#4 by Brian Oliver - September 10th, 2009 at 10:05
or you can think about it this way … if the Royals were to win 16 more games, they would finish 70-92. The best the Nationals could finish would be 23-0 which would put them at an identical 70-92 record and since the Nationals had a worse record than the Royals in 2008, the Nationals would “win” the tiebreaker
#5 by Berndaddy - September 10th, 2009 at 10:14
Cool, now I know why I’m a musician… let me know if you want to learn how to play the guitar, voice, bass, percussions or some others I got you covered, bro. Thankfully you got me covered here…
#6 by Pilchard - September 10th, 2009 at 10:17
Put another way; this all means that the Nats will have the #1 pick in the December Rule V draft and the 2010 June Amateur draft as the Nats trail KC and Pitt by 7 with 3 weeks and one weekend series left in the 2009 season.
#7 by Dick - September 10th, 2009 at 10:19
Or if the Royals went 0-23, Washington could go 7-16 and still get the first pick. So every game the Royals win the rest of the way allows Washington to win one game more than 7 and still get the first pick.
If the Royals finish with a horrible 5-18 run, for example, the Nats could go 12-11(ain’t happening) and still get the first pick. For that matter, the Pirates could go 5-19, which is entirely plausible, and the Nats would have to have a winning record the rest of the way to get ‘passed’.
In other words, Mike Rizzo can go ahead and order a Bryce Harper jersey today, if that is his fancy. This year won’t be the nail-biter the Strasburg sweepstakes was last year.
#8 by dd - September 10th, 2009 at 15:17
This “magic number” countdown is an exercise in futility! Brian, are there other minor league notes/articles to post? I appreciate your insights, notes and stats, but would it just be possible to announce the inevitable on the day it happens. Much prefer minor league news! Respectfully
#9 by Brian Oliver - September 10th, 2009 at 15:20
dd – There is nothing minor leagues to report. I am trying to see if I can get my hands on the Instructional League roster but for now, there isn’t much about the farm to talk about
#10 by Pilchard - September 10th, 2009 at 15:46
The reason why Strasburg and Storen are in DC this week is because there simply are no minor league teams for the Nats #1 picks to workout with as no Nats team made the playoffs (other than the GCL Nats who already won the title), and the Instructional League and and the Arizona Fall League have not gotten in gear.
So, the sorry MLB Nats and the tragic # countdown are the only Nats team with news to report right now as they are the only Nats affliate that is either playing or practicing right now.
#11 by peric - September 10th, 2009 at 15:49
Someone on the Nats must follow Brian …
After the big announcement Ian Desmond is in the starting lineup for the Nats today against the Phillies at shortstop.
#12 by Berndaddy - September 10th, 2009 at 16:32
Any insight is insightful and much appreciated. Thanks again Brian for all your hard work on top of your real life responsiblities. I couldn’t do it.
#13 by BinM - September 11th, 2009 at 12:36
Since the current WSH team looks no better than 56-106 for 2009, the “magic” number may only be three. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.