WASHINGTON — What fun is a sport like baseball — whose endless mines of constantly updating data provide us the fuel to evaluate and reevaluate players and teams in real time — without personal predictions?
Everyone who contributed to our predictions is a baseball fan. We all probably watch nearly as much, if not more baseball than you do each year. We cling to different childhood rooting interests and each view the game through our own prism of experience and memory.
So it should come as no surprise that our predictions vary as much as they do. I posed 10 questions about the Nationals and the rest of baseball to our group. See how they responded and whether your own experience with the game leads you to the same conclusions.
And look below as we break down the expected win bump from a new manager, examine the value of Anthony Rendon, debate which question facing the Nationals is the biggest, preview the Orioles.
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Will the Nationals win the NL East, make the playoffs as a Wild Card, or miss the playoffs? Explain:
J. Brooks, sports anchor: Win NL East, Mets Wild Card.
Chris Cichon, sports/operations: Second in NL East, miss playoffs. Mets win the division.
Noah Frank, digital sports editor: Win NL East, while Mets will struggle with injuries and duke it out with the Marlins for the Wild Card.
Dave Preston, sports anchor: Nationals will finish 92-70 to win the Division before advancing to the NLCS. They lose to San Francisco in six games when Dusty Baker leaves Stephen Strasburg on the mound in the ninth inning of a 3-2 loss.
George Wallace, sports director: Nationals will win the East, because expectations aren’t there like last year. Dusty will have a big influence on the way they approach the game as well. You can already tell that they have a different approach this year.
(AP Photo/Nick Wass)
AP Photo/Nick Wass
How many home runs will Bryce Harper hit?
J. Brooks: 34
Chris Cichon: 41
Noah Frank: 41
Dave Preston: 39
George Wallace: 45
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Which Nationals starter will win the most games?
J. Brooks: Max Scherzer
Chris Cichon: Max Scherzer
Noah Frank: Stephen Strasburg
Dave Preston: Stephen Strasburg
George Wallace: Max Scherzer
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
AP Photo/John Raoux
What date will Lucas Giolito make his MLB debut?
J. Brooks: April 18
Chris Cichon: June 18
Noah Frank: June 13
Dave Preston: June 15
George Wallace: August 24
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Which team will have the biggest increase in wins from last season? (2015 win total in parentheses)
J. Brooks: Cleveland Indians (81)
Chris Cichon: Detroit Tigers (74)
Noah Frank: Miami Marlins (71)
Dave Preston: Detroit Tigers (74)
George Wallace: Boston Red Sox (78)
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
AP Photo/John Raoux
Which team will have the biggest increase in losses from last season? (2015 loss total in parentheses)
J. Brooks: Milwaukee Brewers (94)
Chris Cichon: Minnesota Twins (79)
Noah Frank: St. Louis Cardinals (62)
Dave Preston: Baltimore Orioles (81)
George Wallace: St. Louis Cardinals (62)
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar
Which team that missed the playoffs in 2015 will make it in 2016?
J. Brooks: San Francisco Giants
Chris Cichon: Los Angeles Angels
Noah Frank: Cleveland Indians
Dave Preston: Boston Red Sox
George Wallace: Washington Nationals
(AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
AP Photo/Jeff Chiu
Which team that made the playoffs in 2015 will not in 2016?
J. Brooks: St. Louis Cardinals
Chris Cichon: New York Yankees
Noah Frank: St. Louis Cardinals
Dave Preston: Texas Rangers
George Wallace: New York Mets
(AP Photo/John Minchillo)
AP Photo/John Minchillo
What is your boldest prediction for the season?
J. Brooks: Steve Bartman will be welcomed back to Wrigley Field.
Chris Cichon: The Kansas City Royals will miss the playoffs.
Noah Frank: The only 2015 division winner that will repeat as the feat will be the Texas Rangers.
Dave Preston: Trea Turner doesn’t get called up until September as Danny Espinosa has a fantastic season.
George Wallace: Stephen Strasburg will be traded at the deadline.
(AP Photo/John Raoux)
AP Photo/John Raoux
What is your World Series prediction?
J. Brooks: Cubs over Blue Jays in 6
Chris Cichon: Cubs over Rangers in 5
Noah Frank: Rangers over Cubs in 7
Dave Preston: Giants over Astros in 7
George Wallace: Cubs over Astros in 6
(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)