A Few Good Men: 2 - Stairs

Today is Part 2 of our 44 part series examining each player that suited up in a Curly W this year. Yes, this is probably a fool's errand and the worst CapBall move since Joe asked us to take over this blog - but it's also fun.

So sit back, relax, grab a nice cup of (Irish) coffee and enjoy the ride. Let’s get this one out of the way right up front. Matt Stairs.

How he became a Nat: Signed a 1-year, 850k contract in the off-season

The Raw Numbers

Batting Average: .154

RBI: 2

Nats Pitchers with higher BA: 8 (5 if you adjust for small sample sizes, still ridiculous)

WAR: -0.5

Games played: 56

Key Stat: oRAR (offensive runs above replacement-player): -5. That means that a replacement player would have been 5 runs better than Stairs, who was signed, to drive in runs, late in games. Extrapolate that out to a full season and its almost 15 runs he cost the Nats.

Best Game: July 1 against the Pirates. In the bottom of the ninth, with the game tied at 1, he crushed a pitch off Tim Wood to drive in pinch runner Alex Cora ( who, with Stairs, combined for an age of 78. Also one of Davey’s first games…the old man vibe was flowing!!!) and win the game. This was literally the only time he was clutch all season. He was paid 850,000 dollars to be clutch.

Worst Game: Wow… where to start… As a starter he twice went 0-4 with 2ks, May 20 in the “BATTLE OF THE BELTWAY!” and June 29 against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Which Is In California Which Is A State In The United States Of America. Include numerous pinch hitting failures (6-39, 2 RBI) and it’s really tough to label one game his worst. But I have to give it to June 29, a 1-0 loss in which Jzimm gave up 1 run on 4 hits. Stairs was 0-4 with 2ks and left 2 runners in scoring position, including a weak ground out with Zim as the tying run on second in the ninth.

Capball Grade: Is there anything lower than an F? If so, Matt Stairs gets it. He is a good guy and was a good major leaguer for a long time. But his 2011 season with the Nationals was just plain awful by any standard. There was little to no intangible impact on rookies or bench players and he basically had nothing of value to offer the team.

2012 Nats Status: Bill Buckner has a better chance of being Mayor of Boston than Matt Stairs has of returning to Washington.

Stairs Expendable Upon Ankiel's Return

Since Roger Bernadina has taken over outfield duties and become the lead off man of our dreams, there is one inevitable question that has to be answered. What happens to Bernie when Rick Ankiel comes off the 15-day disabled list, possibly in the next week or so?

I am a firm proponent that a player shouldn't lose his starting roster spot because of injury. Ankiel wasn't exactly lighting up the competition at the plate (.221/.302/.288), but he's been playing the outfield solidly and has a cannon for an arm in center field. He's certainly not an ideal 2-hole hitter, but it's hard to argue with his defensive credentials.

Unfortunately for someone on the 25-man roster, when Ankiel returns, someone will need to be sent down or released. Jim Riggleman has said, pretty firmly, that Bernadina is basically the only viable lead off man at this point, and he's absolutely right. So what does that do for the rest of the outfield? Most likely, it puts Ankiel back in CF because of his laser arm, and Roger will end up in LF. Werth isn't going anywhere in right.

These moves will leave Michael Morse and Laynce Nix as power hitting bench players most of the time, which makes one guy very, very expendable: Matt Stairs. You could (pretty easily) argue that Stairs is already expendable with his .095 batting average, absolutely zero extra-base hits, and 8 strikeouts. For comparison, Jason Marquis is hitting .333 with just 4 strikeouts and a double. They both have 21 at-bats, and Marquis is a pitcher.

I know that the Marquis comparison may not be the most solid, but it's fun to point out just how bad Matt Stairs has been while eating up a precious 25-man roster spot. That spot is going to become even more precious when Ankiel returns, and Riggleman has to find some way to keep Bernadina in the lineup. With Nix and Morse providing power from both sides of the plate from the bench, and they're both able to play the field, and they can both actually run the bases, it's easy to see Matt Stairs getting his walking papers in the next few weeks.

What say you, CapBallers? Is Stairs on borrowed time, and how overdue is it?

25 in 25: Matt Stairs (#23)

In 3 days, all the Nationals diehards will be preparing to head to Nationals Park on Opening Day. Until then, we're going to predict the 25 man roster. With one catch. We're going to do it one day at a time. This way, we can provide more in depth thoughts on who we think is going to make the roster, why we think so, and what to expect from them in 2011. On the morning of Opening Day, we'll post the real 25-man compared with what we predicted.

Today, we take at look at a Canadian with more than 14 years of service time: Matt Stairs.

Why?: To be completely honest with you, we're not entirely sure. Jim Riggleman has all but assured fans and writers that Stairs will be part of the Opening Day lineup this season. As if the Nats don't get enough pop from the middle of the lineup with Werth, Zimmerman, LaRoche, Morse, and Ankiel, the Nats Manager feels the need to have a guy on the team that has absolutely no redeeming defensive qualities.

To be sure, Matt Stairs is a beast of a pinch hitter and will act as a good player/hitting coach. Hailing most recently from the Phillies and Padres, Stairs continues to crank home runs as a pinch hitter. But that is literally all he is: a pinch hitter. With a Nats team with a heaping pile of offense already that's trying to concentrate on defense, we don't quite get the commitment to adding Stairs to the 25-man roster.

Also of note, Stairs started his career with the Expos back in 1992, so I guess there's some nostalgia there to be had.... I'm not buying into that though.

What to expect?: Stairs will do what he does: hit lots of home runs in not a lot of at bats. We all know Jim Riggleman's affinity for double switches and playing the manager's mind game, so it's possible that Stairs could get a lot of pinch hit opportunities.

Expect Matt Stairs to hit between 6 and 10 home runs and having a batting average below .250 in about 100 at-bats. Let's hope his presence as a proven professional hitter will help the Nats hitters who will be with the club for the long haul.

BREAKING NEWS: Nats Sign Power LH Bat

No, Adam Dunn is gone. Carlos Pena is already enjoying another losing season on the South Side. It's not Adam LaRoche (yet).

We got Matt Stairs!

Who? Yea the pinch-hit machine that routinely kills fastballs for a living.

You may not know it, but Matt Stairs has 265 career Home Runs. That's incredible. Has anyone in their career hit 250 dingers more quietly than Stairs? His career Slugging percentage is a solid .481. Stairs has posted a positive WAR in 3 of the past 4 seasons, and he has a 16.2 WAR over his career. Over that 19 year career, he has put up very solid numbers per 162 games; 23 HR, 79 RBI, .264 AVG.

But most importantly, he can come in in a key situation and crush a pitch into the Nats bullpen.

Born in Canada, Stairs has said that the only reason he played professional baseball was because he wasn't a good enough hockey player. He will provide veteran leadership and a grinder-type attitude to a young and inexperienced clubhouse.

Stairs was signed in 1989 as a pitcher/shortstop (!!!) by the Montreal Expos, he made his major league debut with the team in May of 1992. By the time Spring Training rolls around, Stairs will be 43 years hold, having made his Major League debut 5 months before Bryce Harper was born. He will take his minor league deal, with an invite to Spring Training, and break camp with the club once the regular season begins. The consummate professional, he knows by now that he won't get too much action in the field and that his true value comes with his power bat off the bench.

Giving us something off the bench that the Nats have not seen since the early days of Wily Mo Pena and Alex Escobar (Former Nats Greats?). Using his patented "Swing-Hard-In-Case-You-Hit-It" approach, I look forward to his exploits in a Curly W.

In case of emergency, use Stairs.