Max Scherzer aims to improve and evolve in 2015
Where does Max Scherzer go from here after winning the American League Cy Young award in 2013 and signing a seven-year, $210 million contract with the Washington Nationals in January?
Upwards and onwards, according to the man himself. With an emphasis on upwards.
Scherzer arrived to Nationals camp on Friday not knowing where to park his car or carry his bags, but he knows exactly what he wants to do this spring and all throughout the new season. He wants to get better, and he wants to help get Washington over the hump in the National League playoffs.
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“I’m always trying to find a way to get better,” Scherzer said. “In sports, you never stay the same. You either get better or you get worse. I’m focused on getting better. There are things I can do this year that I haven’t been able to do in the past. I’m looking to continue to get better every time I’m on the mound.”
There is a third option, actually. Sometimes pitchers simply level off, which is what Scherzer appeared to do last season. After going 21-3 with a 2.90 ERA and 144 ERA+ in his award-winning season, Scherzer’s numbers were slightly down in all three categories in 2014 (18-5 with a 3.15 ERA and 127 ERA+), but certainly not enough to fret over.
Is there room for more improvement though at age 30? Undoubtedly, and moving back to the National League can only help. But it’s about more than dressing up already terrific numbers. Those will sustain on their own if he’s doing his job. It’s about staying ahead of the curve and evolving, as Scherzer put it.
“[I want to] have my pitches evolve, keep getting more consistent with everything I do. That’s the most I can tell you.”
That’s all we need to know for now.
As for team expectations, Scherzer further emphasized what was already said. As good as their starting pitching looks on paper with Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann, Doug Fister and Gio Gonzalez, it will take all five of them continuing to evolve and continuing to improve to take another step forward. The games aren’t played on paper, otherwise Scherzer and his former Tigers teammates may have already faced these Nationals in a World Series.
“Obviously, we are as talented as anybody in the league right now. On paper, we look great. That doesn’t mean anything when you go out there during the season, because everybody would be gunning for us and everybody wants to take their best shot at us. It’s a matter of what we do in response to that — how much hard work we have to put in to be at our best.”
A lot of what Scherzer said during his first days at Nationals camp can be dismissed as cliched, but there’s truth to all of it. The San Francisco Giants and St. Louis Cardinals have proven year after year that there’s a difference between expectation and execution, and now the Nationals must collectively figure out how to cross that line.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
