This is the ageless question sports franchises and owners ask. Do we play to win now or to we plan for the future? The problem I have with the latter option (plan for the future) is does the future ever really get here?
Today, Washington Nationals skipper, Davey Johnson, announced that one of baseball's premiere pitchers is done for the season. This decision is no surprise as it was announced early on in the season that Stephen Strasburg would be pitching a limited number of innings. Once that number was matched, he would be benched. He will finish the season with 159 1/3 innings pitched (160 innings was the limit the Nationals were reporting from the beginning) with 197 strikeouts. This is a result to his Tommy John surgery he had done in 2010. The 2012 season was his first full season since the procedure.
This is just another example of the question: play for the moment or the future? I definitely understand preserving your talent/players for that dynasty. What happens if that dynasty never arrives? What happens if the player (Strasburg in this case) gets injured next season? Then, you as an owner/GM/coach would be second guessing yourself. I should have left him in and won the championship that year. The Nationals are the best team in baseball at the moment with a record of 85-53. The Cincinnati Reds are the next team with a record of 83-56 and appearing to only be getting stronger with the return of all-star Joey Votto. In their division (NL East), the Atlanta Braves are behind them with a record of 79-60. With the loss of Strasburg and with the return of Votto and the Braves playing good baseball lately, they will not have that weapon to help them secure the number 1 spot in the National League. Even if they do advance to the World Series, they could potentially face the New York Yankees with possibly the toughest lineup to face or the Texas Rangers who have been to the October Classic the last 2 years or the Los Angeles Angels with Pujols.
I say play for the moment. You are not guaranteed to have this good of a season and make it back to the World Series (if you even make it this year) next year. It is rare for teams to be almost expected to get back
to the championship almost every year. In MLB you have the Yankees, Rangers and Cardinals who could fall into that category. In the NFL you have an even smaller number with the high turn-around but you could argue at the moment it would be the Patriots and Packers. In the NBA, where it is most common, you have, historically, the Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat added to that group. Play for now. Win the championship now. The Nationals franchise has not been to the playoff since 1981 as the Montreal Expos. Washington has not had a team in the World Series since 1933 (Senators). This is their best chance in decades!
I completely understand building your team, your product to be successful for years. But I am also a believer in trying to win the championship now. Live for the present. Anything can happen in the future. I am a lifelong Bengals fan. I am tired of hearing "we are building for the future" and it took 20 years for the future to finally arrive. Play for now. Win it all now. Most teams in professional sports that are champions were NOT dynasties. To wrap this up, here is a list of dynasties that I can think of (dynasty used loosely and in MY opinion) in the sports I am knowledgeable on (NFL, NBA and MLB) just to show how little it happens. Play for now.
-Greg Tepe
Here are some dynasties I can think of:
NFL:
70s Pittsburgh Steelers
80s San Francisco Giants
90s Dallas Cowboys
00s New England Patriots
NBA:
50s Minneapolis Lakers
50s/60s Boston Celtics
80s Boston Celtics
80s Los Angeles Lakers
90s Chicago Bulls
00s Los Angeles Lakers
MLB:
20s New York Yankees
40s New York Yankees
50s New York Yankees
70s Cincinnati Reds
80s Oakland Athletics
90s Atlanta Braves (who only won ONE championship; won division almost every year of 90s)
00s New York Yankees
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