Nats "under the radar?" Strasburg thinks so

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Stephen Strasburg was asked yesterday how he feels the Nationals stack up to the rest of the National League as spring training camps open across Florida and Arizona. The right-hander's response might catch you by surprise.

"I think we're under the radar a little bit," he said. "There's a lot of moves, a lot of changes, lot of new faces (around the majors), but I think there's some question marks. I think you get this feeling that this is like our bubble, this is our window."

Strasburg, mind you, wasn't suggesting he believes the Nationals' bubble is about to burst, or that he believes their window for winning a title is about to close. But he seemed to be suggesting he thinks everyone else is viewing the Nationals in that light. And with the Cubs, Dodgers and Giants in the NL, and the Yankees and Astros in the AL drawing much of the attention this winter and into the spring, he's probably right that the Nats have been sort of flying under the radar.

Not that they should be. Last time anyone checked, the Nationals have won four division titles in six years. They won 97 games a year ago and won their division by 20 games. And they return nearly their entire roster, with only minor tweaks on the fringes.

Under the radar? Shouldn't the Nationals be among the most talked about teams in the sport right now?

"Yeah, (but) you know how the game goes," Strasburg said. "I'm 29 now. I'm not that old, but it's always on to the newer, younger thing, and what's more relevant. We didn't really make any moves. We didn't really sign anybody big as of yet. I guess there's just other storylines, and that's fine."

It's not simply the media that glossed over the Nationals this winter. The analytics community did, as well. FanGraphs.com predicts them to win 91 games (sixth-most in the majors). Baseball Prospectus' PECOTA system projects them to win 89 games (fewest among any division winner).

Maybe they all know something we don't. Maybe the 2018 Nationals are destined to come back to earth and disappoint the way the 2013 and 2015 clubs did.

But for the guys inside the clubhouse here, optimism remains as high as it ever was. They expect to win big this year, even if few on the outside are paying attention.

"We don't really need that anyway," Strasburg said. "We perform better when we sort of stay in our lane and have that tunnel vision throughout the year."