Players stream out of the dugout after Werth’s walk-off.

Now tomorrow is today and the Nationals are still alive to play the deciding Game 5 in the National League Division Series at 8:37 P.M. versus the St. Louis Cardinals in DC.

In true storybook fashion with their backs up against the wall, the Nationals won 2-1 in walk-off fashion thanks to Jayson Werth’s solo home run yesterday. Werth won the 13-pitch at-bat against the Cards 17-game winner Lance Lynn after Lynn threw a 96 mph fastball over the heart of the plate.

The crowd that was initially tentative all night after Wednesday’s 8-0 shutout loss gradually became more and more excited as the game progressed. Left-hander Ross Detwiler pitched six innings allowing one unearned run and was followed by scoreless relief performances by Jordan Zimmermann, Tyler Clippard, and Drew Storen. By time Werth blasted the home run into the visiting bullpen, the ballpark–all 44,392–exploded.

“It sounded like RFK when the Redskins were good. You can’t hear the person next to you and they’re screaming,” Nationals principle owner Mark Lerner said.

The Nationals poured out of the dugout, knowing that they lived to play once more. Tonight amidst the nerves and anxiousness for players and fans alike, 21-game winner Gio Gonzalez will face off against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright. Seeing Wainwright for the second time in the series may benefit the Nationals struggling offence who have been outscored by 14 runs in this series.

Tonight culminates years of developing a farm system, painful losing seasons, and a season of games fought (and many of which were won) despite a dugout filled with injuries at times. The Nationals have a chance to win the series and advance to the league championship series where they would play the San Francisco Giants. But tonight, no matter what happens, the Nationals will experience October baseball knowing they pieced together a season to be proud of.

Best quote from last night:

“I think I screamed so loud I almost threw up. It was unbelievable.” –Kurt Suzuki

Other (playoff) goodness:

• Mark DeRosa helped fuel motivation last night by reading Theodore Roosevelt’s “The man in the Arena” speech. The speech, a microphone, and couple F-bombs made for a good motivator.
• Jayson Werth’s walk-off home run may be one of the biggest hits of the year, so it only makes sense that Charlie Slowes call of the home run is just as epic.
• There’s a Jayson Werth cupcake from Fluffy Thoughts Cakes in Virginia, and it’s not pretty cool. It’s pretty awesome.
• The FOX5 anchors paid tribute to the walk-off hero last night in the only proper way, really: their own Werth beards.
• A-ha’s “Take on Me” isn’t just Michael Morse’s at-bat song anymore, but an opportunity for fans to “finish the chorus in banshee falsetto.”
• Speaking of “Take on Me,”  if you’ve never sang along at Nationals Park, you definitely need to hear it for yourself. Even if you have sang it along, just listen to it again.
• And now Morse has even struck up a friendship with the 80′s band.
• On a different note, the Nationals always make a point to honor the armed forces during games and they gave one military family a very special surprise.

One thing is always consistent when the trade deadline comes around: we all expect craziness. We look forward to the scramble, the drama, and the excitement. It rarely lives up to the hype, and yesterday the Nats were part of that lack of motion.

And they’re possibly a better team for it.

The Nats are 2.5 games ahead of the Braves for first in the NL East. Their 61-41 record is second in the league (and majors) behind Cincinnati, who has just one more win at 62-41. They are ahead of the 60-43 Yankees.

Since Michael Morse has returned to the lineup and Steve Lombardozzi found his stride, the once putrid offense has become consistent (save for last night). The pitching has continues to be superb, and it more than good enough to make a deep playoff run.

There were two areas the Nats could have improved on before 4 p.m. yesterday: a strong bat for offensive insurance and veteran playoff experience to potentially guide the team in the fall. Both of these things, however, would have cost the Nats more than they were worth.

Unlike years past, the Nats could’ve lost at the deadline. They had pieces that if traded, could’ve put their season in jeopardy. They also weren’t desperate. Being in first place means you can afford to be cautious. In fact, it means you can’t afford not to.

Everyone always wants their team to make a dramatics move, to shake everything up and bring in a big player. But Mike Rizzo probably made the best move possible…by not making one.

With the added wild card team, more teams are in the playoff race. That means fewer sellers at the deadline, as everyone is nervous to make a move that would cost their team the post season. There were fewer players on the table this season, and the price for those players available was higher because of it.

This team is good. They’ve proven that through 4 months of play. Rizzo is right to let this group play it out, and work for the playoffs to complete the turnaround together.

Coming into the 2012 season, there was something the Nationals were used to having to deal with: expectations.

With big off season moves, the impending debut of Bryce Harper, and the momentum the Nats took into the off season at the end of 2011, everyone was expecting an improvement.  To say anyone expected the Nats being in first place at the All-Star Break (and having been in that position most of the year) would be crazy.

Yet that’s where we stand.  The Nats are not only first in the NL East, but they have the best record in the National League at the halfway point of the season.  Here’s a look at what the top stories of 2012 have been.

Pitching

» Continue reading “Nats At The Half”

Moore had 2 HR and 5 RBI today against the Blue Jays

The Nats busted out the brooms in Toronto this afternoon, sweeping the Blue Jays and continuing their dominance in interleague play against the AL East.  They are now 15 games over .500 and have a 4 game lead in the NL East.

There are many reasons the Nats are clicking right now.  Starting pitching continues to be superb of course, but what has made the difference is the offense.

Remember how everyone hated Bryce Harper because he ran his mouth without backing it up? Well he has spent the last few weeks backing it up.  His average is over .300 and while he isn’t hitting home runs every day, he has been more consistent than many of the veterans at the plate.

While the return of Michael Morse helped, what made the difference in Toronto was rookie play.  Between Harper, Steve Lombardozzi, and Tyler Moore, the newest Nats went 13-30 with a walk, 3 doubles, 3 home runs, 7 runs scored and 7 RBI.

» Continue reading “Nats Sweep Jays, Win 6th Straight”

In the end, it took 12 innings and a total of four hours and fifteen minutes. But the Nats pulled out one of their comeback wins and came out on top. During a game filled with missed chances (the Nationals left 14 men on base) and a comedy of errors (the Mets had 3 errors), it seems fitting that the game outcome was to be decided by Bryce Harper, arguably one of the biggest and crucial pieces of the Nationals future.

Bryce Harper’s first game winning hit of his career propelled the Nationals over their division rival New York Mets to win 7-6. Earlier this week Harper was named the NL rookie of the month of May and he’s had a plethora of firsts in his short time in the majors. Yesterday he added another first: the first teenager to deliver a walk off hit since 1988.

His teammates were more than happy to celebrate with him. Ryan Zimmerman leaped into Harper’s arms after he crossed first, and Michael Morse doused Harper with the Gatorade sending MASN sideline reporter Kristina Akra looking for cover once again. (Which, by the way, she’s getting better at avoid. Hazards of the job, I guess.)

It’s no secret that this kid Bryce Harper is getting immense local and national attention. Since he was put on the cover of SI years a go, most (if not all) of Harper’s actions have been scrutinized. Him blowing a kiss to the opposing pitcher in the Minors. His dog. His on and off again twitter usage. And how could one talk about Bryce Harper if they didn’t mention his eye black (which is considerably subdued since he joined the Nationals) or his mohawk and other hairstyles?

» Continue reading “About a kid”

We’ve mentioned the offensive struggles that this team has faced time and time again.  They can’t get runs home.  They can’t get on base. They need someone with consistency to put them over the edge.

The funny thing is, they had that guy on their roster all along: Michael Morse.  And with his rehab stint in Potomac almost over, the Nats will get their best slugger from 2011 back in the lineup soon.

Morse hasn’t blown anyone away in his rehab games, but most importantly he hasn’t suffered any set backs.  When he does inevitably return to the Nationals (and this could be sooner rather than later) he will be 100% healthy and ready to go.

Last season, Morse batted .303 and hit 31 home runs for the Nationals.  There had been some concerns about the hole that the departure of Adam Dunn created, but Morse was given an opportunity through various injuries and blew everyone away.  He was easily the breakout star of the season, almost making it to the All-Star game.

» Continue reading “Morse Nearing Return To Nats”

Despite the hype and high expectations from them every night, the Nationals pitchers are not infallible.  It is a very solid five-man rotation that gives the Nats a chance to win each and every game, but there is more to a baseball team than their pitching.

Last night, Edwin Jackson pitched a fine game.  He allowed 5 hits, just one earned run, walked three and struck out three.  Allowing 2 runs would normally be enough for a team to win, but instead Jackson gets hung with the blame after an errant throw.  The Nats went on to lose 3-1.

The reality of the Nationals’ season so far is that the pitching has to be perfect in order for the team to get it done.  It may be the reality, but it is far from fair, as is the criticism many of the pitchers get after less-than-flawless outings.

The pitching is rarely (if ever) the reason the Nats lose a game.  An MLB team should be able to score 3-4 runs more often than not.  They should be able to build off of the chance the man on the mound has given them.  Time and time again, the Nats fail to do that.

» Continue reading “NEWSFLASH: Nats Pitchers Aren’t Perfect”

Injury graphic on the Nationals, via Washington Post

“This team is beat up more than any one I’ve ever had.”

Davey Johnson knows the walking wounding when he sees them.

And somehow, the Nats are still in first place.  Granted, it’s just by a half game over the Braves, but don’t knock it. After having their best April ever (they ended the month with a 14-8 record), May is shaping up nicely as well. Oh, and all this is happening with some of their key players out with injuries.

Despite OintmentGate and the miscues in Strasburg’s start on Tuesday (somebody want to catch that pop up? Oh…no?), Gonzalez took control yesterday against the Pirates at home with 10 strikeouts.

He even got some offensive help from Adam LaRoche and his 1000th career hit (which included a home run and bases clearing double) and Xavier Nady(!) who hit his 100th career home run. Henry Rodriguez even decided to exercise his closer abilities and was able to keep the Pirates from causing too much damage.

The Nats went on to beat the Pirates 7-4. (Somewhere Jordan Zimmermann is asking them to save some runs for him.)

So what’s this saying? The Nats are winning. The team is coming together. And that’s with Drew Storen, Chien-Ming Wang, Brad Lidge, Michael Morse, Jayson Werth, Wilson Ramos, Mark DeRosa and Sandy Leon injured. (This isn’t including Ryan Zimmerman, who also made a DL stint earlier this season.) For the most part all the players on the DL were projected key players of the Opening Day roster. Also, the players on the DL aren’t just injured, they’re long term injuries. Expected return dates range from months to a year.

» Continue reading “The Casualties”

What’s the fun in playing with a full roster? That’s what the baseball gods must be saying to the Nationals, who lost ANOTHER key player in Wilson Ramos to an ACL injury.

At this point, the Nats should just buy their own rehabilitation center in bus form at the rate everyone is getting injured.  It could be so many things (luck, training) but I prefer to think of it as sabotage at the hands of the Phillies and their sidekick Orioles (let’s kick up these rivalries!).

The Nats are now missing Jayson Werth, Michael Morse, and Ramos, all keys at the plate.  Pitchers Drew Storen, Brad Lidge, and Chien-Ming Wang are also injured.  Have you all heard of this fun thing called stretching? Geez!

The kind of good news is that the Nats are still doing well.  Despite the injuries and the losses, the team continues to exceed expectations in the early months of the season.  The pitching has remained strong, playing a huge role in not missing a medical beat.

» Continue reading “Another Nat Bites The Dust”

We we know from last night, the Nats lost their 5th straight.  There could be a lot of factors: newness of the season wearing off, lack of offense, tougher opponents…but none of those change the fact that the Nats are still a first-place team and need to turn this streak around. Here’s what’s going on.

-One of the options, lack of offense, is a pretty big part of the losing. [Nats Blog]

-Michael Morse is eyeing a June return to the Nationals. Let’s hope he can get there. [Nats Enquirer]

-Even with Harper, the Nats are having offensive troubles.  Granted, he’s been a very smart batter, so not much slugging yet. [CSN Washington]

-Harper was all we talked about while he was still in the minors. Now that he’s up, HE’S EVERYWHERE! [Wash Times]

-A list of injury updates, as well as Mike Rizzo saying that he is not shopping around for help as the Nats’ injuries continue to build. [Nats Journal]