Posted on October 11th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The biggest game in Washington Nationals history was nowhere close to that magnitude for starter Edwin Jackson, who entered Wednesday having pitched in a pair of World Series in prior years. Game 3 of the National League Division Series, by definition, isn’t comparable to what’s at stake in the postseason’s latter stages.
The Nats’ last chance to move on wasn’t in Jackson’s right hand when he started Washington’s first home MLB playoff game since 1933. The final weight ultimately would come to rest on Game 4 starter Ross Detwiler and (if necessary) Game 5 starter Gio Gonzalez.
Jackson was supposed to span the gap.
While the bridge didn’t experience a total collapse, there was significant crumbling at the beginning.
Instead of crossing over to the brink of the NLCS, Washington was left on the verge of extinction as St. Louis got to Jackson early in an 8-0 loss. All of his postseason experience went for naught as the Cards tagged him for four runs on six hits through two innings. He settled down after that, but it was too late.
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Posted on October 11th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Outfielder Jayson Werth was among Washington’s most carefree players after Game 3 of the National League Division Series, a deflating 8-0 defeat that left his team one loss away from winter vacation.
He wasn’t worried about the 2-games-to-1 hole. He didn’t care that the St. Louis Cardinals are battle-tested and known to thrive in such situations. He still believed in the Nats’ character and definitely liked their chances.
“All we’ve got to do,” he said Wednesday night, “is come through tomorrow and we’re in good shape.”
The Nats did as he suggested and Werth capped the effort with an exclamation point Thursday, driving his 13th pitch from reliever Lance Lynn into the visitors’ bullpen for a walk-off homer and 2-1 victory.
A sign held aloft in the stands expressed every Nats’ fan thought at the moment: “Werth It.”
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Posted on October 9th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
Once again, it’s time to check off some items on my “TIDU List” — Things I Don’t Understand:
*Why the Nats’ Game 2 thrashing should cause alarm.
The Cardinals scored a dozen times Monday, but none of those runs will carry over to Game 3. The NLDS now amounts to a three-game series at home, and the Nats played above a .600 clip at home this season. They’ll advance if they keep it up.
Now isn’t the time for alarm; hair-pulling can commence if they lose Game 3.
*How RG3 will enjoy any longevity at his current rate.
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Posted on October 9th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
ST. LOUIS — Game 1 of the National League Division Series represented meatloaf for Washington. There would be no gravy Monday in Game 2.
Instead, it was more like something the dog threw up. It was ugly, repulsive and it stunk.
The St. Louis Cardinals broke out their whipping sticks and clubbed the Nationals into early submission, beginning with starter Jordan Zimmermann. Virtually every other Nats pitcher got a taste of the beat down as St. Louis evened the series with a 12-4 victory that sounds closer than it felt.
If you thought advancing to the next round would be easy as 1-2-3, the idea began evaporating as the Cards strung 1-2-3-4 consecutive hits to open the second inning. St. Louis batters also homered in four of the next six innings, removing any doubt that Monday just was one of those days for Washington’s vaunted pitching staff.
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Posted on October 8th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
ST. LOUIS — The 2012 season represented uncharted territory for the Washington Nationals, as the vast majority of players had never experienced the pressure of pennant races or the joy of first-place finishes. But venturing out this far, with baseball’s best record and the NL East division title already in tow, is nothing like navigating the postseason’s deep waters.
The previous 162 games provided no indication of how Washington would respond in the National League Division Series. No matter how much Davey Johnson and his players try to downplay their lack of seasoning — the team’s, not the 69-year-old manager’s — playoff baseball is just different.
Here, every pitch and subsequent action is magnified, with only three guaranteed games left to be played. Across the field in the home team’s dugout are the battle-tested St. Louis Cardinals, winners of two of the past six World Series titles. They don’t have to wonder what it’s like to need a big out or a clutch hit when each defeat feels like a week’s worth.
But after Sunday, the Nats don’t have to wonder, either. They treated the NLDS opener like a midsummer game in Houston or Pittsburgh, just another chance to keep proving themselves. The evidence on this occasion was a 3-2 victory, courtesy of rookie Tyler Moore’s pinch-hit single in the eighth inning.
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Posted on October 4th, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Nationals played seven forgettable, regrettable seasons in Washington before establishing themselves among the majors’ best teams this year. It seems like only yesterday that they compiled back-to-back 100-loss campaigns, while finishing last in the NL East five times in their first six seasons in D.C. There were times when you wondered if the Nats ever would field a winner.
D.C. baseball fans were elated to have a team again but still scarred from the Washington Senators experience, Parts I and II. The Expos ended the District’s 33-year streak without Major League Baseball when MLB relocated them from Montreal in 2005, but the clock on playoff-free baseball kept ticking, hitting 78 years entering this season.
Now the countdown has stopped and the Nats have arrived, sending waves of relief and joy through the city. Although the pace might have felt torturous, D.C. actually reached this point quicker than most cities that received new or relocated teams in MLB’s Expansion Era (post-1960).
“I was just thrilled to get a team in 2005,” said Steve Buckhantz, a native Washingtonian and longtime sports broadcaster who has called Wizards games for 15 seasons. Buckhantz remembers being taken out of elementary school by his grandfather to go watch Senators games on Opening Day.
“When I hear people say we haven’t had a winner since 2005, that was like last year,” he said. “Not only is what we’re experiencing still new, but to have a team this successful right now it doesn’t seem like it’s taken that long, only seven years. That’s crazy.”
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Posted on October 2nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
The Wizards’ path to respectability is littered with land mines, potholes and other assorted obstacles in the Eastern Conference. But at least Washington seems headed in the right direction, having jettisoned the goofballs and blockheads who steered it off course the past few seasons.
Losing the dead weight should improve the Wizards’ responsiveness in maneuvering during the journey.
But there’s no escaping the familiar sense of dread that has surrounded the franchise for the better part of 30 years now. Just when it appeared that the depression was lifting, we learned otherwise. Star point guard John Wall is out for at least eight weeks, long enough to jeopardize thoughts of a postseason berth.
The Wizards talked a good game in the immediate aftermath and at Monday’s media day. Team President Ernie Grunfeld called the left knee injury a “bump in the road.” Coach Randy Wittman said the team’s “expectations aren’t going to change.” Wall said he believes in his teammates and “they can win a lot of games without me.”
Those comments are the exact opposite of what we fear will happen, which is this: By the time Wall returns and gets in the groove, a quarter of the season could be gone. The remaining players, though game, realize they can’t overcome such a significant loss. They’ll do the best they can, but the talent differential will lead to another ugly record out the gate.
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Posted on October 2nd, 2012
By DERON SNYDER
As the home team prepared to bat Monday night in the bottom of the eighth at Nationals Park, the video screen flashed a favorable update from the Braves-Pirates game. A rousing cheer rose from the slightly-chilled crowd of 35,387 fans, one of the few chances they had all evening to fully exercise their vocal chords.
Phillies righty Kyle Kendrick had kept the Nationals and their supporters quiet for seven shutout innings, but he made for reliever Justin De Fratus and it got really loud when Jayson Werth laced a one-out single and Bryce Harper followed with a walk. But the noise level quickly dissipated after Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche were retired, leaving the score at 2-0.
Chants of “Let’s go Pirates!” broke out as Drew Storen recorded the first out in the top of the ninth, some fans obviously tuned in to the proceedings in Pittsburgh, where the Braves trailed 2-1. Just after Storen recorded the final out of the inning, the video board flashed the final and now the place was bedlam.
The presidents came out on the field and there was a prolonged standing ovation as the players exchanged hugs and handshakes in the dugout. The Nats were still losing but that didn’t matter. The scoreboard told the real story: NL East Division Champions.
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