The Home for Washington Nationals Game Talk

Howie Kendrick underneath Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX; Photo by Paul Kim

World Series winning teams need a full team effort in order to win. Without Juan Soto‘s heroics with two outs in the 8th inning of the Wild Card, there is no NLDS, NCLS, and World Series for the Washington Nationals. In the NLDS, where would the team be if Anthony Rendon does not homer off of Clayton Kershaw in Game 5? Without the heroics of Anibal Sanchez in Game 1 of the NLCS, who knows what happens with momentum. In the World Series, what happens if Stephen Strasburg was off of his game? It took an entire team to win these games. We could go through even the most obscure plays and contributions from players like Andrew Stevenson scoring the tying run in the Wild Card to a home run by Michael Taylor to a key strikeout by Tanner Rainey out of the bullpen. While Howie Kendrick was the NLCS MVP and Stephen Strasburg was the World Series MVP, you do not win without the key players who were integral to the success. Continue reading →

There is apparently no fine for littering in “Braves Country.”

The manager carousel made its usual run through the league after the season, and the NL East was no exception as the Mets and Phillies both make changes with their dugout skippers. Carlos Beltran is the Mets new manager and Joe Girardi got shutout of the Cubs job and settled for the Phillies opening. As both managers look to fill their staffs, it is possible that Nats assistant hitting coach Joe Dillon could head to Philadelphia as their hitting coach. While the Marlins chose to retain Don Mattingly reportedly at a lesser salary, they did make changes on their coaching staff. What did not change was general manager positions in the NL East. Continue reading →

A visit to Cooperstown

The best-laid plans, right?  Back in May, when the Nationals were 19-31 or thereabouts, Spouse and I looked at each other and said, “when October rolls around, we’re going to want to get out of town ASAP because it sure doesn’t look as if the Nationals will be demanding our attention. How about we cash in that behind-the-scenes tour of the Hall of Fame we got, oh, five years ago?”

First, Logistics (skip this p Continue reading →

Photo by Laura Peebles for TalkNats

In July 2016, Theo Epstein of the Cubs pulled off what can universally be accepted as one of the worst trades of all time; he obtained a rental relief pitcher, Aroldis Chapman (albeit the best in the business), for a generational talent, Gleyber Torres, who remains under Yankees team control for five more years. In a vacuum, that’s the kind of trade that gets GM’s fired, but of course there is a rub in the “Prospects are cool, parades are cooler” concept as the Chicago Cubs won the World Series in 2016, and they probably would not have done it without acquiring Aroldis Chapman. The point of this anecdote is that winning the World Series changes everything, and there is usually no such thing as a bad trade if it leads directly to a championship particularly if your team has not won one in decades. Continue reading →

Some players from the World Championship roster will not return for 2020

The “Hot Stove” fully lit up the second after Daniel Hudson struck out Michael Brantley for the final out of the World Series. Prior to that there were 28 teams that were early entries into the offseason, and now it is official. Free agents have been declared, and options are being picked up and turned down. Opt-outs have been used in a variety of ways. The exclusive period is still open for teams to negotiate with their own free agents, and then qualified offers will be issued before free agents can officially sign with other teams.  Continue reading →

Washington Nationals owner Ted Lerner looks on as his son Mark Lerner embraces Jayson Werth in a RIng of Honor ceremony; Photo by Marlene Koenig for TalkNats

Usually nothing good comes easy. The path of least resistance is usually that bumpy ride that leads to beautiful places. There are few Washingtonians who were alive 95 years ago when D.C. held its last World Series parade before the Great Depression. For the 94-year-old owner of the Washington Nationals, Ted Lerner was just a gleam in his father’s eye when the 1924 World Series parade was held. Lerner was born the next year and grew up in upper NW D.C. in his youth, and while he could have been a toddler at a game to watch Walter Johnson pitch, he did experience the 1933 World Series as an 8-year-old at DC’s last bit of October glory before this year. Separated by 86 years between October classics, you have to savor what has happened this week and this year and even the road to glory.

Mr. Lerner’s love of baseball inspired him to purchase the Washington Nationals in 2006 and restore that glory of his early youth. Maybe Lerner was the owner the Nats needed among the many suitors because you never know how the alternatives would have turned out. Savor the triumph and all the glory because World Series wins are rare indeed.  D.C. waited longer than the Red Sox for another parade in fact. Continue reading →