Last Night's Improbable Nats Comeback

I was going to do a Wizards NBA draft preview today, but after last night’s incredible Nationals comeback, I thought it would be a disservice to you, the reader, if I didn’t share my thoughts on what was one of the better moments in recent Nats history (hyperbole? Maybe, but when you consider the team has had two No. 1 overall picks in the last three years, I think I deserve a little leeway). Consider that this was an AWFUL display of Nats baseball through eight innings. This was the kind of game that not only would the Nats of yesteryear lose, but they would lose in such a fashion that it might put them in a funk for a week or so.

Livan Hernandez wasn’t fooling people with his arsenal of trick-pitches, and when you don’t fool people and you’re fastball tops out around 88, well, it’s going to get ugly. Fast.

The Nationals certainly weren’t doing their part in the field either. Jayson Werth made and egregious error in right field, attempting to bare hand the ball on a lazy single for no reason. When the ball skipped by him, it allowed Mariners SS Brendan Ryan to advance to second, where he would eventually score on a single by Adam Kennedy (wait, THAT Adam Kennedy?!). Even when the Nationals did come up with some sort of rally off of Mariners LHP Doug Fister (he of the 3-8, 3.38 ERA statline), their rallies were spoiled when Mariners fielders gobbled up the Nationals’ sharply hit balls. In the bottom of the sixth inning, with one run in already, the Nationals brought their best hitter, Ryan Zimmerman, to the plate with runners on first and second. They had Fister on the ropes. That is, until Zimmerman smoked a ball at 2B Dustin Ackley, the Mariners new hot-shot prospect who is known more for his acumen at the plate than his prowess in the field, and Ackley proceeded to turn a brilliant 4-6-3 double play. Zimmerman slammed his helmet in frustration, and if this were either of the last two years, I would have bet the farm that the game was over. However, they put together a rally for the ages in the ninth inning, capped off by a bomb from Wilson Ramos (by the way, I love the gusto of Ramos. First, the slow trot around the bases in Arizona when the D’Backs were being punks and plunked Werth, and now the no-doubter stare after this moonshot of a home run. If you couple him together with Bryce Harper in a year or so, you’ve got the makings of an all-confidence team).

However, these Nationals have a resilience that past squads did not. Maybe it’s the addition of gritty OF Jayson Werth. Maybe it’s the influx of young players in the clubhouse, like 2B Danny Espinosa or the night’s hero Ramos, who simply don’t know any better. But this never-say-die attitude, as evidence by the club keeping its head above water during the 58 games that Zimmerman missed, has clearly begun to permeate the clubhouse.

Now let’s not get ahead of ourselves: are the Nats going to make the playoffs? Probably not. But there is something to be said for a team learning how to win. And while the victories might bring home a championship this year, they may prove to be a strong building block for next year. Maybe that’s why GM Mike Rizzo has held on to C Pudge Rodriguez, despite apparent interest from the Giants and Red Sox (http://bit.ly/kck6lN ). He wants to build a little clubhouse chemistry and camaraderie before to help these young players. Or maybe he is just waiting until the trade deadline to see if he can extract another young piece for a trade deadline rental (see Ramos for Capps last deadline; love when it all comes full circle). Hopefully, this Nationals can continue to show this fight in the weeks to come, and, given a relatively easy schedule, maybe keep their record above the .500 mark.

Other Nats Notes:

I thought Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post made a great point in his Nationals Insider blog (http://wapo.st/kFfTXm) today about just how important Ryan Mattheus and Collin Balester were in bringing home a “W” for the Nats last night. If that’s Brian Broderick or Craig Stammen, I think the game is over. But thanks to a phenomenal effort from Mattheus and Balester, the bleeding was stopped. I especially liked what I saw from Mattheus last night. His fastball sat at 94 (according to the MASN gun), and he looked in control the whole outing. Don’t forget that Mattheus was a legitimate prospect with the Rockies before he had Tommy John surgery in July 2009. I love seeing the power arms that Rizzo has acquired for the bullpen, and Mattheus could certainly be a valuable piece (or at least until fellow fireballer Cole Kimball returns).

News comes down that Bryce Harper is still being bothered by a jammed thumb (http://wapo.st/mkwba) , and was subsequently limited in the SAL all-star game (SAL is the South Atlantic League, a low-class A level league). If I were the Nats, I would keep Harper at Hagerstown for at least a little while longer after the break. I know they may feel pressure, since the Orioles announced they while promote SS Manny Machado, the No. 3 overall pick in last year’s draft, to high class-A. Both Machado and Harper have been dominant at low class-A so far. Both have also missed spurts of time due to injuries. I think it makes no sense for the Nationals to promote Harper while he is also trying to get healthy. Making the adjustment to a tougher level of pitching is hard enough without having to compensate for a sore thumb. Let him have a couple more weeks in Hagerstown to get himself right and then send him on his way to Potomac.