Jordan Zimmermann, Steven Souza Jr. now greatest Nationals ever

Sep 28, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals left fielder Steven Souza (21) makes a diving catch for the final out of the game against the Miami Marlins to secure Washington Nationals starting pitcher Jordan Zimmermann (27) no hitter at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

I guess if you’re going to close out the year, a Jordan Zimmermann no-hitter is a great way to do it, and if you’re going to finish a no-hitter, a Steven Souza, Jr. diving catch is about as perfect an ending as you can imagine.

Seriously, could the regular season have ended any better? Michael Taylor looked so far away from that ball that I didn’t think there was any chance, and then Souza comes out of nowhere to nab it. Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, though. Anyone willing to slam into a wall to make a catch is willing to do just about anything to make a play.

Thank you, Nationals, for making game 162 mean something.

It seems only fitting that the Nats clinched the division title with Tanner Roark tossing seven shutout innings and clinched home field in the NL behind a complete game three-hitter by Doug Fister. It was the team’s depth that helped it survive the months of games lost to the disabled list, with nearly every regular except for Anthony Rendon and Ian Desmond spending time there at one point or another.

I also find it interesting that Fister and Roark led the team in wins (16 and 15), WHIP (1.08 and 1.09), and Fister led the team in ERA at 2.41 while Roark was third at 2.85. This was a pitching staff that saw its ace Stephen Strasburg struggle until late, its lone left-handed starter prove ever enigmatic, and Zimmermann pitch like an ace for much of the season, giving the team as potent a one-two combination as any team in the playoffs. Potentially, the team matches up well against a Kershaw/Greinke or Wainwright/Lynn series start. It’s the depth, though, with Roark likely out of the pen that sets the team apart.

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The team finished the season with 96 wins, second most in franchise history. If you think about that, only two starters had 15+ wins, one regular hit over .300, no regular hit more than 26 home runs (though three hit 20+) or drive in 100 runs, and their top base-stealer swiped just 31 bases. Yet, despite all of that, the team finished third in the NL in runs scored, fourth in home runs, and fifth in stolen bases (pitching I’ll discuss in a moment). It takes more than Denard Span setting team records in total base hits and multi-hit games to keep near the top in offense, even in a year where offense is suppressed.

It takes hits like this or like this.

Mentioning Span, the Nats probably win the East without him doing so well since the East was mediocre at best and fairly putrid at worst, but they’re not competing for NL’s best of anything without him. He set career highs in hits, stolen bases, doubles (tie), total bases, and fell just six runs shy of 100.

If you consider that from 2010-13 he was below average to average offensively, this season’s breakout (a 112 OPS+) came just at the right time for him personally in an option year and for the Nats. From June 28^th through the end of the season, Span hit .338/.399/.439 with 48 runs scored. The team, not coincidentally, went 52-24 in those games in which he played.

I’ve made my argument for Rendon for MVP and nothing he did at season’s end made me think he doesn’t belong in the discussion. He finished the year batting .288/.352/.475 with 21 home runs, 111 runs scored, and 83 RBI. Will he finish top 5 in the MVP? My guess is yes, but he probably just ekes his way to the bottom on the list. If it wasn’t for a historic pitching performance by Kershaw, Rendon would probably be taken a bit more seriously. Still. Good work in his first full season in the Majors.

Oh, and did I mention that Ryan Zimmerman is back? I can’t imagine he’ll start in the playoffs, but how deep is your team when you can use Zimmerman against tough left-handers (Francisco Liriano or Madison Bumgarner perhaps), or if the situation should arise as a DH?

Where do you want to start with the pitching? Gio Gonzalez struck out a career high 12 against the Mets, Strasburg hasn’t allowed a run since September 10^th, Fister threw wiffle ball pitches against the Marlins, having so much movement on his pitches that I’m surprised Miami skipper Mike Redmond didn’t ask to see the ball, and Zimmermann threw the first no-hitter in Nationals team history (the third in DC baseball history with Bobby Burke in 1931 and Walter Johnson in 1920 as per the Washington Post’s James Wagner).

If you haven’t seen the highlights please stop, click the link, and return. Twitter nearly exploded after; I nearly had a heart attack after Souza’s catch; and Zimmermann finally cracked a smile, which goes to show just how great a moment that was.

Can MLB just name the Nats starters as NL players of the week? The last Nats regular starting pitcher to allow an earned run was Roark. Part of that is the state of the Marlins and Mets team the Nats have feasted on of late, with the two clubs auditioning farmhands to see what they have moving forward, but the pitching has also been that good for the entire year.

The starters ERA for the season was 3.04, 3.03 as a team, leading the Majors in both by a wide margin. They also just missed becoming the first team since the 1989 Dodgers to finish the season with a sub three ERA, finishing just behind the 2011 Phillies with 3.02 for the lowest team ERA in the last 25 years. Playing against Triple-A lineups helped only so much there.

Going into the NLDS, a top three of Strasburg, Zimmermann, and Fister (expecting Gonzalez to be the fourth) is pretty daunting. Couple that with a strong bullpen and settling in of Drew Storen as the closer, and the Nats have all the pieces in place to make a run at the World Series. Even the prospect of Gonzalez getting important innings doesn’t seem scary the way he’s been pitching lately. He’s thrown seven straight quality starts, walking nine batters in 45 2/3 innings.

How good were the Nats in September in every game not started by Blake Treinen or Taylor Hill? How about an 18-4 record with a 1.82 ERA in 158 innings of work. Not impressed? Maybe 129 strikeouts to 22 walks or nearly striking out six batters for every walk will. Still nothing? There’s also the matter of allowing only 111 hits in that time with a WHIP of 0.84. Maybe the competition wasn’t the best at the end of the year, but these guys are peaking at just the right time.

If there are a few questions going into the playoffs they’ve been around for the latter half of the season: other than Matt Thornton, which situational lefty can get the big outs when necessary and will Rafael Soriano appear at all? Ross Detwiler and Jerry Blevins have pitched well in September, but every outing is something of an adventure. Does Matt Williams risk putting Soriano in a close game?

The Nats open the NLDS at home on Friday against the winner of the Giants and Pirates game, which is scheduled for Wednesday. Stephen Strasburg will likely get the opening game nod against either Gerrit Cole (most likely) if it’s the Pirates or Tim Hudson if the Giants, since Bumgarner starts the wild card play in.