Washington Nationals: A personal year of lessons learned

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It’s been one year since the author joined this site. He thought you might be interested in what the Washington Nationals and you taught him.

Thursday marked my first anniversary as a co-site expert for this site and the Washington Nationals.

Although we try to not interject ourselves in to what you read here, aside from wanting to thank you our readers for our tremendous growth, I thought this would be a good time to tell you five things I’ve learned since coming on board. (Not writing long sentences isn’t on the list.)

To watch and cover the Nats daily is fun. You the reader, twitter follower or DoDCast watcher make this a joy. Without you, there would be no us.

With Washington on the verge of back-to-back playoff appearances and another possible Cy Young Award from Max Scherzer, there has never been a better time to follow the team. A season and change into this, I can safely say this is one of the closest-knit teams I have ever seen.

This is the golden age of Washington Nationals baseball. The Senators never held this level of success. Montreal only made one postseason and cheated out of another. Four playoffs in six years up there would a bitter disappointment for the Habs. No one ever though the Expos were capable.

The fall I turned 10 was 1981. The thought of Montreal beating the New York Yankees in the World Series warmed this Boston Red Sox fans’ heart. Although Rick Monday broke Quebec’s, the Yankees still lost. I was happy.

That 10-year-old boy in Vermont would be saddened the Expos failed and thrilled Washington became a baseball town again. If he knew then he would play a small role in covering those old Expos or your Nats, he’d be tickled pink.

At 45, having the inner little boy come out and play is wonderful. Thanks for letting it happen. Pardon the self-indulgence and here are five things the Nats, and you, taught me in the last year.

NEVER BET AGAINST MIKE RIZZO

My first experiences with the Mike Rizzo style came with disappointment.

The Nats were thought to have lowballed Mark Melancon on a contract extension. Wilson Ramos’ negotiations were slow until he tore an ACL on a rainy night at home. After boasting about turning aggressive in the Winter Meetings, the Nats failed to land Chris Sale or Andrew McCutchen. They paid a king’s ransom to the Chicago White Sox for Adam Eaton.

“He’s shrewd.” I heard from others all winter.

When Matt Wieters joined the Nats and when Greg Holland signed in Colorado on a vesting option, those same voices mentioned under-the-table deals that are master strokes of genius. Yeah, sure.

Oh, how wrong I was.

Adam Lind was a genius move. Grabbing Matt Albers off the discard pile was sensational. When given the flexibility to reshape the bullpen, trading for Ryan Madson, Sean Doolittle and Brandon Kintzler were stealthy moves that cost little while solidifying the Nats biggest weakness.

Through a myriad of injuries that would wreck most clubs, trading for Howie Kendrick and running a constant shuttle to Syracuse kept this team going. How Washington has an 18-game lead is mind-boggling. Yet, here they are and Rizzo deserves the credit.

JUST SCORE, BABY

If you are a certain age, say mid-40s, you know of the old Earl Weaver doctrine of the three-run home run. The Baltimore Orioles crushed opponents with that and great pitching under the easy going light-hearted Weaver. (Weaver was ejected before both ends of a doubleheader against the Yankees before either game started in the mid-1970s. That takes a special relationship with the umpires.)

As a child, the Red Sox mastered the three-run homer, but could find no pitching, causing this fan many an empty October.

Flash forward to this year and the Nats can slam three-run bombs like the rest and have starting pitching even Weaver would love. (The bullpen is another story.) What makes the Nats different from the old power teams is their aggressiveness on the bases.

Trea Turner reminds me of Tim Raines. Both can turn a walk into a double and have power from the top of the lineup. The Nats have two batters who work pitchers into a frenzy with Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon. Wilmer Difo and Michael Taylor can swipe bags. When Adam Eaton returns, he legs out triples.

The number of ways the Nats can beat you is outstanding and rare.

ITS OKAY TO BE WRONG

In trying to find content worth your attention, there must be a balance in telling stories. We focus on profiles, who is playing well and what you should keep an eye on. Sometimes, we must be honest and write pieces critical of your favorites.

Those pieces draw comments and that is fine. Although there is much that goes in the Nats favor, you need balance and point out what has to improve. The bullpen, obviously, drew a fair share of attention as Blake Treinen, Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover earned and lost the closers job early this season.

No one takes joy in writing not-so-flattering things about others. Reading comments calling you stupid does not make our days easier. Imagine how the bullpen felt when the focus turned in DC from the playoff failures of the Caps and Wizards to them.

For me, twice this year I wrote stories about Ryan Zimmerman suggesting his playing time might be in jeopardy. The first came in March after two terrible weeks in Spring Training. He could not elevate a ball off the ground and his timing at the plate was poor. Ol’ Ron coughed out 400 words on it may be time to give Adam Lind a look and Zimmerman crushed everything in sight for eight weeks. One had nothing to do with the other.

Again, I suggested Zimmerman get all the rest he needed around a month ago. Another down period followed the All-Star break, and the thought was maybe some platoon time would keep him fresh for October. As the late John McLaughlin would scream to his panelists, “WRONG!”

Yep, I was and happy to be wrong. Watching Zimmerman healthy is a pleasant surprise. He, and you, deserve it.

THIS HARPER KID CAN PLAY

My first introduction to Bryce Harper came around his senior year in high school. Not a personal one, but a video of him as part of a national team taking batting practice a St. Petersburg’s Tropicana Dome.

The boy struck laser shots off the scoreboard in right-center. So, it was a metal bat, but he smashed baseballs off the scoreboard attached to a wall 450 feet away. Remember, he caught Erick Fedde in high school.

Harper had a down year in 2016. From watching his last month, something was not right. He never defended the outside of the plate with his bat. There was the weekend at Turner Field he played defense so shallow like a softball rover would. Not good times.

This year, a different story.

Every team needs someone who when the going gets rough and carry them on his back. I had the great pleasure of watching David Ortiz do it in Boston and Harper to it this summer. He is not the decisive brat some make him out to be.

Harper has matured since his debut at 19. So, big deal, he wants to make baseball fun again. What I see from him is not arrogance, but confidence. His ability to hit for high average and power, along with a cannon of an outfield arm, makes him a five-tool threat.

Who cares if he roots for the Dallas Cowboys?

If the Nats and Harper come to a deal that makes sense for both parties long-term, he will win multiple World Series for Washington. He can change any game with a single play and his teammates will respond in kind. That ability is rare and special.

My goodness, he is still 24. The best years are not here yet.

AND LAST, BUT NOT LEAST…

When I came from writing about baseball on a national level to here, one of the many things I did not understand was how strong of a fan base you are.

More from District on Deck

I grew up in New England. Under-performing in October is a subject I can teach at a Master’s level. When good things are expected, there is a built-in apprehension about the business of baseball. Because the Nats are legitimately good, there is a tension oozing from the crowd seeping through the television set.

There is an underlying resentment every time Zimmerman or Max Scherzer breaks a franchise record held by Tim Wallach or Steve Rogers. The history these Nats make is not in your eyes an extension of the Montreal days. You want so much for this to be Washington’s identity and achievement. We may disagree on that—the franchise starts the 50th season next year—but I understand wanting and rooting for that breakthrough.

That breakthrough will happen. Maybe this year, maybe in the next five. But, it will happen. The owners care. The Lerners want a good product on the field. Washington attracts quality free agents. Jayson Werth and Max Scherzer are proof.

The franchise went from playing second-fiddle to hockey royalty with the Canadiens to football’s Redskins here. At least the Nats do not actively avoid playing at the same time as the football team. Yes, if the Canadiens were home for a playoff game, the Expos shuffled off to early afternoon starts of death.

Through the trouble of the Nats finding their own footing, they found you. Smart, passionate fans who love them and the sport. When that magic night happens when everything comes together, it is so worth it.

Next: Robles era starts in DC

It will happen and I hope to share it with you.

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