by Stephen G. "Ghost" Mears
by SaoMagnifico
The Washington Nationals suffered another blown save last night — but they did not allow it to become a loss. The Nats won last night when they stormed back with a 4-run eighth inning to win 6-2 against the Red Sox, and today the Nats have a chance to win this series.
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That 2019 Washington Nationals team had an X-factor player in Gerardo Parra when they won the World Series. When he spoke, you listened, and the good teams need that type of player. It’s what I think is missing from teams that under-perform like the Mets and San Diego Padres. They might have Juan Soto like the 2019 Nats did — but they don’t have a Parra or an Ildemaro Vargas or an Alex Call. Players who would run through a doggone wall for you. Last night, Vargas took on the concrete facing of the box seats next to the visitor’s dugout to catch a foul ball in the first inning. Most players wouldn’t attempt that. Derek Jeter would have. Vargas did it for a team that lost 107 games last year. Talk about the little things. The intangibles. The X-factor.
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The Washington Nationals had it all set up for their third walk-off in a row but they just came up short in a one-run loss. That happens as we know. Josiah Gray took the blame for three bad starts in a row but said he is not going to over-think it. Yes, today is a new day.
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Thousands gather on TalkNats for a shared bond of their love of the game and Washington Nationals baseball. There are cooking sites and Hollywood sites that do the same thing for their readers. Most are cluttered in annoying ads and paywalls that let you quickly know they are about maximizing profit. Before TalkNats, it was Going Deep with the Nats in a free form effort by myself, Ray and Don to create a site that would be moderated and clean. We delivered on it as our first promise to those who joined us on the site.
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The Washington Nationals had a day-off yesterday as the team got to celebrate back-to-back walk-off wins. They got the most air time they have received in a long time on the national sports shows due to Sunday’s walk-off win after a comeback from 5-runs down in the 9th inning. Maybe the strategy for the Nats should be get an early lead and keep the lead. Today is a new series as the Nats face the Red Sox in what should be a well attended mid-week game. The Red Sox are competing for a Wild Card berth while the Nats are competing for respectability. Preseason expectations were different for both of these teams — but winning matters to both teams.
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Going with no facial hair is Washington Nationals’ manager Dave Martinez‘s newest look. When he had his beard, it had gone all gray on his chin. Losing tends to age most people as does stress. Losing and stress usually go together. For nearly two months, the Nats have won more games than they have lost.
When you win, it is a good time to ask for a contract extension. Martinez is in his final year of team control based on the contract that he signed in 2020 that covered two years plus a team option for 2023 that the team picked up. Martinez has publicly said he wants to keep managing the Nats. He got a World Series ring in his second year at the helm, but it had been downhill from that point it has seemed when you look at missing the playoffs in 2020, and then the sell-off started in July of 2021 which led to the 107-loss season last year. General manager Mike Rizzo, who is Martinez’s boss, spoke on behalf of ownership and said they are “tired of losing games.” Truthfully, we were all tired of losing, but what do you expect from the roster that Martinez was handed to start the season? The Vegas line projected the Nats to lose 102 games this season. The pace that the team is on, Martinez’s team might not even lose 92 games!
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Greetings from Tokyo, where I was awake for the 8th and 9th inning, and have been drawn in by this Washington Nationals team not to “blow it” by giving up. This is the best of the Nats we saw in 2019 (!), finding a way to win against teams that are not only the A’s, but teams that stack up better on paper. These are the kinds of games that get Dave Martinez extended, whether that is your preference or not.
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In the most improbable of wins while down 7-2 heading into the 9th inning, the Washington Nationals pulled off the shocker in a 6-run walk-off Curly W. It is like choreographing a complex finish to a Disney movie where fiction gets you to a feel-good ending — only this really happened — and two games in a row with walk-off wins and the fourth since July 26. Last year, the Nats did not have a walk-off win through August of that disappointing season, and they now have five this season. And as Nats’ radio broadcaster, Charlie Slowes says to the fans who left the stadium before the game ended, “If you left early, YOU BLEW IT!”
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The Washington Nationals just clinched another series win last night with an improbable walk-off home run from Keibert Ruiz. With a win today, the Nats would also secure their third sweep of the season. That sounds kind of normal, as sweeps happen, but remember it took the Nats over two full years to get a 3-game sweep as they did not have one sweep at all in the 2022 season. As the team surges up the standings, it will not even affect the Nats’ draft status unless they achieve the 20th best record in the Majors due to the rules installed this year in the newest CBA that will limit the Nats to — at best, a 10th overall pick, in the 2024 draft.
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The Washington Nationals won last night in a blow-out, but had a couple of medical issues to deal with. The most serious was a hit-by-pitch on Lane Thomas’ wrist that scratched him from today’s lineup. The other issue was leg cramps for pitcher Joan Adon that will have to be resolved because this is a recurring issue. The good news is that Keibert Ruiz stayed in the game last night, and said he felt fine after a foul tip off of his knee.
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"Opening Day should be a National holiday"
