Yesterday’s Washington Nationals 1-0 victory of the Los Angeles Dodgers (The Post) came on a warm, sunny day that was supposed to be rainy. There is an emerging theme amongst the players, the beat writers (Nats Insider), columnists (The Post) and even among skeptical bloggers (Capitol Punishment) that these Nats, now 10-9 and tied for second place in the NL East, are a very different team than the one we have grown accustomed to since 2006.
Right now, 3 weeks into the season, the Nats are one win over mediocrity. A common refrain in spring training was that the team would be improved over last year, but the first 40 games of the schedule did them no favors. Indeed, on Opening Day, when the Philadelphia Phillies came to town and dropped 11 consecutive runs (and thousands of fans recruited by the Nats ticket office) on Washington, even the optimistic D.C. fans were having some buyers remorse about the new hope.
Then, after losing again in game 2, the Nats held on to win game 3. In this young season, that may have been the most pivotal game. At the time, I said that “being 1-2 is a lot better than 0-3, by more than just a win.”
Following the 1-2 start, the Nats have won series at home against the Milwaukee Brewers and Dodgers and split with the Colorado Rockies. On the road the lost another series to the Phillies (1-2), but took 2 of 3 from the New York Mets. They did it behind the red-hot start of new catcher, veteran Ivan Rodriguez, currently leading MLB in batting average. Another veteran, P Liván Hernández has allowed a mere 2 runs in three starts, good for 2nd in ERA. Closer Matt Capps, coming off a terrible 2009 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, may be a high wire act, but he is a perfect 8 for 8 and leads the league in saves. Is any of this sustainable? Probably not in the long-term or even the near term, but these hot starts have masked shortcomings from some of the core players.
The Nats have been without the services of 3B Ryan Zimmerman for almost ten games (Comcast Sports Net). They have won without 1B Adam Dunn hitting home runs or really anything out of the infield. CF Nyjer Morgan has been hurting the team on the bases. The quality starts have been few and far between from pitchers not named ¡LIVAN!, though they are starting to pile up a little. Free agent acquisition Jason Marquis has pitched very poorly and after claiming to not be hurt, he went to the DL with “loose bodies” in his elbow. He won’t be back for some time, possibly 2011.
Yesterday’s winner Scott Olsen rebounded from a poor outing to pitch 7 shutout innings. Craig Stammen did the same on Saturday, but did not get the win as the Nats fell by 1 in 13 innings to LA (The Post). Luis Atilano made his MLB debut on Friday night (The Post) and got a win with six innings of 1-run ball, a welcome suprise.
The 10-9 start may have come with smoke and mirrors, but it was against decent competition and perhaps more importantly, a solid (so far) bullpen. Without the seemingly traditional April hole to dig out of they have given themselves. Perhaps there is something to clubhouse chemistry that GM Mike Rizzo keeps preaching. We will find out more when the bats get cold or the bullpen heads south. It happens to every team, every season and how the Nats respond will be key.
Is it too early to believe in the 2010 Washington Nationals? Don’t worry about it, just enjoy the ride, its been a lot of fun so far. The laughingstock days look to be in the past.