Wild [Card] Choices

The leaves are changing, the air is cooling, and playoff baseball is here again! Though yesterday's events ensured there would be no one-game playoffs to reach tomorrow and Wednesday's Wild Card one-game playoff, the excitement begins in earnest tomorrow, and I'm in a strange position.

The Red Sox are out of it (and have been for what feels like forever), and I'd be pretty much okay if any of the remaining playoff teams won the whole thing. Sure, I have a preference for the Nationals - I spent six weeks this summer covering them. Watching from the press box and interacting in the clubhouse, I discovered that the Nats are an easy group to like - plus, the franchise hasn't ever won it all, in Washington or Montreal.

But I can find a reason to root for nearly every team involved - except perhaps the Cardinals, mostly because I'm over shenanigans like these.

Just out of the teams playing in the Wild Card games tomorrow and Wednesday, there's no bad choice. Sure, I'm rooting for the A's over the Royals, but mostly because Jon Lester is on the mound for Oakland, and I want to see more Jonny Gomes postseason antics. Plus, the A's are like a Red Sox alumni club: Lester, Gomes, Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick, Coco Crisp, Brandon Moss, and Nick Punto are all on the active roster.

But if the Royals come out on top, I'll have to be happy for their fans: they haven't had anything to cheer for in October in almost thirty years.

On the National League side of things, the Pirates have an edge in my heart. Partly because Pittsburgh fans have endured years of futility, but also for a more personal/regional reason. One of the Pirates starting pitchers, Jeff Locke, hails from my home town.  We're used to Olympic skiers up here in New Hampshire, but a professional baseball player is much more exciting for us - we've all been converted Pirates fans since he was traded to Pittsburgh in 2009.

But I became a (casual) Giants fan during their 2012 World Series run. Marco Scutaro is no longer in San Francisco, but they have former Red Sox pitcher Jake Peavy, as well as their own unique cast of characters - how can you root against a guy who's nicknamed Kung Fu Panda?

It's kind of nice to know that no matter which teams make it out of the Wild Card round, I won't be crushed by the outcome. Sure, I have my preferences, but I can find it in my heart to be happy for whichever team wins. Nothing that happens in the next month will measure up to last year - but it's time for the playoffs! With or without the Red Sox, October is the most wonderful time of the year.

Steven Souza Jr. is the best kind of goofball

Source

Since Steven Souza Jr. is going be all over SportsCenter for his spectacular catch, I feel obligated to tell you all that he’s an enormous goofball.

When I was covering the Syracuse Chiefs (the Nationals Triple-A team) this season, he used to roam the hallways shirtless so we reporters would have to look, pick up teammates' children and tell them they wanted to be interviewed, and impersonate Ricky Bobby when cameras were rolling: 

He was a bit more subdued when first called up to Washington, but I’m sure by now he’s back to his boisterous self. In all seriousness though, I couldn’t be happier for him about his part of today.

He was always happy to speak to the press after games, whether the Chiefs had lost or (more frequently) won. Gracious and friendly, his fooling around was almost as entertaining as his routinely spectacular play on the field and at the plate.

Today's play to cement Jordan Zimmermann's no-hitter was just the beginning. Souza will continue to impress through the Nats playoff run and in the years to come - you can quote me on that.

Never change, Papelbon

I was so caught up with the trade deadline yesterday that I neglected to share one of my favorite anecdotes so far. It concerns perhaps the most quirky former Red Sox out there, a pitcher who once told Amalie Benjamin to "put the fact that he's a sheriff in Mississippi into a story."

Of course, I'm talking about former closer Jonathan Papelbon, Lord Cinco Ocho himself. The man Manny Delcarmen described as the strangest he's ever shared a bullpen with. Even though I knew the Phillies were in Washington for a four game set, it totally slipped my mind that Paps would be in town.

Which is why it took me a moment to realize that the player who poked fun at the camera setup Julianne and I were using yesterday on the field was the same man who once danced around Fenway Park with a beer box on his head.

We were shooting a pre-game standup regarding the Nationals trade deadline activity, and I wanted to frame up the shot with the field and the scoreboard in the background. Because neither Julianne nor I are particularly tall, we achieved this by having her stand on the camera case.

Halfway through the first take, we heard a voice drawl, "I've never seen anything like that before." I turned around, and out of the dugout behind me emerged Jonathan Papelbon, gesturing at the case under Jules' feet.

He chuckled and added that it might be easier if we were taller, and before we could formulate any kind of reasonable response, he was walking away for team stretching.

I've been able to mostly shed the baseball fan inside of me when I'm working, but after that interaction I indulged in a moment of reflection. If seventeen-year-old me had ever anticipated something like that, as casual as it was, I would have freaked out. 

Five weeks into covering every Nationals home game, the thrill of interacting with major league ballplayers has become all but mundane - but I spared a grin for Papelbon, if only for nostalgia's sake.

Nationals Get Revenge, Destroy Cubs 13-0

After a disappointing Fourth of July performance yesterday, the Nationals came roaring back this afternoon with a 13-0 drubbing of the Chicago Cubs. It was clear that the contest would be one-sided very early on, as the Nats batted around in the third - the only players who didn't record at least one RBI or run scored in that inning were Bryce Harper and Gio Gonzalez.

But Harper and Gonzalez eventually joined the hit parade in what was truly a team effort. Gonzalez pitched eight innings, scattering four hits and allowing no runs in his sixth win of the season. According to manager Matt Williams, the lefty asked to go back out for the ninth, but as Gonzalez was at 110 pitches, Williams sent Craig Stammen to the mound to get the final three outs.



The victory signaled a return to business as usual for the Nats, who had a five game winning streak snapped by the Cubs yesterday. After a long stretch where multiple players were out with injuries, it seems Nationals fans are finally seeing the team they expected at the beginning of the season, and the results are exactly what they had hoped for.

Though the red-hot Braves are still in first in the NL East, Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman has high hopes for the Nats - vowing that unlike last season, the Braves won't be able to pull away.

The rubber match of the series is tomorrow at 1:35, and the Nationals have a challenge ahead with Jake Arrieta on the mound for the Cubs, while Jordan Zimmermann will take the ball for the Nats.

Shipping Down to DC

I've been the worst Red Sox blogger in the world lately - and it's not because the Red Sox have been one of the worst baseball teams lately (though that's certainly true - shout out to the rest of the AL East for also being generally terrible).

No, I've been awful because I haven't been able to catch many Red Sox games, as I spend most of my time at Nationals Park these days, covering the Nats for NewsChannel 9 in Syracuse as a field production intern. You might reasonably wonder why a Syracuse station would care about the Nationals... it's because the Nats' Triple-A affiliate is the Syracuse Chiefs.

Those of you who follow me on Twitter might have seen me live-tweeting Chiefs games a few weeks back, as I covered a few of those (and photogged many more) during my last semester at the Newhouse School. You've doubtless noticed me live-tweeting Nats games for the last week - so for those Red Sox fans who are sticking with me, I appreciate it.

This blog will have have Nats home game recaps and video starting tonight, and (probably) ending in five weeks when the internship concludes. I'll be sure to tag those posts appropriately, starting with this one, and to add Red Sox posts whenever I can.

To any Nationals fans who might now stumble upon this blog - welcome! Let me know if there's anything you'd like to see here.

Manny Delcarmen - Where is he now?

Ever wondered what's happened to old friend Manny Delcarmen after he was traded to the Rockies in 2010? Mostly, he's bounced around the minor leagues. He's currently in Syracuse, with the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, and I sat down with him for an interview. We talked 2007 World Series, bullpen antics, and the curious personality of Jonathan Papelbon.

A new addition to the Nationals Park Presidents Race

I'm sure you're all aware of the Washington Nationals Presidents Race, an event that takes place during the fourth inning of every Nats' home game. If you haven't ever heard of such a thing, let me offer a brief explanation: the Nationals have mascot versions of some famous American presidents, and they race around the stadium.

Until now, the presidents competing have been those featured on the famous national landmark, Mount Rushmore: Presidents Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Teddy Roosevelt. Yesterday, the Nationals threw a wrench into tradition, and introduced a fifth competitor  in the person of President William Howard Taft, whose biggest achievement was less that he was a president, or anything he managed to get done as president, but that he is the only president to also serve on the Supreme Court.

Taft also had an historic falling out with Teddy Roosevelt, and as Teddy is the traditional last-place finisher at the Presidents Race, I think we can safely assume that there will be a Roosevelt/Taft rivalry developing soon at Nationals Park.

As amusing and unique as the Presidents Race is, I've never really wanted the Red Sox to have a gimmick like this.  I think that one of the best things about Fenway Park is the typical LACK of these kinds of things; people know when to cheer without being prompted by the scoreboard, they stay engaged without random sound effects, and on-field entertainment is mostly left to the actual game.

That being said, I will make it a point to get down to DC and catch the new Presidents Race - it might be gimmicky, but it sounds extremely entertaining, especially with a new member in the mix!

Hello again!

I've been settling into my new apartment (in Boston!) and my new job, and now that I finally have internet and cable, I thought I should get back to the blog.

Sadly, the best thing that's happened to the Red Sox since I moved down here was the offday yesterday - you can't lose if you don't play.  Honestly, the only possibility of a somewhat happy ending to the season would be if the Sox could play spoiler.

I have a friend from Baltimore, and he posted the following picture to my Facebook last week, along with the caption "How 'bout them apples?"

A discussion ensued with mentions of the possibility of a Baltimore Orioles/Washington Nationals World Series - and I admitted that I would LOVE to watch that.

If the Red Sox have to suck (and apparently they do), I'd like to see a couple of teams who haven't seen the postseason lately (or ever) make a real run for it.  The O's are one game behind the Yankees, and the Red Sox are opening a three game set against the Yankees tonight, and I for one am loving the recent swoon of the Bronx Bombers. Here's hoping we can help them to their own catastrophic collapse.

Slow it down, Cooperstown.

Stephen Strasburg made his Major League debut last night. If you don't know who he is yet, you've been living under a rock, but here's some background: the young righthander was the number one pick in the draft exactly one year ago, chosen by the Nationals, and he was being talked about as a future Hall-of-Famer before he threw a pitch in the majors.

Yes, Strasburg had an impressive debut. He pitched seven innings, striking out fourteen batters, and throwing 94 pitches, 65 for strikes. According to MLBNetwork, a DC area restaurant just unveiled a new dish, the "Strasburger," named, or course, for the young phenom. But before we put in the order for the the 21-year-old's Cooperstown plaque, let's remember that this was against the moribund Pirates, that he's barely of legal drinking age, and will be dealing with HUGE expectations. Hell, he's so new that baseball-reference doesn't even have him in their major league section yet.

Yes, Strasburg was very poised; he did everything right, but for me the most impressive number was 40,315. The Nationals sold out their stadium last night, and so the accolades for Strasburg as a franchise rescuer were clearly warranted. Here's hoping Strasburg lives up to everything the Nationals hoped for - and that he plays his entire career in the National League.