Finding That Silver Lining

The 2018 baseball season has been a bit disappointing for some fans (and not just Orioles fans, whose team had the worst season in the history of the game).  Those who started following Sohei Ohtani's career are sad and disappointed that the pitcher-batter needed Tommy John surgery; Robinson Canó was suspended for 80 games for failing a drug test (and came back to play first base?); and the trades that sent Manny Machado to the Dodgers, Daniel Murphy to the Cubs, and Gio Gonzalez to the Brewers left many fans disheartened (and who didn't see Buck Showalter's firing coming?  Poor guy - I've always liked him).

For us Nationals fans, not only did we lose some players at the trade deadline, but the team ended the season in second place in their division, not making the playoffs despite being favored to win the NL East by most baseball "experts" in the beginning of the season.  We were frustrated with all the injuries (especially Sean Doolittle's), upset with the underperformance of the bullpen (without Doolittle), and downright pissed off at the loss of some veteran players with seemingly nothing in return (at least Doolittle wasn't one of them).

But with all the doom and gloom, it is easy to find a silver lining in this past season.  Take, for example, the friendly rivalry between rookies Ronald Acuña and Juan Soto.  Acuña, a Venezuelan who plays for the Atlanta Braves, is flashy and confidently blows chewing gum bubbles as he trots around the bases after a home run - a true fan favorite who really got everyone excited.  Soto, a Dominican outfielder for the Nationals, has a good knowledge of the strike zone and an infectious smile (and earned the nickname of "Magic Juan").  Both players are vying for the Rookie of the Year award, and my bet is that Acuña will get it (even though Soto deserves it more) because he has more home runs, and home runs are sexier than hits, RBIs, and batting average (categories that Soto leads over Acuña).  Plus the Braves are in the playoffs, and the Nationals are not.  Not that it should make a difference, in my opinion, but to some it does.  Whatever.

Similarly "neck and neck" for a pretty trophy are my boy, Max Scherzer, and the Mets' Jacob DeGrom, who both apparently deserve this year's Cy Young award.  The Marlins' manager, Don Mattingly, had the nerve to say that he was voting for DeGrom simply because Scherzer already has three Cy Youngs and someone else should have a turn.  Really?  Sorry, Mattingly - you're an idiot (and I never liked you anyway, because, well, you were a Yankee).  While I'm not a fan of teams that repeat consecutive championships (the reason I'm not picking the Astros to win the World Series this year - more on that later), if you're the best and most badass pitcher year after year, then you should be rewarded year after year.  It's not Max's fault that he's so great!  Scherzer finished the season with 300 strikeouts, 18 wins, and more innings pitched than DeGrom, who only led in ERA.  Again, the Nationals player probably won't get the award - it will go to DeGrom because he plays for a New York team.  It's just a lousy trophy anyway, and yes, Max has three of them already.  Pshaw!

And then there's Bryce Harper.  Sigh!  The 25-year-old Nationals outfielder is now a free agent, and no one has a clue as to where he will go at this point.  Harper has been very nostalgic lately, letting us know that he has been playing for the same team since he was 19 - he has grown up in DC, gotten married, and established the "Harper's Heroes" foundation.  And I know I have been critical of Harper in the past (he still shows some immaturity at times), but he has commented on how he would like to stay in DC because it's the only thing he's ever known and he truly appreciates the city's fans.  Aw, Bryce! <3  So where Harper goes next season is any one's guess - my gut tells me he won't be staying in DC (since they will have a capable outfield of Soto, Adam Eaton, and Victor Robles), but there have been so many crazy rumors (Dodgers, Yankees, Angels, Phillies...) that it's a true mystery at this point.  Stay tuned.

And regarding the playoffs?  Well they will definitely be interesting, because the Red Sox have MVP-to-be Mookie Betts and the awesome J.D. Martinez, the Yankees have Luis Severino, Giancarlo Stanton, and the charming Didi Gregorius, and the Dodgers have everyone they could trade for but probably won't keep after the playoffs are over.  But don't discount the Rockies, A's, and Brewers, and of course the two teams I'm tired of seeing in the postseason (the Astros and Indians).  What two teams do I want to see in the World Series?  Admittedly the Indians (just because they've made it many times before doesn't mean they've won) and Rockies, but unfortunately without the Yankees or Red Sox in it, most of America won't watch any of the games.  So what the heck - for the sake of the game and TV ratings, it might as well be the Dodgers and (dare I say it?) the Yankees.  Sigh!  Really?  Did I just say that?  If that's the case, perhaps I will be the only one who will NOT watch!  OK, then the Dodgers and Red Sox.  Phew!

Regardless of what two teams take the field in late October, there is still a lot of baseball to be played.  So check out a game or two no matter what two teams are playing - you might catch a glimpse of some greatness (Francisco Lindor), an amazing catch in the outfield (Aaron Judge stealing a home run), or a hot guy in tight pants (Matt Kemp!  Who cares if you dated Rihanna - you're still not bad to look at!).  Check out MLB.com to see what channel is showing what game (they tend to be all over the place in the early playoff rounds), sit back with a mojito (surely I'm not the only one who does that!), and enjoy some good baseball, because before you know it, this up-and-down season will be over.

Still a Crazy Fan After All These Years

If you ask the average person if they think the game of baseball has changed drastically in the past twenty years, they will probably tell you it hasn't.  There are still nine innings, a pitcher and a catcher, and overpriced concessions.  But in reality, the game has evolved in many ways, and experts say that it's changing for the worse.  Exhaustive analytics, implementing "the shift," and the ability to challenge some plays have eliminated the "small ball" mentality and has players (even pitchers) trying to hit the ball out of the park at every at-bat.  Now, I won't get into the nitty gritty of it, because I know that many of you read my blog just to be nice and truly don't care about launch angles and travel velocity (and frankly I don't really either), but in a nutshell, watching a baseball game isn't as "exciting" and strategic as it used to be (some would argue that it is in fact more strategic than ever thanks to analytics, but it's the wrong type of strategy that is currently being used.  OPS, WHIP, SBPCT... yeah - no one cares!).

And then there are the trades.  Right before the July 31st trade deadline, I was all for trading players because of my "do whatever it takes (within reason) to win" mentality.  Machado to the Dodgers?  Sure - that was a good trade.  Familia to the A's?  Absolutely - I never liked him, so why not send him far away from the NL East?  These players are going to be free agents at the end of the season anyway; they're just being "rented" to help their teams win a World Series and will find more permanent (or "less-temporary") homes during the off-season.  But when the Washington Nationals quietly traded Daniel Murphy to the Cubs and Matt Adams to the Cardinals earlier this week, it felt like a kick in the gut (not that I know what that feels like!).  Murphy is one of those wholesome guys you would want your daughter to date - he's hard-working, personable, and just oozes wholesomeness.  He says things like "gosh darn it" and "dag nabbit" when he's upset (which is rare), and he likes to chat with umpires before stepping into the batters box or with first basemen when he hits a single.  Having him leave DC was heartbreaking, and many of us took it personally (like when you go back to the hair salon and your favorite stylist is gone and they can't tell you where she went so you know you'll never see her again).  And even though Adams wasn't a National for very long, it was nice having him around, especially when Ryan Zimmerman was injured and Adams covered first base.  These trades reminded us that baseball is a business more than it is a game.  Sigh!

So what keeps me loyal to the game I have been following since I was a kid?  Yes, many of the players aren't bad to look at, but at this point, I'm old enough to be the mother of some of these guys (Juan Soto is only 19 and Ronald Acuña is only 20!).  Yes, there is an increasing number of women who are involved with Major League Baseball and are being taken seriously (ESPN's Jessica Mendoza and The Washington Post's Chelsea Janes come to mind), and that makes me happy.  But it was actually a recent trip to the ballpark that reminded me why I still love this game despite the politics, the greed, and inter league play.  

The Washington Nationals have had a disappointing season. mainly because everyone picked them to win the NL East and instead they have had a season full of injuries, lackluster performances, and a new manager that no one likes (OK, I don't like him; perhaps others, like his mother, think he's perfectly competent).  So it has been tough watching Bryce Harper struggle (though he has improved since winning the Home Run Derby last month).  It was hard seeing Stephen Strasburg wince in pain on the mound with what turned out to be some sort of nerve impingement thing in his shoulder.  It has been heartbreaking seeing your team falling in the standings as the Braves and Phillies surged ahead (but at least I'm not an Orioles fan - I don't know how those people haven't all jumped off the Chesapeake Bay bridge yet).  But as an optimist, I have relished every win that Max Scherzer has had this year (another Cy Young award will surely be his at the end of this season).  And what about Juan Soto?  Yes, he strikes out on 3-2 counts a lot, but it has been refreshing watching a 19-year-old show so much poise and promise.  And he has 14 home runs as a teenager, which puts him fifth past Mickey Mantle on the "all-time home runs by a teenager" list, and any time someone passes a Yankee on any list, I'm happy.

So I brought my optimism with me to Nationals Park earlier this week, where my husband, 14-year-old son and I endured DC traffic and joined thousands of fans on a glorious evening to halfheartedly root for our team.  We had spent a lot of money on the tickets (we had really good seats), so why not go and try to have a good time?  Armed with our Nationals gear and tater-tot bowls (which are delicious, but I didn't think it was necessary for hubby to tell me that they were 2000 calories each!), we were hoping for a win.  At 7.5 games out of first place and nowhere close to being a Wild Card team, we just didn't want the team to embarrass themselves.  The score was 3-1 Phillies after the first inning, but we were still having a decent time.  Tied at 5 after the fourth inning, all was still good.  We were still full, it wasn't hot out, and the fans behind us weren't too obnoxious.  After the top of the ninth, it was 7-6 Phillies.  The Nationals had three more outs, and the fans started leaving the park, because they flashed a message on the scoreboard alerting everyone that the last Metro train was leaving the nearby Navy Yard station in just a few minutes.  Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendón recorded the first two outs off Phillies' closer Seranthony Dominguez (yes, his name is pronounced "Sir Anthony!"), so we were getting ready to leave after Juan Soto presumably struck out again.  But instead Soto hit a double, and the nail wasn't quite nailed into the coffin at that point.  Veteran Ryan Zimmerman was up, and I knew that he was known as "Mr. Walk-off," having ended games with bottom-of-the-ninth home runs in ten previous games in his career.  What were the chances that "Zim" would hit one tonight?  I have been to dozens of baseball games in my life, and have never seen a no-hitter, a triple play, or a walk-off homer, so why would that happen in this case?  Well, it did.  Zimmerman hit what was barely a home run (but hey, if it goes over the fence it counts!) and the Nationals ended up winning 8-7.  The random lady sitting next to my husband who had been completely silent while she scored the entire game in her scorebook gave us all high-fives.  Everyone who was left in the park was cheering, clapping, and jumping up and down.  My son and I hugged each other.  Zimmerman had the proverbial Gatorade cooler of water dumped on him as soon as he crossed home plate.  These are men playing a kids game, I realized; you hit the ball, it goes over the fence, and you run around the bases.  You celebrate the victories, learn from the defeats, and come back the next day to do it all over again, trying your best and not letting ignorant people bother you.

Now if only life could be that simple!