nationals

Building off the heartbreak

October 14, 2012, 9:05am

One of the moments from the postgame scene after Friday's loss that I won't forget for quite a while was catcher Kurt Suzuki, who had just finished talking to a group of reporters, slowly walking away from his locker. Suzuki seemed unsure of where to go or what exactly to do. He turned to infielder Chad Tracy and quietly said what everyone in the Nationals' clubhouse was probably thinking. "I'm not ready to be done playing," Suzuki said. The Nats will have a while to think about their...

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Amazing to consider ...

October 13, 2012, 6:26pm

Nationals

Nine games. Nine wins. That is how close the Nationals were to a World Series title. Twice they were down to one strike from dethroning the current world champions. The St. Louis Cardinals celebrated. The Nationals headed home. The Cardinals were sweating the Nationals, a team that eight years ago deployed a pretty much decimated minor league system. A team that was pretty much orphaned by Major League Baseball. They had 59 wins in 2008, 59 wins in 2009 and 100 wins in 2012. In 2008 and...

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DeRosa not ready to hang 'em up just yet

October 13, 2012, 12:45pm

Nationals

DeRosa not ready to hang 'em up just yet

A number of Mark DeRosa's teammates have said he'd make a great manager one day. DeRosa is a baseball man through and through, can relate to players regardless of their age or position and has a sense of humor which allows him to bring levity to tough situations. But DeRosa doesn't think he's ready to stop playing just yet. The 37-year-old hit just .188 in 85 at-bats during yet another injury-riddled campaign. An oblique injury cost him much of the season and the death of his father made...

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LaRoche, Jackson both say they'd like to return

October 13, 2012, 12:05am

Nationals

LaRoche, Jackson both say they'd like to return

Adam LaRoche has a $10 million mutual option for next season, which he's sure to decline in search of a more lucrative deal. Edwin Jackson is set to become a free agent yet again. The Nationals' 2012 season just ended, and ended in stunning fashion. But general manager Mike Rizzo and his staff have been preparing for the offseason for about three or four weeks, and soon enough, they'll need to decide how to proceed with both LaRoche and Jackson. LaRoche says he hopes to be back with the...

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Rizzo on the loss, Strasburg and his message for Storen (plus a thank you)

October 13, 2012, 1:56am

Nationals

Rizzo on the loss, Strasburg and his message for Storen (plus a thank you)

I just got home from Nationals Park a few minutes ago, and wanted to post some quotes from Nats general manager Mike Rizzo before hitting the pillow for the next 3 1/2 weeks. Before I share Rizzo's postgame comments, though, I wanted to say thank you to all of you who read my work here on MASNsports.com, commented, interacted with me on Twitter or in any way helped make this season so fun for me. I joined the Nationals beat a couple weeks into spring training this year and had to play a bit...

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First the collapse, then the disbelief and disappointment

October 12, 2012, 10:38pm

Nationals

First the collapse, then the disbelief and disappointment

As the St. Louis Cardinals celebrated the most improbable of comebacks in the Nationals Park infield, outfielder Jayson Werth knelt on the top step of the home dugout, his head bent in a cross between disappointment and disbelief. Behind him, stunned fans watched a celebration they never expected to see unfold, their plans to whoop it up after reaching the National League Division Series short-circuited. For the seconds immediately following the Cardinals' 9-7 win over the Nationals early...

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Storen tries to deal with a blown save he'll never forget

October 12, 2012, 10:48pm

Nationals

Storen tries to deal with a blown save he'll never forget

Drew Storen stood in front of his locker wearing his grey undershirt with red sleeves. He looked at the floor, paced around the Nationals clubhouse a bit, then came back to his locker. Veteran infielder Mark DeRosa walked over and gave Storen a hug and a few words of encouragement. Starter Gio Gonzalez followed, as did general manager Mike Rizzo. Storen stared at the ground a bit more, playing at the carpet with his toes. Plastic sheets were pulled up above the lockers towards the ceiling. A...

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What they're saying about NLDS Game 5

October 13, 2012, 7:45am

Nationals

With two outs in the top of the ninth, Daniel Descalso and Pete Kozma delivered back-to-back RBI singles and ending the Nationals' magical season. One day after earning the Game 4 win, Drew Storen served up four runs in the ninth to allow the Cardinals beat the Nationals in the most heartbreaking way possible, to win the National Legaue Division Series. St. Louis will now face San Francisco in the National League Championship Series. Here's a roundup of what other media outlets are saying...

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O's need a Sabathia-like, big-game pitcher while Nats must decide whether to bring back LaRoche

October 13, 2012, 5:00am

Nationals Orioles

O's need a Sabathia-like, big-game pitcher while Nats must decide whether to bring back LaRoche

Thoughts as the League Championship Series get started: * The Orioles need a big-game, season-saving pitcher, ala the Yankees' CC Sabathia. The Orioles' pitching depth is nice, but a Sabathia-type pitcher would be ideal. Sabathia beat the Orioles twice in the Division Series, once with 120 pitches and another with 121. This offseason, the Orioles should sign Nate McLouth and renegotiate with Mark Reynolds - maybe two years and $11 million instead of picking up the one-year option. The...

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With option decision looming, LaRoche's teammates want him back in 2013

October 12, 2012, 10:29pm

Nationals

With option decision looming, LaRoche's teammates want him back in 2013

The Nationals' season came to a quick end in the ninth inning of Game 5 of the National League Division Series. But if you look back at the past couple of seasons, there is no way this team would have had a chance to be one strike away from the National League Championship Series without the bat and glove of Adam LaRoche at first base. LaRoche put up career numbers in 2012, smacking 33 homers and 100 RBIs in helping the Nationals to 98 regular season wins and a the National League East...

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Storen blows lead in ninth (Nats lose an absolute stunner, are eliminated)

October 12, 2012, 8:23pm

Nationals

Storen blows lead in ninth (Nats lose an absolute stunner, are eliminated)

Drew Storen was handed a 7-5 lead in the ninth inning, but the Nationals' 25-year-old closer allowed four runs to give the Cardinals a 9-7 lead heading to the bottom of the ninth. Storen allowed a double to Carlos Beltran leading off the ninth, then retired the next two Cardinals hitters and got two strikes on Yadier Molina to bring the Nationals to within a strike of the National League Championship Series. He then walked Molina and David Freese, loading the bases for Daniel Descalso....

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Gonzalez nearly implodes in the fifth (Suzuki adds a huge insurance run)

October 12, 2012, 6:38pm

Nationals

Gonzalez nearly implodes in the fifth (Suzuki adds a huge insurance run)

It looked like Gio Gonzalez was on cruise control. He'd faced just one over the minimum through the first three innings, had struck out four and was having no trouble pounding the zone with both his fastball and dazzling curve. Then the Game 1 Gio Gonzalez returned. We remember that Gio Gonzalez - the one who couldn't find the strike zone, handed out walks to anyone who was willing to take one and forced the Nationals' bullpen into action in the early innings. Staked to a 6-0 lead after...

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Nats deliver a haymaker right off the bat (another follows in the third)

October 12, 2012, 5:06pm

Nationals

Nats deliver a haymaker right off the bat (another follows in the third)

The Nationals needed just seven pitches to send the Nats Park crowd into a frenzy and to deliver a massive body blow to the Cardinals. Adam Wainwright, who struck out 10 and gave up just a single run in his Game 1 outing against the Nats, gave up a double to Jayson Werth to open the bottom of the first, a shot ripped down the left field line to get things started. Bryce Harper, who had gone just 1-for-18 over the first four games of the series, then crushed a triple off the center field wall,...

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Jackson available in 'pen, Zimmermann would start Game 1 of NLCS

October 12, 2012, 2:36pm

Nationals

Jackson available in 'pen, Zimmermann would start Game 1 of NLCS

If the Nationals win tonight and get their way to the National League Championship Series, Jordan Zimmermann will get the ball for Game 1. Nats manager Davey Johnson said today that Zimmermann would be his guy to open the NLCS on Sunday, this after working a perfect inning of relief yesterday and striking out all three hitters he faced. Like Zimmermann yesterday, Edwin Jackson will be available in relief tonight because it's his throw day. Unlike Zimmermann yesterday, however, Jackson will...

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No changes in Nats lineup for Game 5

October 12, 2012, 2:55pm

Nationals

The Nationals have announced their lineup for the decisive Game 5 of the National League Division Series, and it's the same one that's faced the Cardinals throughout the series. Well, save for the starting pitcher - Gio Gonzalez, in this case. For the Nationals against the Cardinals' Adam Wainwright: RF - Jayson Werth CF - Bryce Harper 3B - Ryan Zimmerman 1B - Adam LaRoche LF - Michael Morse SS - Ian Desmond 2B - Danny Espinosa C - Kurt Suzuki P - Gio Gonzalez It's already pretty chilly...

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Johnson on Harper's struggles at plate: "He will be all right"

October 12, 2012, 2:10pm

Nationals

Johnson on Harper's struggles at plate: "He will be all right"

Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper has not been able to get on track in the National League Division Series against tough St. Louis pitching. He has gone 1-for-18 in four games with a double in Game 2. He has struck out six times. Harper is a perfectionist and focuses more and more when he struggles. Manager Davey Johnson said before Game 5 that may not be the best strategy. "With Bryce, when he doesn't do something spectacular, he tries harder," Johnson said. "And trying harder is not...

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Looking at Game 5 by the numbers

October 12, 2012, 11:14am

Nationals

A few Nationals players said after Wednesday's Game 3 loss that if they could just force a Game 5, they felt like they had the advantage. Gio Gonzalez, a 21-game winner this season who posted a 1.35 ERA in his final six regular season starts, would take the mound for the Nats in that Game 5 with a chance to pitch them to the National League Championship Series. Well, here it is. The Nats did what they needed to do last night to force a game today to decide the National League Division...

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The walk-off homer through the eyes of the guy who hit it

October 11, 2012, 6:12pm

Nationals

The walk-off homer through the eyes of the guy who hit it

What does Jayson Werth remember about his game-winning, walk-off home run off Lance Lynn in the bottom of the ninth inning, a homer which gave the Nationals new life in the best-of-five National League Division Series and let them play one more day? Not a whole lot. "It's almost like I blacked out," Werth said after the game. "A Will Ferrell moment." The pieces Werth does remember are brief flashes. The 2-2 curveball from the hard-throwing Cardinals reliever that bent just out of the...

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Bullpen finally able to flex its muscle as Nationals survive Game 4

October 11, 2012, 4:44pm

Nationals

Through three games of the best-of-five National League Division Series, the Nationals' bullpen was used early and taxed late. You got the feeling that the relief crew really didn't get to show what it was really made of after 27 innings. But in Game 4, that all changed. Eight strikeouts in three innings effectively capped the St. Louis offense with the score tied. And it helped lead to a 2-1 Nationals win over the Cardinals, as Washington survives to play another day. Game 5 is set for...

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The start the Nats needed and the speech that got them started

October 11, 2012, 6:56pm

Nationals

The start the Nats needed and the speech that got them started

When Ross Detwiler reached for his phone after tonight's game, he had 83 text messages waiting for him. Good thing he won't be needed to pitch for at least another few days. His fingers might be numb for a while if he plans on getting back to everyone. Detwiler took the mound tonight needing to pitch the game of his life. He did just that. He's had more impressive stat lines this season. But Detwiler's effort, given the circumstances, should put this outing up there on the list of best...