A true Team is a powerful thing

Baseball is a roller coaster of emotional and physical issues. It's how you deal with them as a unit that sets you apart. The Washington Nationals took about 80 games to realize they could play with anyone--Not that they didn't have the team they have now, but they didn't have the TEAM they have now. I'll take you back to 1989. That spring turned to be the craziest time of my young career, with issues that began for us as a unit in Cincinnati. Pete Rose was being investigated for gambling on baseball. He tried to deflect the attention away from us, but it was still not the most normal of baseball seasons. By the time it was over, a very good team would finish fifth in the standings, one manager would be suspended, one would take his place on an interim basis, and another would become our manager in the offseason. Before spring training started, the players would be locked out, and once again we could fold as a unit or come together - obviously we came together. That brings me back to the 2009 Nationals - yes, it started badly. A manager and a pitching coach were replaced. Many players have come and gone just like the Reds back in '89. The unit could have just finished out the schedule or it could stand and fight and become one. That's what this TEAM decided to do, stand and fight as a unit, as one. It's a game of numbers to some, but not me. The players that return for 2010 will have learned many lessons, and not all of them will be about stats and numbers. When a TEAM comes to the park every day ready to win, no matter what the talent level, no matter what issues they may face, together they will be hard to stop. There are still 50 or so games to play, but these 50 should be a lot more fun to play, and to watch, than the first 50 have been.