The Washington Nationals decided to stay in the news by putting together an incredible 8 game winning streak and being triumphant in 12 out of 16. No, I am not on Crack and Pigs are not flying out of my Butt. The statistical probability of the universe actually allows for such a Phenomenon every once in a while in Washington. The Nationals winning streak includes sweeps over the National League Wild Card Contending Florida Marlins and the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Nats saw themselves with early deficits but in a testament of their mental toughness and resolve, were able to stick it out as their bats caught on fire. Against Pittsburgh we saw our ball club trailing 2-1 heading into the 7th. Chalk up the come from behind win to the Nats. On Monday the Nationals were trailing the Pirates again this time by 3 runs going into the 6th. No problem, for Adam Dunn and Ryan Zimmerman. Home Run bombs by each helped the team split the series with Pittsburgh and pick up some momentum in the process.
With super powered bats and a newly found confidence, the next series against the Marlins saw much of the same. In fact the Nationals trailed 4-0 going into the 8th inning in the first game and 6-0 during the third game of the series, both ending in Nationals Victories. The Rally Nats finished off their incredible come from behind heroics against the Arizona Diamondbacks trailing 5-1 before closing out the game with a 7-6 Victory.
It appears the Nationals have finally reached the next level. They are now a legitimate threat to teams competing for a Playoff spot and are looking to dig out of the cellar of being labeled the worst team in Major League Baseball. Throughout the past two weeks the Nationals have actually become one of the more entertaining teams to watch. While the pitching as a whole has been less than impressive, their scorching offense, improved defense, and resilience after falling behind early has become the antidote to Nationals Boredom Disease.
We all knew that the win streak couldn’t last much longer. The Nationals ended up dropping their next 3 games to Red Hot Atlanta and Cincinnati until defeating the Reds 2-0 in game two of the series. The Universe seems to have a way of correcting itself now as Washington’s bats have cooled significantly scoring only five runs in the last four games following their winning streak. Not to worry though. This is still very significant for the organization as a whole. Fans have a taste of what rooting for a good team feels like. The players have a taste of what putting together a winning streak feels like. Such instances should not be underestimated for teams as young and talented as the Nationals.
The Nats PR department is dropping the ball somewhat though. I have yet to receive my email from the organization bragging about the winning streak. Perhaps they are beginning to learn that the teams’ performance will speak for itself and fans are smart enough to support and care. Sure fans are fickle especially for such a young franchise entering a new market. But as the saying goes “Winning Solves Everything”.
