Good News: Nats Lose
Excuse me? The Nationals lost last night and somehow this is good news?
You bet it is. Michael Jackson was a winner just down the highway, so the world again is in balance.
Too many wins in a row makes a team think they can just "phone in" their games, that the team is so special that somehow, some way, they're going to win that next game. The Nationals are good, but they're not that good. They needed a reality check, and they got it. All of a sudden, they no longer have the longest winning streak in the NL this year; they're just one of several teams fighting for 1st place in the NL East.
Another concern is what happens to a team after a winning streak ends. Just ask the Yankees. After winning 10 games in a row, they soon found themselves going 2-8 over their next 10. At last glance, they were still falling off the face of the Earth as if Columbus was wrong and the world was indeed flat.
Monday night's game was so bad that there is no need to review it. We lost 11-1. Jose Guillen drove in the only run [at least that's something]. No one played particularly well. Tuesday night will say a lot about the Nationals as a team. After winning 10 in a row, after getting their brains beat in, which team will show up? Will it be the one who has been in first place for more than 10 days, or will it be the one who got swept by the Reds 2 weeks ago?
One thing that we must all remember: We are fans of a .500 club. We are fans of a club that will likely win as many games the rest of the year as they lose. While we are fans of a team that won 13 out 14 games, we are fans of a team that hasn't proven capable of contending for first the rest of the season, little along remaining there. There are more questions than answers that dot the starting lineup. We cannot all of a sudden switch gears in mid season and have expectations of Cardinals and White Sox fans. Not only must we consider that the Nats will come back to Earth, we must assume it. With a few exceptions, this is the same team that limped home from "that" road trip just a couple of weeks back.
We want this team to finish 3rd or so, within shouting distance of first place. The new owner will take a look at the team and say, "Wow, they're only a bat and a pitcher away from winning it all." He'll then run out and find us one of each. But what if, Heaven forbid, we actually win the division? We'll likely get squished in the playoffs, and the new owner would say, "Hey, these guys won their division, why spend more money on the team when I can keep the payroll at $50 million and still be competitive." No, we don't want that. C'mon guys, go 84-78, finish 3rd, and then we'll have the chance to build on that effort.
Please?
