My apologies, but I’m in somewhat of an “I told you so” mood, and since this is my place to spout and spew, I’m gonna do just that.  And what do I want to spout and spew about?  The Washington Nationals baseball team.

Washington Nationals “Curly W” Logo

I’ve been a baseball fan since I was a kid. I remember sitting out on our screened-in porch, in the dark, with my dad, listening to Washington Senators games on a transistor radio. Every so often we’d go to a game at Griffith Stadium, where I’d watch Harmon Killebrew, Frank Howard, Gil Hodges, Camilo Pascual, Eddie Brinkman, and others. I still remember the saying, “Washington: First in war, first in peace, last in the American League!”

Washington, D.C. lost the Senators not once, but twice. The current Texas Rangers and Minnesota Twins began their existence in Washington. For years, D.C. had no professional (or even minor league) baseball, and many locals adopted the nearby Baltimore Orioles. Not I, however. I want baseball that’s a “home team.”

In 2005, the Lerner family, wealthy from their real estate works, brought the Montreal Expos to D.C. It was a rocky start, and for the first few years, it wasn’t certain if this was going to be a D.C. team or a transplanted Canadian team. Some people latched on quickly, and when the Nationals drafted University of Virginia’s Ryan Zimmerman, things began to look up.

This isn’t supposed to be a history lesson. The above is simply background. The recent history is that the Nationals developed into one of the game’s top teams. They won their division (NL East) twice. And lost the league title twice by one run in game five. They were on the brink.

So, now this is a eulogy. There are 37 games left to play in the 2018 regular season. The Nats are 62-63, and have been hovering around the .500 mark since about July 3, when they hit 42-42.

Statistically, they could still make the playoffs.  Yeah, and there’s a statistical chance that I could be elected Pope.

Today (August 19, 2018) the Nationals got drubbed by the last place Miami Marlins, 12-1. This, on the heels of a tenth inning loss to the same Marlins the night before.  To say the Nationals are foundering is to say the Titanic has sprung a leak.

Prior to the season opener, many in the media were crowning the Nats the obvious World Series Champs (Sports Illustrated cover jinx, anyone?).  These same prognosticating experts should be eating their words.  They won’t, of course.

Technically, I think part of the problem is that opposing teams got better in the off-season and the Nationals didn’t keep pace.  There was a pleasant surprise in the activation of rookie Juan Soto, but he’s been the bright spot in a year otherwise marked by injury and less-than-stellar play.

That a team which can boast as much talent as the Nationals can be a mediocre .500 speaks volumes about sports, human nature and relying on predictions.