(photo by Jared Wickerham)

Losing seasons have been the norm for D.C. sports fans, as the Redskins, Capitals, Wizards and Nationals have won just 1,165 out of a possible 2,673 games in recent history.

Thankfully, the influx of young talent with franchise players such as Alex Ovechkin, Stephen Strasburg and John Wall means that brighter days are ahead for our nation’s capital. Or at least that’s the story we’re telling with our weekly column over at SB Nation DC.

Click here to read the full feature. Or don’t. It’s your call.

(photo by Cheryl Nichols)

Since 2005, the Washington Nationals have been largely ignored, both locally and nationally.

Sure, it felt nice to have baseball back in our lives here in the nation’s capital, but fans largely stayed away, mostly because the team wasn’t very good.

When the “Natinals” did make headlines, they were rarely positive. Games were lost in bulk and missteps by management were far more common than any one fanbase should have to suffer though (just Google the words “Jim Bowden” and “Dominican scandal”).

But in the immortal words of OK Go, “All is not lost.”

The simple addition of pitcher Stephen Strasburg to a mediocre franchise like the Nats instantly makes it all better. Who cares if he only takes the mound once every five days?

Fair or unfair, if baseball is going to succeed in D.C., it’s going to be because of Strasburg. How’s that for putting the weight of the world on this 21-year-old’s shoulders?

After delivering one of the most dominating debuts in major league history, all anyone wanted to know is what would Strasburg do for an encore? Could he top his 14 strikeout, zero walk performance against the Pittsburgh Pirates? Or would he take a step back and look a little more human the second time around?

Whatever the outcome, one thing was for certain – all eyes were on Strasburg and the Nationals as they closed out their weekend series against the Cleveland Indians.

And for anyone thinking Strasburg’s surreal performance against Pittsburgh was a fluke, we’ve got bad news for you – the kid picked up right where he left off.

Strasburg struck out the first two Cleveland batters he faced. Coupled with the seven-straight Pirates he fanned to end his debut, Strasburg extended his strikeout streak to nine consecutive batters.

If that sounds impressive, it’s because it is. The major league record is 10, held by Tom Seaver and Eric Gagne.

From there, Strasburg cruised to an easy 9-4 victory over the Tribe. The rookie continued his winning ways, allowing just one run on two hits and striking out eight in five-and-a-third innings.

And for anyone who wondered if the radar gun was juiced at Nationals Park for Strasburg’s opener, his fastball continued to toy with batters on the road. Ten of Strasburg’s 95 pitches reached 100 miles per hour. Thirteen more clocked in at 99 miles per hour.

In two starts, the San Diego native has two wins and 22 strikeouts. He’s given up three runs on six hits in 12-and-a-third innings.

And here’s the kicker – in just two outings, Strasburg is already tied for eighth on the Nationals in strikeouts. In less than 13 innings of work, he’s already surpassed 11 other Washington pitchers and is currently tied with starter John Lannan (who has thrown 66 2/3 innings).

Yeah, he’s that good.

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(photo by Greg Fiume)

The statistics might say otherwise, but make no mistake about it – last night was the first perfect game in Washington Nationals history.

If possible, phenom Stephen Strasburg was even better than advertised as the Nats cruised to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates in front of 40,315 at Nationals Park.

The anticipation of Strasburg’s debut was unlike anything we’ve ever seen in baseball. The hype, the national spotlight, the media circus. We’d seen it before with names like LeBron James or Alex Ovechkin, but never before in baseball.

A team that has been completely irrelevant since returning to D.C. in 2005 was suddenly thrust into the center of the baseball universe, thanks to Strasburg.

Who knows for sure what realistic expectations could be set for the 21-year-old’s first outing? Whatever they were, the player once referred to as the “greatest pitching prospect ever” might have actually surpassed them.

Against the Pirates, Strasburg was unreal. He established a Nationals single-season record with 14 strikeouts while allowing two runs on four hits with no walks in seven innings of work.

Strasburg’s 14 strikeouts are one shy of the all-time mark of 15 for most strikeouts in a major league debut and he matched a Nats record with seven consecutive strikeouts (whiffing the last seven batters he faced). No pitcher in baseball history has ever struck out so many batters without giving up a walk in his debut. No pitcher, except Strasburg.

“I’ve never seen anything like this. Never. Nothing close. Not at that age, that polished,” said Curt Schilling. And those comments from the former Boston pitcher came a month ago. Imagine what he’d say now.

By the time Strasburg’s night was over, we decided if the kid was playing a video game, it was already time to move up to a tougher difficulty level. This is why Nationals team president Stan Kasten joked over the weekend that Strasburg’s $15-million contract might end up being a bargain.

“He’s the only guy in baseball who lives up to all the stories you hear,” said fellow rookie pitcher Drew Storen.

We’re not here to bad-mouth the Pirates, but Strasburg simply toyed with them. Out of the 94 pitches he threw, only one was a bad pitch – a fourth-inning offering that Pirates outfielder Delwyn Young drove over the scoreboard for a two-run homer.

Of course, none of the 10 batters he faced after giving up Young’s homer actually reached base, so it’s safe to say Strasburg shook off the mistake pretty quickly.

His 94th and final pitch of the night – a fastball to Pirates third baseman Andy LaRoche – registered 99 miles-per-hour on the radar gun. The MASN broadcast actually listed one of Strasburg’s heaters at 103 miles-per-hour. Everything about this rookie is simply unfathomable.

If you didn’t understand why the baseball world revolved around Strasburg before he even threw his first big-league pitch, you do now.

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(photo by Brian Murphy)

Since their arrival in 2005, the Montreal Expos have been lovable losers. Nothing more.

You could compare them to kid picked last in gym class or the child most likely to be bullied into giving away lunch money, but any way you spin it, it’s been a rough road for the Washington Nationals.

Thankfully, for every prepubescent boy, there mercifully comes a time in life when that scrawny, bird-chested boy begins to transform into man.

You know the signs. Hair in new places, a desire to spend more time taking long, hot showers or whatever. Once you begin to see those signs, it’s only a matter of time before everything changes.

As D.C. sports fans undoubtedly know by now, this is Washington Nationals week. A team that has avoiding relevancy like it was a sexually-transmitted disease is finally earning national attention for something other than back-to-back 100-loss seasons.

That’s what happens when you add two of the most anticipated rookies in recent baseball history to your roster – starting pitcher/savior Stephen Strasburg and slugger/chosen one Bryce Harper.

People suddenly care. Folks find a few extra dollars in their wallets for memorabilia. Family outings involve a night at the park. Simply put – everything is better when you’re winning. And if you can’t win games, at least have some players people care about.

You add bona fide stars like Strasburg and Harper to your team and you’re suddenly newsworthy for something other than opposing team’s fans taking over your ballpark on opening day. Yeah, they make that much of an impact.

With all of the excitement and anticipation building, we opted to spend this past weekend at Nationals Park. If for no other reason than to enjoy one final moment with the bad-news baseball team we’ve gotten to know and love over the last few years. We considered it one last chance to go see the scrawny kid – no, check that – our scrawny kid get roughed up at recess.

And boy, did we love every minute of it.

Led by savvy veteran Livan Hernandez, the Nationals beat the Cincinnati Reds Friday night, 4-2. While the Nats were more than happy to get the win and snap a three-game losing streak, the game wasn’t without controversy.

Washington shortstop Ian Desmond broke a seventh-inning tie with a single that drove in outfielder Josh Willingham. On the next at-bat, Nats catcher Wil Nieves advanced outfielder Roger Bernadina and Desmond to second and third with a sacrifice bunt.

Pinch-hitter Willie Harris drove in Bernadina with a sacrifice fly and Desmond took off for third base. While Desmond beat the throw, his foot momentarily came off the bag at the end of his slide. The question was – did Desmond’s momentum carry him off the bag or did the third baseman have something to do with it?

Third base umpire Paul Schrieber ruled Desmond safe. Reds skipper Dusty Baker came out to argue the call and crew chief Joe West overturned the call, even though he was working first base.

“To be honest with you, once that call was made, my eyes drifted away from Desmond,” said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman of Schrieber’s initial safe ruling. “So I didn’t really know what had happened. I just knew that there was a conference over there and I think Dusty came out and said, ‘Can you get help?’ It’s something that happens on a homerun call, fair or foul and that stuff because another umpire might have another view. I’ve never seen it happen on the bases.”

With that in mind, we asked Riggleman for his side of the conversation when he went out to chat with the umpire after Desmond was ruled out and then ejected for arguing.

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(photo by Jake Nielson)

Sometimes a change of scenery makes all the difference in the world.

It seems like just the other day that Houston Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt was being ejected from a game against the Washington Nationals.

Just two and a third innings into his work day, Oswalt lost his temper after missing on a pitch to Nationals outfielder Josh Willingham and yelled something. Home plate umpire Bill Hohn took umbrage and barked back at the pitcher.

Oswalt responded with a terse: “I ain’t talking to you,” and that was enough to earn him an early exit.

With the 32-year-old ace out of the equation, the proverbial floodgates opened as the Nats went on to pummel Houston 14-4 in a rare showing of Washington’s offensive prowess.

Earlier this season Oswalt had already gone public with his request to be traded from the 18-34 Astros, who are currently dead-last in the National League. And now, being ejected less than three innings into a game because he was so frustrated with himself that Oswalt felt compelled to verbally abuse Oswalt? That’s clearly a cry for help, if ever there was one.

What does this all have to do with the D.C. sports scene, you ask? Simple. Oswalt has let it be known that he’s willing to waive his no-trade clause to come to Washington if the Nats and Astros were to work out a deal.

It should be pointed out that Oswalt is asking for a trade because he’s tired of losing and wants to play for a contender. And he’s willing to play for the Nationals. Which means, Oswalt actually thinks the Nats are contenders.

“They’ve been playing well,” said Oswalt to the Washington Post. “They’ve got a good offensive club. I saw where they have [rookie pitcher Stephen] Strasburg coming up. He should make an immediate impact, especially, because no one’s seen him in the league, early. There’s always a little adjustment period there.”

Oswalt aside, this might qualify as the biggest shocker of 2010 – outsiders are actually starting to view the Washington Nationals as a legitimate baseball team.

Yes, the team that has averaged 96 losses a year over the last four seasons is honestly on the verge of respectability. Talk about a stunning development.

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(photo by David J. Phillips)

After having 12 of their last 15 games decided by two runs or less the Washington Nationals finally got to enjoy a blowout, cruising to an easy 14-4 victory over the Houston Astros.

And while D.C. sports fans are salivating at the thought of a certain rookie pitcher being added to the rotation, it was a lesser-known rookie pitcher who earned his team-best fifth win Monday night.

Nats fans are already dreaming of Stephen Strasburg’s debut, which the team announced will be June 8 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, but it was Luis Atilano who for the second-straight outing outpitched a top-of-the-rotation ace.

One week after beating San Francisco ace Tim Lincecum, Atilano outdueled Astros pitcher Roy Oswalt (allowing just three earned runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings) to improve to 5-1. The 25-year-old rookie hasn’t been dominant by any stretch of the imagination (10 hits, two walks, one strikeout and five earned runs in 12 innings pitched), but his last two outings have been good enough to get the job done.

“He threw strikes,” said Nationals manager Jim Riggleman. “He changed speeds. He’s got his breaking ball over. He’s composed. I don’t think he’s too worried about who he’s going up against. Our catchers have done a great job with him. He’s been a pleasure to watch.”

With Atilano keeping them in the game, the Nats bats finally came to life – scoring 14 runs in a game for the second time this season. The game was highlighted by the Nationals’ biggest offensive onslaught (a nine-run seventh inning) the team has seen since moving from Montreal.

“As good as we’ve been, we can do a lot better,” said third baseman Ryan Zimmerman, who hit a three-run homer in the seventh. “It’s exciting. If we can get rolling and scoring some runs, the way our pitchers have been throwing, we’ll be a good team.”

Backup catcher Carlos Maldonado had just two at-bats this season prior to Monday, but the 31-year-old made the most of his rare appearance, blasting a three-run homer off of the left field foul pole in the seventh.

Those two home runs, coupled with a strong day at the plate for first baseman Adam Dunn, who went two for five with four runs batted in, are the primary reason why the Nationals are back at .500 with a 26-26 record.

“It was kind of a snowball effect,” said outfielder Josh Willingham. “Even some balls we weren’t hitting well were falling, so it was a good day for everybody at the plate. You need a game like that every now and then.”

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(courtesy photo)

As was the case with many folks around town, the Washington Capitals’ early exit hit us like a stomach punch.

Just when we were getting used to one of our local franchises going from pretender to contender, they suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the 16th-best team to make the playoffs.

We’ve never been accused at looking past an opponent, but blowing a three-games-to-one lead against the Montreal Canadiens caught us off guard, to say the least.

Like Ron Burgundy, we resigned ourselves to growing a mountain man beard and drinking copious amounts of milk from the carton to drown away our sorrows.

But a funny thing happened this past weekend. A forgotten friend showed up, fittingly, at our doorstep and swept us away.

The Washington Nationals, who after back-to-back 100-loss seasons have been viewed locally as little more than a doormat, are suddenly interesting again.

On the surface, taking two out of three games from a 14-31 Baltimore Orioles team that is currently dead-last in baseball, isn’t something to write home about. But it’s the manner in which the Nats won those games that is our reason for being suckered back in.

After dropping the series opener to Baltimore 5-3, the Nats were back to an all-too-familiar place – below .500. The following day things went from bad to worse when veteran catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez was forced out of the game with a back injury and center fielder Nyjer Morgan allowed an inside-the-park home run after throwing a hissy fit rather than field a ball that bounced off his glove.

And yet, the Nationals somehow managed to rally back and earn a 7-6 victory, thanks to a two-run single by first baseman Adam Dunn. Yesterday, the Nationals gutted out a 4-3 victory over the Orioles when outfielder Josh Willingham delivered a walk-off homer in the 10th inning.

This game was equally noteworthy because closer Matt Capps, who has been an indestructible force all season long, blew his first save of the year.

That’s the thing about these last two wins: for the first time this season (and possibly dating back even longer), the Washington Nationals have an identity. A team that has rarely been able to overcome any adversity has suddenly shown that there is enough depth and desire to battle back if something doesn’t go right.

When’s the last time the Nats could survive a momentary lapse in judgment by Morgan or an off day from their closer and still somehow battle back for a victory? Let’s just say it hasn’t happened very often with this bunch.

This team now heads west for a 10-game road trip, but there is an undeniable truth about these Nats: even without highly-touted rookie Stephen Strasburg on the big-league roster yet, they are now worth the price of admission.

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