Why It's fun and why it's different

Last night after I'd once again given up on the Washington Nationals and gone to bed, they came back against the Seattle Mariners, scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning and won the game.

I should have known better. The Nats are no longer the scratching post of Major League baseball. They can hit, they run the bases aggressively and their pitching usually keeps them in the ballgame. And, one might say, they have an attitude. The attitude is: we can win and, oh yeah, this game is fun.

After Wilson Ramos the rookie catcher who won the game with a home run and his teammates were finished celebrating, one of the relief pitchers said it best: "We're jumping up like we're 5 years old and won a tee ball game and we're getting a sno cone after. It's fun. It shows you what this game is about." That was Collin Ballester who had just held the Mariners scoreless in the seventh and eighth innings in the game I'd given up for lost.

What's interesting about all this is how irrevelant the starting pitching was to the outcome of the game. Used to be that you won or lost based largely on your starting pitching. But last night's game is symptomatic of a shift in this paradigm. The Nats starter, Livan Hernandez, usually a tough match up for opponents (and a lot of fun to watch) just didn't have it. He only lasted five. On the other hand, the Mariners starter was terrific. Doug Fister went eight innings and gave up only three hits and one earned run. Yet he did not come out to pitch the ninth and the Mariners relief corps didn't hold a 5 to 1 lead.

I'm sure Eric Wedge, the Mariners manager had his reasons for taking out a starter who the Nats obviously couldn't hit. But why fix something that isn't broken? Why not trust the guy who got you there? The guys who are in the bullpen are usually there because they're not as good as your starters. Just sayin'.