Rooting Interest — Baseball Bench Coach

I remember my Mom coming into the living room while we were watching sports on television and asking, “who are we rooting for?” It was not until I started writing this baseball blog that it hit me how powerful those words were. Sportswriters need to be as objective as possible, while fans need to be just that, fanatics. After my first year of writing this blog, I have found that being a fan is a lot easier than trying to cover both sides of a story. So if you are on the fence without a connection to either team and you want to make a choice, what goes into it? For me, it’s a combination of nostalgia, personal interests, and more often than not, rooting for the underdog. What did this mean to my fandom during this up and down 2019 World Series we are all now watching?

Before Game 1 of the Series, I was confident that the Astros, the most talented team in baseball and my pre-playoff pick, would secure its second title in three years. Somehow I began to think about the Nationals’ origin back in 1969 when they entered the NL as an expansion team, the Montreal Expos. I remember that as a little boy that summer I wore the colorful Expos cap to baseball practice, much to the amusement of my coaches. I also remember that October the baseball world was surprised when the Mets took the ’69 Fall Classic against the Orioles. The comparisons between the two Series, 50 years apart, were remarkable – both the Mets and Nationals were slow starters in the regular season only to come on strong at the end; were facing World Series opponents in the American League that had posted two of the best all-time regular season records (Orioles with 109 in 1969 and the Astros with 107 this year); and were looking for their first world titles in franchise history. Yes, a little nostalgia, that history could repeat itself, and certainly, if I would cheer for Washington, I’d be rooting for the underdog!

I must admit that the embarrassing cloud hanging over the Houston franchise off the field also helped land me in the Nationals camp. First, the Astros team staff after a mid-season game unfairly prevented a Detroit Free Press reporter from entering the post-game clubhouse due to a harmless feud with Astros ace Justin Verlander. After some clamor and a quick MLB look, the incident seemingly went away. Then, during the post-Series ALCS celebration, Houston’s Assistant General Manager Brandon Taubman directed inappropriate comments toward female sportswriters in the Astros clubhouse in support of reliever Roberto Osuna. The Astros truly fumbled this latter incident with some lukewarm press statements, the end result being the firing of Taubman, a continuing MLB investigation, and the Astros management team perhaps unworthy of another title.

One last factor in support of that crazy “W” which reminds us all of our last visit to Walgreen’s; I’ve lived my entire life rooting for teams in National League cities! When in doubt, I go NL (except, of course, if it is the Dodgers). So there you have it, my Nationals fandom for the 2019 Series is exposed. How have the games played out? And what about those factors I asked you to keep a watchful eye for in my last blog; have they played a part?

The Nationals carried the momentum into Game One in Houston, having won 16 of their last 18 games played. Home runs, a sign of the times, and a little nostalgia played a big part in Washington’s 5-4 win, the only nail-biter so far in the Series. Brian Zimmerman, the first player ever drafted by the Nationals, hit the first World Series home run by a Nat. Later in the game, Juan Soto, three days short of his 21st birthday, became one of the youngest players in World Series history to hit a long ball as well. A base running gaffe by veteran Astro George Springer also led to the outcome. Giving his best impression of Ronald Acuna Jr., Springer watched his long hit carom off the outfield wall and failed to make it to third base as the tying run in the 8th inning. We did see one chink in the Nationals armor though. Since Nationals starter Max Scherzer was uncharacteristically wild, he only made it through five innings. Washington had to turn to its bullpen early. Pressed into relief action was 4th game starter Patrick Corbin, a sign of pitching problems to come.

Game Two on the scoreboard was a blowout, 12-3 Washington, but it really was a tight game until the Nationals 6-run seventh inning. The story again was the failed efforts of an Astros ace. The night before Gerrit Cole lost his first game since May, giving up 5 runs in 7 innings. Game 2 saw Justin Verlander’s World Series reputation take another hit as he gave up 4 runs in 6 innings, and was saddled with the loss. Verlander is an astounding 0-5 in six World Series starts in his career. The key hit in the game was another Nat home run, this time a leadoff blast by veteran catcher Kurt Suzuki in the seventh inning. It marked the first time all year that a team had beaten Cole and Verlander in consecutive starts. My new found Nats were rolling! It was time to head home and finish up the Series.

After a travel day, the Series moved to D.C. for Game Three before a raucous crowd ready to boost the Nationals and their winning ways. Momentum plays a huge part in a seven-game series. Big Mo may have shifted to the Astros due to the strike zone of home plate umpire Gary Cederstrom. Nats starter Anibal Sanchez, who had pitched a masterful NLCS game against the Cardinals just a week before, is one of those pitchers who needs to work at the corners and off the plate. The Astros have incredibly patient hitters, and with a tight strike zone, Sanchez worked behind in the count most of the evening. He became increasingly frustrated in the fifth inning as the Astros took a 3-1 lead. The Nationals hitting fortunes also changed since they failed time after time to get a key hit off Astros starter Zach Greinke. Houston’s better bullpen prevailed and the Astros got a much needed win, 4-1.

Game Four presented a huge pitching dilemma for Astros manager AJ Hinch with his team down 2 games to 1. In the ALCS against the Yankees he opted to skip his #4 starter and pitch Justin Verlander on short rest in Game 5 (the ALCS Game 4 rainout allowed Cole to pitch on regular rest), a loss by Verlander. Early reports for Game Four of this Series had Hinch turning to Cole on short rest. Fortunately for the Astros, Hinch showed confidence in his #4 guy this time and started Jose Urquidy, a 24-year old rookie making only his seventh big league start. Kind of gutsy call by Hinch, but the confidence was well placed as Urquidy was masterful, giving up just two hits in five scoreless innings. On the Nationals side, Dave Martinez turned to reliable starter, Patrick Corbin, who was coming off a Game One relief stint. Corbin gave up four runs in his six inning outing. Backed by a game deciding grand slam by Alex Bregman and the continued blazing hitting by Michael Brantley (he maintained a .471 batting average in four games), the Astros won a laugher, 8-1, tying the Series at two games apiece.

The baseball world was buzzing yesterday with the anticipation of a Game Five matchup between Max Scherzer and Gerrit Cole. It promised to be a classic pitcher’s duel to decide the most important game of a seven-game series. As noted in last week’s blog, the last team to win the World Series without winning Game Five was the Cardinals in 2011. Then the news broke. Scherzer was ruled out of the game with neck and back spasms, and the Nats’ Joe Ross was asked to take the mound. Ross performed well in a five inning start, but was done in by two 2-run homers, long shots by Jordan Alvarez and Carlos Correa. The Astros Cole did his part, and interestingly, changed his approach from Game One, relying this time on his curve ball as the out pitch. It’s that kind of an adjustment the second time a pitcher sees a team in a short stretch that makes the difference in winning or losing. Cole gave up only one run and three hits in seven innings. Astros win Game Five, 7-1.

The Series heads back to Houston tomorrow night for Game Six, and Game Seven, if necessary on Wednesday evening. Certainly this Series shows firsthand that home field advantage is not critical. Neither team has won so far at home. As I write this, Scherzer has not been ruled out to pitch Game Seven. With the Strasburg and Scherzer combination in Games Six and Seven, there’s still hope Washington could be the Miracle Nats, 50 years after the Miracle Mets laid claim to the nickname in ’69. My newly found Nats fandom says yes; my objective blog writing says no.

Until next Monday,

your Baseball Bench Coach

P.S. Next Monday will be my last blog piece until next spring. Your 2019 World Series Champions will have been crowned. I will provide some closing thoughts on 2019 and a look ahead to 2020.