Baseball Playoffs Begin with Nats, without Reds (of course)

Nats Authoring New Playoff Narrative

The Washington Nationals entered the year with most fans feeling a little ambiguity toward the D.C. team. They had let generational star Bryce Harper walk in free agency, but they had up-and-coming outfielders to replace him (at a much cheaper price, mind you) and they used some of their "Harper savings" on top-of-the-rotation starter Patrick Corbin. Washington even added some key veterans around the edges to round out the roster.

Bryce was gone, but the Nationals were still a legitimate contender...on paper.

But things started very poorly for Washington as they ended May with a 24-33 record. That had them in fourth place and nine games back of the National League East-leading Philadelphia Phillies. You do know that is where Harper went, right? Ouch.

The Nationals hit their stride in the summer months, however, as they went 69-36 the rest of the way and secured one of the two NL Wild Card slots. That meant a one-game playoff against the Milwaukee Brewers. A one-game playoff in baseball is an absolute crap shoot and the Nats have a history of playoff failure.

Let's take a quick look at that history to make sure we are all on the same sheet.

• 2012: Nats give up 2-run 9th inning lead to St. Louis Cardinals to lose the decisive fifth game at Nats Park in the N.L Division Series.
• 2014: San Francisco Giants handily dispatch Nats 3-1 in NLDS.
• 2016: Nats drop decisive fifth game at home to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.
• 2017: Nats drop decisive fifth game at home to lose to the Chicago Cubs in the NLDS.

That's four playoff appearances without advancing. That's three playoff appearances with the decisive loss coming at home. That's the definition of "a history of playoff failure."

For seven and one half innings Tuesday night in that wild card game, it looked like Washington was following their traditional October script. With an excellent performance from Stephen Strasburg in his first ever relief performance and one huge clutch hit from left fielder Juan Soto (one of the those young, cheap Harper replacements) in the 8th inning, the Nationals flipped that script and authored their first decisive playoff victory. Nationals fans were lively all night and really let it rip once the victory was complete, Scott Allen of the Washington Post showed in his D.C. Sports Bog.

Prior to the Wild Card game, I told the HOTPO staff that I would buy NLDS Game 3 tickets if the Nats won that game. Tickets are purchased and the HOTPO will "cover" NLDS Game 3 on location. We'll see if the Nats can author a different playoff script this year.

Reds Ineptitude Is Same Old Story

Coming off a fourth straight 90-loss season, Cincinnati Reds fans actually had reason for optimism at the outset of the 2019 campaign. The usually inactive Cincinnati front office acquired starting pitchers Sonny Gray, Tanner Roark and Alex Wood to improve a miserable pitching staff that ranked 26th of 30 in 2018. Along with the free agent signings of infielders Jose Iglesias and Derek Dietrich and the acquisitions of veteran outfielders Yasiel Puig and Matt Kemp, the Reds appeared ready for flight.

But...the Reds promptly crashed the plane into a mountain with a 1-8 start and never truly recovered. A sixth straight losing season is in the books as the Reds finished fourth in the NL Central Division at 75-87, which is actually an improvement. ProSportsDaily reports Cincinnati intends to boost payroll during the offseason in an effort to end their playoff drought.

You have to forgive me if I do not feel incredibly optimistic about the Reds chances to improve next year, let alone make the playoffs. But the HOTPO staff still plans on covering a couple games of the 2020 season in Cincinnati like we do every year. The HOTPO 2019 trip to cover the Reds was probably the best yet...see photos below.

Prior to the bottom of the 1st inning Friday, May 17, I saw Dodger first basemen Max Muncy starting to throw in our direction. I told the young HOTPO staffer with me, "That's you!" He stood up and leaped into the air to make a clean catch. And that ball was coming in hot!

On the morning of Saturday, May 18, we did a promotional breakfast with loyal HOTPO readers. The young HOTPO staffer kept referring to them as Nona and Grandpa. The kid gets comfortable with people quickly, I guess.

After breakfast on Saturday, May 18, I took that same young HOTPO staffer to the boyhood home of our nation's 27th President and 10th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, William Howard Taft. Don't know why I am looking so unhappy -- I loved the tour. 

We did another promotional event over lunch with a long-time friend that originally got the HOTPO focused on the Reds many, many years ago.

HOTPO staff enjoying the Reds 4-0 victory over the Dodgers, May 18.

Week 5 NFL Picks

New England (-15.5) at Washington Redskins: Local talk radio has been buzzing all week about who will be the Redskins starting quarterback this weekend. Coach Jay Gruden announced Friday he is going with Colt McCoy, who has not taken a meaningful snap since last year. This is going to be a laughable affair. -PATRIOTS

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints (-3.5): The Saints are averaging 9.5 penalties per game, did not score a touchdown last week, and are starting Teddy Bridgewater instead of future Hall of Famer Drew Brees, who is still out with a thumb injury. -BUCCANEERS

Minnesota Vikings (-5.5) vs New York Giants: The Vikings are coming off a poor performance against the Chicago Bears and WR Adam Thielen let everyone know he is not happy with the current construct of their offensive scheme, as reported by Andrew Holleran of TheSpun. -GIANTS

Chicago Bears (-5) vs Oakland Raiders (in London): Bears LB Khalil Mack plays his former team for the first time since being traded 13 months ago. Good luck, Mr. Carr. -BEARS

New York Jets at Philadelphia Eagles: The Jets are without starting QB Sam Darnold and have only scored one offensive touchdown during their 0-3 start. -EAGLES

Jacksonville Jaguars at Carolina Panthers (-3.5): This game features two backup quarterbacks, Jacksonville's Gardner Minshew and Carolina's Kyle Allen, who have both run off two-game win streaks after replacing starters Nick Foles and Cam Newton, respectively. This should be a tightly contested game. -PANTHERS 

Arizona Cardinals at Cincinnati Bengals (-3.5): Heck, I don't know. Both of these teams are awful. I have already spent way too much time thinking about this game. -BENGALS

Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans (-3): Two very good defenses in this game. Bills starting QB Josh Allen is still in concussion protocol and not a guarantee to start. -TITANS

Atlanta Falcons at Houston Texans (-5): Hard to believe the 1-3 Falcons have the higher rated offense (12th to 22nd) and defense (8th to 17th) in this game versus the 2-2 Texans. -TEXANS

Baltimore Ravens (-3.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers: Neither of these defenses is very good statistically, which is weird for these two franchises. Baltimore has NFL leading rushing game and still have their starting quarterback upright. -RAVENS

Denver Broncos at Los Angeles Chargers (-6.5): The Chargers probably expected to be better than 2-2 at this point, but they are getting RB Melvin Gordon back and are playing a winless Broncos team. -CHARGERS 

Green Bay at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5): The Cowboys looked pretty ordinary last week in their loss to the Saints, by far the best team they have played this year. The Green Bay defense is not ordinary. -PACKERS

Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs (-11): Indianapolis was on a little two-game winning streak then came crashing back to earth in a home loss to Oakland last week. Kansas City still looks like a Super Bowl contender. -CHIEFS

Cleveland Browns at San Francisco 49ers (-3.5): San Francisco has been feasting on a weak schedule, and they are at home coming off a bye week for this matchup. -49ERS