In a sense, the ninth inning of last night's Nationals' game against the Diamondbacks, the home opener at RFK, was symbolic of the plight that was experienced by the franchise and the District of Columbia back in December, 2004.
Everyone in the world had been looking forward to baseball returning to the nation's capital. While everyone was pondering roster moves and stadium sites, the finishing touches were being put on the final and official deal between baseball and the city. And then yank! -- the carpet came right out from under everyone, fans, Bud Selig, and the D.C. mayor alike as the deal seemingly fell apart.
In the end, the deal was saved and baseball officially returned to the District. And now, the Nationals sit with a home record of 1-0. But like the team's inauspicous pre-season history, the first win at home was almost taken away as well from the thousands in attendance.
As the game entered the top of the ninth inning, Vinny Castilla had almost hit for the cycle (the Diamondbacks decision to hit him in his last at-bat was very "bush") and Livan Hernandez was set to finish off a shut out with the Nationals having scored five times.
But just like in December, the ending was not to be tidy, as Hernandez proceeded to give up a three-run home-run to Chad Tracy to make it a ballgame again. Frank Robinson brought in Chad Cordero, the Nats closer, who worked Quinton McCracken to two strikes with two outs...The crowd roared...the pitch..."Struck him out!" shouted the Nationals television announcer...
...Ah, but not so fast baseball fans [and I say baseball fans because really, was anyone other than Diamondbacks fans and Peter Angelos rooting against the Nationals last night?], the scoreboard was wrong...McCracken still had a strike to use!
So, OK, great story, Cordero got him on the next pitch right? Uh, no. McCracken actually got a hit, leaving everyone hanging again, just like we were back in December.
Finally, Cordero retired the side and the Nationals had won the game, just as they had overcome the trials and tribulations of the last few years.
But make no mistake, this wasn't just a win for the Nationals, this was a win for our National Pastime.
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More on the Nats:
- The Washington Post's Nationals page, including the Nationals Journal.
- Tony Kornheisers "First Home-Date Jitters"
