Philadelphia Phillies: With your Team out of the Playoffs, Who to Root for?
By Chuck Booth
National League: The Washington Nationals
Who are they: The Washington Nationals dominated the National League East all year and finished with a 95-67 record. As they have in the past few years, they’ll be entering the postseason as World Series favorites. It will be interesting to see how the team copes with losing their starting catcher, Wilson Ramos who was a key cog in the lineup during the season but their bread and butter is the pitching staff.
Max Scherzer and Tanner Roark have led the way with ERA’s of 2.96 and 2.83 respectively but from top to bottom their starting staff has been consistent during the season. The team ERA is 3.51 on the season combining both the starting staff and the bullpen which is pretty solid considering the depth in their lineup.
Why root for them: The rise of the nationals has been impressive. They’ve went from surprise playoff participants in 2012 to consistent contenders over the past four years. However, they’ve always disappointed when it counts in the playoffs. The Nationals also don’t have a World Series title in their history even counting when they were located in Montreal.
It may be hard for Philadelphia Phillies fans to get behind their NL East rivals but it’s a team that neutrals may be able to support.
Can the Nationals finally live up to the hype?