this is going to be a long offseason and a long regular season. All that matters is the playoffs and until we get back to crazy cheering, SRO seats, and day of game ticket scrambles I really won't know what to do with myself.
Yeah, like I said... next season is going to be difficult. It's great to say come opening day we'll forget all about this and go back to enjoying baseball. And I will... but: This bitter taste only gets erased when we make it back to the playoffs. And in the NL East, our odds of winning the division aren't set in stone. Wildcard game = suck. Our odds of the best record and thus guaranteed home field advantage are even lower. And best record, NL winning the all-star game, NLCS against a team we'd destroyed 5-1, and the worst AL playoff team in the WS, in all likelihood? damn it all, this was our year. Everything was lined up for a championship.
Don't get me wrong, we kicked ass this year and with Strasburg 100%, next year might be even better. But then, DC last made the playoffs in 1933, nearly 4 decades without a playoff game. Fine, there's a ton of slots now versus then. There's a ton more teams too. Look at the Orioles as an example, first time in fifteen years.
My ultimate point is this isn't going to go away completely until we get back. If we get to the NLDS and lose, fine. But it's not going to be the same until we do. I just wish the Cards had been the ones to take a 6-0 lead on Friday. That guarantee of advancing to the NLCS, seeing the guys ready to run and scream just one pitch from winning with a two run lead. At home? I don't think any other fan base can really understand just how crushing Friday was. I've been thinking this weekend, I'm just a damn fan. I cannot imagine how the players are feeling. If someone had scripted it, you couldn't come up with a more crushing loss. Blowout, then to persevere and still be up two runs one pitch from winning?
Every game I watch next year, I'm always going to be thinking it doesn't mean crap until October and a shot at redemption. If we don't make it back next year, it is going to be some long years as a fan. So long as Strasburg and Harper remain, I'll keep expecting us in October. But Jesus if we don't make it for another 80 years, somebody cut out the part of my brain with memories/info about the Nats please. Even Caps fans can't understand just what us long term, aka since 2005 who endured 100 loss seasons, fans felt and will continue to feel for the next year, and hopefully no longer than that.
Nights like Thursday was are what we all live for, why we are all fans. But Friday night almost makes one long to not care so much about this team and franchise given the crushing pain experienced, pain that is going to linger for, in all likelihood, years.
