September play has been repeatedly shown to not correlate with playoff success.
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=9617
The Cubs showed last year that despite clinching very early they were able to turn it back on during the playoffs. That's good... for them.
The Nats have clinched relatively early in their 3 postseason berths... and failed to advance all three times. That's not very encouraging.
For every team that doesn't carry over momentum... there are just as many that do. Like all the wildcard teams that have done well in the playoffs.
The sky is far from falling in... the Nats are still winning at a decent clip despite throwing SPs out there that won't be in the rotation and filling the lineup with bench players.
If Harper comes back, I'd really like to see Difo get some starts. His speed and defense make him a better option than Werth. Although I get that Werth should be in there just to see if he can put together a good game at the plate, but the leash should be short.
I'm not unhappy with where Washington is... but the Cubs are playing a lot better right now. But they also need to because they haven't clinched. I hope they do clinch tonight so they can coast a little.
