Nationals @ Cubs, Game 1

[nobleisthyname]

[JCA-CrystalCity]

[GataNats]

Hell of a start to the season

[imref]

[HondoKillebrew]

That was a lot of fun. 

[OfftheBat]

 

[Count Walewski]

Wow. The 2026 Washington Nationals, a team widely expected to finish with one of the league's worst records, will spend at least one day tied for first place after going into the home field of a World Series contender and absolutely clobbering them on opening day.

[The Chief]

Good start to the season

[Lintyfresh85]

Bang Zoom!

[IanRubbish]

 

[welch]

I miss the Washington Post Sports Section especially for the game report and for the season ahead. It was not Spring Training without the Washington Post. Yes, I learned to read from Bob Addie and Shirley Povich. The great, great Povich, who wrote baseball for the Post from 1924 onward. and who edited the Sports Section pretty much as long as he wanted. Povich, who was in "Notable American Women" about 1952,  who covered everything that mattered. I still remember some of the columns, in "This Morning", in which Povich, a Jewish Liberal, hit Geroege Preston Marshall square in the teeth, Monday after Monday. Anyone else remember Shirley Povich on GPM's all-white teams up through 1960 or '61, when he tormented Marshall every time Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, and the Cleveland Brown crushed the segregated Redskins. Anyone else remember the series of columns when Marshall announced that Paul Brown was all that kept him from trading M.C. Reynoldfs for Bobby Mitchell? Reynolds was the 'Skins third-string quarterback, and it rememinded Povich of an old vaudeville routine about the guy that "almost" had Citation, the Triple Crown Winner. "I asked the man that owned Citation, 'Why don't you give me that horse?' I was one word away. If he had said yes, I'd had had Citation'".

When the Expansion Senators moved to Arlington, Texas, Povich described the place as "a tank town with no more distinction than being halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth".

We miss voices like Shirley Povich now that Jeff Bezos has eliminated the sports section. Baseball needs a daily newpaper, a report, and a box score.

[imref]

Zuck’s newsletter is worth the cost imho

[imref]

Most opening day runs since leaving Montreal.

[tomterp]

I miss the Washington Post Sports Section especially for the game report and for the season ahead. It was not Spring Training without the Washington Post. Yes, I learned to read from Bob Addie and Shirley Povich. The great, great Povich, who wrote baseball for the Post from 1924 onward. and who edited the Sports Section pretty much as long as he wanted. Povich, who was in "Notable American Women" about 1952,  who covered everything that mattered. I still remember some of the columns, in "This Morning", in which Povich, a Jewish Liberal, hit Geroege Preston Marshall square in the teeth, Monday after Monday. Anyone else remember Shirley Povich on GPM's all-white teams up through 1960 or '61, when he tormented Marshall every time Jim Brown, Bobby Mitchell, and the Cleveland Brown crushed the segregated Redskins. Anyone else remember the series of columns when Marshall announced that Paul Brown was all that kept him from trading M.C. Reynoldfs for Bobby Mitchell? Reynolds was the 'Skins third-string quarterback, and it rememinded Povich of an old vaudeville routine about the guy that "almost" had Citation, the Triple Crown Winner. "I asked the man that owned Citation, 'Why don't you give me that horse?' I was one word away. If he had said yes, I'd had had Citation'".

When the Expansion Senators moved to Arlington, Texas, Povich described the place as "a tank town with no more distinction than being halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth".

We miss voices like Shirley Povich now that Jeff Bezos has eliminated the sports section. Baseball needs a daily newpaper, a report, and a box score.

I don't disagree with anything here.  One small note, they did run George Will's annual opening day quiz, devoting a full page in the Opinion section.
 

Why certainly, said Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh in 1964.  I'd like to have a fellow who hits a home run every time at bat, who strikes out every opposing batter when he's pitching and who is always thinking about 2 innings ahead.  The only trouble is to get him to put down his cup of beer, come down out of the stands and do those things

Followed by the quiz.

[JCA-CrystalCity]

The Nationals, meanwhile, whiffed on 20 of the 37 pitches they saw from Boyd. But, when they connected, they made loud contact and Butera’s lineup construction paid dividends — especially in the fourth.

Chaparro, who finished 2-for-3, doubled and picked up the first of three straight Nationals hits. Lile drove him in with a single. Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Abrams hit a line drive into the right field corner. It looked like a homer. The Chicago wind kept it in. He settled for a two-run single that gave Washington a 4-2 lead.

Nasim Nuñez tacked on an RBI groundout. Then came Young’s homer. The Nationals’ first seven hits off Boyd had exit velocities of 97 mph or higher.

Their final homer of the game was a two-run blast by Brady House in the ninth inning.

https://www.thebanner.com/sports/nationals-mlb/nationals-cubs-opening-day-Q5M2JP6YLJG3XHXOYQFVJBIYUU/

The exit velos really stuck out. Absolutely crushed the ball when they Nats made contact.

[skippy1999]

We on

[Natsinpwc]

https://www.thebanner.com/sports/nationals-mlb/nationals-cubs-opening-day-Q5M2JP6YLJG3XHXOYQFVJBIYUU/

The exit velos really stuck out. Absolutely crushed the ball when they Nats made contact.

You mean just trying to poke the ball somewhere on the first pitch like it’s 1920 is not a good thing?

[nobleisthyname]

To be fair the Nats hit the ball hard last season too. The real challenge is elevating those hard hits which they certainly did yesterday.

[nats2playoffs]

Top computer experts, using the latest advanced technology, have analyzed the current trends, which predict that the Washington Nationals record could be:
162 wins and zero losses...

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Top computer experts, using the latest advanced technology, have analyzed the current trends, which predict that the Washington Nationals record could be:
162 wins and zero losses...

As Scotty said, "AI, Captain."

[JCA-CrystalCity]

Thank you to friends old and new for participating in this thread by posting or viewing.

With the posted, we honor the memory of our friend OldChelsea with the closing post showing the date each year we recorded the same number of wins, in Anglophile style.

THE RACING PRECEDENTS: Comparative dates on which the Nationals notched their first win, each season:

2026 - 26th March (1st match of the season)
2018 - 30th March (1st match)
2008 - 30th March (1st match)
2024 - 30th March (2nd match)
2025 - 30th March (3rd match)
2014 - 31st March (1st match)
2019 - 31st March (3rd match)
2013 - 1st April (1st match)
2023 - 2nd April (3rd match)
2011 - 2nd April (2nd match)
2017 - 3rd April (1st match)
2016 - 4th April (1st match)
2007 - 4th April (3rd match)
2012 - 5th April (1st match)
2006 - 5th April (2nd match)
2021 - 6th April (1st match)
2005 - 6th April (2nd match)
2010 - 8th April (3rd match)
2015 - 8th April (2nd match)
2022 - 10th April (4th match)
2009 - 16th April (8th match)
2020 - 25th August (2nd match)

162-0? It's as possible as a perfect bracket.

[welch]

You mean just trying to poke the ball somewhere on the first pitch like it’s 1920 is not a good thing?

Well, I looked at the 1920 Nats, and this year's team would immediately start at least four of thos players: 1B Joe Judge (OPS 878), 2B Bucky Harris (OPS 758), CF Sam Rice (OPS 809), and Clyde "Deerfoot" Milan (OPS 767).

Incidentally, Walter Johnson hit .266 that season, with an OPS of .720.

https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/WSH/1920.shtml