Well, we are reaching the end of the season. The Nationals stand two games away from their stated, and admittedly pathetic, goal of 72 wins — one better than last year. They have 5 games remaining, two against the Mets and three against the Phillies, all on the road. Given that the Nats are 30-46 on the road this year, these last two wins should be tough. That said, the Mets seem desperate to see…

The talk about the Nationals being the worst team in major league history seems to have been slightly exaggerated. That being said, they’ve been pretty awful in losing 5 in a row, including being swept by the Cubs this weekend. The Nats are 9-22, 10.5 games out of first place in the National League East and 5.5 behind the fourth place Phillies. And they face the surprising Brewers, who have the best record in baseball,…

Put the champagne on ice, kids. The Nats, at 4-9, are threatening to climb out of last place for the first time since last June, ahead of struggling Philadelphia. Both teams are 4.5 games back, but the Nats have one more win thus far. Try washing down your $90 million payroll with that, Phils fans! After a dreadful first turn through the rotation, the Nats starters have rebounded with some impressive performances as of late….

Maybe it was the indignity of the Marlins spoiling the last Opening Game ever in RFK. Maybe it was the insufferable Aramark concessionaires, who insist that it’s perfectly acceptable to run out of buns in the fifth inning of the first damn game. Maybe it’s the humiliation of the long winless streak to the other presidents. There’s no telling. Something, though, was terribly amiss in that giant head of Teddy Roosevelt’s during the Nat’s 9-2…

We’re still a couple of weeks away from putting together a comprehensive Nats season preview like last year’s, but we just wanted to pass along this sunny bit of optimism from the Sports Bog: Vegas gives our motley bunch 1:300 odds to bring home a World Series trophy this year – the longest odds in baseball. This year’s roster, plus a heap of injury-riddled regurgitation known as “non-roster invitees” begin assembling in Viera this week…

You may have heard: some team called the Redskins plays their season opener this weekend. It seems as though that team has some sort of local following, so attention may start to shift away from baseball in the region soon. (Ahh, sarcasm: the sweet sustaining humor for those sick enough to still be reading – and writing – Nats posts this far into a lost year.) It’s a shame. If things had gone slightly differently…

The Washington Nationals found themselves in a familiar position Sunday afternoon. After dropping their first two games against the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Nats again were trailing in the third and final game of the series. Down 3-1 in the seventh, and in danger of being swept for the fourth time in a month’s time, the Nationals turned to pinch-hitter Alex Escobar. With Jose Guillen on board with a walk, Escobar drilled a shot over…

The Washington Nationals arrived at this year’s All-Star Break in ignominious fashion, suffering their fifth sweep of the season at RFK. This time, the Nats were victimized by the San Diego Padres. After a successful series against Florida earlier this week, the Nats could smell second place in the NL East. They now find themselves amid the musky odor of the division’s basement. That they played the Padres so closely only adds to the…

With Mother Nature tossing lightning and thunder, space shuttle Discovery shooting across the Florida sky, and the pyrotechnics on the National Mall, the Nats’ little matinee date with the Marlins was easy to overlook yesterday. Only 23,000 showed up for the game between NL East also-rans played under threatening skies. But rookie RBI machine Ryan Zimmerman would have none of it. He launched some fireworks of his own with a walk-off homer in the bottom…

John Patterson may make his return by Friday of this week against the Orioles, and not a moment too soon. After last night’s 11-3 drubbing in Fenway, Nats pitchers have now surrendered 66 runs over the past eight days. That’s an average of over eight runs per game, for a team that ranked 9th in the majors in team ERA last year. The failures are across the board, with the bullpen and four of the…