An independent Washington Nationals news, opinion, and analysis site
Home  /  2016 Articles  /  Off-the-Field Recap: I Want to Be Your Favorite, Maybe

Off-the-Field Recap: I Want to Be Your Favorite, Maybe

2016 Articles Leave a Comment

Of all callous things in baseball, a pitcher’s arm cares the least about how the season is supposed to go. Stephen Strasburg’s only natural enemies are the sun and the whole right side of his body. But this isn’t about the strained flexor mass in the pitcher’s right arm, or the dark embrace of the September Disabled List. It’s about what the Nationals did off-field to provide some distraction from the image of Strasburg exiting, glove covering his mouth. Buffalo-back rides and walk-up songs might just suffice.

1. Claiming a favorite player comes with a lot of responsibility. They come with high excitement and low disappointment. Trea Turner hasn’t experienced the latter since pre All Star Break, because his favorite player is Anthony Rendon. Turner loudly proclaimed as much after Rendon’s grand slam on Tuesday. Turner’s outburst of pride is about as #relatable as it gets.

2. When Wilson Ramos walked off the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday night, Ben Revere ended up koala’d onto the Buffalo’s back. Turner was showering his exultant teammates with sunflower seeds before the mob of players shifted in such a way to reveal that Revere had morphed into a human turtle shell.
Revere was also the subject of Max Scherzer’s celebratory lifting attempts a few walk-offs ago. After failing to complete a Gatorade bath for Josh Donaldson in Toronto, the 5’9’’ Revere seems to have found his airborne place in celebrations.

3. There’s a long history of the Nationals and talk of their, uh, guts. Starting with Tim Hudson questioning if the Nats had what it took “between the legs” to beat the Giants in the 2014 NLDS. (San Francisco would go on to win the series, but it’s unlikely the elimination had to do with much other than a cold offense). Dan Uggla’s motivational “sack up” marked a middle point to the saga, and Bryce Harper’s characterization of Koda Glover has continued it. Glover has eyes that could kill and, recently, a slider to match. He used that slider to retire the three batters he faced against the New York Mets on Monday, firing up Harper. He summed up his feelings with a poetic, “he’s got cojones.”

4. Ryan Zimmerman has gone from a baby-faced college grad to a baby-faced dad of two in the time he’s been with the Nationals. As baby-faced dad, his plantar fasciitis has caused enough trouble that a smart training staff would keep him away from “running man” anything. But to the delight of millenials and sideline reporters alike, Zim made “My Boo” from the Running Man Challenge his walk-up song on Tuesday.

5. Hank Azaria’s voice on the Simpsons has imparted nothing if not useful GIFs for when a closer blows a save or a doctor misses a diagnosis. (Then again, he did the voices, and GIFs are silent, so what good is he really?) Though he’s a die-hard Mets supporter, Azaria mingled with the Nats at Citi Field Saturday in his very-Nationals-colored-for-a-Mets-fan jacket.

This week’s Tweets of the Week are still last, but not least. The Washington Post’s Chelsea Janes has a reminder of Not Bad Baseball Things that stay away from mentions of elbows, but also involve shoes, bikes, and Dan Uggla hugs.

Tags: , , , , , ,

About Author

Mina Dunn

I watched the Orioles until I was ten when I realized that (most) fans at RFK didn’t shout letters during the National Anthem. I’m a Public Relations and Economics major at VCU, the associate managing editor at TNB, and a sports columnist for a student newspaper. Be my friend on Twitter dot com: @maddc8.

Related Posts

Leave a Reply