Starsburg Dominated And Bryce Harper Slammed #100 As The Nats Continue To Not Only Win, But Be Really Fun To Watch
At times late last year, it was almost a chore to watch the Nats because you knew that Matt Williams would throw Casey Janssen in there for no reason and thus blow the game. Through 8 games this season, that narrative doesn’t appear to be the case. This team isn’t giving anyone an aneurism, knock on wood. Sure the Nationals have beaten up on depressing teams like the Braves who might never win a game again, but you can’t help but enjoy every Strasburg strikeout, every Wilson Ramos hit, every Daniel Murphy walk, and every Bryce Harper grand slam. Shit, I’m even enjoying Jonathan Papelbon (don’t quote me) who is a perfect 5/5 in save opportunities this year.
For yesterday’s game, the Nationals weren’t even sure whether Stephen Strasburg would be able to start due to illness but he did and he went 7.2 strong and struck out 7. Nick Markakis gave him a bit of trouble but aside from that, Stras was absolute money. His season ERA is a cool 1.98 and I feel pretty confident about all of the offseason praises that I heaped upon him. Wilson Ramos hit his first homer of the season and with each great performance, I get more and more confident that his pre-season LASIK surgery actually is making a huge difference in his ability.
As great as Strasburg and Ramos’ performances were, yesterday was about Bryce Harper and his 100th homer. He hit that in style. That thing was MASHED.
Harper is the 8th youngest player in baseball’s history to hit 100 homers and at 23 years, we’ve got another 10-15 years of amazing production from him (whether that’s with the Nats or with another team is a blog for another day) and he will only get better. Harper is the best player in the league and sure we might suck his dick a little but that’s because he really is a generational player. Let’s enjoy the ride while it’s happening.