The Washington Nationals blanked the Atlanta Braves 3-0 last night and that is good and all, but that was really just icing on the cake as other dramas unfolded before the eyes of 40,043 fans at Nationals Park.

Those 40,043 had come to see Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg strike the hell out of some Braves prospect, but only minutes before the first pitch, Strasburg disappeared back into the catacombs of Nats Park and was scratched due to a small bit of arm inflammation.

So what does Manager Jim Riggleman do? He got on the big, red Nats phone and calls only one place to find his answer– the team chapel to tell reliever Miguel Batista he is going in.

What? Batista? Was Jim serious? It almost seemed a joke. Reliever, poet, novelist, Batista wasn’t the first choice on anyone’s list to come out and take the Stephen Strasburg’s place. It almost seemed an insult to the Natstown faithful and they certainly showed it: as soon as his named was announced as starting pitcher Nats Park rained boos down on him.

“Imagine if you go there to see Miss Universe and you end up having Miss Iowa. You might get those kind of boos,” Batista said. “But it’s OK. They have to understand that as an organization, we have to make sure that the kid is fine. You don’t want to expose him out there.

Great quote. Only a writer could come up with that on the fly and only a pitcher could put together the performance he did. With rumors of irate fans going to the Nats Ticket Offices looking for refunds and a trickle of fans leaving Nats Park for the Metro in early innings, Batista wrote poetry on the mound in support of the wounded Strasburg. The Poet pitched five scoreless-innings giving up only three hits, one walk and striking out six. Relievers Sean Burnett, Drew Storen and Matt Capps helped shut the door as support came from the bat of Ian Desmond and the speed of Nyjer Morgan. The Nats won in a surprising convincing fashion that even baffled the Braves– but of course, what doesn’t baffle the Choking Tribe?

They had two defensive errors and their prized prospect, Jason Heyward (who?) went 0-3 with two strikeouts. Maybe it is best Strasburg sat this one out because he didn’t miss much. The media was tagging this game Strasburg vs. Heyward but it turns out neither showed up for the event. With that Heyward line, Strasburg would have eaten him alive anyways. It would have been a boring night.

Miguel Batista impressed everyone, even the NQ who is more than happy to eat some crow with a bit of Texas Pete. Awesome job, Batista. They’ll be talking about this one for a long time. They’ll write stories and poems about this victory. Here, let me give it a try:

To the chapel they did call
The Mighty Strasburg he did fall,
And who did they send to match Hanson’s might?
The poet with a lot of fight.
Through boos, scorn and confusion he did pitch,
Five scoreless innings without a hitch.
The Nats won the day, giving the Braves a kick in the keesta
The hero of the day? The one and only Miguel Batista!

Permalink Leave your comment