Top Games of 2005
Over the course of 162 games, there are going to be some moments you remember. Some of them will be highs, some will be lows, and everybody’s list will be different. At any rate, here’s the ten that stand out the most to me, in chronological order.
April 4: Opening Day
Naturally, opening day is an event a lot of us—particularly those of us who made the trip up to Philadelphia—are going to remember for a long time. I’m not really sure what’s going to stick in my mind: I’m sure I’ll always remember how windy it was, and I can still see Kenny Lofton’s home run gave the Phillies a six-run lead in the fifth and put the game seemingly out of reach.
Of course, in the sixth, Terrmel Sledge hit a home run of his own making it seven to three. Flash forward to the top of the seventh inning: consecutively, Vidro and Guillen single, then Johnson and Castilla walk. The deficit is now three runs, the bases are loaded and there is only one out. At the plate again is Terrmel Sledge, who already has three runs batted in on the day. Of course, Terrmel set the tone for Nationals rallies all season: he grounded into an inning-ending double play, and our last best chance was extinguished.
April 14: Home Opener
Nobody expected this team to come home for the opening night with a record of 5-4. I think, had you asked most of us before the season started, we’d have guessed 3-6. Still, the team won five times on their season-opening road trip and came home to RFK in first place.
The first meaningful baseball game at RFK in over 30 years did not disappoint. Sure, _¡Livan!_ had his one-hitter spoiled in the top of the ninth, but the Nats had previously built up a five-run lead, and carried the day five to three.
The highlight of this game, though, was in the bottom of the eighth inning. Vinny Castilla came to the plate having already collected a double, triple and home run on the day. Having dug in looking for a single to complete the second cycle in Nationals history, Lance Cormier hit him with the first pitch—a move I believe to have been intentional to this day. The highlight in this, of course, is the absolute thunder of boos and abuse the crowd rained upon Lance Cormier for the rest of the inning.
April 21: The Mudball
John Patterson had pitched masterfully for seven innings. Hector Carrasco added a perfect eighth. Unfortunately, the Nationals had only plated one run of their own, so enter Chad Cordero.
The Chief proceeds to allow a single, a walk and a single to Giles, Chipper Jones and Estrada. But he bounced back to strike out Brian Jordan and Adam LaRoche. Raul Mondesi steps to the plate with the bases loaded, two down and a heavy rain falling. Mondesi hit a ground ball into the hole: Guzman dives… and comes up with it! He’s up, he throws to Johnson… and he throws it—and an awful lot of mud—into the Atlanta dugout, allowing two runs to score.
Debates may rage for years as to whether the responsibility for the loss belongs to Cordero or Guzman, but that’s not the important thing here. The important thing is the sick feeling I got—and I suspect you got—in your stomach listening to this game. It was then, sitting at work on a Thursday afternoon, that I knew I was hooked. The Nationals were my team, and that was that.
May 31: The Home Run That Wasn’t
To be honest, I don’t remember much about this game. What I do remember vividly, though, is Frank Robinson getting Brian Jordan’s home run taken off the board. Marlon Byrd had two doubles in this game, and Chad Cordero got the save despite giving up a solo shot to Andruw Jones in the ninth inning.
June 2: The Comeback
They’d coughed up a one-run lead and turned it into a three-run deficit by means of two errors. Pickoffs and double plays had plagued the team all night. Nick Johnson had left the game due to chest pains. It looked like a Gary Bennett home run was going to be wasted.
But Jose Guillen would hear none of it. He came tearing in from right field in the middle of the eighth, yelling to his teammates that they had to show the Braves they could come back. And they did: Wilkerson walked; Carroll hit into a fielder’s choice; Guillen singled; Baerga singled a run in; Castilla doubled a run home; Marlon Byrd was walked.
This set the stage for Bennett. He rocketed a two and one pitch into the right-field gap, clearing the bases. I was watching at home, and I felt like I could feel RFK rocking from here. I shouted and jumped; Jose Guillen tugged on Frank’s sleeve as the runners came around. For the second time in the young season, Danny Kolb would set off a Nationals winning streak.
June 5: Church on Sunday
The Nats had scrambled back from a two-run deficit to take a three to two lead at the end of the seventh, only to give a run back in the top of the eighth to tie the game.
Then, in the bottom of the inning, Vinny Castilla hit what should have been a double-play ball that Damion Easley booted. Two men were on base with nobody out, and hot-hitting rookie Ryan Church was coming to the plate. The Marlins went to a left-handed pitcher, but there was nobody left to hit for Church.
This was lucky: Ryan Church deposited Matt Perisho’s fastball into the visitor’s bullpen, giving the Nats a three-run lead that would not be relinquished.
June 10: Rick Short’s First Hit
To be honest, I don’t remember much about this game; it was a blowout and it blurs into excellent play of June.
But what I do remember is Rick Short. When he came to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning, the crowd gave him a fantastic ovation: more than I expected for a relatively unknown minor-league veteran. And when he delivered with an RBI single, the place absolutely exploded. I’m not sure if RFK was louder at any point this season; I won’t forget it for a long time, and I think it’s safe to say Rick Short won’t, either.
June 14: Pine Tar
I don’t have to recap much of this one, I’m sure. Frank got Brendan Donnelly thrown out of the game for cheating, Mike Scioscia and some Angels bloggers made asses of themselves, Jose Guillen had to be restrained and then came to the plate and hit a two-run dinger. The rest, as they say, is history.
And, yes, Donnelly was cheating: he had a foreign substance—the pine tar—on his glove to help him control his pitches.
June 15: Cordero’s Coming Out Party
Ryan Drese pitched one heck of a game, but the real story here was all in the ninth inning: coming in to protect a one to zero lead, Cordero nearly had a repeat of the mudball game. He allowed a single to Darrin Erstad, walked Vlad Guerrerro and allowed another single to Garrett Anderson.
But this time he buckled down. Steve Finley struck out; Bengie Molina popped up; Dallas McPherson struck out.
What always sticks out in my mind about this one is that I’d just gotten home at the bottom of the ninth, and I listened to the inning perched on a chair in my kitchen; even though I knew it was on TV in the other room, I didn’t want to take the time to go turn it on, lest I miss something.
September 17: Frank Delenda Est
Frank Robinson was managing like we were in a close game; he got one for his troubles. Jason Bergmann, Joey Eischen, Travis Hughes and a cold Chad Cordero were all yanked in and out of a game that we led 5-0 with two outs in the ninth inning. Frank didn’t give anybody a chance to settle down, and it cost the team the game.
Ultimately, this was the game where we all came to grips with the end of our playoff chances; it also turned public sentiment a little bit away from Frank Robinson, I think.
The Ones I Missed
Obviously, there were a lot of great moments this season that I haven’t listed here: Wilkerson’s cycle, the batting practice jersey game, Livan’s swagger when he hit a home run against the Mets in RFK the last weekend of April. There was the fun of staying up late during that first west-coast trip. There was Schneider’s walkoff home run on July 3, completing a sweep of the Cubs and saving two blown leads earlier in the game.
But, really, the runner up for me was a very distinct moment: a fielder’s choice, bang-bang play from Vinny Castilla to Jamey Carroll, with Jamey just beating the runner to second base for the force out. I know it was at the end of an inning, and I know it happened while Vidro was injured, but that’s it. And I’m not sure I’ll ever forget it.
Anyway, that’s my list. What’s yours?