Then the Nats themselves, cheered on by a roaring crowd of 34,377, came from behind to beat Philadelphia, 4-3, in the bottom of the 11th inning, igniting an explosion of cheers and a throng of celebrating Nats surrounding pinch hitter Wilson Ramos near first base. As the last available healthy player on the Washington bench, Ramos knocked home the winning run with a bases-loaded single off Michael Schwimer to end a 3-hour 42-minute tingler.

Go on, have a laugh.

After covering all these Masters, I was one hole away, following Phil Mickelson, when Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa made his double eagle at the 575-yard par-5 second hole on Easter Sunday at the Masters.      

Sooner or later, defeats, injuries, disappointments, embarrassments — inside the ropes and out — attack the sense of security, confidence and serenity that usually accompany the greatest golf when it’s played on the biggest stages.

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]]> http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=27a98543df8912908e54cc5c640de445 http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/2012-nationals-terrifically-talented-but-ultimately-unproven/2012/04/04/gIQAiNCcvS_story.html?wprss=rss_thomas-boswell http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/2012-nationals-terrifically-talented-but-ultimately-unproven/2012/04/04/gIQAiNCcvS_story.html?wprss=rss_thomas-boswell http://www.washingtonpost.com/Fragment/SysConfig/WebPortal/twpweb/rss/mobile/blog-entry.jpp?id=1000.4.11691296 http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/2012-nationals-terrifically-talented-but-ultimately-unproven/2012/04/04/gIQAiNCcvS_story.html?wprss=rss_thomas-boswell http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/2012-nationals-terrifically-talented-but-ultimately-unproven/2012/04/04/gIQAiNCcvS_story.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/2012-nationals-terrifically-talented-but-ultimately-unproven/2012/04/04/gIQAiNCcvS_search.html 1000.4.11691296 e85ef980-7e5a-11e1-a48c-ab6fd19329b8 Rick Ankiel Washington Nationals Wed, 4 Apr 2012 13:42:00 EST Thu, 5 Apr 2012 14:13:35 EST 20120405191335 The Washington Post /2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2012/04/04/Sports/Stories/boz0405.xml article_story thomas-boswell.dwc:query_main EOM::CompoundStory The Washington Post In an experience no living Washington baseball fan has ever known, the answer to the eternal question “Who’s the starting pitcher tonight?” will be, “Somebody worth watching.”

No, not just on opening day, but for every single game of the season. The Washington Nationals leave spring training with not five or six but seven starting pitchers that are, at the very least, of average major league quality. In more than half the Nats’ games, their starter figures to be a young talent who may someday win 20: Stephen Strasburg, Gio Gonzalez or Jordan Zimmermann.