That would be Shank's words, not mine:
Old-school Nationals, at last, are first
HOUSTON — They were born as the Montreal Expos in 1969 and made the playoffs only once in 36 seasons. Montreal’s best team, the 1994 Expos, might have won a World Series, but there was no World Series that year because of a work stoppage.
When the Expos became the Washington Nationals in 2005, they were wards of the state, literally owned by Major League Baseball. MLB hired their manager and general manager. Until this year, the Nats never won a playoff series. They were legitimate heirs to the old Washington Senators.
And now they are Faustian champions of the baseball world, with a team that started the season 19-31.
Shank expands on the aforementioned 'old-school' angle:
The Nationals are an homage to old-school baseball. They rely on scouts more than analytics. They still have guys in the front office who chomp on cigars and go with their instincts. General manager Mike Rizzo has a staff that includes six former scouting directors, four former managers, and two former GMs. All of Washington’s scouts played pro baseball. The operation is about people more than numbers. They’ll take a lunch over a launch angle.
The rest of it is game recappage, etc.
CHB never passes up a chance to push the narrative that 21st century baseball is all about sabermetrics, which has "ruined" the game. It must be tough to have a brain that can't wrap around the idea that maybe batting average and wins and losses don't tell the whole story about a ballplayer. "Old school baseball?" You mean like before integration? Idiot.
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