Nats are officially out of it

Nationals officially out of playoff race

Date published: 9/26/2005

By TODD JACOBSON

WASHINGTON--The Nationals' season had already been reduced to humble goals and small dreams before their 6-5 loss to the New York Mets yesterday.

"Finish Strong" had been scribbled on a dry-erase board outside the team's clubhouse and the saying stayed their for days. Remaining above .500 and out of last place in the National League East were unabashed targets for a team that spent 58 days atop the division earlier in the season.

Even those small ambitions are falling by the wayside as the Nationals stumble toward a painful end of a squandered season.

Thanks to four Mets home runs--two by catcher Mike Piazza--Washington (78-78) was also officially eliminated from the playoff race while dropping to .500 for the first time since May 29.

The once-proud team also slid into sole possession of last place in the division for the first time since Sept. 2.

That's right where most observers picked them to finish six months ago, but the Nationals spent much of the season proving experts wrong, winning one-run games and controlling first place at the All-Star Break.

Then, as fans flocked to RFK Stadium to watch their new team win, last place seemed an unimaginable residence.

"It would be a shame if we finished in last," catcher Gary Bennett said. "Obviously that would be a shame. The second half, we have collapsed. Plain and simple we didn't get it done."

Yesterday, with a crowd of 29,967 watching, provided another example of the collapse.

Ace John Patterson was on the mound but his mind was with his family in hurricane-torn Texas and the Nationals squandered leads of 3-1 and 5-4 against Mets starter Kris Benson as home runs flew out of stingy RFK Stadium at an unheard of pace.

Patterson's family left his hometown of Orange, Texas, to get out of the way of Hurricane Rita and had reached his sister's home in Houston yesterday, but he still doesn't know the status of his house, which sits on the water in Orange.

"It was on my mind," he said. "But I was trying to do the best job I could in the situation under the circumstances."

Piazza hit two home runs off Patterson and David Wright and Mike Jacobs homered off reliever Travis Hughes in the eighth inning, negating Nick Johnson's two-RBI single in the bottom of the seventh.

Mets 6, Nationals 5

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Date published: 9/26/2005