Sunday Nats News: Nats @ Cards NLDS Game 1 Game Day

Your Sunday morning news roundup before the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals play Game One of the NLDS at 3:07 pm EDT this afternoon in Busch Stadium

Welcome to the postseason! And welcome to a new feature for the playoffs and maybe beyond.

• Yes, it's true. After a long 79 years of futility/non-viability/irrelevancy, playoff baseball is coming to the teevee sets of the nation's capital. Pinch me. [Nats Enquirer, District on Deck, Boston Globe (and again), Hartford Courant, Nats Insider]
• Previews and predictions. Some more jinxier than others. [Federal Baseball, MLB.com (and again), NYT, Neon Tommy, NY Daily News, SI, WashTimes, National Arm Race, Belleville News-Democrat]
  
  • The NLDS rosters and rotations have been announced. Oh hai there Christian Garcia! [CSNW, MLB.com, WashTimes]
  • Aw, shucks. The defending World Champions consider themselves the underdogs in this here series. [NYT, WaPo]
  • The Nats aren't experienced enough to know if they need more experience to get the hang of this whole playoffs thing. But it will surely be fun to find out. [CSNW, WaPo, MLB.com]
  • So, uh, how are those arms holding up? [WaPo]
    
  • Nationals Park has the Sun Monster. At Busch Stadium, it's the Shadows Monster. [WaPo, Natstradamus]
  • In excelsis playoffs. If you survive the experience, that is. [Boswell]
• Cartwheels and backflips. Just another day in the life of Gio Gonzalez. [CSNW, WashTimes, Nats Enquirer]
• For Ryan Zimmerman, the chance of lifetime in a lifetime of chance. [WaPo]
• "I was an Expo and you don't forget your roots." Ian Desmond remembers where he came from. [Montreal Gazette]
  • Just ask former Expos bat boy Drew Storen. Awwwww. [Montreal Gazette]
• Cyborg is as Cyborg does. [WaPo]
  • Looking back at his thrilling rookie season ... [ESPN]
  • ... and memories of the summer he came to Oklahoma City. Key quote: "We had a situation." [NewsOK.com]
    
• Adam Wainwright feels Stephen Strasburg's pain. [WaPo, WashTimes]
• Everything's coming up Davey. [WaPo, WSJ, @Nats, DC Examiner]
• Mike Rizzo, playing long ball. [WaPo]
  
• A beautiful Curly W in the books for Nats broadcasters Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler. Here's to approximately eleven more. [William World News]
  • Related: This one's for Shirley. [WaPo]
• Finally, in celebration of the direction in which this team is heading, let's look back at where they've been: The most Natinals players ever. Aw, yeah. [Capitol Punishment]