Links to remember

I haven’t done one of these posts for quite a well, so please pardon me if some of these links are a bit long in the tooth. Here are a few links I’d like to remember from the last half of the Nats’ 2012 season and from their first post-season.

• Stephen Strasburg‘s shutdown was the story of the year, endlessly debated in every forum. I don’t want to remember most of what was written, but my favorite piece was written by sabermetric expert Tangotiger, describing a plan under which Strasburg could have made it to the post-season by pitching once a week on Saturdays. Of course, maybe the reason I liked it so much is that it’s eerily similar to one of my own posts on the subject.
• Adam LaRoche was one of the team’s pleasant surprises this season. Jack Moore of FanGraphs wrote an article discussing LaRoche’s emergence as a power hitter.
• Another pleasant surprise was Gio Gonzalez—while he performed well in Oakland, most of us really weren’t prepared for a performance that was deserving of a third place finish in the Cy Young Award vote. Michael Barr of FanGraphs describes a change in Gio’s approach that led to greater success in Washington.
• Joe Posnanski is my favorite sportswriter, and he did a really nice piece on Davey Johnson.
• Also, Joe’s description of Molina taking a pitch on Drew Storen‘s two-strike slider in Game Five of the NLDS is priceless, although we Nats fans hate to be reminded of that game.
• Finally, here are some video links I’d like to remember. Roger Bernadina‘s fantastic catch in Houston saved the game for the Nationals.
• “You can’t run on Bryce Harper” was Charlie Slowes’ call on this throw to nail Greg Dobbs at home plate.
• Finally, we conclude with the greatest play in Washington Nationals’ history, Jayson Werth‘s walk-off homer in Game Four of the NLDS.