Diving into the minds of Doug Fister, Max Scherzer and company

Many athletes live on adrenaline, thrive off of the energy of the crowd and appreciate the pressure of the moment. And then there is Nationals starting pitcher Doug Fister, whose whole game lives in the 60 feet, six inches from the mound to the plate.

After dominating the Braves over seven scoreless innings in a 7-0 shutout win 12 days ago, Fister revealed he was so focused in his start that he wasn't aware his offense had delivered six early runs for him.

"I do not know the exact score and honestly, when I'm at my best, I have no idea what inning it is," Fister said. "I really try and stay simple. I want to do things one pitch at a time. If I get into anything bigger than that, then I'm in trouble myself."

Fister indicated that he often loses track of the situation every other inning, sometimes not even bothering to acknowledge which opposing hitter had stepped in.

"I really try and stay simple," he said.

I could barely relay Fister's philosophies to Nationals manager Matt Williams before he interrupted.

"That's beautiful," Williams said grinning.

Max Scherzer knows all about Fister from their three seasons together helping to form one of baseball's most imposing rotations in Detroit. The two combined to start 18 postseason games for the Tigers. So Scherzer laughed a bit when I first asked him how his approach differs from Fister's.

"It's amazing how he can just be completely locked in and just be oblivious to everything," Scherzer said. "It just shows how much focus he has. Sometimes you just kinda tune out the scoreboard. You can't really focus if you're winning or losing. You know if it's a close game because you have to manage the game a little differently. But, for me, I know what inning I'm in."

Scherzer can partially relate to not paying attention to his offense. When the Nats ace isn't driving baseballs into the outfield and running the bases like his hair is on fire, you often won't find him on the bench during his outings. Scherzer prefers to cool down in clubhouse tunnel and attempt to remain focused while the Nats are hitting.

"I just don't need to watch," he said. "The emotion of the dugout is gonna be up and down. The highs are highs and lows are lows. And when I'm in a start, I try to minimize that. I want to be as consistent as possible and just even-keeled. Even with the highs, you don't want to take away from your focus of what you're doing on the mound. And you don't want to be around the lows, because you don't want to be around negativity."

The mentality of the pitchers changes as you move into the bullpen. Newest Nats reliever David Carpenter chooses to sprint to the mound to the blaring sounds of Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" while embracing his usually high-leverage moments.

"You get the crowd into it and that type of stuff," Carpenter said. "It's fun. It gets the competitive juices flowing for us. For guys that like to be high-octane guys, why not come into that situation all jacked up and ready to go? You get put in those type of situations, it not only adds to your stuff, but puts a little more pressure on the hitter."

You would think Drew Storen's approach would mimic Carpenter's, but the Nationals closer tries to see the game like Fister.

"I understand what Doug is saying there because I kinda do the same thing," said Storen, who has the majors' third-most saves. "You just have to minimize the game so much. A pitch at a time, a batter at a time, whatever cliché at a time you want to say. That's the mentality. And I'm only in for 15 pitches to worry about it. I'm locked in. You rely on the scoreboard quite a bit when it comes to the count and everything just because you're thinking about different things. But I can totally get that. There's sometimes I don't really know. I know I need to get three outs and that's good enough."

Williams was one of the game's most dangerous hitters, bashing 378 homers during his 17-year career. He said there were moments his focus in the batter's box reached Fister's precise level.

"All I can think of is as a hitter," Williams said. "So there are times when you go to the plate and you're really zoned in that you have no idea what the count is. But all that is ultimate concentration. And for Doug, it's the same thing. So he's worried about getting the next guy. He's not concerned about how many pitches he's got or what inning it is. He understands the situation because he sees guys on the basepaths or not. But it's good. It just means he's concentrating. He's pitching in the moment. What happens after, happens. That just means to me that he's zoned in and ready to go out there. That's a good thing."

Fister was arguably Williams' most effective pitcher last year. His 16 wins and 2.41 ERA were best among all Nats starters and he outpitched Giants ace Madison Bumgarner to claim the lone win in the National League Division Series.

This season has been more of a battle for the 31-year-old after dealing with a strained flexor muscle in his right forearm, which knocked him out of action for more than a month. Fister will make is fourth start since coming off the disabled list when he takes the mound tonight against the Reds at Nationals Park.

Williams and his Nats hope the tall sinkerballer returns to his normal form of baffling opposing lineups.

"I know there are times we faced Doug when I was with Atlanta, he had guys coming back to the dugout throwing bats and stuff, getting mad because they're like, 'Everything he throws moves.' That's gotta be frustrating as a hitter," Carpenter said.