Nats have experience, but new blood could spell difference this postseason

The Nationals have a good blend of experience and youth, and are hoping that will be the blend that will carry them to the next round of the postseason. It is a goal that the Nats have been unable to reach in their last two playoff appearances.

"I think the experience helps from '12 and '14," said president of baseball operations and general manager Mike Rizzo. "We got two more playoff experiences under our belt. It doesn't feel any different to me. I'm fired up for playoff action.

"You work about seven months to get to this point and we're excited to be here, and we're playing a really good team in the Los Angeles Dodgers, but we're a really good team too. And we're poised to take them on and I can't wait."

First baseman Ryan Zimmerman makes his third appearance in the postseason and has memories of National League Division Series exits to the Cardinals and Giants. Experience is certainly important, but he believes each game and each series comes down to the basics of baseball.

"I think the playoffs, it usually comes down to pitching and defense," Zimmerman said. "Each team will have two or three times a game where they have a chance to score some runs or take advantage of a mistake the other team made. That's what you have to capitalize on."

One player who came through offensively in the 2014 postseason was Bryce Harper. In the playoff series loss to the Giants, Harper hit .294, with a double, three homers and four RBIs.

He doesn't believe gaining experience from those losses makes any difference this time around.

"I really don't care what happened last time or anything like that," Harper said. "It's all in the past. We got beat by two damn good teams. Woulda, shoulda, coulda. It's what we can do Friday and so forth. Just got to play our game, do what we can to win ball games and worry about that when it comes."

Another theme that runs through this 2016 version of the Nats is the players - and even a manager - that are making their first appearances with this organization in the playoffs. Manager Dusty Baker was out of baseball for a couple of seasons. He is thrilled to have received the call to return and especially to manage this team.

"This is what I thought I should be doing," Baker said. "When I was sitting home, I was like, 'I should be there because I'm pretty used to going to the playoffs.' So I'm very grateful and thankful that I have a good team. This is what we wanted in spring training, this is what we wanted prior to spring training - we wanted to be in this position. So to me, this is kind of where I'm supposed to be."

Right-hander Max Scherzer laughed when asked about this team getting a shot to erase past postseason demons.

"Man, that's the past," Scherzer said. "We're still talking about (that)? I wasn't here. I don't know what you guys are even talking about. This is a whole new team. We got Daniel Murphy in here, we got Trea Turner. We got some new faces in here. There's no reason why we can't win. I think we can win."

Turner said he has not sought counsel about what it's like in playoff baseball. He believes he has a pretty good idea of what the Nats need to do to win.

"I haven't asked many questions because I know what to expect," Turner said. "It's going to be intense, it's going to be a big crowd. It's going to be a baseball game. You are going to have to execute just like any other game. Whoever executes (gets) more wins and moves on."

But Rizzo knows all about 2012 and 2014, and he feels good about his club's shot this time around.

"I love the team we have," Rizzo said. "We're a good, well-rounded team. We compete against anybody in baseball. You don't win 95 games by accident and we're looking forward to Friday to take on a great Dodger team, but a team that we feel we can beat."