Casey Janssen: "I gotta build the trust of my teammates, the staff, everybody"

Right-hander Casey Janssen sat on the couch in the Nationals clubhouse for several minutes late last Friday night with an untouched plate of food in front of him and a blank stare on his face. Fairly or unfairly, Janssen had been charged with the game-tying run as the Nationals blew a late-inning lead with just six outs remaining.

Janssen had only faced two batters in his abbreviated outing. Orioles pinch-hitter Chris Parmelee nicked a 2-2 cutter to lead off the eighth, and the dribbler to third enabled him to reach safely without a throw from Yunel Escobar. Janssen then hung a slider to Adam Jones, one of the game's most lethal hitters. Jones blistered a liner that was probably headed for extra bases until Escobar's glove got in the way for the first out.

That was the end of Janssen's night. The 33-year-old, who saved 81 games for the Blue Jays over the last three seasons, was now realizing his new team may not have full faith in him to finish an inning.

"It has to do with me not really contributing yet," Janssen said explaining his disappointment. "I feel like there's a place for me here and I gotta find it and I gotta find my way and I haven't yet. It was a big spot. It was a spot where I gotta build that trust. I gotta build the trust of my teammates, the staff, everybody. It was an opportunity to show 'em what I can do."

Left-hander Matt Thornton replaced Janssen on Friday and Matt Wieters promptly delivered a double scoring Parmelee. The Nationals eventually lost on Jonathan Schoop's walk-off homer off Tanner Roark in the bottom of the ninth.

For seven years, Nationals fans became accustomed to reliable right-hander Tyler Clippard handling high-leverage late-inning situations. Clippard's role was primarily the eighth inning, no matter if the opposing team was sending right-handed or left-handed hitters to the plate.

So it was a bit of a stunner when Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo shipped Clippard to Oakland in mid-January to acquire Escobar. The results of the trade are conflicting. Escobar has been one of the National League's best hitters, batting .321 (4th) while playing a solid third base in the absence of Anthony Rendon.

However, the Nationals have yet to find a consistent set-up man for closer Drew Storen, whose 27 saves are second best in the NL. Rizzo signed Janssen to presumably fill the role shortly after trading Clippard. During spring training, Janssen experienced a bout of tendinitis in his throwing shoulder, which led him to begin the season on the 15-day disabled list. He wasn't able to make his Nationals and season debut until May 23. Janssen has pitched 16 1/3 innings over 18 appearances since, allowing seven runs (3.86 ERA). He's 0-2 with both losses coming against the Reds.

"Janssen was a guy without spring training," Rizzo said. "He was a guy who we liked when we signed him. We thought he was a guy that had experience in the ninth inning (and) could handle the seventh and eighth inning. I think that as you see him getting comfortable and really coming out of spring training mode ... he's starting to pitch like Casey Janssen. Commanding all four quadrants of the plate, mixing and matching and certainly not afraid to get guys out."

But, as the non-waiver trade deadline approaches in 16 days, most scuttlebutt surrounds the Nationals making a move to improve to the back-half of their bullpen in preparation for high-pressured October situations.

"I want to show them they don't need to look anymore," Janssen said. "But that comes with success."

Manager Matt Williams wasted no time giving Janssen his next chance. Twenty-four hours later, Janssen was back on the mound to start the eighth inning, tasked to preserve the Nationals' 7-4 lead in front of 44,495 screaming fans at Camden Yards.

"If you don't get the blood pumping there ... one, you don't belong in the game and definitely not pitching late in the game," said Janssen, who thrives on taking the mound on the road.

This time Janssen made quick work of the Orioles, striking out Nolan Reimold and Steve Pearce before getting J.J. Hardy to end the inning on a groundout to Escobar. It was a very efficient 12-pitch hold, which allowed Williams to give the ball to Storen in the ninth to end the Nationals three-game skid.

"That's why the bullpen's the best," Janssen said. "You have a short memory. You can make up for shortcomings the night before sort of immediately or hopefully get the opportunity to. You just gotta be ready the next time if they call on you. It's gonna happen to everybody. You just flush it. If you let it affect you the next time and the next time, then that's where it starts to snowball good. But if you stop it the next time out, then you get back rolling.

"I just gotta continue to have innings like that and continue to show them this is the guy they brought in and trust me."

Rizzo signed Janssen to a two-year deal with $5 million guaranteed. It is Janssen's first time away from the Blue Jays organization since Toronto selected him in the fourth round of the 2004 First-Year Player Draft. Two years later, Janssen began his big league career as a starter.

Janssen's demeanor on the mound may fool you. His hyper activity suggests a blazing fastball will follow, but Janssen's heater lives between 86-88 mph.

"I'm not gonna light up the radar gun," Janssen admits. "I'm gonna use my defense. I don't strike very many guys out."

Despite establishing himself as one of the game's most consistent relievers over his previous eight years, Janssen has no problem having to justify his value to the Nationals for a playoff run.

"I've had to prove myself my whole career from being the 26th man on a 25-man roster (in Toronto) to pretty much getting one opportunity to become a closer. And I knew that was my one shot and if I didn't be perfect for those three years, I was probably not gonna get another opportunity because I wasn't the prototypical flame-throwing guy.

"Every time out, I treat it like a tryout. I treat it like a tryout for the next situation, the next opportunity. And if you lose that mentality, then you get comfortable and that's when things go the other way."