The question of how baseball could be so cruel to this city may be answered some day. It existed in horrible form in the nation\u2019s capital for decades, and then it vanished for 33 years. It came back gnarled and wretched for seven more seasons, only to yield to this blissful summer, to the moment Friday past midnight when Drew Storen stood on the mound at chilled Nationals Park and, with two outs in the ninth inning, threw 13 pitches that could have moved the Washington Nationals four wins from the World Series.<\/p>\n
The St. Louis Cardinals would not allow it. Baseball, this town\u2019s cold mistress, the sport that dares you to love it, would not let it happen. The Nationals led the Cardinals by six runs after three innings. They led by two runs after eight innings. Washington\u2019s miserable relationship with baseball had been exorcised, until it materialized in a more wrenching, twisted fashion than ever seen before….<\/p>\n