DETROIT — “It’s easy to say how good we’re going to be until you get punched in the mouth.”



“We were finding a way every night to lose a game.”



“I’d sit and watch the games again, beat myself in the head.”



You don’t have to look hard to find negativity amongst an underperforming team. This year’s New York Mets are the poster child for how things can go wrong in every which way. The more remarkable, commendable thing is this year’s Nationals didn’t follow suit. They bottomed out at Citi Field, were swept in a four-game series in mid-May, and there was no come-to-Jesus meeting. No finger pointing or fistfights. It was about a month ago when things hit rock bottom and the Nats — somewhat miraculously — survived.



“Everyone was kinda waiting. Like, ‘When is it going to turn? When?!?,’” said second baseman Brian Dozier, who described...