Aaron Barrett’s career nearly ended before it began. In rookie ball, five years ago in Vermont, Barrett lost the rudimentary skill essential to his job: He could not throw a baseball in the direction he wanted to. He had, as he said with little prompting this spring, “the yips.” He threw nine wild pitches in 22 innings. When he threw a bullpen session, scared teammates scattered.  The struggle that Barrett overcame to even remain a professional ballplayer pales to what he faces now, though, in the aftermath of his disastrous seventh inning in the decisive Game 4 of the NLDS. Barrett entered a tie game with two men on bases. He walked a batter to load the bases and fired a 58-foot fastball to push one run across.  In trying to throw an intentional walk, he then sailed a ball over Wilson Ramos’s head, a play that he was somehow able to turn into an out by covering home plate and slapping a tag on Buster Posey.  “Maybe I’ll have to practice that one in the offseason,” Barrett said afterward, cracking a wry smile.  Barrett’s immediate ability to find humor in the play seems to say something — quite a bit, actually — about whether he will recover from Game 4. Barrett showed immense promise this season, dominating right-handers with his slider, which may become a good enough out pitch to make him a closer someday. The way Barrett handled adversity should give the Nationals hope that his bad inning will not alter his trajectory.  Monday night, Barrett showered and dressed in a shirt and tie before he strode in front of his locker, where a pack of reporters awaited. He answered questions for about four minutes, expansive and thoughtful and accountable.  “The bottom line is, I didn’t make pitches when I had to, and it cost us the game,” Barrett said. “I didn’t get the job done. It sucks. At the same time, I’m going to learn from it and work my butt off this offseason and be a lot more prepared for next year.”  He freely admitted the wild pitch on the intentional walk was as odd to him as it appeared to anyone watching.  “As soon as the ball left my hand, I didn’t even feel it come out of my hand. I honestly have no idea what happened,” Barrett said. “I was just trying to get it to Ramos, and the next thing I know, it went over his head. It ended up working out. I don’t know how.”  On Tuesday evening, Barrett posted a letter on his Twitter account thanking fans for support. “It didn’t end the way we wanted,” he wrote. “Last night didn’t go the way I wanted, but I know that God has a plan and I trust that plan. It hurts now, but we will come back stronger than ever.” Barrett closed by thanking the organization, fans, coaches, teammates and his wife.  Barrett’s career held promise before Manager Matt Williams called him into a jam in the seventh inning of Game 4. All of his actions since he exited the game suggest it still does.  SECTION: {section=sports, subsection=null}!!! 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Aaron Barrett's initial response to his disastrous performance in Game 4 suggests he can bounce back next season.