Max Scherzer was answering the question again, the one about what it means to start on opening day, the one he’s answered several times now, his answer well-honed. An honor, of course, Just one game. Any one of these guys could do it. Game 1 of the World Series would mean more.  This time, the script was interrupted.  “We’ve got to go out there and win this Ameri …” Scherzer said, catching himself before “… can League Central” could slip all the way out. He smiled.  “National League East, I should say. I’m so used to saying American League, I just haven’t gotten used to saying National League yet.”  A lot has changed since Scherzer first took that podium in late January. Then, he was a stunning addition to a powerful rotation, an unexpected new superstar set to belong to D.C. for seven years.  Now, he is the Nationals’ opening day starter. His fearless pitch selection and powerful stuff shone this spring, everything it was promised to be. His clubhouse candor slid easily into the locker room, a vocal and mischievous presence. He will pitch a meaningful game for the Nationals Monday, start a new season with a new team in a new league, ready to build on the strong impression he made this spring.  “I’ve blended in pretty well, had a lot of fun with a lot of guys,” said Scherzer, smiling. “I’ve been getting to know everybody pretty well. I can only expect great things coming forward in the season.”  Whether counting “meows” in television interviews or posting goofy photos in the clubhouse to poke fun at his manager and teammates, Scherzer endeared himself to his team and the fans with his personality. He endeared himself to his manager, too, with competitiveness and meticulousness and evident enthusiasm. Because the Nationals played many of their spring training games against National League East division competition, Matt Williams wanted his players to learn from the opportunity to watch their regular-season competition. He made a rule that starters, normally dismissed after their in-game work was done, would have to stay through at least the fifth inning. Often he would look down the dugout in the seventh or eighth and see Scherzer still there.  Once, Williams put the bunt sign on for Scherzer. On the next pitch, he took it off, letting Scherzer swing away. He bunted anyway, so Williams met him in the dugout to make sure he had understood the signs. He had. “Just wanted to work on it,” he told his manager.  The Nationals wanted Scherzer to throw 85 pitches in his last spring outing, to stretch to opening day levels, no need for much more. Scherzer threw 102.  “He wanted to put himself in a position where he had to battle out of something,” Williams said. “That being said, he’s everything that is advertised and we’re excited for him on Monday.”  Results are secondary in spring training, though Scherzer provided excellent ones: a 1.35 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 20 spring training innings. He admits there will be a learning curve in facing National League hitters with unfamiliar tendencies. Then again, he said, unable to suppress a knowing smile, “I feel like the pitcher has the advantage in these situations.”  “The pitcher has the advantage of when he first gets to face a hitter, for me, hitters I haven’t seen before, or as frequently I should say, because they just haven’t seen how my pitches move,” Scherzer said. “That’s something that I feel like is to the advantage of me. At the same, I’m trying to figure them out as well. But I feel like at the beginning of this, the cat-and-mouse game between the pitcher and hitter, the pitcher has the advantage.”  Scherzer’s first experiment with that theory will come against the Mets Monday, amid the high-energy ceremonies of an opening day unlike any D.C. has seen before. Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred will throw out the first pitch. The league is expected to announce that the 2018 All-Star Game will be held at Nationals Park. Oh, and the Nationals’ new $210 million dollar star will take his home mound for the first time in a Nationals jersey. Scherzer, who is so deeply invested in routine that he hummed the Star Spangled Banner before throwing live batting practice in spring training, said he is ready for the chaos.  “If anything, you use it. You let that adrenaline help you out,” Scherzer said. “The moment you try to control your adrenaline, you’re in your head. And so for me, I’m a high-adrenaline pitcher, so whenever the situation arises, I enjoy those situations. You use the moment to help fuel you, and when I do that, that’s when I pitch my best.”  Washington expected to be named 2018 All-Star Game host  Clint Robinson makes roster; Mike Carp and Rich Hill reassigned  Opening Day schedule | More baseball news  Chelsea Janes covers the Nationals for The Washington Post.
The Nationals newest star has fit in easily with his new team, and is now ready for his opening act Monday.