BALTIMORE — From red state to blue state.
It’s not a political change, but rather a change in uniform for Tyler Clippard. For six years, he “got his red on” with the Washington Nationals, as a steady presence in the Nationals bullpen as both a middle reliever and closer, twice making the All Star Team.
Now, Clippard is trying to beat the Nats wearing New York Mets blue. Washington’s division rival acquired him in a deadline trade from the Oakland A’s in late July, and he’s glad to be back in the National League East.
“It’s a division I’m used to, places I’ve been before and it’s a comfort level that’s kind of nice right now,” he told WTOP last week when the Mets was in Baltimore.
The Mets seem to be getting comfortable in first place — opening up a season-high 6.5-game lead through Wednesday — and Clippard points to the fact that the winning has become contagious in Flushing.
“It’s a nice feeling coming to the ballpark everyday expecting to win, having that feeling like you’re going to win,” he said. “The roster is a really good fit from top to bottom. Everybody plays with each other really well. It’s been fun.”
The one big difference he sees between the Mets and Nats is age.
“This team is a little bit younger,” he said of the Mets. “Kind of two different animals, but we’re winning and that’s all I care about right now.”
Clippard keeps in touch with his former teammates on a weekly basis, and he got in the last word on the Mets sweep of the Nats three weeks ago, appearing in two games.
“There was a lot of ribbing and trash talking going on,” he admitted. “But it was friends talking to friends.”
His best friend on the Nationals is Drew Storen. Clippard was surprised by Washington’s acquisition of Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon at the trade deadline, since Storen had twice as many saves at the time.
“The Nationals were trying to improve their ball club like everybody else at the deadline,” he said. “But, when a guy has that much success in the ninth inning, no matter who it is — he just happens to be a friend of mine — it’s surprising. At the end of the day, though, we’re all professionals. We don’t get to choose where we pitch.”
The Nationals won two division titles in three years with Clippard, so he’s very familiar with how big the expectations are D.C. What does he think is going on in his former clubhouse now that they’re in an unexpected battle for first?
“There’s a sense of urgency that they’re feeling a little bit. They’ve struggled with some injuries. It’s a matter of time before they get it straightened out, but from our perspective, we hope they don’t, because right now we’re feeling pretty good where we’re at.”
Soon after the Mets acquired Clippard, they overtook the Nationals in the standings.
“Since I got here, we were three games back and we caught them real fast and we’ve played good baseball since. We’re playing like a first place team.”
So, does that mean he now likes the way he looks in blue?
“Yeah man, we’re winning, absolutely,” he said. “That’s the bottom line.”
Nationals fans can check out the new, blue Tyler Clippard on Labor Day when the Mets come to D.C. in what Nats fans hope will be a showdown for first place.
