Ramos soaks in emotional return to field

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Wilson Ramos prepares to tag Giancarlo Stanton at the plate in the seventh inning.

As Stephen Strasburg warmed up in the right field bullpen prior to his Opening Day start, all eyes at Nationals Park were on the young right-hander. They probably didn't notice the eyes of the guy catching Strasburg, who couldn't help but get emotional from the moment.

"When I was in the bullpen, I was almost crying," Wilson Ramos said later. "I feel like today was my first game in the big leagues. I was too excited."

While Strasburg and Bryce Harper drew the lion's share of the attention during and after the Nationals' 2-0 Opening Day victory over the Marlins -- and rightfully so -- Ramos quietly went about his business. His presence behind the plate, though, was just as significant in the bigger picture.

Less than 11 months after tearing the ACL in his right knee while trying to corral an errant pitch in Cincinnati, Ramos was back in the Nationals' starting lineup, given the honor by manager Davey

Game 1: Marlins at Nats

Photo by Mark Zuckerman / NATS INSIDER

Nationals Park is all decked out and ready to go for Opening Day.

All the talk, all the expectations all the outrageous predictions, they mean nothing anymore. At long last we don't have to speculate on how the Nationals will perform in 2013. We'll have actual, on-field evidence beginning at 1:05 p.m. when Stephen Strasburg fires the first pitch of the season to Juan Pierre.

If you're coming to the game today, be sure to get here early. Pregame ceremonies start at 12:10 p.m., and the unveiling of the NL East championship banner will take place at precisely 12:26:30 p.m. Plan accordingly.

Nothing left to say except the two greatest words in the English language: Play ball! Updates and analysis to come...

MIAMI MARLINS at WASHINGTON NATIONALS
Where: Nationals Park
Gametime: 1:05 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, Ch. 9
Radio: WJFK (106.7 FM), XM 185
Weather: Partly cloudy, 63 degrees, Wind 15 mph out to RF

NATIONALS
CF Denard Span
RF Jayson Werth
CF Bryce Harper
3B Ryan Zimmerman

2013 Media Predictions

Hey, guess what? It's baseball season! The Rangers and Astros played last night in Houston, and today there will be ballgames across the country, most notably here in the nation's capital.

Opening Day features its share of traditions, and for the last four years that has included the annual Nationals season predictions by those of us who cover the team on a regular basis. There were no shortage of potential categories to choose from this year, and I think we came up with some good ones.

Feel free to post your own predictions in the comments section below. And feel free to give us credit (or give us grief) come October once we know how we did...

WHICH NATS WILL BE SELECTED FOR THE ALL-STAR GAME?
Amanda Comak (Washington Times) -- Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg, Ryan Zimmerman, Jordan Zimmermann
Craig Heist (WTOP) -- Tyler Clippard, Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper, Stephen Strasburg
Chase Hughes (CSNwashington.com) -- Bryce Harper, Rafael Soriano, Stephen Strasburg, Jordan Zimmermann

Embracing expectations

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Davey Johnson started the "World Series or Bust" hysteria in December.

Asked to make their MLB season predictions, four of seven baseball experts from Sports Illustrated picked the Nationals to win the World Series. A fifth picked them to reach the Fall Classic.

Three of four experts from Yahoo! Sports concurred: The Nationals will win the World Series.

And over at ESPN, 16 of 43 experts picked the Nats to win it all, 29 of 43 picked them to reach the Series, 38 of 43 picked them to win the NL East and all 43 picked them to at least reach the playoffs.

Talk about pressure, huh?

"Hey, it's better than being picked last, isn't it?" Davey Johnson mused last week from the dugout at Space Coast Stadium when informed how nearly every major publication out there has tabbed his team as the sport's preseason favorite.

Johnson, of course, has never shied away from the spotlight. If anything, the overly lofty expectations placed on the Nationals this season were ignited by their 70-year-old manager, who at the Winter Meetings in December declared the team's new mantra: "World Series or Bust."

Ever since, the Nationals have been the darlings of national media outlets, scouts and Vegas oddsmakers, all of them convinced D.C. will be home to baseball's best team in 2013. It's enough to make your head swell and chest puff out, but within the clubhouse, that doesn't appear to be a problem.
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