Week That Was: Drama in DC

The Nationals have endured one of the most disappointing seasons we've seen from a major-league team in years, and now it's coming to an ugly end.

Last Sunday, deadline acquisition Jonathan Papelbon engaged in a physical altercation with Bryce Harper after taking exception to the MVP slugger dogging it to first on a fly ball. After the two exchanged words, Papelbon aggressively grabbed Harper by the throat before the two were separated by teammates.

Manager Matt Williams incredibly allowed Papelbon to pitch later in the game, and the closer got shelled, coughing up five runs (two earned) in one inning.

The Nats ended up adding a four-game suspension in addition to the three-game ban Papelbon had received from MLB as discipline for a beaning the previous week, ending his season.

Washington is in an interesting situation with the back end of its bullpen entering the offseason. Drew Storen, who lost the closer role when the team traded for Papelbon, sulked and struggled following the trade before breaking his hand in frustration in early September. And now there's all this drama surrounding Papelbon.

Both relievers are under team control next year. It's almost a sure bet that at least one will be dealt this winter.

* Last week we learned that Royals closer Greg Holland was being shut down for the season, and his torn UCL diagnosis meant that Tommy John surgery was inevitable. He underwent the procedure on Friday, getting it out of the way quickly, but will still likely miss the entire 2016 season.

* It was a good week for a couple of the National League's premier starting pitchers, who are ending spectacular seasons on very strong notes.

Clayton Kershaw delivered a gem in the Dodgers' division-clinching win over the Giants on Tuesday, notching 13 strikeouts in a complete game shutout while allowing only one hit and one walk. He sits with a 16-7 record, 2.16 ERA and 294-to-42 K/BB ratio in 229 innings, which would be good enough to lock up Cy Young honors many other years but probably won't get it done this season, in part because of his teammate Zack Greinke (1.68 ERA) and in part because of...

Jake Arrieta. What a monster this guy has been in the second half. After tossing a three-hit shutout against the Brewers last week, Arrieta took a perfect game into the seventh against the Pirates on Sunday before Gregory Polanco singled with nine outs to go. He then wrapped up his campaign with six shutout innings in another win over the Brewers on Friday.

Arrieta's win total (22) and tremendous momentum would seem to give him a leg up in the Cy race. Since the All Star break, he is 12-1 with an eye-popping 0.75 ERA and 0.73 WHIP.

* Max Scherzer won't be a top contender in the aforementioned race due to the absurd numbers of others, but he has had a hell of a first season in Washington. He pitched a no-hitter earlier this summer and nearly managed a second on Monday, hurling seven hitless innings against the Reds. Tucker Barnhart played spoiler, lining a single to left with one out in the eighth. The righty settled for a win with eight frames of one-run ball.

Scherzer has piled up 259 strikeouts this year, his fourth straight season with 230-plus. He has also put up a 2.91 ERA and 0.96 WHIP, but is stuck with a 13-12 record thanks to a lack of support from the Nats offense.

* Mets fans held their collective breath on Wednesday night when Yoenis Cespedes took a fastball to the hand from Phillies reliever Justin De Fratus but fortunately X-rays on the outfielder's fingers came back negative. He has a contusion and is probably going to be rested this weekend to be on the safe side, but Cespedes will loom large in New York's postseason match-up.

* Masahiro Tanaka took the mound for the Yankees on Wednesday after missing his previous start due to a hamstring strain. Although he coughed up four runs in five innings at home against the Red Sox, he came away from the outing feeling good and is in line to start the Wild Card Game on Tuesday.

* The Angels announced that Huston Street will not pitch again in the regular season due to a groin strain. Joe Smith, healed up from an ankle injury that had been bothering him, moved to the front of the line in Anaheim's bullpen. Smith notched a save on Friday night.

* Giancarlo Stanton tried his hardest to get back on the field following hamate surgery that has kept him sidelined since late June, but he ran out of time. He was on an MVP-type pace before going down and should be back at full strength in 2016, ready to dominate as a 26-year-old.

* Cardinals rookie Stephen Piscotty was involved in a scary collision with Peter Bourjos on Monday. He took a knee to the head and needed to be removed from the field on a stretcher and transported to the hospital. Fortunately, Piscotty was diagnosed with only a "slight concussion" and took batting practice on Friday. We should see him again this year.

* Putting the finishing touches on a quietly amazing season, Manny Machado homered twice and stole two bases in a win over the Blue Jays on Thursday. With 33 bombs and 20 steals, Machado becomes the seventh player in Orioles history to post a 20/20 season. After missing half of the 2014 campaign, he has played in every game for Baltimore and leads the league in plate appearances.

* The Padres decided to call it a season for Matt Kemp, who had been playing through a partially torn finger tendon in recent weeks. Finishing with 23 homers and a 755 OPS, Kemp was not the offensive force that San Diego hoped he would be when they picked him up in the offseason, but he was much better in the second half. If that's a sign of things to come, the Padres might be poised to finally take a step forward in 2016.

* It's been a big year for rapid recoveries, which might speak to how far along medical science is coming in sports. First, there was Marcus Stroman, who managed to rehab and return from a torn ACL in six months, and has now slotted in as a key contributor for the playoff-bound Blue Jays. Adam Wainwright is the latest to complete a stunning comeback, as he took the mound for a relief appearance on Thursday despite suffering an Achilles injury in late April that was widely viewed as a surefire season-ender. He'll be a potent weapon out of the St. Louis bullpen this month.

* Carlos Gonzalez missed all but 70 games in 2014 due to injury, but came back with a bang for the Rockies this year. On Tuesday he launched his 40th home run of the season, adding onto his career high, which was previously set at 34 back in 2010.

CarGo took full advantage of his home park, picking up 24 of his homers while slugging .617 at Coors, but he'll return there in 2016 as long as the Rockies don't trade him, making him an elite power target in drafts next spring.