PITTSBURGH -- Dusty Baker couldnt help but smile as he watched his players pour champagne and beer on each other.The Washington Nationals clinched their third National League East title in five years on Saturday night. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 6-1 and watched on TV in the clubhouse as the New York Mets were eliminated from the division race 20 minutes later with a 10-8 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.Then the party started.Let the animals run wild, and they are certainly running wild tonight, said Baker, the Nationals first-year manager. I love it. Look at them. These are the wildest Ive ever seen.The Nationals were seemingly not only celebrating a division title but releasing pent-up frustration that remained from a disappointing 2015 season.The Nationals were considered by many to be World Series favorites after signing right-hander Max Scherzer to a seven-year, $210-million contract in free agency the previous winter. They not only missed the playoffs, but then-closer Jonathan Papelbon choked right fielder Bryce Harper during a late-season dugout argument.We were all (upset), Scherzer said. Because we had a team we knew was capable of winning and winning in the postseason, winning in October. I believe we have that team again.Manager Matt Williams was fired at the end of last season and replaced by Baker, who had 20 years of experience managing the San Francisco Giants, Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds.Out of the game for two years after being fired by the Reds following the 2013 season, the 67-year-old Baker has been questioned at times for his handling of the pitching staff. But he has provided a steady hand.This is the first step in a four-step process, Baker said We want to do this three more times, then hopefully be the world champions. Were not done yet.The Nationals have never reached the World Series during the franchises 47-year history that began in 1969 as the Montreal Expos before the team relocated to Washington in 2005.Except for a four-day stretch in May, the Nationals were on top of the division all season. They took the lead for good May 13 then built a double-digit advantage in September despite a down year from Harper, who is hitting just .243 with 24 home runs in 143 games after winning the NL MVP a year ago when he batted .330 with an NL-leading 42 homers.However, second baseman Daniel Murphy, who helped the Mets reach the World Series last year, has made a major impact after being signed as a free agent in the offseason. Though sidelined by a strained glut muscle in recent days, he is hitting .347 with a league-best 47 doubles and 25 home runs in 141 games.Rookie Trea Turner also has made a major impact since becoming a lineup fixture in August, hitting .336 with 12 home runs and 27 stolen bases in 65 games while converting from shortstop to center fielder.Scherzer has been stellar as the ace of the pitching staff. He is 18-7 with a 2.82 ERA, a league-leading 267 strikeouts and a record-tying 20-strikeout game in May.He has helped the Nationals work with a rotation that has been weakened by injuries to Stephen Strasburg and Joe Ross along with the inconsistent performance of left-hander Gio Gonzalez.The Nationals also had to trade for Pittsburgh Pirates closer Mark Melancon on July 30 after Papelbon faltered and was eventually released. Melancon converted his first 12 save opportunities before blowing one Friday night at Pittsburgh.It was more of a team effort, Nationals right fielder Jayson Werth said. It was everybody. Everybody contributed. You can look at everybody on the team and say that guys the reason why were here.Thats what good teams are about. Weve got our potential MVP candidate. Weve got our potential Cy Young award winner. But everybodys contributed.Custom High School Jerseys . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. Wholesale Custom High School Jerseys . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. http://www.customjerseyshighschool.com/ . LUCIE, Fla. Custom Bishop Luers Jerseys . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Cheap Custom High School Jerseys . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency.DALLAS -- It will take more than a quarter-season of historic production for Mark Cuban to admit that Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has proved him wrong.Cuban, the outspoken Dallas Mavericks owner who declared during last seasons playoffs that Westbrook wasnt a superstar, said he still isnt convinced even though Westbrook is on pace to be the first player to average a triple-double since Oscar Robertson in 1962-63.Hes putting up superstar numbers. Thats for damn sure, Cuban said of Westbrook as the Thunder took on the Houston Rockets on Friday night. Im not taking anything away from what hes been able to accomplish, but Im not going to change my definition. Hes putting up superstar numbers. You cant deny that.Westbrook had 27 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Fridays 102-99 loss. It was his seventh consecutive triple-double, the longest streak since Michael Jordan had seven straight in 1989, and his season averages now sit at 30.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 11.3 assists per game.Cuban said in April, about an hour before Westbrooks 36-point, 12-rebound, nine-assist performannce in Game 5 of the first round to eliminate the Mavs, that a true superstar can carry a mediocre roster to 50 wins and a postseason series win.dddddddddddd He noted that the Thunder failed to make the playoffs in 2014-15, when Kevin Durant missed most of the season because of a foot injury.Led by Westbrook, who has been first- or second-team All-NBA five times and is widely considered an MVP front-runner, the Thunder are 14-9 after Fridays loss and on a 50-win pace for the season. Oklahoma City will have to keep up that pace and perhaps pull off what would be considered a first-round upset for Cuban to recognize Westbrook as a superstar.Thats no disrespect to Russell, Cuban said. Hes been a beast. Few have done what hes done, but Ill stick by my definition. Im not saying that hes not going to prove me wrong and that he [wont be] a superstar by the end of the year. Thats fine, but Ill stick by my definition.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ' ' '