Just Not Competitive!!

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After a brief run to get near .500 and spurning talks of a Wild Card Playoff run, our Washington Nationals have returned to their dismal play of early this season. The Nats were just swept by the Boston Red Sox at Fenway and they were never in any of the games. They were simply not competitive. And, the Red Sox threw on consecutive days: a Kansas City Royals castoff, a 65 MPH knuckleballer and Lefty throwing his 3rd Major League Game. Not one Nationals hitter could solve any of these guys, as well as, a handful of Red Sox Relievers. Soriano, Guillen, Zimmerman and Vidro swung at everything that was thrown to them. The entire team had no life, this, after come off the 2 most rousing wins in the Nationals young life...The Nationals have the worst defensive outfield in the game, no offense (even worse with Nick Johnson on the sidelines), and just downright crappy pitching. I only wish the trading deadline would come sooner so that the Nationals can start driving up the price for some of our veterans. Of course, Vidro and Livan are not helping themselves or the Nats longterm future of late. They have both been terrible. This all leaves us Fans in the unenviable position of seeing the team play out the last half of 2006 with no hope. And, that means its time to see what we really have in our farm system. Harris, Vento, Church, Corcoran, Traber, Broadway and catcher Solomon Manriquez--whatever talent we have, The Nats need to see now, so proper decisions can be made for 2007 and beyond. Come on Stan Kasten, get a hold of this team and give us some life and direction. PLEASE!!

Nats New Stadium

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As most anyone that lives in the DC area knows, there has been a tremendous amount of angst over the funding, building and final delivery of the New Washington Nationals Stadium. With construction now underway, the bickering continues over parking, costs, and eventual final stadium design. When the ballpark artist renditions first became public, I seemed to be in the minority in liking the design. Mayor Williams wanted a NEW LOOK, not a retro park remake like Camden Yards. A Stadium distinctive to Washington. The Glass Panels and Concrete Design, if done correctly, will gleam at night like no other stadium in the United States. The New Wembley Stadium outside London is just such a FANTASTIC SITE to see at night. The Nationals would be proud to play in such a park. Sohna and I have attended a game at Petco Park in San Diego, the stadium most compared to the New Nats BAllPARK. We loved the stadium, beautiful sightlines, Modern Concrete and Steel Spires. Very open and comfortable setting. And, it revitalized a very bad park of downtown San Diego. The Washington Business Journal just completed an excellent story looking into the complete plan for the Nats Ballpark and surrounding area. I recommend the reading highly. At this link: http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2006/06/19/story7.html

Who wouldn't want to attend a game on a beautiful evening in a stadium like this!! Really would be great!!

LIVAN!!?? Just Not Helping!!

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What really makes Livan Hernandez's terrible 2006 season even worse is that, not only is he not helping the Nationals win, but, Livan more and more each start has made himself UNTRADEABLE!! Last night at Fenway Park, LIVO could not get out of the second inning, giving up 6 runs on 8 hits in 56 pitches. HE WAS TERRIBLE. LIVO could not locate any of his pitches. Since day one of the Nationals, I have liked him a lot, but there must be something more wrong with him than his knee. He looks uncomfortable and out of sync everytime he comes to the mound. With the trading deadline nearly 5 weeks away, no team is going to consider giving the Nats anything worthwhile for him to help us out in the future. And, that's too bad.

Yanks Games...

First off, thanksmuch to Screech's Best Jeff for the ultimate in game recaps (containing much more info than any of Svrluga's) as you all know, I was out of town for Saturday and Sunday's games, and it was absolutely great to read about how we came back for both games...

I had no idea what happened yesterday, and it was only by fortune that I found out that the Nats game was being broadcast on a West Va AM affiliate, and so was able to catch the Majewski (less than magical) moments, and into the 9th, with Zimmerman's greatest moment of his rookie season. Man, O, man, I knew that we had a comeback win yesterday, and that it was an 11-9 final, but I had no idea it came from a 9-2 deficit. Wow. That's some unbelievable stuff. And then today (which apparently had the largest single-game attendance in RFK HISTORY!!!!), holy moley, I was pacing around our living room, listening to the play by play, and along with Charlie S., was freaking as I heard his call (BANG!!! ZOOOOM GO THE FIREWORKS!!!! CURLY W IN THE BOOKS!!!!)... As my mom and brother both commented, I am most definitely my father's son... Wish I could've been there of course, but had an awesome time as it is.

Wow. We took two from the Yankees, and what's especially cool, they were done in demoralizing fashion.

Yankees Suck!!!!

Whoo hoo! I love this game, I love this game, I love this game!!!!

Cheers

Yankees/Nationals Series

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Say Whatever you want, cheer for whomever you choose, but the just completed 3 game series between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals at RFK Stadium was the finest 3 game series since baseball returned to Washington. Despite the crushing Nats 7-5 loss on Friday night to the Bombers, the stadium was rocking. It was a GREAT NIGHT at the old ballpark. An exciting, edge of your seat, game and a crowd that was truly into it from the start. This all carried over to saturday, when it looked liked the Nats would get blown out of RFK for the weekend, but they came back by scoring 9 straight runs over the last 4 innings to win a thrilling 11-9 victory. And, finally, the ultimate, last at-bat ELECTRIFYING 2 RUN HOMER BY RYAN ZIMMERMAN TODAY to give the Nats a 3-2 series clinching victory before a loud and robust crowd of 45,187. BASEBALL WAS AT ITS BEST THIS WEEKEND. THIS IS WHY BASEBALL IS THE GREATEST GAME. It not about a clock, its not about running out of time. You must get the opponent out, OR YOU LOSE!! JUST LOVED THIS!! LOVE THIS!!

UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Yankees SUCK!!

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In the GREATEST GAME PLAYED SINCE YESTERDAY, and the FINEST MOMENT AT RFK SINCE THE RETURN OF BASEBALL TO WASHINGTON, Ryan Zimmerman hits a NO DOUBT rocket 2 run GAME WINNING Bottom of the 9th Home Run to Deep LEFT FIELD giving OUR NATIONALS a ELECTRIFYING 3-2 win and SERIES WIN OVER THE HATED YANKEES!! You could go your entire life and not see such a great REGULAR SEASON ENDING!! And, unless we win the World Series, I just can't imagine being HAPPIER!!
Setting the stage, with the game tied at 1-1 a classic low scoring pitchers duel, Wang mowing everyone down for the Yankees and O'Connor hanging in there through 7, and he was in trouble throughout the game, Frank brings in Majewski to start the 8th. Gary screws around plate and walks Melky Cabrera to lead off. Jeter K's swinging, Giambi K's swinging and here comes A-Rod who crushes Majewski's very first pitch to the left field power alley scoring Cabrera and the "LETS GO YANKEES" chants began and didn't stop. Posada Walks and both runners advance on a WILD PITCH by Gary. AND FRANK STILL KEEPS HIM IN THE GAME!! Robinson Cano, acting like the Nationals with a pitcher in trouble, then swings at the very first pitch and grounds to Brendan Harris, who throws a terrible in the dirt toss to first but Robert Fick, pulls it out of the dirt to retire the side. In the bottom half, Harris lead off walk, Byrd bunts him to second. Scheinder grounds out for the second out. Soriano, down 0-2 in the count, somehow draws a walk. Vidro comes up and on a 1-0 pitch drills one into the left centerfield gap, sure to score all and give the Nats the lead, but Cabrera covers some serious ground and the ball hangs up just long enough for him to make a fine over the shoulder, running left to right, left handed grab to retire the Nats. Majewski stays in for the 9th and retires the side in order. Then the MAGNIFICENT 9TH!!

Wang, at 100 pitches, but totally in control stays in the Game. Rivera had pitched nearly 4 innings the past 2 nights and was not available. Gulllen, swinging mightily as always, grounds out to second. Marlon Anderson, bats for Majewski in the 4 spot and SWINGS AT THE VERY FIRST OFFERING--SURPRISINGLY IT SQUEEKS THROUGH THE HOLE TO RIGHT FIELD. Speed on the bases, 1 out. The PRO YANKEE Crowd for the entire inning has been screaming "LETS GO YANKEES!!" Non Stop. I was shocked that Wang stayed in the game. Proctor and Myers warming up. As the crowd continues to yell "LETS GO YANKEES", Ryan Zimmerman comes up and SLUGS THE VERY FIRST PITCH, NUMBER 107 FOR THE GAME FROM WANG DEEP TO LEFT FIELD, OVER CABRERA'S HEAD AND OFF THE GREEN WALL ABOVE THE BULLPEN. AND THE CROWD WENT CRAZY!!!! CRAZY!!! CRAZY, I AM TELLING YOU!! YOU HAVE NEVER HEARD SO MUCH NOISE SINCE A REDSKINS GAME from 45,187 in attendance. AS ZIMMERMAN ROUNDED THE BASES, THE ENTIRE TEAM WAITED FOR HIM AT THE PLATE, AND Z JUMPED ONTO THE PLAYERS IN GREAT EXHILERATION!! I started to scream "YANKEES SUCK!!" and every Nats fan in attendance started to follow. It was DEAFENING!! Z came out for a curtain call. Frank came out for a curtain call. Mrs R and daughter Sharon, right behind me 4 rows both gave me a HUGE HUG when I ran up to high five them. Sharon was in total shock and Mrs R said at first it didn't occur to her, like me, that we had just won in GRAND FASHION!! LET THE PARTY BEGIN!! I AM SO HAPPY ITS BEYOND ANY MORE DESCRIPTION!!!! GO NATS!! I LOVE BASEBALL!! IN DC!! Truly a GREAT GREAT MOMENT FOR BASEBALL IN WASHINGTON!!

That's Fighting BABY!!

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Down 9-2 to the Hated Yankees before a Sellout Crowd of 45,083, our Nationals appeared to be in dire straights and on their way to a 6th consecutive loss. A 2 Run Monster Home Run by Alex Rodriguez to Dead Center Field, followed by a Jorge Posada Home Run off Ramon Ortiz made the score 5-2. But, when Saul Rivera gave up the GRAND SLAM to Johnny Damon to right center field, helped by a brutal error off the glove of Marlon Byrd in center, giving the Bronx Bombers a 7 run lead after 4 and 1/2 innings you could smell the kill at RFK stadium today. But, AMAZINGLY, THE NATIONALS FOUGHT BACK AND WITH STYLE!!. In the Bottom half of the 5th, Soriano walked, Vidro singled to right, Soriano to 3rd. Daryle Ward (today's true PLAYER OF THE DAY!!} subbing for the injured Nick Johnson, drove a single to right scoring Soriano and moving Vidro to 3rd. 9-3 Yanks. With 1 out, Zimmerman doubled down the right field line, scoring Vidro and moving Ward to 3rd. 9-4 Yanks. Yankees replace starter Shawn Chacon with Lefty Matt Smith, and Schneider greets him with a smack to right center scoring both Ward and Zimmerman. 9-6 Yankees after 5. In the bottom of the 7th, Ward slams a TITANIC BLAST INTO THE UPPER RIGHT FIELD DECK AT RFK, SECTION 470, 6 ROWS DEEP off TJ Beam, making his first MLB appearance. Jose Guillen follows with a double to left center and would score on pinch hitter Robert Fick's bloop double to left center making it 9-8 after 7 innings. The Wookie, John Rauch, comes on in the 8th to shut down the Yankees, despite a double by Derek Jeter. And, in the bottom of the 8th, the Nationals get a lead off walk from Alfonso Soriano. And, with the ultimate Closer, Mariano Rivera, now in the game and Daryle Ward at the plate, Soriano first steals 2nd base and then 3rd, and while stealing, Yankee Catcher, Jorge Posada throws the ball into right field and Soriano trots home tying the game at 9-9 and the RFK Stadium Nationals Crowd went bonkers. And, the Yankees loud mouths just shut up!! It was fabulous. Ward would go on to Walk on a full count and THEN SCORE ON A JOSE GUILLEN TRIPLE INTO RIGHT CENTER FIELD. WARD WAS HUFFING AND PUFFING ALL THE WAY, BUT DID SCORE STANDING UP, TO MAKE THE GAME 10-9 NATIONALS!! Zimmerman then singles Guillen home to give a 2 run cushion. And, THE CHIEF, one of the bullpen goats the previous night, came on to finish out the Yankees in 4 batters to give the Nationals a exhilarating 11-9 win for the faithful and sent the Yankee Fans home with their tails between their legs. IT WAS A FABULOUS WIN!! On consecutive nights, Cordero and Rivera gave up the game for their teams, when it counted the most. So far, this has been as exciting of a series as anyone could want watching baseball. And the crowd, whether for the Nats or Yankees has been into it. Its a WONDERFUL WEEEKEND OF BASEBALL AT RFK!!

NEW STADIUM CONSTRUCTION CAMERA!!

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Check out the new Clark Construction 24 hour a day construction camera on the new Nationals Ballpark. At this link:

http://clarkconstruction.oxblue.com/clarkhuntsmoot/

It appears to take a still shot a few times during the day and archives the photos. It first appeared on June 15. Very Cool!!

Why Can Every Team BUNT--Except THE NATS!!

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It continues to amaze me how every single team in the National League can move up runners by bunting, expect for Washington. The Colorado Rockies, who have killed the Nats over the past 4 days, have, not only a good hitting team, but everyone of their hitters knows how to bunt. Of course we all now that Jamey Carroll did this very well, unfortunately, for the Rockies now. Moving a runner up to second base makes it soooo much easier to score with a single, and most teams seem to have no problem scoring from there. Its a basic fundamental of the game, learned as a youngster, yet no one here can master it. WASHINGTON IS FUNDAMENTALLY THE WORST TEAM IN THE NATIONAL LEAGUE. NO QUESTION. ITS A DISGRACE!!

Why You Never Leave Until Its Actually Over!!

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Last Night, The Washington Nationals played a very ho-hum affair with the Colorado Rockies. So blaise that just over 20,000 (announced crowd) showed up for the event. The game featured the return of Fan Favorite, Jamey Carroll, thrown off the deep end unnecessarily by Jim Bowden over the winter to add the illustrious Damian Jackson to the Nationals lineup. Jamey, receiving, a nice standing ovation from those attending, ripped a single to lead off the game, subsequently went 3 for 4 with a double and a key rbi in the 5th to tie the game at 2-2. As I have said many times, JIMBO BLEW GETTING RID OF CARROLL BIG TIME!! The Rockies eventually pulled ahead 4-2 on what seemed like 4-5 broken bat texas leaguers and the Nats were shut down by Lefthander, Jeff Francis, at one time retiring 13 straight Washington Batters. But, the moments for this game came with one out in the bottom of the 9th inning, when, for those few still left in the stands at RFK, this game was all but over. Jose Guillen steps up to the plate. Guillen has been very solid in his first 2 starts off the DL. Going 2-3 Sunday against Philadelphia with a double and 2 RBI with a nice running catch to deep right center field. And heading to the 9th in this game, had an rbi single to score Nick Johnson in the 2nd and a nice catch on a ball driven high and deep into the right field corner that Jose grabbed while pushing himself up against the retaining wall. With a 2-0 count against Rockies All-Star Lefthander Closer, Mike Fuentes, Jose went with an outside fastball, showing serious power driving the ball directly over Rockies RF Hawpe and over the fence into the Nats Bullpen--making the score 4-3 with 1 out. Inexplicably, Frank Robinson decides to PH for Schneider (no qualms about PH for him--just the choice), with may main man---Jackson, who has been AWFUL!! AWFUL. No Suprise Jackson goes down Swinging!! If you are going to PH for Schneider--GO FOR THE WIN FRANK!! PUT DARYLE WARD UP THERE, QUIT WORRYING ABOUT THE PERCENTAGES SOMETIMES!! With 2 outs, Marlon Byrd comes up and gets behind in the count. Surprising, Fuentes throws him a 1-2 fastball in over the middle of the plate and Byrd turns on it and HAMMERS IT RIGHT DOWN THE LEFT FIELD LINE. It looked like it was a Home Run ALL THE WAY!.. The Crowd a RFK WAS GOING CRAZY believing Marlon had just tied up the game. The ball hits off the left field wall, less than ONE FOOT FOUL!!. But, it was foul. Byrd grounded to short to end the game on the next pitch. But, it proves my point about the greatest game. Its never over until the last out is recorded. You NEVER KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPENING. And, thats the fun of BASEBALL. I love it so much.

The Finest Picture From The Picnic!!

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I, can not claim, in good faith, that I took this picture, I saw it on another NatsBlog from a Nats Fan calling herself MISSCHATTER. But this picture is fabulous. JUST FABULOUS!! No more needs to be said!!

Picnic in the Park, Part 2

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What's really amazing to me is the amount of vile comments in the Fan Forum at Nationals.com about the Picnic. Despite the long line to get in, it was a FUN TIME!! Yet everyone online is bitching about how terrible it was, and,how there were too many people to enjoy anything. How they couldn't get any food and none of the players personally talked to them. ["I didn't get a red plastic Curly W Ice Cream Cap!!?? I didn't see the Lays Potato Chips or Coolers with drinks!!"] ["No Officials were there to complain to."] What are these idiots talking about? What do these people expect when 15,000 people show up? Every single top Washington Nationals OFFICIAL was on the field, except for Jim Bowden. Sohna and I personally talked to Tony Taveras and the entire marketing/pr staff. 22 of the 25 man roster made an appearance. All of whom made appearances on the 1st and 3rd base dugouts, tossing goodies and signing autographs. Frank Robinson was even there for 30 minutes. Another 16 players took the stage with Charlie Slowes to answer questions over 25 minutes for each group. If you wished, you could just take the giveaway blanket, lie down and enjoy a beautiful afternoon WHILE DOZING ON THE OUTFIELD AT RFK!! I saw many hundreds doing just that. The view looking up at the stands from the field makes the place look monsterous. Can you imagine what it must feel like when over 40,000 boisterous fans are cheering the lungs off. If was fabulous to imagine. The Nationals made a decision, to potentially trash the field to do SOMETHING, ANYTHING to show their appreciation of the ticket holders support. Give me a break!! It was crowded but manageable. And, the longer you stayed, the better it got as people filtered home. At the end, we could go around the bases and stand for as long as we wanted, as only the serious fans were left. HOW MANY TIMES DOES A MLB TEAM ACTUALLY ALLOW THEIR FANS TO WALK ALL OVER THE FIELD AFTER A MID-SEASON GAME? I would bet the Red Sox and Yankees NEVER DO THIS!! The Whining has got to stop from these morons!! It was FREE!!, There were GIVEAWAYS!! Including 2 Roundtrips for 2 for 2 lucky ticket holders on Southwest Airlines, among about 30 prizes. It only cost you maybe 2 hours more out of your day, for an opportunity that rarely comes around. For a baseball team these complainers supposedly love. Give me a BREAK!! This has really pissed me off!!

Pitching, Pitching and more Pitching

According to a little birdie, look for John Patterson to be called up Saturday. Bray seems to be favored by the current administration. Coming soon:

Player W L ERA G GSCGSHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WHIP HLD GF
Roy Corcoran 1 0 0.00 6 0 0 0 5 6.1 2 0 0 0 0 4 10 0.95 0 5

Countdown to .500

4 games

Since the loss to the Orioles on Friday, May 19, the Nationals have played .700 baseball and shaved 10 games from their low mark of 14 games under .500

I love this game!

Picnic At The Park, RFK 6/11/06

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After today's 6-0 White Wash of the Philadelphia Phillies. 7 Marvelously pitched innings by Shawn Hill. A clutch 2 run double by Jose Guillen, and a MONSTER HOME RUN INTO SECTION 469 by Daryle Ward, Nationals Season Ticket Holders were invited to an on the field party after the game. Sohna and I attended, along with Rally Time RIchard, Nats Del Negro, Canada Jim plus MickNats and Mary. Although MickNats and Mary decided not to come inside after fighting their way to the giveaway. Sohna and I were able to get into and onto the outfield within 30 minutes after the game. A VERY VERY LONG LINE was slowed down considerably by the giveaway as you walked down the right field tunnel on to the field. Given away was a baggy containing either a RED OR NAVY BLUE Nationals Picnic Blanket and a Tan Curly W embroiderd cap with "2006 Season Ticket Holder" on the back. As is typical of any Nats giveaway, they just couldn't get it correct. All the staff had to do was make groups of lines for people walking into the tunnel, but instead they just threw them out causing everyone to fight for it. Stupid as usual. Sohna and I were able to pick up 2 sets of each color. After entering, there was a Red Hot and Blue barbecue stand in the right field corner/foul line. Ice Cream Giveaway with mini NATS RED BATTING HELMETS. Quite Cool. Hilariously, NEAL, MICKNATS Main Beer Pimp, was handing out the ice cream cups. Sohna and I loved that!! Lipton Green Iced Tea, AquaFina Flavored Water, HotDog, Frito Lays Chips and Various Ice Cream Sandwich Stations. In right and left centerfield, artist were drawing prints of guests. A moon bounce for kids was down at the left field foul pole. And a stage was set along the 3rd base line were a band played early on and at the end. During the main portion of the show, Charlie Slowes hosted and took questions from groups of various players. The first group consisted of Marlon Anderson, Daryle Ward, Marlon Byrd and Jose Guillen. The Second Group consisted of Brian Schneider, Nick Johnson, Ryan Zimmerman and Jose Vidro. Also Robert Fick, Saul Rivera, Royce Clayton, Mike Stanton, Shawn Hill, Matt LeCroy attended. The final group was Mike O'Connor, Chad Cordero and John Rauch. Rauch was especially hilarious and outgoing and told the top 10 things the Chief cannot live without. Number 1 being a SLURPEE EVERY SINGLE DAY!! NO LIE!! It was very funny. Also, Frank Robinson, Tony Beasley threw soft W balls to fans from the 1st base line. Later, Bill Bray, Brendan Harris, Shawn Hill, Tony Armas all joined in. On the 3rd base side, all of the aforementioned players made appearances throwing soft balls and the t-shirts that the Nat Pack toss during games. The fight for autographs was furious, but lo and behold, I was able to get an autographs FROM EVERY SINGLE ATTENDING PLAYER BUT Tony Armas, LeCroy and Stanton on 1 baseball!
Soriano did not attend, as requested by the team, due to his overwhelming popularity. No KIDDING. THEY FEARED A STAMPEDE. Unfortunately, Damian Jackson did not attended so I couldn't tell him to his face what an ASS HE IS!! The Chief was beseiged for autographs as he stood on the 3rd base dugout roof. After the handlers told him he had to leave, he took off his shirt, signed it and gave it to a handicapped kid sitting on the side. It was very nice. As he walked over to the railing that leads to the Nats Dugout a small child was crying to his mother about not getting his Cordero Bobblehead signed. Chad stopped, but the kid didn't have a pen, so I offered up my sharpie, which Cordero greatly appreciated. He then signed the Bobblehead for the child and asked for my ball and nicely signed it for me. As he was signing, I asked him whether he has heard those guys that sing the Jose Song and Alfonso Soriano from behind the dugout. HE SAID THE THE PLAYERS HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT ALOT AND LOVE IT!! I REPEAT: "LOVE IT" Sohna and I had a very nice 5 minute conversation with Tony Taveras. He remembered me from 2 previous interviews I had done with him for TV. We thanked for his efforts in making the Nats possible under far less than optimum conditions. He was very touched and gave both of us a hug.
Sohna actually caught a t-shirt and soft W Baseball. There was alot of good giveaways, including 2 roundtrips for 2 anywhere Southwest flys, but none of us won. I was listening closely for the names. The Nats 320 boys in attendance took pictures at home place and elsewhere. I have included a few of the goodies to this blog. We HAD A GREAT TIME!! Walking on the field, grass and infield was a nice feeling. The grass was very plush, the infield was very hard, making it fast for groundballs. Really proves how talented these guys are on hot smashes.

NATS BLOW ONE BIG TIME!!

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As you would expect from a day game played less than 12 hours after a late night 12 inning affair, a good old fashioned pitching duel was in hand for the over 32,000 faithful at RFK. And They saw a No-Hitter until the 5th inning, For the PHILLIES. Livan Hernandez though matched Corey Lidle on the scoreboard through 4. We eventually held the lead until the 8th, needing 6 more outs to record another series win and even the home record at 13-13 when the PITCHING AND FIELDING Just fell apart. And, once again, we had the chance to pull away with a big inning, loading the bases with the BIG HITTERS at the plate. And failed to score for, most likely, 150th time in the 225 games the Nationals have played since arriving in Washington. Jose Guillen, who was on the disabled list for the past 2 weeks was activated before the game and Mike Vento was sent back to New Orleans. Guillen had played the last 3 days for the Potomac Nationals and killed the ball last night, stroking 2 Home Runs, but it was Single A ball. But, in typical fashion, both Frank Robinson and Guillen said that he would not come back until he was 100% and the team said that he was not. Yet, they activated him anyway.

On Chad Cordero Bobblehead Day, The Nationals again could not get a giveaway straight. The first 15,000 attending received a COUPON, that you then had to take all the way out to the Center Field Diamond Club Buffet Section on the 300 LEVEL--AND GET IN A LONG LINE TO GET THE FIGURE.. They had more people working the gates, handing out coupons, then maning the actual giveaway. It made absolutely no sense. They just could have given them out at the gate and there would have been no angst over it. And NO LINES!! Idiots, these people.

On to the game: The Nats wearing the RED DC Alternate Jersey and Cap. The Phillies, road grey. Livan rolls out with an easy 1-2-3 top of the 1st, getting Rollins to line to first, Ultley to K on a typical Livan sweeping crap pitch in the dirt and Abreu flys meakly to Soriano in left.
Soriano flys to left, Clayton grounds to short and Vidro K's to end the first. Corey Lidle looking very strong. Livan gets in to trouble in the second. With 2 outs, Rowand (FABULOUS HITTER AND PLAYER--I would take this guy on my team any day) smashes a single to left center. David Bell Walks
Rerserve Catcher Chris Coste (he with no MLB HITS and 32 Years old) smashes a liner to right center, Byrd is able to barely get to it, shoestring catch to save 2 runs. We go quietly in the 2nd, in order. And it continues this way through the 4th. Livan walks with 2 outs in the 3rd, Rowand would single and Bell would walk in the 4th, but both Livan and Lidle move through it unfazed. The Hitters, at this point had NO LIFE. NONE!! Then the 5th comes around, stupid baseball costs us again. With one out, Lidle comes to the plate, AND WITH 2 OUTS, lays down a beautiful bunt infront of the plate towards third. Schneider, not expecting this, falls down getting out of the crouch. Livan picks it up, wheels and throws to first, would have gotten the out, if he had not nailed Lidle in the back with the throw. Safe at First. As you might expect, Rollins drills a first pitch lashing single down the right field line to Marlon Anderson (today's RF) moving Lidle to 3rd. And not to be leaving a runner on 3rd with less than 2 outs like the Nationals do, Utley flys to Deep Center scoring Lidle, Rollins to second. Livan k's Abreu on a crap pitch in the dirt to retire the side. 1-0 Phillies. In the bottom half the Nats finally get a hit with Anderson slices a double down the left field line that once again Burrell has trouble with. Anderson, easily into second. Schneider grounds out to Utley at second moving Anderson to 3rd. Marlon Byrd flys out to mid-center field, Rowands gives a decent throw, but Marlon Anderson is just too fast. Scores easily 1-1 and the 5th ends that way after Livan dribbles one to third. The Sixth gets very very interesting, and it looks like the game changer for the Nats. It was a Soriano fielding inning. Pat Burrell drives one the opposite way to the deep left field corner. Soriano makes a nice running catch for out 1. Howard then singles the opposite way to Soriano. Rowand comes up and hits a slicing foul ball that JUST NICKS the 3rd base bag on the foul side and then SQUIRTS its way down into the corner where Soriano is having problems. With Howard about to score EASILY, a fan picks up the ball, Soriano raises his arms signaliing stoppage, making the play dead and Howard has to return to third. Rowand is a second. Livan intentionally walks Bell to load the bases with one out. Chris Coste comes up, and on a 3-2 count drills one down the 3rd base line, Zimmerman snares it backhand, and instead of throwing to the plate to get the sure out, ROTATES AND THROWS A SNAP TOSS TO VIDRO WHO HOPS OVER THE SLIDING BELL AND RELAY TO JOHNSON AT FIRST TO GET COSTE BY ONE STEP!! Fabulous Double play to end the inning!! Livan double pumped his fist on the mound and stood at the dugout to thank all 3 as they came off the field. The crowd was into it. In the bottom of the 6th, Soriano grounds to short, but Clayton, now a 11 game hitting streak, drills and opposite field liner into the right field corner, stopping at second. Vidro, always one to NOT GET A HIT WHEN IT COUNTS THE MOST!!, flys out to Burrell in left. Nick Johnson is Intentionally walked, But Z, on a 2-2 count hits a looping singles off the end of his bat, protecting the plate, just trying to make contact, excuse me hit into mid center. Rowand retrieves the ball, but is off balance and can't make a clean throw to home. Clayton scores. 2-1 Nats and it looked like the luck would continue for Washington. Anderson grounds out to end the inning at 2-1 Nats.
In the 7th, Livan stays in but gives up a leadoff single to Victorino, batting for Lidle. Jimmy Rollins comes up and slams a come backer to the mound, Livan snares it off his left side, setting up a perfect rotation and throw to the awaiting Clayton and on to Johnson for a another BEAUTIFUL DOUBLE PLAY. Utley flys out to Soriano and it looked good for the NATS. Byrd singles to center with one out in the bottom of the 7th, Livan perfect bunt down the 1st base line moves him to second. Soriano is Intentionally walked, putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Clayton hits a dribbler down the 3rd base line and Bell can not make a play. All are safe. Bases Loaded with 2 out. Vidro comes up and in true fashion pops out to short right field, Abreu handles it easily. I WAS PISSED!! Another wasted opportunity. Needing just 6 outs to win, The NATS BLOW IT BIGTIME IN THE 8th. Guillen replaces Anderson in right (AND THIS WAS THE FIRST TIME ANYONE WATCHING KNEW HE WAS ACTIVATED AS NO ANNOUCEMENT WAS EVER MADE UNTIL HE TROTTED ONTO THE FIELD IN THE 8TH.) Livan had thrown 115 pitches to this point. Frank was trying to get him to the 9th, with everyone throwing over the past 12 hours. Abreu slams a 0-1 offering (hot smash) that Vidro, instead of putting his body infront of, turns and trys to backhand it. The ball plays him and it glances off is glove and rolls to his right about 3 feet. He retrieves it and throws to first, Abreu beats it by a step. Everyone complained, but he was definitely safe. Livan was pissed. Burrell comes up, and just like last night, with the Phillies down one, SLAMS THE FIRST PITCH DEEP TO LEFT FIELD AND IT SLAMS OFF THE CHEVY FIRST SIGN AND ITS 3-2 PHILLIES!! Last night he hits a 2 run homer off the foul pole to put the Phillies up 8-7. Alot of Phillies fans went crazy!. Frank takes out Livan at 118 pitches. Hernandez was pissed at himself, as he walked off the field, fans clapped but he shook his head and pointed to himself, taking blame. Classy ACT!! Stanton comes in and Strikes out Howard, making him look bad. And Frank begins to overmanage and replaces Stanton with Rauch. Rauch has not been good lately, and it got worse. Rowand comes up and hits a grounder shot right at Z and in true Z form, when its hit at him, he has problems, it goes right under his glove, through his legs for an error. Bell smashes a single to right. Rowand to 3rd. David Delucci PH's for Coste and on a 3-2 count, after fouling off 3 pitches hammers an opposite field ball to the warning track in left field. Soriano runs back to his left, but he hesitates not knowing exactly where the ball and wall are, and jumps up, thinking he is at the wall, and misses the ball badly, a sure out for most outfielders. Everyone scores and Delucci stops at 2nd. Soriano totally misplays the ball and it was costly. 5-2 Phillies. After Abraham Nunez grounds out to Vidro, moving Delucci to 3rd. Rollins comes up and stokes a double down the right field line scoring Delucci and just killing about any chance of the Nats coming back. 6-2 Phils. Rauch finally k's Utley looking to end the despressing inning. We go quietly in the 8th. Jose Guillen adds to the fun by making the 3rd out by swinging AT THE VERY FIRST PITCH THE MORON HAS SEEN IN THE MAJORS IN 2 WEEKS!! Some things just never change. Rauch stays in for the 9th and gets the Phillies big 3, Abreu, Burrell and Howard easily. Big Thanks Wookie. Flash Gordon comes on to close it in the 9th for the Phillies. Schneider, obviously wanting to go home, swings at the very first pitch, it goes right to Howard for the first out. Byrd K's badly on junk. And Robert Fick, he of the game winning hit just 15 hours ago, K's BADLY to end the game!! 6-2 Phillies. Bad Pitching, Bad Defense in 1 inning kills us. JUST KILLED US!! And Vidro has to have the worst average with runners in scoring position in the National League. I am going to look this up tomorrow. He's terrible in the clutch. Just terrible.

On a good note, I took my baseball I have been trying to get the entire team to sign to the game and stood by the dugout. I had 10 players already, but added NICK JOHNSON and The CHIEF today. Chief also autographed his Bobblehead Box for me!!

On a side note, it was reported in all the press about Damian Jackson yelling at the fans the other night and how Frank was very pissed and its way he is sitting right now. Last night, he came on to bunt and failed miserably again when Frank was running out of players in the 12th. Apparently, after the game, Jackson told the media, he has trouble bunting because he is NOT A REGULAR PLAYER AND DOES NOT HAVE THE CHANCE TO BUNT OFTEN! FRANK ROBINSON apparently was LIVID about this comment and told Jackson AND THE MEDIA that he is a PROFESSIONAL PLAYER. A PROFESSIONAL PLAYER ALL HIS LIFE. HE COMES TO THE PARK EVERYDAY. WHAT'S KEEPING HIM FROM PRACTICING GOOD FORM. THE GAME LASTS ABOUT 3 HOURS, YOU CAN PRACTICE ANYTIME YOU WANT!! Its apparent that Frank is a pissed at him as I am. Maybe we can release him when the Lerners's offically take over.
We drop back into 4th as Atlanta beat Houston. But we have a chance to win the series again tomorrow. Intriguing matchup. Phillies PHENON, Corey Hamels against Shawn HILL.

Just in case you missed it:

On the subject of Damian Jackson's outburst/reaction,
according to the Nats Notes from the Post:

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When Damian Jackson made an error in center field Thursday night, he said a fan yelled, "Get in the game!" as he came off the field. Jackson shot back, "Who are you talking about?" before ducking into the dugout, where he was met by Robinson, who gave him an earful.
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Well, I figured that Robinson let Jackson have it as as soon as his head disappeared from the sight-line of the fans. At least I'd hope so. As for what Jackson said to the fan exactly, I'm reasonably certain that the Post had to do some creative editing on that one...


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Jackson said Philadelphia's Jimmy Rollins, who advanced on the play, "made me look stupid." But he said the Nationals didn't get home until about 4 a.m. Thursday morning, and fans don't always appreciate the stresses of big league life.
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Jackson said Rollins made him look stupid? No. Jackson made Jackson look stupid. It was the lack of attention, nonchalant throw that made Jackson look like a little-leaguer. Actually, a little-leaguer would've shown effort. This wasn't even ball playing. I don't even get how he could have done such a thing, headspace-wise. And actually, the play made Rollins look brilliant, with a completely heads-up base-running decision.

And to continue...

Okay, so maybe I am a bit ignorant when it comes to the "stresses of big league life." But what I do know about "big league life" is that you are expected to give your game. Period. Damian, you and eight others are on that field, expected to do whatever it takes to win one for your team. You were the only one to get in at 4 am? If you feel cheated by that, fine. Get out of the game, because I would suspect those eight of your fellow field-mates were in the exact same situation.


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"He understands this lifestyle, doesn't he?" Jackson said of the fan. "He clearly doesn't. It's tougher than a lot of people think it is. . . . Every time it's thrown out there, it's baseball players with high salaries crying." . . .
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This little rant I don't get, unless it's some sort of strange dig at Soriano, who last I checked, is the one working the absolute hardest at working at a position he plainly said he doesn't want to play, and yet still does, through thick and thin, now without any complaint that I've seen or heard. If he's referring to other "high salary" players in the leagues, then I simply don't get the comment.

This guy might just be a certain toxin to the club. If he's gonna throw out comments like this, then I would most definitely recommend an immediate section eight to wherever.

Cheers

Nats Win--Jackson IS AN ASS!!

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I was pleased with last night's 5-2 win over the Phillies at RFK. Soriano was an offensive threat again. Getting on base 4 times, scoring 4 times and hitting his 23rd homer, a blast off the left field wall above the Phillies Bullpen. And, while everyone is talking about Damian Jackson's 9th inning catch, Damian misplayed a screaming liner off the bat of Aaron Rowand hit directly at him. Jackson first turned to his left, then back to his right before realizing the ball was over his left shoulder. Jackson pirouetted back to his left and snared the ball, as it was behind him, crashing on his back in deep dead center. It was a marvelous recovery, but it doesn't make up for what he did in the top of the 3rd inning. With 2 outs, Jimmy Rollins comes to the plate and hits a liner to left center, that Jackson, running to his right, tries to backhand. It bounces off his glove and rolls 5 feet more to his right. Instead of running after the ball, Jackson jogs without any effort to pick up the ball. Rollins sees this and runs full speed around first and floors it towards second base. Jackson, his back to the infield, loafs over to the ball, AND WITHOUT EVEN LOOKING, lobs the ball toward second base. Rollins is safely into second. The entire RFK STADIUM CROWD Booed him, and rightly so. On the very next pitch, Chase Utley, slammed a double down the right field line, scoring Rollins and tying the game at 1-1. Then, when the inning ended, Jackson proved what a jerk he really is. As he was jogging/walking off the field, two fans standing behind the Nats 3rd base dugout were giving it to him. Jackson stops on the top step of the dugout (and I don't know what these guys said to him) and shouted back to the fans "FUCK YOU!! YOU GOD DAMN MOTHER FUCKING ASSHOLES!!" And that's an exact quote. And stepped down into the dugout.
I don't care what the situation is, Damian Jackson should have just shut up and gone into the dugout. Instead he decided to add fuel to the fire and, as such, has lost whatever respect I had left for him. Damian Jackson has got to go. Its bad enough he is a marginal player, but he's obviously a terrible human being.

And so it goes...

...Another quality start by O'Conner, especially given the fact that this was the first time he pitched to the same team for a second start... (for lack of better grammar);

...And another quality homer by Soriano... (as a leadoff guy, he was great, before the homer: three plate appearances and three runs scored, all without a hit, which leads me to...);

...Friggin Royce Clayton, who (if I recall correctly) is now hitting a silly .326 (.338 now, actually) since being moved up into the second spot, going 2-fer-4 tonight with two RBI's, or SBI's (Sorianos batted in) as I like to call 'em.

I didn't see the game, got stuck at work, but heard the complete lack of effort "play" of Damian Jackson, and actually, I heard the boos more than anything. Just glad he redeemed himself by going all-out, full-tilt to save the run in the ninth, with a play I did see, for it was tied for #1 in the Web Gems (the tie was an even more spectacular outfield dive-n-catch by some high school kid).

Back to Soriano, and the possible trade situation specifically, there's no question we are most definitely gonna miss him, though I like what Kasten said in response to the idea of a mid-season trade, which was that we'd definitely get something of high quality in return, and what's to stop us from pursuing him l;ater on in the off-season along with everyone else?

Regardless of what happens, Soriano the catalyst was in full effect again, and man-o-man, does he make for a fun game. Can't wait for tomorrow night, with the possibility of another showing by *CLEAR!* Cardiac Cordero!

See some of you out there, I hope!

Cheers

Nats GO HIGH SCHOOL!!

Nats320
June 6, 2006 is the first day of the 2006 MLB Baseball Draft. This is day one for the Lerner/Kasten Group in shaping the Washington Nationals for the near and long term future. Unlike last season, when the Nats had the number 4 pick overall and scored huge with Ryan Zimmerman (The Nats had no 2nd and 3rd round picks), many of the so called experts that follow the young talent say that 2006 is a down year for top prospects That being said, there is always someone good to be found.

The Nationals had 5 of the first 90 picks (Due to losing Esteban Loaiza and Hector Carrasco to Free Agency). Only the Braves and Red Sox had more picks during this opening phase of the draft.

Stan Kasten has stated he will build the farm system from the ground up, and from these first choices, he's not kidding. The Nationals GM, Jim Bowden, and Scouting Director, Dana Brown, went ALL HIGH SCHOOL for their first 6 picks.

With the 15th pick, the Nats chose Chris Marrero, a 3B/OF Power Hitting Slugger from Miami. Marrero is considered the best High School Hitting Prospect of 2006. The Nats with Bowden's philosophy of "pitching, pitching, pitching" passed on Kyle Drabek (Doug's Son) rated as having the best stuff of any available pitcher. Apparently many teams had off the field issues with Kyle. They also passed on North Carolina's, RHP, Daniel Bard. Both Drabek and Bard were considered to be top 7 picks overall by many scouts. Its interesting to see how this plays out over the next few years. Marrero was the best talent available to the Nats, at this point in the draft. 18 years old.

At 22, the Nationals chose Colton Willems, also from Florida. A 6'4" Right Handed Pitcher with 3 above average ptiches--fastball, curve, slider. Was terrific last year in the well respected, wood bat, Cape Cod League. 18 Years old.

At 59--the Nats chose Sean Black (Scouting Supervisor Brown's Favorite), a 6'3" HS kid from New Jersey who can hit 95MPH on the radar and he hasn't filled out yet. 18 years old

At 70--Bellevue HS'swashington state) Stephen Englund was chosen for his 6'3", 200lb body and his raw power. Don't know much else about him. 18 years old.

The Nats 91st chose is the most interesting of all the top 5 Washington Picks. SS Stephen King (No relation to the famous horror author)is a 5 TOOL PLAYER. Hailing from Winter Park, Florida, King can Hit, Hit with Power, Run, Throw(from the hole) and field with the best of them. He is an intruiging pick. Stephen's fall in the draft is due to leg injuries that has limited his playing time. 19 years old and a very interesting pick. The Nationals wanted Washington DC's Emmanuel Burress from Wilson High and Kent State University, but the Giants chose Emmanuel as a late first round pick. King was chosen to make up for Burress.

In the 4th and 5th rounds, the Nats chose 2 lefthanded pitchers, Glenn Gibson (Son of former Big Leaguer Paul Gibson) a High Schooler from New Jersey and followed that with Baylor University's Cory VanAllen, a one time top left handed pitching prospect that many scouts say hasn't improved himself over the past few collegiate seasons. VanAllen was a 3rd rounder that didn't sign in 2003 and now he's picked in the 5th. Obviously, this guy is a project. And, in the 6th round, the Nats chose, 21 year old, Zachary Zinicola---a burly 6'1" closer from Baseball Factory, Arizona State. A full time bullpen guy, showed well pitching under pressure in the College World Series.

Baseball Drafts are a total crap shoot and no one will really know the outcome of the 2006 draft until 3-5 years down the road. Except for Zimmerman, I am positive most Nats fans couldn't name one additional 2005 draft pick for Washington. Many good players,like Marcus Giles, Mike Piazza and Keith Hernandez were all drafted in rounds past 30. I was even picked in the 29th round (And look where I ended--sitting with you guys in Section 320). There are 50 rounds in this years draft. Many early rounders flame out and many middle and late round picks end up with the gumption to make it to the Majors.

The Nationals added 5 pitchers and 3 Power Bats to their farm system today. And one above average possible steal of the draft with Stephen King.

Of course, they all have to sign now.

Nats320HOW THE CHIEF IS GOING TO KILL ME!!

Nats320
HEART ATTACK NATS!!
Last night, our Nationals beat their Nemesis, The Atlanta Braves, in Atlanta 5-4, but in usual Nats fashion, they could not close out the game until the very last pitch of the night. The Braves have owned Chad Cordero since early in 2005. Andruw Jones has hit 2 game winning homers off him, Chipper Jones one and everyone remembers last month's Jeff Francouer GRAND SLAM with 2 outs in the bottom of the night on the same field that gives Atlanta their confidence. The Chief continued his HOUDINI WAYS in this one, coming on in the 9th and easily retired Brayan Pena on a lazy fly to left (Soriano, after catching the ball, turned to the fans in LEFT FIELD and gave them a TOMAHAWK CHOP--you knew right then--the Nationals were in trouble!!). Marcus Giles comes up and lines a sharply hit grounder down the 3rd base line that Brendan Harris makes a fine backhand snare and STRONG throw to first to get Giles. 2 outs and things looked good, but THE CHIEF decided to make things waaaaaaay too interesting--AGAIN. Chad said after the game he lost all command of his 3 pitches. NO KIDDING. Cordero looked lost and NERVOUS as this inning continued. And, with those 2 outs, Renteria, on a full count, drilled a double to right center. Up comes Chipper Jones (also on a full count) walks setting up Andruw Jones, and you just knew the game was going to end soon and not in the Nats Favor. Randy St.Claire came out of the dugout to talk to Chief, and Cordero promptly walked A Jones on 4 straight pitches. Frank Robinson, in the dugout, WAS FUMING!! I swear you could see the steam coming out from under his navy blue cap!!!
With the base loaded, Adam LaRoche comes up and keeps fouling off outside pitches. Finally on Chad's 33rd pitch of the inning, LaRoche DRILLS one, FORTUNATELY, right at Vidro on one hop, who blocks the ball with his chest and throws out LaRoche to end the game!! I jumped so high off the sofa that I hit my hand on the ceiling fan--THAT WAS MOVING. I was uninjured.
You could see a HUGH CLOUD LIFTING OVER CORDERO"S HEAD. He was excited as anyone could be and the HIGH 5 hand slaps on the field were with great conviction. 5 Wins in a row, 13 of 18--Baseball in Washington is fun again. Of course,LaRoche hits that ball almost anywhere else and the BRAVES WIN. I love the Chief, but he is scary!!. He is a very talented pitcher that tends to not bare down when he needs to. The Braves give him weak knees, but last night was a step in the right direction. He was able to overcome a situation that had destroyed him in the past. It should give him more confidence. And that's only good for the Nationals.
Sohna had to go to the top level of our townhouse to get away from my 9th inning moans, groans and sarcastic pissed off commentary. She says there is NO WAY anyone can take every Nats game as seriously as I do. I AGREE!!

Contract Year Soriano!!

Nats320
Alfonso Soriano continues to be VERY IMPRESSIVE for the the Nationals. He is now on pace to hit 60 Home Runs, knock in 122 and lead the National League in Hits. Of course, he will probably lead the league in outfielder errors, but he continues to try for every fly ball, and loafs on balls that get past him. When he made a stupid mistake and ran from second with no outs in the first inning today against the Brewers, while the pitcher still had the ball in his hands, I was livid!! But, as he has shown all season, when he makes a mistake, he comes back to make up for it with a solo home run the next time up. Then, after making a fine running catch in foul territory on Prince Fielder, Soriano grounded into his first double play of the season to kill a bases loaded rally. But, in true Alfonso form, he wacked out a GRAN SLAM the next time up. You could just see his concentration at the plate. He was looking for the bomb the entire way. Except for Bonds and McGwire before the steroid issues and Puljols in 2006--Soriano is MUST SEE AT BATS!! Even Bob Uecker said before the game to Dave Jaegler on the radio broadcast that HE WOULD PAY TO SEE SORIANO HIT!! I couldn't agree with him more.

Soriano was the difference in today's 8-4 win to sweep the Brewers. We had multiple chances to blow out the game, but the Nats can never close out a game early. Without Soriano, we lose this game today, make no mistake about it. The Brewers are awful, play as bad as us at times, but they would have found a way to win a certain defeat today, if not for Sohna's FAVE!! ALFONSO SORIANO!!

The Nationals have got to find a way to keep this guy! He will put even the casual fan into the seats. We can WIN WITH THIS GUY!! AND, I AM JUST AMAZED THAT I AM SAYING THIS, CONSIDERING HOW MUCH I HATED HIM AND THE TRADE WITH WILKERSON BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED!!

(1-0) 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.00

Nationals Rookie Lefthander Bill Bray better enjoy that pitching line because it will never be as good again!! Bray, making his Major League Debut last night in Milwaukee against the Brewers was called on in the bottom of the 8th inning to replace Gary Majewski. Frank Robinson had a situation with 2 outs where the Brewers Pitcher Doug Davis ( who had thrown a terrific game and was leading 3-2) was up with Corey Kosie on first with a walk. The Brewers, looking for an insurance run, Pinch Hit for Davis with the powerful rookie, Prince Fielder. Frank called in Bray to the face the left handed slugger. Bray's first pitch of his career was a strike over the outside corner of the plate, but on the pitch Koskie, figuring Bray would be shaky and nervous in his first appearance, took off for second in an attempt to steal and put himself in scoring postion. Brian Schneider, finally coming around with a good all around game, gunned Koskie down easily to end the inning. Bray gets the final out on one pitch. Then, in the 9th, Ryan Zimmerman leads off with a single off Brewers Closer, Derrick Turnbow and moves to third on a hit and run when Marlon Anderson grounds out to second. With one out, Schneider takes a 1-0 pitch from Turnbow and CRANKS IT OUT OF THE PARK IN RIGHT FIELD!! For a tremendous 4-3 lead. Of course, in the bottom of the 9th, The Chief, Chad Cordero, made the ending interesting again by allowing a lead off single and and ground ball error by Royce Clayton, putting runners on 1 and 2nd with 1 out. But The Chief came back strong to strike out slugger Geoff Jenkins and gets Carlos Lee to foul back to Schneider (again-this was Brian's game all the way till the end). Cordero gets his 9th save of the season. But more importantly, Bill Bray, in his Major League Debut, gets his first WIN, ON ONE PITCH!! His linescore for this game, is one of the oddest ever in a major league debut. Bill James and those stat guys can figure out if its ever happened before.

Enjoy it Bill!! and, Welcome to the Major Leagues!!!

The Yanks ARE COMING!! SO ARE THEIR FANS!!!#*#*#

Nats320
Fellow 320's--MickNats and I attended the New York Yankees/Baltimore Orioles game on Saturday Afternoon at Camden Yards. There was a sellout crowd of 48,195 in attendance. But what was really stunning was the amount of Yankees Fans at the park. THIS WAS AN ABSOLUTE HOME GAME FOR THE YANKS!! It is no exaggeration that at least 25,000 were rooting for NEW YORK. It may even have been 30,000. Our section down the left field line had about 5 others rooting for the O's beside Mick and I. The Orioles have a few less season ticket holders than the Nationals 16,000. Since only single seats are now available for all three Nationals/Yankees games at RFK in 2 weekends, you can bet RFK and the Nationals Fan Base is going to be challenged mightily for the weekend series.

The Mets have outragously ugly fans, but the Yankees might even be more smug and worse. Its going to be interesting!! Hope we can shut them up for 2 out of 3 games.

JIMBO STAYING??!!!

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I am sorry to report that Sport Illustrated is reporting that Ted Lerner will retain Jim Bowden through the 2007 season if he beats his DUI arrest in South Florida. This is the copy from SI: Tom Verducci reports-- "Jim Bowden's future as Nationals G.M. will depend on the disposition of his DUI case in Florida. (He was arrested on April 17 for allegedly running a stop sign.) If he beats the charge this summer, new ownership plans to keep him through 2007. If not, he'll be out of a job."

When Braves Director of Player Personel, Dayton Moore, accepted the Kansas City Royals GM job the other day, you had to figure something like this might be in the works. Moore would only take the Royals job if he knew that he was not going to be considered for the Nats GM job by Stan Kasten. Obviously, Jim can suck up with the best of them.

I am truly shocked by Jimbo may well be the Nats GM. There is no one more the poster boy of MLB's handling of this franchise that has infuriated sooooo many people. Its quite shocking to hear this. REALLY!!