I'm certain this question must have been asked many times before, but: is anyone else nervous about how the new stadium will affect Cordero? Isn't he a flyball pitcher?

If the Nats are 14-19 (.424) at home, then the opposition must be 19-14 at RFK. How do they win there? How do they hit home runs there? Do they play a different type of game or do they just play ball and not let themselves be psyched out? Sounds to me like the Nats need a shrink on the staff. Didn't Jamie Carroll (Jammie Carroll????) hit one out at RFK last year?

Barry et al,

... it'll always be SkyDome to me. I balk at using the corporate name for stadia just on principle.

Barry, How about if you can get the fine graphics staff at WaPo to make a graphic for the print edition that shows the layout of the new field overlaid with the layout of RFK.

You could compare the gaps, the amount of foul territory, etc...

Dancer13,

... I totally agree with you about the big park. I liked Vidro all the time he was with the organization, but in the matter of his big blow-up, I think Tavares was right, when he said "I saw four homers out there. The other guys don't seem to have a problem."

... sure, when it's your home park, it's frustrating, but these guys are supposed to be professional i.e. able to perform in spite of the adverse conditions.

The Nats are right to be wary about publicly complaining. Having a unique home field should give them an edge and their losing record at home reflects that they are not taking advantage of it.

Section 213: That's a great idea!!!!!

"I'm off today, so this is probably my last post. Off tomorrow as well,"

Hey Barry, That's unacceptable. It's not that you don't deserve a day off, but couldn't you save them up and use them during the winter?

What're we gonna do until Friday?

I agree with Tim, any park slightly smaller will provide Chief with problems. He gives up warning track fly balls at RFK on a very regular basis. Sounds like the new ballpark should be middle of the pack though, I really hope its nothing like Cincy.

To quote Ryan Church: "Matter over mind."

Barry's stats likely prove that our hitters are more patient on the road.
The difference between home and away OBP is 19 points; AVG is only 8 points.

Truly, our hitters are anxious at home. Home is the place where one should feel most comfortable. Can you imagine how it must feel for Austin Kearns and Ryan Church to go to work everyday and expect to fail?

Since Barry is off, I have an off-topic question that I need some advice on, especially from Hendo and Natscan and Swanni (the reasons for those three especially will become apparent).

I'm going to Boston for a family reunion and my mother called me up last night to let me know that she got tickets for the family to go to Fenway since my 10-year old little brother has become a Red Sox fan (when I asked him who at his school convinced him to like the Red Sox he said everyone loved them, especially Danny and Ian and Connor and Patrick. Go figure...).

This is my first trip to Fenway, so I'm excited, but my question is: who to cheer for? The Red Sox seem to be nothing more than the Yankees in red these days, since it's a big market team that buys up all the best players, still doesn't win the World Series, and has boorish, entitled fans that then proceed to cry about how unfair it is. But they're playing the Texas Rangers, a.k.a. the former Washington Senators that skipped town in the middle of the night.

When I was a kid (long after the Senators left) my father told me I always had to cheer against the Rangers. Former Senators fans, does that maxim hold true? What about when against the corrupt simulacrum of a corrupt ball club? Does the Expos heritage make this all moot?

What to do?

I agree with powerboater. I'm glad to see that our current Nats are more wary about public complaining on that front (despite tempting on the part of journalists, those fish aren't biting). I share natscan's view on the Tavares/Vidro blow-up. Do we really need to dredge that issue up when we have only a few more months left at RFK and the team is doing better than any of the talking heads predicted? Now *there's* a storyline!

G-Town, I'm not so worried about The Chief. The pitching staff is able to adjust on the road. Our winning percentage is approximately the same, home and away.

If the new ballpark is (more) hitter friendly, I hope our pitchers are less fragile mentally than our hitters.

But I wonder: In a smaller, more legit ballpark, how many of our pitchers would prove themselves Major League caliber? Is RFK hiding their weaknesses?

BTW, The Nats' top 3 hitters are players taken from the scrap heap:

Young - .339
Guzman - .336
Belliard - .295

The next best hitter is Ryan Church at .270. Each player is supposed to be prime trade bait.

What does this say about our "core" players, our future "leaders?"

Kearns - .248
Zimmerman - .247
Schneider - .242
Lopez - .233

" Can you imagine how it must feel for Austin Kearns and Ryan Church to go to work everyday and expect to fail?"
Yeah, but Ryan Church is used to it!

Am I the only one that feels a stirring of nostalgia when the Joses are mentioned? God bless Guillen's crazy ass, I thought he was hilarious. Insane, maybe, but so fun to watch. Those guys gave us some good times.

Barry, although the suggestion amazed me at first, you nailed it as usual: there are indeed more sluggards than sluggers in the NL West.

Here are all the regulars in that division who are hitting as well as, or better than, Helton.

Barry Bonds (San Francisco), .580
Matt Holliday (Colorado), .577
Eric Byrnes (Arizona), .514
Brad Hawpe (Colorado), .508
Adrian Gonzalez (San Diego), .498
Todd Helton (Colorado), .493

Gonzalez, as it turns out, barely makes the cut. And if a .500 SLG is the benchmark, both Gonzalez and Helton get kicked off Slugger Island.

"Do they [the opposition] play a different type of game or do they just play ball and not let themselves be psyched out?"
Dancer, you're assuming all teams are equal. They are not. Most of the opposition is better than the Nats, and should beat them more often than not, on a perfectly neutral field. So the W/L difference at RFK is not out of whack.

Hey Section 506:

... well kid, I gotta tell ya! (voice: W. C. Fields) It's like this. Where I come from, you either love 'em or hate 'em. Now me, I just don't hate nobuddy. But I sure as heck can't get it up for the RedSox. You hit the nail on the head when you correctly identified their fans as 'entitled' ... at least in their own minds. To be honest, it was back in the sixties, when I was an idealistic youth bent on fixing the world, that I first had a dislike for them. They were at the tail end of the days of their reputation as the last team in MLB to add non-white players to their roster. In fact if memory serves me right, Jim Rice was actually on the receiving end of some of that. Added to that was the fact that every second ball cap worn in my home town was a Boston cap, and being obstinate and the consummate non-conformist that I am, I simply had to root, root, root for the away team.

... but you introduce a curious dilemma as far as I'm concerned. Texas! The land of Dubya and all. Boy, it'd be a hard one fer shur. But I think I'd still come out for the away team.

... so go ahead; live dangerously; cheer for Texas. Where are your seats by the way? Those new pseudo-bleachers on top of the Monster look real neat to me. But don't try to reach too far for a long ball, or you'll end up on Lansdowne St.

Section 506: Is it possible for you to go to Fenway and just enjoy it for what it is, rather than cheer for either team?

My feelings are the same as yours. I loathed the Red Sox even before they became Yankees North. They've always had talent and money but suffered a lazy, insular old-boys front office often involving names from Washington baseball past, Joe Cronin and Bucky Harris. I also loathe the Rangers as I was an expansion Nats fan as a child.

For what it's worth, back in the early '90s I wore my battered expansion Nats cap to my first Fenway visit. George Will, signing one of his books at the gift shop across the way from the park, made eye contact with me and mouthed, "nice hat." I still have that 30-plus-year-old cap, though I admit I have since augmented it with home and road expansion Nats caps just so I don't wear my 1970s original completely to shreds.

Hi again Sec506,

... sorry I didn't get to the Expos part of your question. I think I understand your father's attitude when he said No to the rangers. But I can't do it myself. As the Expos were leaving Montreal, which took forever, there was plenty of time for the players to voice their thoughts. Not one of them ever dissed the city; certainly never bad-mouthed the fans. They seemed to know that the underlying causes for the break-up were beyond the control of the fans or the players, and that we all saw that clearly. In a sort of mutated way, it became a union of team and fans against the league. (Granted the fan support was low, but the team recognised that the fans who were loyal were being shafted.)

... so as a long-time fan, I kept the players in my heart. The team itself was no more, but those guys still had lives and careers to carry on. I simply could not in all conscience, turn my back on them. They went on to wear curly W's and that was good enough for me.

Another kicker -- discard the stats from that 1-6 opening homestand, and they are 13-13 at RFK since then. Give them that mulligan, blame it on Manny and the weather maybe, and all this goes away.
Or don't. Either way, the differences on the road do not translate into wins.

Wow, 506, thanks for the question. You bring up some excellent, if most squirmy, points.

I was a Pirates fan growing up. The team of my youth is long gone, and several are dead. What remains of the ballclub has been eviscerated to the point that I couldn't cheer against them even if I wanted to.

Of course, that team hasn't been moved. (Yet.) Both incarnations of the American League Senators have been. The first one decamped to the Twin Cities a year before I was born, so I have difficulty summoning much hate for their current ownership or for the good people of Minnesota.

I can certainly nurture disdain for the expansion AL Nats, now the Rangers. Their uprooting came a dozen years before my arrival in DC. But anyone should have been able to see from 30,000 feet that the sale to Short was a rotten deal; indeed, the memory or lore of that Faustian bargain was at the core of all the anti-Smulyan sentiment during the pre-Lerner limbo of '05 and '06.

What's more, not to draw too fine a bead on it (and there are exceptions), but a distressing proportion of Dallas fans of anything are stuck-up, ill-informed front-runners. Item: I attended a Rangers game last season and the female season ticketholder next to me demanded to know if I was in my right seat! (Yes, I was. And I'd bathed and shaved and dressed neatly that day, too. And I don't think she actually watched six at-bats the whole game.) That accords very well with my experiences over the years with many Stars and Cowboys fans, a little less so with Mavericks fans but not much.

And, to boot, the Rangers' front office is a joke.

By stark contrast, my experiences with Red Sox fans have been much pleasanter than those with Yankee fans, who might seem uppity but beneath the surface are right down near the bottom of the misery meter that calibrates at 0 in Philadelphia. (Disclaimers: I've done a lot of business over the years in both Dallas and Boston. Also, my upstairs neighbor is a Red Sox fan. Her husband is an Orioles fan. Through the miracle of tolerance, we all get along and in fact attend at least one game together every season.) My only gripe with the Sox is that they were the last peddlers of racism in the majors, not having a full-time black player until almost 1960. And Irish Boston, it pains me to say, is not yet quite free of racial intolerance.)

On balance, your duty is clear, 506: Give it up for the Olde Towne Team.

In keeping with natscan's sentiments of keeping players in your heart, howzabout rooting for current Rangers and former Nats Wilky and Byrd?

I grew up with my dad's stories about the old Senators, and it's why I grew up hating the Orioles. But understanding the history is also what made me a Twins fan (no, not because I live here - that didn't happen until January of this year).

The way I saw it, to live in a city that didn't have a team, I was a "free agent fan," and could pick my team. I picked the Twins. That is, until I realized the Expos were prime for a relocation - then I started followong Montreal.

"God bless Guillen's crazy ass."

I'd buy a t-shirt with that printed on it.

To 506:

I think the choice is clear as to who to root for... Rooting for the Red Sox achieves two positive things: 1) You're rooting against the Rangers, and 2) you're rooting against the Yankees. Of course, by that logic, you're also rooting FOR the Orioles, but they're toast this year (as are the Yankees, but rooting against the Yankees is kicking a guy when he's down, so, that's OK, cause it's the Yankees).

As for the debate about the stadium... I look at it the same way that I look at a lot of things regarding the Nationals this year. If the stadium (RFK) is a negative influence on team performance, moving will be a positive influence... so you might see the Nats' bats come alive early in the season next year, win some games, and be in the thick of it, not unlike 2005. There's no way the experts will pick the Nats any higher than 4th next year, but they could be a .500 team with the pitching they've developed (if they stay healthy) and a free agent slugger in center.

This is not about what happens this year... it is about the future... so quit your whining about the park dimensions...

Baton Rouge?

Chain of restaurants that serve about everything, including ribs. Say it's their specialty, but...

In other words, you'll get the same rib at any franchise, always a scary thought.

Better than McRibs, for sure.

Stay away from chains, I always say.

Then again, you may have an "American" palate ;-)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will mull it over tonight - holding out for a swanni tirade on the money still. And - of course - I'll report back to you my first impressions of a baseball shrine. I'm not thinking there's any feasible way to see Yankee Stadium before it is knocked down, but I'm hoping to get to Wrigley this year for the first time too. Any other recommendations?

506: Not sure if this is what you mean, but how about PNC park? Supposed to be quite the park, though maybe not the "shrine" you're talking about.
Nats are there June 29, 30, or July 1. Seat-mate and I are going so maybe we'll see you up there!

NatsNut

Me and my seat-mates will also be in the Burgh for the nats series. You been to PNC before? Any thoughts on the best way to get tickets (online box office, scalpers, stub hub, etc)? Any other Bucco-related tips/advice?

506 - Enjoy Fenway. Sometimes the enemy of my enemy is my friend - so you have to cheer the Sawx as the best chance to keep the Yankees down. The fans are loud, crude, and probably drunk. I once sat through a 90 minute rain delay, and the cops must have hauled 100 drunk fighters out of the park by the time the game started. It was a hoot. Appreciate the passion. They don't show close plays on the big screen so as to not incite a riot. Had the experience of riding the "T" - the Boston subway - from a game in 2002 (Pedro beat Schilling of the D-backs. Neither was real sharp) with a crew of senior citizens from Arizona who had never been to east coast baseball, and they were thrilled - "we just don't have the excitement and energy of these old parks and wild fans out west." Made me doubly appreciate the Fens. So join the fun and how on earth could you root for a carpetbagging team from some glass-skyscrapered nouveau riche hellhole of an ersatz city plunked in the middle of a vast wasteland with all the culture and depth of a yuppie stock trader at Circuit City?

Section 506:

"Any other recommendations?

... not sure if SkyDome qualifies as an MLB shrine, but it makes the grade as a Canadian landmark.

... SkyDome was the first retractable roof stadium that worked. (No Olympic Stadium jokes please.) And it has been a mecca for baseball fans ever since. On the night it opened for baseball, the evening started off clear so the roof was open. Midway thru' the game, the rain began, and the roof started to close. That took about twenty minutes and for a time, it was raining on the mound, while at the plate, it was dry. Quiet eerie.

geezer:

"... how on earth could you root for a carpetbagging team from some glass-skyscrapered nouveau riche hellhole of an ersatz city plunked in the middle of a vast wasteland with all the culture and depth of a yuppie stock trader at Circuit City?"

... you been reading my mind again or what?

506: Never been to PNC. I was assuming we could walk up and get tickets. (I try to avoid feeding Ticketmaster as much as possible). Anyone else know if that's doable?

LOL!!! Geezer you are a true poet:

"..and how on earth could you root for a carpetbagging team from some glass-skyscrapered nouveau riche hellhole of an ersatz city plunked in the middle of a vast wasteland with all the culture and depth of a yuppie stock trader at Circuit City"

BTW, The Nats' top 3 hitters are players taken from the scrap heap:

Young - .339
Guzman - .336
Belliard - .295

The next best hitter is Ryan Church at .270. Each player is supposed to be prime trade bait.

What does this say about our "core" players, our future "leaders?"

Kearns - .248
Zimmerman - .247
Schneider - .242
Lopez - .233

--------------------------

My thoughts exactly. This, to me is the Nats major problem. All the guys we are supposed to be relying on are .240 hitters. This is the reason we always have 11 men lob. It's going to have to be addressed if the team is going to win on a consistent basis in the future.

Sec 506: Since you are going to Fenway because your 10 year old little brother is a Red Sox fan, enough said - support him and root for the Red Sox. When he comes to visit you in DC you can convert him to a Nats fan.

I have been to a couple of games at Fenway in the last year, one against the Blue Jays and the other against the Orioles (the Friday night game in the series in May that the Orioles won) and just enjoyed the baseball. I also got to Wrigley Field for the Saturday and Sunday Nats games, and was one of maybe 5 Nats fans there, but we just walked up to the box office and bought tickets. (At Fenway we had previously purchased tickets through a broker.)

I would also like to hear about other stadiums on the "must see" list - can't get to Pittsburgh for the upcoming series, but may try next year.

I absolutely love Turner Field. The natives get a little hostile, but it's (usually) all in good fun, and I think the park's so pretty. And massive. It's like a compound.

Alos, oof, Chad. A lead off walk? You hurt my soul.

other ballparks - PNC is excellent - Camden Yards-ish, with a great approach over the bridge and river view. Have a Primani Brothers sandwich - the special or whatever they call the one on the top of the menu list. It's a classic Pittsburgh food. I kinda liked Jacobs in Cleveland. Wrigley of course. Miller Park is worth seeing as an oddity - its proportions are weird - very vertical - we went to a day game and the roof was open, so haven't seen the roof closed. Cincy is ok, well-sited along the river, ok inside, although lots of people dislike it. White Sox - I forget the corporate name - mediocre and poorly located. you can walk up and buy tickets to all but Wrigley I think. and Fenway of course - have to use brokers there.

... yeah!! that's my man Flippie! Now let's just hope THIS lead will hold up. At least we won't have to worry that Chief might let it slip again.

Way to plug away at Ray! Oh you Nats!

Mick, NatsNut et al.:

You'll love PNC. As nice a park as I've ever visited, if for no other reason than the breathtaking view of the downtown Pittsburgh skyline and the South Hills.

Walk-up tix are easy. I've never done anything else there. If you drive out to the Burgh, a good idea is to park in a downtown garage and walk across the Clemente Bridge to the ballpark. Get there early so you can stroll up and down the Monongahela River walk before the game.

Grille on Seventh is a slam-dunk food choice, provided you don't stuff yourself with PNC pierogies, which you really should try. Wash them down after the game with an Augustiner Lager at the Bridge Bar of the Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel (in the historic and architecturally distinctive Fulton Building) across the bridge.

There's little not to like about Pittsburgh except that it's not DC, which is hardly its fault. As I say, you're in for a swell time -- maybe I'll see you there.

I'll be at Pac Bell in August when the Nats play the Giants. I can't wait to get a look at that place. A little vacation. Want to have some fun, go on the Baltimore Sun on line sports section and leave a little message about how the Nats are hosing the Oreos. I did last night...quite fun. Oh, I'm a bad boy...heh heh heh!! GO NATS ... STAY HOT

Ryan Langerhans: "Ribs in Toronto? Ribs in Toronto?! RIBS in TORONTO?!?! YEARGH!"

And then he hit a home run. So I think the answer to this problem is that Barry just needs to get him riled up every night with the thought of Canadians stealing good ole Texas food.

hey mick, PNC is a beautiful park, i went last year and got tickets through their website, great seats in left field right behind jason bay for like 6 dollars a ticket. really great food there too, try the BBQ behind center field on the river walk.

lets sweep the crab cake eating oreos

2 "must see" parks are San Fran and Dodgers stadium.

San Fran just edges out Camden Yards, IMHO, mostly because of the smaller scale and more intimate feel. Haven't seen PNC, but I am planning a trip sometime.

Dodger is just really interesting and historic-feeling, really roomy like RFK but much more of a baseball stadium. Everything from the commute to the top level behind home plate is just a neat experience.

Nothing better than watching the AngelO's crash and burn. I know the player probably don't care but as a fan it warms my heart to beat that team and its terrible owner. Show those highlights on your MASN Angelos.

Closing it down at the hutch with something for your morning coffee.

Made it out to Bowie tonight to see our Class AA Harrisburg Senators get shut out by the Baysox, led by the amazing Radhames Liz. More on that later, perhaps. Anyway, the Sens sport a lefty relief specialist who rejoices in the Heaven-sent moniker of Jeremy Plexico.

This irresistably invites the composition of a double-dactyl, about which more here...

http://lonestar.texas.net/~robison/dactyls.html

... and I offer the following in celebration of Plexico's inducing a groundout to end the bottom of the seventh:

Higgledy-piggledy
Jeremy Plexico
Senators pitcher who
Plies from the south;

Faces one batter but
Uber-methodically
Causes that hitter to
Foam at the mouth.

Enjoy your Thursday, everyone.

Hendo: you're marvellous with a word.

... glad you spread the good word about Pittsburgh. All my first impressions come from people named Mellon, Scaife and Ahmanson, and that's a bad taste.

... why are so many new ball parks built on, or quite near to water? I was going to add a long list to support my point but don't have the time right now.

... and now kids, I'm off to Winnipeg. You guys be good, and don't write anything i wouldn't write.

... GO NATS (in TO)!!

That's too funny! Tonite they should ask for his opinion on chili with beans.

---

Ryan Langerhans: "Ribs in Toronto? Ribs in Toronto?! RIBS in TORONTO?!?! YEARGH!"

And then he hit a home run. So I think the answer to this problem is that Barry just needs to get him riled up every night with the thought of Canadians stealing good ole Texas food.

Posted by: Ava | June 13, 2007 11:49 PM

It occurs to me after last night's seesaw game that "Battle of the Blowpens" might suit better than "Battle of the Beltway" in referring to future skirmishes, but all's well that ends well.

Ugly win last night, but oh well, I love to see the O's lose. Break out your brooms!

Are the O's getting negative press for being so terrible this year? I would think so, since we're only one game behind them as far as record goes. We have the excuse of rebuilding, what's theirs?

Geezer -- What do you expect from Phoenix when they give up the best thing about the park? The former "BOB" was always the world's largest elevator -- no one would talk to anyone else, just stared straight ahead. (I'd have said urinal, but it did smell better than that.)
Old Candlestick had a goodly bunch of rowdies, esp. when LA was in town, nothing like the yuppie reputation this new place seems to have.
DC fans aren't knowledgeable enough (and too self-conscious) to be interesting as a group, yet. Maybe someday.

CEvansJr notes: "DC fans aren't knowledgeable enough (and too self-conscious) to be interesting as a group, yet. Maybe someday."

Puts me in mind of when all the new minor-league ballparks were going up in the '90s. In the first couple seasons you'd see the brie-and-Merlot set wandering around the concourses, peering through their little round glasses, wearing their (impeccably laundered) "Baseball Forever" t-shirts and not having one damn clue about what was happening on the field.

I cannot imagine what they're up to these days. Minor league baseball seems to be doing fine without them, which is a ray of hope for the big-league product.

Before you start passing out the merchandise on Dunce Cap Day at RFK, though, you might want to stop by 428 or indeed any of the more populous sections of the upper deck. There are wee pockets of knowledge scattered about here and there. (And I'm always ready for more.)

I've run into numerous pockets of knowledge at various locations in the upper deck reaches...

---

Before you start passing out the merchandise on Dunce Cap Day at RFK, though, you might want to stop by 428 or indeed any of the more populous sections of the upper deck. There are wee pockets of knowledge scattered about here and there. (And I'm always ready for more.)

Posted by: Hendo | June 14, 2007 09:39 AM

Barry,

Your mission should you choose to accept it. Please work on changing the name of the "Battle of the Beltway" series ... first of all there are TWO beltways not one so Beltway should be plural. Second, it would be more appropriate to call it the "Battle of the Parkway" in obvious reference to the Baltimore Washington Parkway.

I know I'm not the first to say this and probably won't be the last.

Please work some magic on this

Barry, if you see this, please let Robert Fick and his family know that they are in my thoughts. Judging from a piece I happened to see online this a.m. at, ahem, another paper's (much less cool) site, it sounds as though his mother is not doing well at all.

CEvans Jr - Of course no yuppies at Candlestick - saw one night game there on a vacation in July. Front row upper deck behind home plate. No fans within 50 yards of us. Found out why - whipping wind, hot dog wrappers plastered to the sides of our heads, freezing cold through a jacket and sweater. Found pockets of fans huddled in parkas and sleeping bags - truly - in the lower deck up under the overhangs. We joined them. An endurance challenge. Would love to see PacBell.

My question re: Patterson, I don't want him back. 7.47 is AWFUL for a guy who is supposed to be the top dog. If he doesn't even have 7.47 velocity back, what are we in for?

Also, when do Bergmann and Hill get back? I love those two.

My question re: Patterson, I don't want him back. 7.47 is AWFUL for a guy who is supposed to be the top dog. If he doesn't even have 7.47 velocity back, what are we in for?

Also, when do Bergmann and Hill get back? I love those two.

My question re: Patterson, I don't want him back. 7.47 is AWFUL for a guy who is supposed to be the top dog. If he doesn't even have 7.47 velocity back, what are we in for?

Also, when do Bergmann and Hill get back? I love those two.

How bout just "Parkway Series" or "Beltway Series"? Like the Subway Series and Freeway Series.

Geezer, you settled the entire affair for me with that brilliant spat of prose. Though I appreciate all the other comments too, and will give my brother support (though never will I agree to his ridiculous assertion that Manny Ramirez is anything other than a bum), and will cheer for former Nationals, and - if the opportunity presents itself - will watch Curt Schilling's socks. Will report back after the trip.

___

"how on earth could you root for a carpetbagging team from some glass-skyscrapered nouveau riche hellhole of an ersatz city plunked in the middle of a vast wasteland with all the culture and depth of a yuppie stock trader at Circuit City?"

Despite the drizzle that held up the first pitch for an hour and never did entirely abate, and despite the score, last night's game at Bowie was fun.

The facility is a standard-issue HOK minor-league ballpark, which means it is very nice indeed. Customary array of food and beverage choices; both barbecue and coleslaw at the Black Angus Grille are good (not as good as the original Johnny Ray's in Birmingham, Ala., but then, what is?), although curiously they don't go well together on a sandwich. A bite of one and then the other is fine.

The staff are exceptionally friendly. They do great credit to Prince George's County. Stadium announcer is well above average; with about another year's seasoning she could be ready for Nats Park.

Dugout tickets are on the high side at $14 per. However, parking is free. So are programs. I have never encountered a free program at any level of pro baseball, plus the Baysox' is pocket-sized and evidently updated for every home stand. That's something I'd like to see spread throughout the sport.

As for the game, as I said on an earlier post, Liz was on the hill for the Baysox, so that's basically all you need to know. I might go to Bowie every fifth night just to watch him pitch.

Click Here:

http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com/search/cheater.asp?ddh_id=55487&return_url=index%2Easp%3F

"This dude is Anthony Lamar Nunley, Renee A.' s brother (Philadelphia), Linda's son (Maryland) and singer Tabi Bonney's cousin. He worked as a manager in Samsung (Dallas TX) and in Motorola (Chicago). He was born in Washington, Columbia District, United States, the 25th of December 1969. He studied electric engineering at Howard University...

..We met each other on Match.com (December 2005) and the funny thing was that since the beginning he swore for God's sake that he was gonna love me over all, get marry, have kids and live together until death do us part. I'm kind of naive and believed all what he told me, plus he came to my country (Cartagena, Colombia) and popped the question and told my parents he wanted to marry me, in a certain way he was asking for permission. In 2006 he visited me 3 times and the last time he came, he stayed over my place with me and my 3 years old daughter in my flat...."

More...http://www.dontdatehimgirl.com/search/cheater.asp?ddh_id=55487&return_url=index%2Easp%3F

Hmm, dontdatehimgirl.com looks like the mother lode for libel attorneys.

According to a conversation somewhere up above between Hendo and natsfan1A:

"Before you start passing out the merchandise on Dunce Cap Day at RFK, though, you might want to stop by 428 or indeed any of the more populous sections of the upper deck. There are wee pockets of knowledge scattered about here and there. (And I'm always ready for more.)

Posted by: Hendo | June 14, 2007 09:39 AM
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I've run into numerous pockets of knowledge at various locations in the upper deck reaches...

Posted by: natsfan1a | June 14, 2007 09:59 AM"

Upper deck knowledge is a well recognized and easily explained phenomenon. Let's do a thought exercise; if I love baseball and I budget $500 for tickets to ballgames, then should I spend $50 each on tickets to ten games or $10 each on tickets to fifty games? To me, seated in my upper deck perch, the answer is an obvious one.

And to complete today's lesson I quote the late, great Bill Veeck:

"The knowledge of the game is usually in inverse proportion to the price of the seats."

(If you're a baseball fan but you've never read Veeck's marvelous autobiography "Veeck as in Wreck", hie thee to Amazon.com RIGHT THIS INSTANT!)

Geezer, Hendo, 502, et al., re: upper deck seats: exactly.
and Geezer, I used to be one of the many *hundreds* of fans who would pay to see Jack Clark try to play right field at the 'Stick. Gave us something to do with those parkas in August. The other teams would bring a ball and ask the Giants to have their fans sign it. There was talk of putting our pictures in the media guide.

forgot to sign that last one ...

So true the "inverse proportion" theory. My seat-mate had a chance to sit behind home plate a couple weeks ago and though the view was awesome, she was disappointed in the attentiveness (i.e., lack of) of everyone around her. To quote Hendo, "the brie-and-Merlot set" didn't seem to know, or care what was really going on. Yet those around us in our little $5 section (447) hardly leave our seats, look for every detail we can find, and discuss subtleties to no end. We have a theory that there's a golden zone somewhere at RFK that combines closer, somewhat better seats than ours, but people still pay attention to and know about the game.

I do miss the impromptu call-and-response cheers we had then (and the eternal "Dodgers suck!" -- sometimes we'd chant that when other teams were in town, just to mess with them.). For SS Jose Uribe, half the place would start "OOOOOH!" and the rest would finish: "REE-bay!" His name wasn't even Uribe, it was Gonzales, but he said, "There's too many Gonzaleses [in MLB] already." So his fan club was called "The Center for the Study of Jose Gonzales." A classic.
But here, I can't even get folks started on "We're from the government/
We're here to help!"
Should be a natural.

Okay, Section 502, I already have a backlog of baseball books stacked next to the bed but you've talked me into it (just back from Amazon)!

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(If you're a baseball fan but you've never read Veeck's marvelous autobiography "Veeck as in Wreck", hie thee to Amazon.com RIGHT THIS INSTANT!)

Posted by: Section 502 | June 14, 2007 12:49 PM

natsnut, you want to fix that quick, take away the backstop screen. They'll pay attention then.

Question on fences in the new ballpark:

With the shortened distance would Teddy have a chance to win?

Not if he can't keep his head in the game.

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Question on fences in the new ballpark:

With the shortened distance would Teddy have a chance to win?

Posted by: Section 506 (After moving) | June 14, 2007 01:25 PM

natsfan1a: Not if he can't keep his head in the game.

Almost snuck that one by me it was so good.

natsfan1a: Not if he can't keep his head in the game.

Almost snuck that one by me it was so good.

natsfan1a: you're so punny.

BTW, Congratulations to Debbi Taylor on the birth of her daughter. Hope somebody bought her a Nats Shirt.

Don't look now, but if we win today (and you better believe I am knocking on all types of wood here), we will have the SAME record as the AngelO's. Normally, for any other team, something to avert, but for our boys with a how much less payroll?

Gas money to drive to Baltimore: $7.00
Ticket to the game: $15.00
Likely cost of food & beverage: $20.00
Seeing the Nats sweep the O's and take the season series: Priceless.

NattyDelite!:

Hope you didn't jinx 'em. But make sure it was real wood and not imitation.

natsfan1a wails: ". . . I already have a backlog of baseball books stacked next to the bed . . ."

Add me to that wail, and thank God I'm not alone. I'm 2.5 books behind. My current baseball book is Volume I of Peter Morris' "A Game of Inches," a scholarly yet entertaining read that doesn't make me feel quite so guilty for not reading The Economist or something.

Morris' tome is dense, so I'll be at it for awhile. But it'll be a long, cold offseason sooner than we think, so I'm in no rush.

Hendo, I read the Economist and let me tell you, it is way overrated. It's like "People" or "Time" written by and for really smart people. Yes they're throwing around big words and talking about places you've never heard of, but they're still written by a bunch of smug know-it-alls that think they're better than their subjects and consequently always write the same story with new names.

Baseball books are probably more predictive. Ask the Economist how their predictions on Iraq turned out...

I usually have a few books going at once. My current starter is "Baseball and Philosophy," edited by Eric Bronson. For times when that's a bit too much heavy sledding at bedtime (although it "does" tend to help me get to sleep sooner), I have "Baseball's Biggest Bloopers," by Dan Gutman. Also on deck is "Twice Around the Bases," by Kevin Kennedy.

In the not too distant past, I was quite entertained by "Baseball Eccentrics," co-authored by LHP Bill Lee (who is well qualified to pen such a work) and Jim Prime.

Hendo writes:

Add me to that wail, and thank God I'm not alone. I'm 2.5 books behind. My current baseball book is Volume I of Peter Morris' "A Game of Inches," a scholarly yet entertaining read that doesn't make me feel quite so guilty for not reading The Economist or something.

Morris' tome is dense, so I'll be at it for awhile. But it'll be a long, cold offseason sooner than we think, so I'm in no rush.

Man, you guys are hard core. "Three Nights in August", "Ball Four", and "Watching Baseball Smarter" are practically preschool compared to your reading lists.

Section 506 opines: "Hendo, I read the Economist and let me tell you, it is way overrated. . . ."

The Economist's OK for some stuff. I use its background material a lot in devising strategies for global business development. However, as you note, it can (like its eponymous dismal science) be breathtakingly accurate at predicting the past.

Not really (at least in my case). I enjoyed both "Three Nights in August" and "Ball Four." Haven't read "Watching Baseball Smarter," though.

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Man, you guys are hard core. "Three Nights in August", "Ball Four", and "Watching Baseball Smarter" are practically preschool compared to your reading lists.

Posted by: NatsNut | June 14, 2007 04:22 PM

It's like a relative from Phoenix once told me on a visit here, on seeing a Sunday Post, completely without irony: "Wow, you guys have actual NEWS in your paper!" (That's even funnier if you've ever seen the AZ Republic)