grats to the pairs of newlyweds...

hmm... so if we see some post from "shawn hill's wife," it may not be some poser... it might actually be her warning you to "back off her man's sinker?"

you sure that's not actually john patterson's mom posting?

Thanks for the news, Barry. All the best to our newly wed Nats.

And looking forward to seeing Bergy and others (the J-Maxs, perhaps?) later this month on the Winter Tour.

Congrats to Chad, Matt, and Justin. Good times. BTW I would love to see a Joe Gibbs, Frank Robinson, John Thompson, and George Michael superfriends-style saturday morning cartoon. I know you can't make it happen, Barry, but in these post Skins playoff days, before pitchers and catchers report, a man is left alone with his dreams.

longterm - actually, Chad's 37 saves in 46 opportunities was the worst save % of the 21 MLB relievers with 21 or more saves last year. If I took that out to the 32 relievers that had 16 or more saves, 80% would be better than Lidge, Fuentes, Wickman, Hennessey, and Street. Three of those lost their jobs and one was hurt.

Congrats to the newlyweds and to the Chief. Mrs. Hill, I think that Barry and the sinker are "just good friends." :)

I would love to see a Joe Gibbs, Frank Robinson, John Thompson, and George Michael superfriends-style saturday morning cartoon. LMAO: that would be great.

Does anyone else think that if the Nats had a winning team in RFK it would have been just as good as a winning team in the new stadium (if not better) From the look of the new stadium it would not trap the noise onto the field nearly as well as RFK did. In the playoffs when that stadium would have filled up. I can't imagine the home-field advantage RFK would have, we will see with Antitcostya Stadium.

"Last year, Cordero had to take off in spring training, fly to Phoenix, go through the hearing," etc.

Not to mention that he was dealing with the final illness of his grandmother at that time. In April, he was 4-4 in save opportunities. His record improved after that.

All that said, we still have to see how kind or cruel Nats Park will be to pitchers. The Chief's flyball style may serve him ill, but it's difficult to gauge his chances there until he's had a few.

This time last year: Travis Lee.
I'm just sayin.

Added congrats to the Nats newlys and signees all. To Mrs. Hill, that sinker is a stinker...in a good Nats way. Heres to hoping he stays healthy all season. That's going to be an important pitch in the new Nats park, I feel. Last year, the Nats line in a racing form would have read, stumbled out of gate. Let's hope this year it reads, ripped the hinges off the gate a streaked to the front. Go Nats...get hot and stay H O T !

hey jon- i think i saw recently his career save % is over 80%. and he converted 22 out of 25 to finish 2007. i haven't really looked to confirm actual numbers since it sounds about right to me.

anyhow, his peripherals are regressing and i think everyone is concerned how the new park plays for him more than anyone else. congratulations to him on his new contract though. i hope he gets another big raise next year.

Hi Mrs. Hill!

Speaking of Joe Gibbs, why not have him throw out the first pitch on Opening Day?

You never mentioned John Patterson's wedding! I believe I read about it in the Style section a few months ago....

Barry,

What gives with the Post's continuing failure to cover the impending disaster that will be parking at the new stadium?

There was a public hearing yesterday where the people actually responsible for getting parking taken care of finally seemed to admit it is going to be the trainwreck everyone has been forecasting for at least 18 months. The Washington Times, The Examiner, and even Post employee J.D. at her excellent JD Land site (unaffiliated with the post, of course) covered this hearing. Unless the Post's coverage was buried somewhere, whose decision was it not to cover that hearing, and why was the decision made?

This issue is almost certain to cloud anything the team may do on the field, and people from the DC government on down seem to continue with a head-in-the-sand approach to the problem. It is also likely to have broader regional consequences, as people driving to the stadium who are uninformed of the lack of parking will inevitably clog up South Capitol Street during evening rush, which is sure to spill out and have broader gridlock effects. For example, what happens when 40,000 people come to see the Pope on a Thursday night in April, none of whom are Nats season ticket holders, and none have parking available to them?

Barry, did you "forget" that John Patterson and Shannon Schambeau (Miss DC of 2005) were married on Nov. 10 in St. Leo Florida? You seem to "forget" about Patterson a lot, don't you - wishful thinking, maybe? By the way, the Hills attended that wedding, also.

"What gives with the Post's continuing failure to cover the impending disaster that will be parking at the new stadium?"

My suspicion as to why the Post isn't covering this situation is because it would force them to say good things about the only party that's doing anything to help ease the impending parking/transportation train wreck in the short term and solve the problem in the long term. That party would be the Nationals, and we all know the Post hates to say anything good about them if it can possibly be avoided. The impending crisis was wholly created by the city and thrust upon the team, but the city's not doing anything about it. The Nationals are. Here, lifted from the testimony of Nats official Greg McCarthy, is just some of what the Nationals are doing about the parking situation:

"One hundred thousand copies of a brochure explaining how to use mass transit to the ballpark are already in production and will be distributed across the metropolitan region."
"We are instituting a reserved parking program whereby drivers will be assigned to a specific facility for the entire season."
"We will emphasize important mantra: 1) Take mass transit; 2) Please don't drive to the ballpark area looking for spaces unless you have one reserved; 3) Satellite parking at RFK is a convenient and economic alternative."
"It's important to focus on these key issues: 1) The route for the RFK Shuttle; 2)Additional ways to discourage ad hoc parking; 3) Ways to reinforce to would-be parkers that it is useless to circulate through the area for the 'chance' of parking."

Posters here and elsewhere are complaining that the Nationals FO is not doing enough to market the team, not having a FanFest, etc. They also complain about not knowing yet what the parking options will be. Well, according to JDLand.com, parking options for STHers will be mailed out next week. (Note: On schedule, as promised by Stan Kasten.) The bottom line on parking, thanks to the city and despite everything done by the Nats FO, is that parking will be available in the stadium vicinity for STHers only. Everyone else will either need to take Metro or park at RFK and shuttle in. That's just the way it is, thanks to the way the city has managed the construction of the ballpark district it chose to build. The Nationals have to live with it, even though the situation may hurt the long-term prospects for growth of the franchise. In the face of this, wouldn't all you demanders of a greater marketing presence by the Nats, a Fan Fest to drum up interest in the team, etc, agree with me that the team has made the prudent decision this offseason to not overmarket itself and attract thousands of new fans into a situation where they will have the mother of all disappointing experiences in trying to get to games, to the point that they may vow never to return?

I guess that I saw a St. Leo, FL dateline and skipped the story, expecting it to be another John Thompson getting another early season win at Saint Leo's expense.

Sect 419 + 1 - If the situation is as you describe it below then I would have to agree -- except for one thing - wouldn't a better presence in the DC metro area give the Nats a more widely seen platform to make as many people as possible aware of the parking issue? I have friends who didn't even know the team existed until late last year (though some are Balwmer fans who won't to pretend the Nats don't exist).

It's odd that I agree with you, but I think I'm with you on this one. I will take Metro and tell all my friends to do the same, even though I'm in a STH partnership with a friend....(How can I get the Nats post-game show on Metro when it's underground??)

______________________
In the face of this, wouldn't all you demanders of a greater marketing presence by the Nats, a Fan Fest to drum up interest in the team, etc, agree with me that the team has made the prudent decision this offseason to not overmarket itself and attract thousands of new fans into a situation where they will have the mother of all disappointing experiences in trying to get to games, to the point that they may vow never to return?

Congratulations to the newlyweds - especially J-Max - who went to Sherwood with my neices, and is a Terp. M-A-R-Y-L-A-N-D Maryland will win!

A JP's Mom sighting! Maybe Barry would do a better job of remembering him if he developed a better sinker.

Perhaps someone will start a ferryboat shuttle to take fans from outlying docks to the game. Weekends, this might work, combined with a buffet or something. I can see it now...The Anacostia Ballboat.

As an added attraction to the ballboat idea, we can name Fred Smoot as honorary captain.

SC, see snippet below from the jdland.com site re. water taxi possibility. I've seen coverage elsewhere but don't recall where. This popped up prominently when I Googled.

Since the stadium is close to the river, will there be water taxi service?
The city is working on plans and permits to build a ferry pier on the Anacostia at Diamond Teague Park, by the old Capitol pumphouse (the little red brick building seen in the two above photos). Various companies have expressed an interest in creating a service that could shuttle between locations like Alexandria, the new National Harbor, National Airport, the ballpark, the Southwest Waterfront, Georgetown. No timetable for the construction of the pier or awarding of any service has been announced.

Hendo / longterm - the 4 for 7 in April poisoned his record a bit, and there were personal circumstances that might have had something to do with it. I'm of the camp that it's better to sell early than late, especially when your asset is starting to get expensive. I also don't think Chad is awful, and he is 25. I just think there are enough tell tales in his peripherals (and projections that the new ballpark will be friendlier to right field) to think it's "sell high" time, and think there could be good value moving him to a ballpark with a track record of being pitcher-friendly.

I think Hendo mentioned SF as a team who has has Hennessey closing. Chad would move in there and probably close for them and be successful. I mentioned Seattle would probably be better of spending $6.2 on him and moving Morrow to the rotation than offering a high cost multi-year contract to Colon / Lohse / Benson / Garcia (names I picked off ESPN's FA tracker).

In non-Nats news, from ESPN (And the post soon, I'd guess) - "The St. Louis Cardinals have reached agreement on a trade with Toronto that will send third baseman Scott Rolen to the Blue Jays for third baseman Troy Glaus, a two major league sources said.

The deal will be completed once the two players undergo physical exams Monday, the source said."

Both have to go through physicals? I'd give this one better than a 50/50 chanc eof blowing up.

"Well, if THE POPE came in and needed parking, you'd have space, wouldn't you? Give me HIS spot."
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40,000 people come to see the Pope on a Thursday night in April, none of whom are Nats season ticket holders, and none have parking available to them?
Posted by: 408 / 204 | January 12, 2008 01:50 PM

Man! ONE Senators fan sells his soul to the devil FIFTY YEARS ago, and we're STILL living it down ...
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40,000 people come to see the Pope on a Thursday night in April, none of whom are Nats season ticket holders ...
Posted by: 408 / 204 | January 12, 2008 01:50 PM

That would make the RFK parking shuttle: The Ball Bussers!
***********
Perhaps someone will start a ferryboat shuttle to take fans from outlying docks to the game. I can see it now: The Anacostia Ballboat.

Posted by: SC Nats Fan | January 12, 2008 04:50 PM

"40,000 people come to see the Pope on a Thursday night in April, none of whom are Nats season ticket holders, and none have parking available to them?"

The Pope will be saying mass at Nationals Park at 10:00 AM on a Thursday, smack dab in the middle of a DC work day. I believe I read somewhere that gates will be opened to congregants at something like 6:00 or 6:30 am. I'm sure the church will be telling EVERYONE they have to come by Metro, unless they are in the motorcade with the Popemobile. But still, one has to wonder why they didn't have him say mass at either RFK or FedEx, both of which are (a) bigger and (b) more out of the workday loop than Nationals Park.

"A JP's Mom sighting! Maybe Barry would do a better job of remembering him if he developed a better sinker."

Why should he develope a sinker - he has a great curve ball! I believe Barry sees Patterson as competition for Hill. They are on the same team for pity's sake. We should be glad we have 2 exceptional pitchers and stop acting as though we have to like either one or the other - we can like them both. They are teammates, not rivals.

And by the way, Barry, I don't think you mentioned that Shannon ran in the Marine Corps Marathon just 13 days before the wedding and that John met her at the 22 mile mark and ran the rest of the way with her. She seems to be a force to be reckoned with!

That would make the RFK parking shuttle: The Ball Bussers!

If they did Mass at FedEx Field, I'm sure Dan Snyder would find some way to make a ton of money off of it. I wondered why they didn't choose FedEx either, considering it has over twice the seating capacity. I really think Snyder and his never-ending quest to make a dollar got in the way.

*********************************

But still, one has to wonder why they didn't have him say mass at either RFK or FedEx, both of which are (a) bigger and (b) more out of the workday loop than Nationals Park.

lol...

from http://mlbonxm.blogspot.com

===

" I have heard all the stories that he might be a tough teammate. I was gonna hold judgment until I met him. I got the opportunity to meet him when they announced him in Kansas City and talked to him for the better part of one night. For the most part he didn't rub me the wrong way he seemed like a good guy. The one thing I do know about him I have seen the way he plays by playing against him he gets after it everyday. He just seems like a ball player and those are the guys Dayton Moore are going after guys who play the game right and I can't ask for more than that as a teammate." - Mark Teahen on new teammate Jose Guillen

===

"for the most part?"

"A real caravan takes so much preparation time and is so labor-intensive, and our departments are so busy on new stadium initiatives that we just didn't have the time to do one correctly," Kasten said. "But we do appearances like this throughout the year, all 12 months."

The headline on the Nationals website reads "Notes: Nats host Health Expo." Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't this just a couple of players and Stan Kasten making an appearance for a couple of hours? They didn't HOST the weekend-long event. The main sponsor and host of the event is NBC4. Are they trying to make it seem much more newsworthy than it really was? To me, that's kind of misleading...

It would seem that in the jockeying for position in today's Metro section, the Health Expo lost out to the subway prankster story... :)

Maybe this is more of a Bog story, but I thought I'd point out that the Nationals are currently 200 to 1 to win the series. I'm pretty confident that's the longest odds we'll see in an offseason for at least a few years.

I can't wait for the pope to bless our team.

"As an added attraction to the ballboat idea, we can name Fred Smoot as honorary captain."

I laughed hard, SC, don't worry!

the orioles (100/1) and rays (150/1) have better odds? really?

"The Curly (W) Shuttle"!

Which reminds me -- speaking of marketing, and having our own songs, we need to be using The Curly Shuffle. It's catchy, it's short, it was enough of a hit to be recognizable. It has a dance you can do in the seats. It has call-and-response! (although we've probably lost the chance to subsitute for "Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk" with "Nook Nook Nook Nook"). The Curly W Shuffle is a natural. Soitenly!
(and for those of you who were on the moon in 1984 -- http://tinyurl.com/ywvu23 )

_____________________
That would make the RFK parking shuttle: The Ball Bussers!
***********
Perhaps someone will start a ferryboat shuttle to take fans from outlying docks to the game. I can see it now: The Anacostia Ballboat.
Posted by: SC Nats Fan | January 12, 2008 04:50 PM
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Posted by: I been everywhere, man | January 12, 2008 06:20 PM

231,

Odds makers work from the mind not the heart....we have no starting pitching. Hill, Patterson, Bergmen have never pitched reliable innings....Chico, Lannan, Basick are just the same soft tossing lefty not 3, 4 5 starters. Chico is not a star in the making, he was lucky to be on the Nats and even got sent down last year because he could not throw strikes....WAKE UP....as the new Pepsi Commercial says....

actually, no, it has nothing to do with the oddsmakers' minds or hearts. it has everything to do with bettors minds and hearts. a lot of people seem to be confused over how oddsmakers set lines.

the odds are created (and adjusted) to keep an even amount of betting on each team. if the betting gets uneven, then the casinos/bookies lose money because they'll pay out more than they took in. so that's why odds adjust up until the event. as money starts getting laid on one team more than another, the oddsmakers shift the odds to make it less attractive to bid on that team.

now, the reason i mentioned that the odds for the rays/Os seem odd compared to the nats is because they have no better chance than the Nats do. i'm not overrating my team, i know it has flaws, you don't have to point them out for me. it's that the rays and Os also have significant flaws (not to mention both lost more games than the nats last year and neither has improved any more than the nats). plus they also happen to play in a division with arguably the top 2 teams in the AL. and two teams arguably better than any team in the NL, let alone the NL east.

Fair Enough points 231 but I really wonder what record the Nats would have in the AL East? Winning more games than the O's is really means very little do you agree?

Rays and O's both have better starting pitching than the Nats. That is all that really matters. The Nats are hoping fans forget this fact it seems because they seem intent on going with a wing and a prayer staff yet again.

I love it! As for those of you who don't, "pick two." (just kidding :-))

---

Which reminds me -- speaking of marketing, and having our own songs, we need to be using The Curly Shuffle. It's catchy, it's short, it was enough of a hit to be recognizable. It has a dance you can do in the seats. It has call-and-response! (although we've probably lost the chance to subsitute for "Nyuk nyuk nyuk nyuk" with "Nook Nook Nook Nook"). The Curly W Shuffle is a natural. Soitenly!

A measure of a team's performance is its wins and losses - who knows or cares how the Nats would do if they played in the AL East? They don't. They need to focus on their division, which, top to bottom is tougher than any other (well, it was the last few years, don't know about this year). Yes the Yanks and Red Sox would beat any NL East team, but the Braves, Phils, and Mets are consistently better than Baltimore, Toronto, and Tampa Bay.

...and even though it doesn't matter, it's sweet indeed to have had a better record than Baltimore because their litigious owner kept baseball out of DC for years and now has hamstrung the team's television rights for years on end...it's one of the many reasons I'll cherish the RFK years, 2005 to 2007 for the Nationals.

While I don't trash talk about the O's (dare I say I still have Sunday tickets up there), they have no CF, SS, or closer. They are about to trade Bedard for one major league ready player (Jones), a SS prospect (Triunfel) who is about the same age as Smiley, and maybe one other piece. If they move Bedard, that means a rotation of Loewen, Guthrie, Cabrera, Olson, and Penn. If we bad mouth JP and Hill for their injury track record, why are we cutting Loewen any slack? At least JP and Hill have produced above the AA level (OK, Loewen did well in one start in the WBC). Guthrie looks like he got his act together last year, but the rest is Bergman / Chico level. Cabrera is the un-Chico, but at this point he bucking trends if he "finds" command. Other than Markakis and Roberts (also on the block), exactly where are they better than the Nats? Jay Payton right now isn't better than Milledge. Jay Gibbons v. Nick (speaking of injuries)? Millar v Dmitri? Don't say Mora at 3d. Bullpen?

Now the Rays, perhaps I can see catching a break and getting the wild card if either the NYY or BOS blow up, so 150:1 isn't too ridiculous. But I too believe that as the rotation fills in with draftees, we should start to see better than 200:1 in the next few years.

Doin' the Curly W. Hey Nat's Hey Nat's.

Hey Barry, please tell Sheinin that I loved his Sunday baseball piece today.

What? Sheinin didn't have anything in today's paper? You sure about that? I could swear I read... Oh, that's right, it was Murray Chass, wasn't it? I guess there's a reason why the Times's baseball coverage is better than the Post's, since the Times actually has some, huh?

how the nats would do in the AL east really isn't the least bit relevant to their odds on winning the WS. they aren't in that division, so they don't have to beat the sox/yanks unless they actually made it to the WS, while the rays/Os do. and that's what we're talking about here, WS odds.

but i'll bit on whether the Os/rays are actually better teams than the nats... i'm not sure i buy your argument that the Os are any better. if they keep bedard (which doesn't look likley), they definitely have a better rotation. but they still have a significantly worse bullpen (bedard might have won 17-18 if their bullpen didn't suck).

and their everyday lineup isn't necessarily any better after this offseason. the Os have 1-2 more established star quality players, but one may end up in chicago before the season starts. and they're aging at a number of spots, while the nats aren't. 3B, they can't give mora away; RF, gibbons? steroids didn't help much; 1B? millar, ugh. SS? hernandez? CF? looks like patterson again. LF? luke scott may not be bad, but we don't know yet. really, it's not a great lineup. and last year they only scored .5 runs more per game than the nats, and that's with having a DH (altho aubrey huff? not much of a DH last year).

what's the biggest difference between the nats and the Os? the nats are younger and could improve. the Os are older and aren't likely to be any better.

not quite sure about the rays. they have a better offense for sure and a better rotation than either the Os or the nats. but they haven't overcome the culture there. they should have more wins than they get with that talent.

Interesting article just posted this evening on nationals.com about Jason Bergman, Aaron Boone with comments and outlook from Charlie Slowes. He reports that his contract negotiations are nearing fruition and an announcment could be just days away. I'm fo dat.

Another beautiful thing about this: there was no team here in 1984, when this was on every jumbotron in both leagues. Not that anybody much under 30 would remember that...

Posted by: Doin' the Curly W. | January 13, 2008 07:14 PM

Doin' the Curly W. Hey Nat's Hey Nat's.

Nats320 showed pictures around the new stadium yesterday, and pondered whether the stadium would actually be ready on time. I am a stadium cam watcher like many of you, and I have to admit that progress seems to have stalled some. I understand that plenty of what is being done know is inside work- wiring, lighting, etc, and the Post had a great article on the guy running the show.

Even still, I have this feeling that the stadium could open March 30, but not yet really look completely finished. I wonder if this has something to do with the lack of a sponsor for stadium naming rights? Getting someone to pony up for that kind of advertising really doesn't seem like it should be that hard to me. If they are afraid it won't be ready, though, I could see corporations being averse to taking part in that initial embarrassment.

Remember that the Nats played 500 ball (or there abouts) from the middle of May on. That without Hill or Bergman (mostly). They still have most of the makeshift crew they used during that time and now have several young players such as Ballister, Deitweiler, a healthy Mock, Lannan, Clippard to add to the mix. There is no comparison to last years situation. As well, allow Johnson, Guzman, and Zimm to be healthy,and that the whole offense (other than Young)will not underachieve again and, the new ballpark factor, we could be stronger at every offensive position. With health, I am very optimistic that this team will surprise. And I didn't even mention Pattterson. That would be too much to ask. For once gods of baseball, give this team health.

It's January 14, in a little over a month Pitchers, Catchers, and journalists will be reporting to camp. We'll likely start with a few stories about the health of our ptichers, how our new catcher will be busy learning the staff, perhaps a few feature stories on rookies, and the speculation on where Flores will play this year. In between now and then maybe we will pick up another Free Agent or two. Life is good.

I love the pic of Manny Acta at the Thanksgiving Parade (now on the Nats page of the Post site)!

Thanks to Miss Chatter's coverage, I learned that single game tickets will go on sale about the first week of March and that Season Ticket Holders will have a slight head start, so I would guess that means that STH get to start buying tickets in mid February.

New post up.