Feels darn good! Not even DC's notoriously whining fans (see Wilbon's Chat House today) will find much to whine about. On second thought, they'll think of SOMETHING. But this fan is happy. Enjoy YOUR off day, Barry.

NATS--Best record in Major League Baseball.
I think I am getting giddy.

I was just getting on line to post about the line up and that's what Barry is blogging about. This line-up has such a different feel than last year. The bottom half of the line-up was quiet in the first game and into the second game, then exploded in the ninth. Kearns looks like he's been let out of jail (RFK) and is free again. NJ looks good. Guz and Belliard are a nice middle of the infield tandem. Love Millz and Zimm. Nice catcher platoon.

No definitive superstars, but no real glaring weaknesses, either.

Oh, and by the way, just turned off the Twins-Angels game. Except for 3 straight singles in the 5th, Livo has been lights out. I understand why he wasn't part of the Plan, but when he's on, he's so much fun to watch.

Ain't the beer cold?

No doubt the line up is much better than last year. The Phillies bullpen is weak, but last year the Nats may not have taken advantage. Anytime I see that many doubles in a row, I suspect some sign stealing from the base runners. We have some Vets like Belliard and LoDuca who may be good at it. Anyone else think this?

It sure was nice to see that kind of output. Personally my favorite thing so far (besides the walk off) has been nick johnson back at first. I like dameathook, but nick's defensive play at first, his bat in the lineup, his aggressiveness on the basepaths, and his overall intensity has been a refreshing drink!

That siad, meathook's line for the season:
1.000/1.000/2.000

Pretty solid OPS i'd say

So excited.. that is all.

1/81st of the way to my prediction of 162-0...

First, classic Barry, threatening to leave us for a bit and then reappearing shortly thereafter with a new post. Thanks!

Second, the best thing about the season so far ... what, it's only been one day? OK, the new park, the walkoff HR, yes. But what about #24? The dude is making plays that can singlehandedly win games. Yesterday he stretched a single into a double, then raced home to score on a single. Another double today. And he can pick it at first. I love Da Meat Hook, but Nick Johnson 4.0 has been something to watch. Might we sneak up on some folks this season? We might, we just might.

1/81st of the way to my prediction of 162-0...

Posted by: love | March 31, 2008 09:36 PM

NO!!! You are making the Baseball Gods Angry with that stuff. Please, let's not bring that "Crazy Redskin Fan" thing to the NJ. Just have faith in The Plan

The best part about Johnson's "stretching" yesterday was that he ran both off Francoueur, um Franceuor, Francouer...that right field guy, TWICE in a row.

It was great because it was RIGHT after my Braves fan brother was telling me how everyone ran on Franczlxur his rookie year but NOBODY ran on him the second year. tee hee hee.

This, my friend, is a GEM:

"...past-and-present-but-not-future Phillies closer Tom Gordon"

Just call him Frency, and he is a Gold Glover. Gotta love Nick "The Jet" taking the extra base on him

first off, never call me a redskins fan. i said it as a joke, saturday by the way, and it didnt do much to curse the nats sunday night or this afternoon, so either the gods could care less what i say or they arent out there, either way, we are undefeated

Certainly, this lineup has the potential to be very very good. Time will tell.

I was more impressed with Matt Chico, who, though he didn't have his best stuff, still pitched credibly. And remember, though those three runs were all earned, the second one was a gift when Lastings Milledge misjudged a fly ball and broke back when he shouldn't have. An earned run it was but an EARNED run it was not. Take away the one mistake pitch to Jimmy Rollins and he really pitched well. 5.1 innings pitched, four strikeouts and only one walk?

I'll take that kind of effort all season long.

nats slogan for this year, in honor of the presidential election, should be

Nats for America!

Just a friendly reminder.

TEAM W L % GB
Washington 2 0 1.000 -
New York 1 0 1.000 0.5
Atlanta 0 1 .000 1.5
Florida 0 1 .000 1.5
Philadelphia 0 1 .000 1.5

Love:
I mean no harm! I was joking too. Just part of the fun

And the Braves are down 8-4 in the 8th to Pitt

Yeah, I know it's awfully early, but remember this...just in case...Ladson said the Nats might win 90+ games this year, and I also laughed when he said it...but who knows, really? I HAVE a dream. : < ))

I'm with you, Bob L. I'm also a Meat Hook fan but it's been just super to see Nick coming back. I'm very happy for him (and for the team).

---

But what about #24? The dude is making plays that can singlehandedly win games. Yesterday he stretched a single into a double, then raced home to score on a single. Another double today. And he can pick it at first. I love Da Meat Hook, but Nick Johnson 4.0 has been something to watch.

I think that you may mean Frankenfurter?

---

The best part about Johnson's "stretching" yesterday was that he ran both off Francoueur, um Franceuor, Francouer...that right field guy, TWICE in a row.

The jury's still out on this line up. It was great what they did today, and it gives me hope. It's only two games though. They had one or two games like this last year (an explosion in Cincy I seem to remember). It needs to be repeated once a week for the course of the year to show that it's not a fluke. The one guy that I'm excited about is AK. He just seems more relaxed and is taking better swings. I think the idea that he might be able to hit the ball out of the yard in RCF at home is keeping him on the ball better. Even the off field stories about him are ones that tell me he's becoming comfortable with his surroundings. Sometimes I guess it takes certain guys 18 months or so to feel at home.

The other interesting thing to track will be the average outing for each starter. It's early, and a lot of guys around the league are getting pulled after 5 or 6 innings. However, if the Nats are going to play .500+ baseball, starting around April 20th, they need to get their starters into the 7th inning at least 3 out of 5 starts. If they don't, there will be a bullpen meltdown. Rauch and Rivera cannot go 90 games again.

Manny and StClaire know how to manage the bullpen, they did it last year, so I think those guys will go 90+. The Nats starters are usually only going to last 5 or 6 innings b/c they are all just average arms

Forgive me, I didn't read the rest of your posts, so maybe this is redundant.

But okay here it is -- How much did all of us B*tch at MASN about getting HD? A lot, yes?

So MASN announces their CRAP-tastic schedule -- 80 games for TWO teams (40 each). Ooooh wow, gee thanks jerks.

Anyhoo, I take the day off today (Opening day SHOULD be a national holiday) and some buddies and I hang out at Grand Slam in DC all day drinking towers of Miller Lite and watching multiple opening day games.

The O's (of course) get the HD feed for MASN today. So after seeing their commercials advertising that the new awesome HD feed will allow us to see the inch that turns a foul ball into a grand slam, blah blah, I'm curious to see what they produce.

SHOCKER -- this is where I'd use my sarcasm font if I'd created it by now -- it was MASN-licious. Which is to say HORRIBLE.

Seriously, I think they took their crap-tastic SD feed and slapped an HD feed on the chyron.

What did the masses think? Am I crazy? Was I watching a bad TV? Or are we really going to be relegated to another season of horribly subpar programming from a horrendous, embarassingly terrible JOKE of a sports network?

"Easy now. Deep breaths. Does one 11-run outburst mean that this is a different team?"
----------

Like the man said, IN...OUT...IN...OUT...

Omigod-we're-gonna-win-the-pennant...

Ohmmm-Mahhnee-Pahdme-Ohmmm...

They've won TWO IN A ROW...

IN...OUT...IN...OUT...

Sweet Mama ding-dongs, we gotta go through 160 more of these days?!? :-)

I forgot my mantra.

my mantra is, "writing about music is like dancing about architecture."

RYAN,

You must've been really drunk to be watching an Orioles game.

And while we're being shameless AUM-ers, let's wish good luck to those other over-achieving stepchildren, in their shot at first place Tuesday night.

Hey, where's the bumptious O's Exec? Didn't the Os lose their opener today (yesterday) to the more lowly Rays?

Oh, wow. Wilbon actually wrote some about baseball, and the Nats in general, in his Chat House yesterday. And I have to say he was pretty much on target about the whininess, although he clearly didn't grow up near NY or Philadelphia if he thinks us the whiniest.

I enjoyed the O's losing to Tampa out of spite. It is also important to root for the Rays themselves. If the Rays don't start improving soon after so many years of high draft picks, then the Plan is simply a fantasy. I don't want to think that a team necessarily needs a decade of top draft picks to improve. I'd get whiny long before that.

just because im curious.

can anyone explain the Os rivalry beyond the whole different cities/different cultures theme?

im a fan of the Os, always have, always will. but im also a fan of the Nats. why does it have to be either or for so many?

You can't help but feel positive so far. Remember, this is basicaly the same pitching staff that went .500 for the last 120 games of last year. If OPerez turns out ok, he's a n incredible improvement over (pick one from) Bascik/Simontacchi/Bowie/Speigner.

And we've *significantly* upgraded offensively at 3 positions (Lo Duca over Schneider, Pena/Dukes over Church, and postively Milledge over Logan). They made the right decision by starting Belliard over Lopez, and Johnson's defense is markedly better at 1b.

the sports book at the Venetian had the over under of Nationals wins this year at 71.5, which I thought was amazingly low. I think this team goes at least .500 and might even be talking wild card contention (remember, last year anyone within a couple games of .500 was in the Wild card at the trade deadline).

We're not being so outrageous in our enthusiasm are we?

Even if we play EXACTLY the same as last year from here on out, we're ahead.

Barry (or anyone else reading this who might know):

Will Carroll of Baseball Prospectus just said that Wily Mo is not expected back til mid-May. I sure don't remember hearing that--last I heard was mid- or late April at the latest, and maybe even sooner than that. I don't think Carroll always has the most reliable info--what's the correct scoop?

can anyone explain the Os rivalry beyond the whole different cities/different cultures theme?

im a fan of the Os, always have, always will. but im also a fan of the Nats. why does it have to be either or for so many?

Posted by: theraph | April 1, 2008 11:56 AM

I don't think it's a rivalry. It could become a rivalry if both teams start to win big.

I became an Orioles fan when I moved to the D.C. area in 1980. But Pete A@#$@#@ almost drove me away from major league baseball.

Most of the resentment in this blog is because PA hindered DC's attempts to bring ball back.

i think some of it is angelos hatred for that (and for screwing the team over with the MASN deal).

but i also think there are plenty of people, particularly older folks who were sentators fans, who just didn't to be told that the "Os" were now their team (any more than someone from baltimore wanted to be told to root for the redskins after the colts moved away).

i think it's not unreasonable to be a fan of both teams, they're in different leagues. but understand that you'll face some animosity from people who are more hardcore washington-only type of fans. i don't think it's unreasonable to feel that way, either.

Ain't the beer cold?

Posted by: SufferinSenatorsFan | March 31, 2008 09:25 PM

AMEN!

to answer your question --howcome the O's rivalry? for me, its cause i remember when there were no O's....when the senators did not object and welcomed a rival team into our area....then they became our natural divisional rivals...(and they usually beat us), but mostly it was about when the senators moved out...then we were somehow expected to accept the O's as a replacement, when many or us would not accept that because we wanted our OWN team. And to have that followed by Angelos mouthing off about how there were no baseball fans in DC and how we didn't deserve a team,,,,and have that followed by his hijacking of our teams TV revenue -----well,,,does that explain it?

I came late to the O's - as a Senators fan, I hated them, then came around to follow them by 1979 or so. But Angelos's bad karma has made it feel creepy to root for them. Pushing Jon Miller out the door was ridiculous. Then fighting Washington baseball all those years and screwing the Nats via MASN. Thus the O's hate.

There's also this (from an article in today's Style section ;-)):

Gammons is standing in front of the Nationals dugout as the team takes batting practice. "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" by the Killers is blaring over the sound system. He is talking about the trend, about how music has been in ballparks for years (organ music first, and then pop, such as "We Are Family," Sister Sledge's disco hit that became the theme for the 1979 world champion Pittsburgh Pirates); about how the Oakland A's really began to take their playlist seriously during the 1980s; and about Baltimore: The movement didn't really go wide -- or loud -- until Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened in 1992, Gammons says. "It changed ballparks into entertainment venues."

I was in Baltimore yesterday for my fourth straight opening day with my O's fan son. I like the park and I enjoy the fans, who are very different from Nats fans. I hope the rivalry develops and heats up, but I have no animosity towards the team or the city. Angelos, on the other hand, is contemptible at all levels and I wish he would go away. Also, there are a certain number of deluded O's fans who every year talk smack that the team does not come close to backing up. Angelos and those people are annoying, but they probably irritate the real fans as well.

Theraph:

Here's my take on the Nats-O's thing...

As a kid in the 60's and 70's, the O's were one of the quality teams in baseball, and the Nats were... doormats... so there's this resentment of getting your butt kicked every year...

I think a lot of Nats fans would overlook that now, since the Nats seem to be building their own standard of excellence... and so many Nats fans (myself included) embraced the O's for so many years... but now there is a resentment towards Orioles ownership and management, because it is now so clear that there has been an ongoing effort to see Washington-based O's fans as their rightful property... whose loss constitutes a financial damage to the franchise...

You wouldn't think that particular aspect of the rivalry would manifest itself in terms of the affinity of fans for the players... but I believe that the organizations overaching philosophy trickles into every aspect of the operation, and the fans pick up on that. The fans recognize that the O's make their personnel decisions to maximize income, and not fan satisfaction.

I posted in one of the threads last week... I wonder how much of the animosity towards the Orioles would go away if they changed their organizational philosophy to one of excellence, rather than greed?

I think the answer is, quite a lot.

While maybe Peter Angelos did block attempts to bring baseball back in the past, he failed when it mattered most. I would much rather have the team we have now, in the era that we have now than have the Rockies in 1993, or the Rays in 1996. Who is to say we would have had such a great team, we never would have had as impressive of a stadium that we do today. And all the controversy over MASN, why? Sure maybe the deal isn't the fairest but why should it have been a 50/50 split the O's had 50 years of a fan base built up not to mention that they do all the work in production and such. The fact that their is a Regional Sports Network made the team more attractive to buy for serious ownership groups like the Lerners. Also it made clear a fantastic revenue stream for years. What other team with no established fan base or tradition that is also consitantly losing gets that kind of money from their TV deal. You think the Pirates or the Royals or even a team in a big city like the Marlins (that has at least won a world series in this decade) gets the kind of money that the Nats get from MASN? And that doesn't even include the ownership stake in MASN that improves every year. Also b/c of MASN we get to watch every single nats game on TV, not that many other teams get that benefit, esp. since we'd have to compete with the O's, Wizards, and Caps. Angelos is a horrible owner but my guess is time will tell his balking at bringing baseball to DC left us in the best postion for sucess.

Most if not all of it comes from 1) Peter Angelos doing everything but placing The District under siege to keep a team out of DC, 2) Bud Selig giving the television rights to the Nats to Angelos and all but eliminating a major source of team revenue, 3) for former O's loyalists it's a story of declining interest given the way Angelos has run that team into the ground since '97.

Notice the theme? As a person in the 3rd category myself, I could see myself rooting for the O's if, and only if, Angelos sold the team. Never - EVER - at the expense of the Nats however.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

just because im curious.

can anyone explain the Os rivalry beyond the whole different cities/different cultures theme?

im a fan of the Os, always have, always will. but im also a fan of the Nats. why does it have to be either or for so many?

Posted by: theraph | April 1, 2008 11:56 AM

So whats our magic number?

Re: MASN.

There is absolutely no reason, nor any precedent(as far as I know) for a Baseball Team to own another Baseball Team's Broadcast Rights. Period.

Nobody can say anything to convince me that MASN is *not* an Orioles Station (as opposed to an Orioles/Nats) station, that MASN *will not* be biased towards the Orioles and against the Nats in their coverage.

MASN = Peter Angelos's way to try and ensure that his Orioles get top billing and prominence and to try and suppress the Nats fanbase, even a little bit.

I'll only watch MASN during Nats Games. and that is only because I'll have no other choice.

if Bud Selig had anything resembling a spine, we'd not be in this predicament, with our TV Broadcasting in the hands of someone who is actively opposed to the Nationals being in DC.

Explanation for Nats-O's rivalry (i.e., the desire for Nats to do better than the O's in final standings): Proximity. See, for example, the Alabama-Auburn rivalry in college football.

Explanation for the fact that some Nats fans hate the O's: Peter Angelos.

Remove Angelos from the equation and you've got a nice, local rivalry.

thanks for the response, i appreciate it.

for the good/bad owner idea: the fan is still getting fleeced no matter who is in charge. so i cant pick between two evils like that. my reflection of a fan isnt tied to winning, but enjoying a game and relaxing with fellow fans.

in that regard, whatever that asbestos slime does, does not affect my baseball viewing. also, whatever lerner/kasten feed down our throats about building a future winner does not affect my baseball viewing. and in all honesty, i have always preferred to root for a bad team - because then you are with true fans. ill root for both, but i have watched (and/or listened prior to the MASN deal - which is a totally different topic to me) to every Nats game since they have moved here. so its not like i have an Os bias, i just root for the team from my childhood. and i watch the team that is near my home.

based on your answers, i can tell that the majority of fans take it personally. i can understand that.

Ryan,

Yesterday I raced from the metro stop to the Bar Around the Corner in time for the 8th inning (I was following GameDay on my phone), but their standard cable plan didn't even carry the game. Granted, they're more known for having Guinness and Jameson than sports (besides, maybe, golf) .. but the fact that they can't even show all the local team's games is just pathetic and plays into the next part which is..

Theraph,

I've only lived in the area for about 8 years, but before the Nats came to town I never felt like the Orioles existed. I just didn't care. When Angelos and the MLBums conspired against the Nationals' fans and the Nationals' yet-to-be-named ownership to ensure second-rate television coverage of our team, well, it got personal. Now I have every reason to wish to see the O's fail: because every failure of that team is a bit of a failure for Peter Angelos. What an [jerk]. I would have been thrilled to have a healthy, happy competition between the two teams in different leagues. I would even have gone up to Camden Yards a few times each summer to keep tabs on the O's. But that guy and the way he's run his empire to make it more difficult for me to enjoy my local team (and, incidentally, his team too) makes me truly [ticked] off. That, and the fans who scream "Oh!" in OUR HOUSE during the national anthem (If that's a tradition up the road, fine. Keep it there.)

There aren't many people in this universe that I have such vitriol for, but Peter Angelos is on the short list.

Thus, I love it when the Nats beat the O's silly. I love it when the Nats beat the Phillies, or the Braves, or the Mets -- to be sure -- but beating the O's, well, is that much funner.

#4,

What is RCF? I appreciate your cautious approach, but I think this lineup should instill fear in the minds of pitchers up and down the NL East. I think the only question is how consistently our starters can perform, as The Beltway Boy put it, "credibly" and give us a chance to win. I think the bullpen will hold up the last 3-4 innings consistently. I don't see why that will be a problem if they are kept healthy and well-managed.

so...

All that, and we can't do worse than tied for first through at least tomorrow means that Nats fans have a legitimate reason for limited pride in their team! :)

Magic number to clinch the division: 161.

Verizon Fios folks....

Was the Nats/Phils game on tv yesterday? As a FIOS customer I was searching for MASN2...but couldn't find it.

Yes it was on TV. You won't see anything labeled "MASN2". It's "FIOS 1" (channel 1) that carries the "MASN2" feed when it's active (only during games).

What I'm concerned about is the Verizon Fios data on MASNSports.com shows the MASNHD channel as "TBD". I'm gonna be a bitter individual if this isn't straight by 4/7!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Verizon Fios folks....

Was the Nats/Phils game on tv yesterday? As a FIOS customer I was searching for MASN2...but couldn't find it.

Posted by: Section 219 | April 1, 2008 01:10 PM

Speaking of MASN . . .

Twice in the late innings of Monday's game, during the middle of play, some stupid, cheesy commercial came on. I'm guessing this was not really a MASN problem. Probably just stupid old Cox. Annoying nonetheless.

eh? we're playing 163 games? if we're already 2-0, we'd only need 160 to go undefeated.

of course, the mets could tie, so i guess that tiebreaker game could be considered 163...

hmm...

===
Magic number to clinch the division: 161.

Posted by: #4 | April 1, 2008 01:08 PM

RCF = where Kearns wants to hit it out

Although, to be fair, the commercials on w3t are still pretty bad. not as annoying as the last couple of years of Nats radio, but bad.
***************
Speaking of MASN . . .

Twice in the late innings of Monday's game, during the middle of play, some stupid, cheesy commercial came on. I'm guessing this was not really a MASN problem. Probably just stupid old Cox. Annoying nonetheless.

Posted by: NoVaSnow | April 1, 2008 01:18 PM

Magic # is 161 because at the beginning of the season, every team can clinch assuming a combination of 163 self-wins and everyone-else losses. Since we won 2, then that goes to 161. The mets don't have a loss, so there's no further reduction.

Pah! Only night games on today, so no baseball to listen to at work. What has the world come to?
Hey! You kids! Get off my lawn!

M# = 163, minus wins by the first place team, minus losses by the trailing team.

Magic Number = 163 - W1 - L2

Nats are 2-0, Mets are 1-0, so the M# = 161.

"There's 160 games left -- do you know how many that is? That's a lot of games."

Verizon Fios

In most locales, MASN2 is on Channel 1.

They don't list the game in the Guide for Channel 1 very far ahead of time, so you just have to tune in (or manually set your DVR to record) based on game time.

from olney today. poor Os fans...

"The Orioles got thumped before a lot of empty seats that were paid for. There were a huge number of no-shows, writes Peter Schmuck, and this does not bode well. "

"The other interesting thing to track will be the average outing for each starter. Posted by: #4 | March 31, 2008 10:23 PM"

Chico wasn't that bad - 1.3 WHIP, 4Ks in 5.1 and only one walk. That's an improvement over last year in a hitters park. Not efficient - 93 pitches (54 strikes). Barry's notebook says he struggled a bit maintaining his delivery. I suppose he'll get more efficient when he repeats it more often in real games. But last year he walked three guys for every 4 Ks. An extra runner or two, and we'd be saying bring up Lannan. And on one of the first inning runs, Barry suggests Milledge broke wrong allwoing a runner who scored.

Prior to WW I and the rise of mechanization in the English Army, discussion of certain subjects in the officers' clubs was banned in order to reduce the number of duels and, later, fist fights.
Although the officers had freedom of speech, to remain a member in good standing of the officer's club a gentlemen could not discuss women, politics or, most controversial of all, horses. Religion didn't make the list because, well, just about everyone was the same religion.
Now I certainly don't object if we discuss women on this blog, I think most of us men would just show our ignorance. While that might be intertaining to the ladies in our midst, I believe that most converstaions would soon fall of their own weight.
I for one know even less about horses than I do women. Talk away if you must but I'll skim looking for baseball discussions.
We come now to politics. I am much more comfortable avoiding politics and would ask that the rest of you do the same. We all have our positions and when we read something counter to our feelings either kneejerk respond or agonize whether silence is consent. I would ask you to take it outside and let the rest of us enjoy each others' company and the discussion of our favorite sport and first place team.

I'd still like to see Zimm bat third and NJ fourth.

Let's play two!

Barry has a new post up (yes, it's his off day).