So does Cordero speak in the 3rd person now? :)

"He feels good," Cordero said. "He goes out there and pitches and whether he's been throwing 78-80 or 85-87, he's getting them out. That part's encouraging. Now that he has a specific new program to build the strenght up, hopefully the velocity will come sooner rather than later."

The editorial we? Or royal? :)

That's a relief. No matter how much cordero scares the heck out of me and even though he can blow a save here and there, this is the guy i want closing ballgames. He's got the closer's mentality, similar to a Kevin Gregg or Todd Jones, he may not throw the hardest or have the best stuff but he's great out there in the 9th. He also lets the guys who may be better pitchers (Rauch, Ayala) get more innings instead of only working with a lead. It'll be good to have him back (until he's traded).

Dont let them get to you barry. You do a great job!

General pitching question -- if there's a 15 mph differential in pitch speed (say, a 73 mph slider vs. an 88 mph fastball), might that serve to keep a batter off balance? (Wasn't that how Livo became crafty?)

Sure, that keeps batters off balance, but do you REALLY want your closer to be a junkballer?

So much for this being a hitter's park.

I sure as heck hope so

Barry,
You snuck some provocative little nuggets into your chat today. I can't believe the constituency let them go by so far.

Judging from an announcer's comment I heard just a week or so ago, Milledge had turned a corner in his maturity. I guess he apologized for the lollygagging throw that led to the double and he sought out a pitcher he'd previously "shown up", or some such thing??

But that little nugget you planted paints a whole different picture. My gawd, especially in light of all of his gaffes thus far?? I hope that kid's not a prima donna in the making.

And I'm very glad Tolman's being watched. Not because I'm calling for his head but because I need to know that Manny's loyalties aren't going to cloud his judgment, something I'm not 100% clear about with him.
______________________

**I believe Tolman is being watched**

**Would some teammates like [Milledge] to show up a bit earlier and perhaps with a bit more focus? Yes**

post about Barry's provocative nuggets was me.

Noooooooooooooooo. come baaaaaack.

OMG, that DID NOT come out like I meant.

Are you suggesting Barry has provocative nuggets?

Is anybody getting the game tonight in HD?

sigh. here it comes....

I'm actually crying I'm laughing so hard. I don't think I could have worded that any worse if I'd tried.

nice night, decent opponent...big crowd...on a wednesday night before school has even let out. all you chicken littles out there...eat it

Fixed the attribution on that last quote. Too much too fast.

sorry about the nuggets comment, Barry. can you delete it?

why would he delete it, i would love to have my nuggets referred to as provacative

yea. at least I didn't say "little"

See, if you didn't call attention to it, it would have slid right by.... I didn't notice until you tried to take it back. Now I'm laughing and people in the office are looking at me funny.

Eat provocative chicken nuggets or . . .

VT Nats Fan - not to turn this into an echo chamber, but I'm on board with not disturbing the Big 4 before the 9th (Rivera, Ayala, and King to Rauch). I like the idea of using your best relievers to put out fires and not holding Rauch only until the 9th when you have the (far too infrequent) lead.

I'd like to see Schroder up and given a shot at closing. Baseball Prospectus was very high on him, predicting a BABIP of .285 and roughly a strikeout an inning. As has been noted I think by Boz, his home / road splits from 2007 were practically identical or even better on the road (K/9 8.41 RFK, 8.64 road, WHIP 1.28 RFK, 1.00 road, ERA 3.98 RFK, 2.52 road, Opponent OPS .555 RFK, .579 road).

All-

I am an unapologetic Redding fan. Feel free to mock me later in the game.

did he sort of intentionally walk beltran to try for a double play? do they do that?

Good work, Nick. Any dip in Church's batting average will lead to a feeding frenzy in NY that I swear that Church will not survive.

And I was a serious Church fan. I just don't think he has the constitution.

REDDING!!!!!!

Well done, Mr. Redding!

I missed the start of the game. Did classy Nats fans cheer Schneider and Church?

NatsNut-

I missed it too. i hope they did.

Walking Schneider. Oy.

Hello, hamsters: Been off-line for a while (suffering in silence, I suppose). Good, but not great news on Cordero - we'll see what the next couple of weeks generate. On the news of the moment, Way to go Redding! Me likey.

I meant the 2-run double, not the walk (I'm not the fastest typist).

umm.... is Ray King wearing #42?!?

I hate to say it, but after watching the 6th inning, Manny has to go. This team can't perform the fundamentals of baseball. Maybe Manny is too laid back, maybe he's too easy on the team, I don't know.

But this is ridiculous. They can't throw the ball to first base!!! Something has to happen to send a message and i think that means that Manny needs to be replaced by someone able to run a tighter ship.

J

Church got a smattering of applause, not really enough to be classy though. I missed Schneiderman's first AB.

Wily with a coupla hits, good to hear.

NatsNut, now we have to wonder a bit about your moniker too, don't we?

Would have been cool if they played Church's Ozzy theme music.

I guess the equipment guys forgot to pack the Nats' "A" game last night before leaving the Ted.

Bobble,
cringe.

Is Cordero going to have 'clicking" when he uses the gas can to pour gas on the fire in a ninth inning?

Are the Nats still sticking with the story that Ray King is paid to get left-handed batters out? Jeez...

All in good fun, NatsNut!

Hey Barry, you need to tell Nieves that he has a mini-fan club on NJ. I would say encourage him to visit, but the roller coaster nature of the comments lately might scare him back to Columbus. So maybe he should pay us a visit after they peel off that 5-game winning streak we all know is coming soon.

Has anybody else noticed that Sutton spends a lot of time correcting stuff that Carpy says? Like the "chuck and duck" thing, for example. I actually like both of these guys for different reasons but I am starting to wonder whether Sutton secretly thinks Bob is, well, a bit out of his league when it comes to inside baseball.

Why does Ray King have a job? Not just his results tonight, but why have a LOOGY guy that can't get out righties and then use him on righties? The way Manny handles his bullpen we should DFA King and bring up Schroder.

And another thing, apropos of Churchie sticking the knife in us here in the ninth: Most of us agree that we had to do the Milledge deal under The Plan. But when was the last time two major league regulars were traded for a prospect? Isn't it almost always the other way around (multiple prospects for a vet)? I love Blasting's talent and tools but I have to say that anecdotal evidence has me worried about his makeup.

Hey 506, did you have a good view of that Beltran near-shot?

Boy Church and Schneider looked good tonight. Right now the trade for Milledge seems like a bad one for the Nats. Tho if Church soon reverts to form that feeling should pass.

Funny tonight I was in Section 311 and there was the small group of Mets fans who would boo anytime Milledge's name was mentioned. Really disliked him. Seems like a little too much emotion for someone who high fived fans and sang tasteless rap lyrics. Wonder if there was some other issue with him in NYC.

ESJ, the Department of Redundancy Department is requiring me (I am being audited) to advise you that "LOOGY guy" is redundantly redundant.

Seriously, I agree that King has been misused several times this year. It might have to do with the pen being constantly shorthanded though. Which brings us back to an unresolved point from prior posts, which is, why did we wait so long to put Lo Puca and DY on the DL? Why isn't Chad on it now if he needs to build arm strength like he's in Spring Training?

What was the attendance tonight? I missed the game, and didn't see any comments about how Santana did -- saw that Redding matched him for a bit, which is encouraging... Oh, and have to agree that if Cordero is rehabbing - let him do it in the minors and bring up Schoeder or some other arm.

Q: Does Cordero (or other veterans) have limited options to the minors -- which would/might include rehab assignments? Is there a statute of limitations on minor league visits?

That wasn't a "quality start".

All I ask for is a winning streak - - - please!

Attendance: 32,780

Church reverting to form is a .275 -.280 hitter. That's still better than Kearns.

Wouldn't surprise me, it's Jackie Robinson Night, I understand.

I only saw it thru Charlie and Dave's eyes and play-by-play, but it sounded like Ray got beat by a series of dribblers, and Zimm throwing one of them all the way to Kearns. Not fair to Redding, maybe, who certainly gave as good as he got.

***************
umm.... is Ray King wearing #42?!?

Posted by: matt b | April 23, 2008 9:01 PM

Bob L, did you serve in the Natural Guard, by chance?

Dk, how did you like the park?

Mets fans I know were not exactly sorry to be rid of Milledge, although they thought he would bring a megastar in exchange (as part of a package) and were at least initially disappointed with their haul.

I think attendance was around 32k.

Manny seems to be taking a bit of a harder line in the postgame, pitchforkers take note.

Someone needs to interview NJ. Zim is off the hot seat.

"Something has to happen to send a message and i think that means that Manny needs to be replaced by someone able to run a tighter ship."
Posted by: jzindc | April 23, 2008 9:06 PM
*****************

"THE RANDOM BEATINGS WILL CONTINUE UNTIL MORALE IMPROVES AROUND HERE!"

Haha I can't believe this team traded Ryan Church. Don't get me wrong, I love the Lastings Milledge get, but the fact that we gave up Church and not Kearns is beyond me. Face it JimBow. . . .AK is never going to be that 30 homer, 100 RBI guy. I'd rather have Jay Gibbons. Thanks for setting this franchise back just because you have a hard on for former Reds.

So, I'm not a Baratista, but when MLB owned the club, and wouldn't let them call up players in Sept., which was unambiguously cheap, how come they're playing shorthanded all the time, in April, now? It's not like there's such a dropoff in talent between DC and Columbus. Heck, they could use Rick Short now.

I'm at tomorrow's game, Bob, so, nah.

I'm a bit frustrated that Colome has a job in our pen and Schroder doesn't. Here's the 2008 "clutch" stats on Colome excluding tonight (average only, because I've got a bad headache - and, no, it's not the Nats):

>4 run margin: .118 (4 games)
w/n 4 runs: .250 (5 games)
w/n 3 runs: .250 (5 games)
w/n 2 runs: .294 (4 games)
w/n 1 run: .333 (3 games)
Tie game: .364 (3 games)

I don't have any quick way to break down his clutch stats for 2007 before and after buttocks injury, but here's his ERA and opponent AVG/OBP/SLG pre and post All-Star

Pre:
2.76 .229/.311/.318

Post:
6.20 .317/.359/.454

And don't forget he's 31, with 8 years in the majors, a 4.42 career ERA, and 1.498 WHIP. I don't say this too often, but the team should really consider putting him through waivers and seeing what we can get for him or letting him play at AAA. Schroder can deal.

What on earth are you smoking that you think we'd have taken Kearns for Milledge?

Wow. Cool. Way cool.

Who's winning?

********************************
I'm at tomorrow's game, Bob, so, nah.
....
Posted by: Section 506 (Before moving) | April 23, 2008 10:54 PM

Nats, 11-0. It's glorious. Now don't anybody go messing up the space-time continuum and changing the future!

"Cordero said he has to let the dye they shot into his shoulder _________ a couple days,"

Let's play fill in the verb with Barry's sentence, above. I suggest "do its work with the healing water from Lourdes that is mixed in with it for"

jell

Hey 1A, got my $10 tickets for Sunday. I'm bringing more family than that Texas polygamist. Do you need anything? Nametags? Tiny crustless sandwiches?

let me just say it has been a pleasure serving with you all.

Bob L. - You're not checking out except for the night, are you? It is hard to fight the dark side of the force, and you do it so well! We need you!

"Cordero said he has to let the dye they shot into his shoulder _________ a couple days,"

I'm blanking! You set the bar too high, flynnie!

I'm trying to convince my red-headed, Cubs-fan girlfriend that going to three baseball games in four days is normal. She says: "Yeah, for a baseball player."

cool and refresh
sparkle and glow
breathe new life
feel and heal

I'm bringing my poster for y'all to sign. I'm carrying it in an old AK 47 case. Do you think I'll be searched at the gate?

create a happy place

preach and teach

get 506 and his girlfriend to the game

Detwiler is tanking at single A -- seems like there's a story there somewhere.

Flynnie,
color his outlook
shade his thinking
tint his temper
temper his tint

Sorry, not as good as I would like, but wanted you to know that someone was trying.

went out to the park last night:

There is now no wifi (that I or my mac can find to use). That sucks because I'd hoped to get a little work done while bats cracked and lines got painted.

Classy nats fans cheered Schneider and lots of girls cheered for church.

$5 seats are a great value.

The people in that section either really know what they're talking about or ... one girl noticed that all the players have "the same eyebrows" in the photos displayed on the big board (so I guess she knows what she's talking about, too).

Ushers are still protecting section 401 and 402 from presidents' club folks sneaking in. YOU HAVE TO BUY A TICKET IN THIS SECTION TO SIT IN THIS SECTION!!

Concessionaires are still [please help me find a word besides "retarded" to use here, because I wouldn't want to insult any mentally challenged people or promote the concessionaires]. I should have signed up for the "Grounds Crew" blog. Ugh.

I went out hoping for a pitchers' duel. I saw Johan Santana hit a double .. then Tim Redding hit a double .. then Santana did it again. What?!

What was going on in the Nats bullpen when Redding walked Schneider (ON FOUR PITCHES)? What about when he walked the pitcher next?

Why did King stay in for more than one batter? I guess he wouldn't have had to if Zimmerman hadn't been pressing and made the throw to Johnson. *sigh*

Seriously, who was predicting 8 months ago that our starting pitching would be this good and our bullpen would be our achilles heel?

Righteous Mets fans makes for a very unhappy Metro ride.

See you Nats Nerds Sunday. behind 142/143.

So, now that we know nothing's wrong with him, WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM????

If I was a starting pitcher and Manny pulled me out with a runner or two on base and brought in Ray King I would automatically assume that my ERA would immediately increase by the same amount of runners. How depressing would that be? Can we trade this guy NOW? I used to think that a relief pitcher was brought in to do a better job than the person that you just replaced. Well, that is the theory at least, right?

Other than that mini rant it seemed to be the typical Nats game. Well, not exactly typical in the sense that the pitcher gets all the rbi for the evening, but at least someone is knocking in a couple of runs. I am starting to think that deep fly outs in a first at bat (Zim and Kearns) are precursors for 0-for nights.

Uh, he needs to strengthen his rotator cuff?

"Righteous Mets fans makes for a very unhappy Metro ride."

Mets fans were plentiful on the Nats Express to RFK after the game, but they were quiet (like everyone else), not righteous. Yet another reason my first experience of this service turned out to be better than expected. Have been a devoted Metro rider up til now, but I may have to change my ways. Get it now, while it's still free!

correction: Santana didn't double again. Not sure where that came from, but that's what happens at 5:41 am

correction: Santana didn't double again. Not sure where that came from, but that's what happens at 5:41 am

Posted by: i hate walks | April 24, 2008 7:40 AM
-------
Santana did hit two doubles last night. Check the box.

Did anybody besides me notice that during Zim's at bat last night following the 1978 trivia question, they left Billy Joel's "Just the Way You Are" cued up and played it as he strode out to the plate for his at bat. And the stanza was - "Don't go changing..." before they cut it off. Accidental or an intentionally subliminal message -- Thoughts??

How refreshing:

Off to their worst start in five years, the Reds fired Wayne Krivsky on Wednesday and replaced him with Jocketty, who built consistent winners during 10 seasons running the Oakland Athletics and 13 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

"We've just come to a point where we're not going to lose anymore," Reds owner Bob Castellini said emphatically.

""We've just come to a point where we're not going to lose anymore," Reds owner Bob Castellini said emphatically."

If only it were as easy as just saying it, swanni. If the Lerners are cheap, then even more so are words. Let's revisit this one in a couple of years and see how it all turns out.

Church and Scheiner! They can play. I can't remember where I read it, but one of the talking heads - might have been Buster Olney - said that neither would be good on a bad team. On a good team, they're fantastic.

Just checked on Livan's stats in Minnesota. He's 3-0 with a 3.55 ERA. I am so happy Nats brain trust passed on him...he obviously has no gas left in the tank.

Fire Bowden.

Jocketty should be running the Nats now.

I'm looking forward to meeting you and your family, flynnie, as well as IHW and others.

Re. finger sandwiches and other items, we'll each be bringing or purchasing our own food and drink, but it would be great if we could ID somebody to bring name tags and/or a Planet NJ poster. IHW, you'd asked about name tags previously but I was not clear on whether you might be volunteering to bring them? If so, then we're covered on that front as well, flynnie. The easiest method might be to bring blank tags (or tags with a pre-printed NJ logo like the one that Wigi designed at one point) and a pen so that people could fill in their names/monikers in upon arrival.

506, if your girlfriend is resistant to attending more than one game with her nominally favorite team, we may have to downgrade her acronym to RHGH. ;-)

---

Hey 1A, got my $10 tickets for Sunday. I'm bringing more family than that Texas polygamist. Do you need anything? Nametags? Tiny crustless sandwiches?
Posted by: flynnie | April 23, 2008 11:14 PM
...
I'm trying to convince my red-headed, Cubs-fan girlfriend that going to three baseball games in four days is normal. She says: "Yeah, for a baseball player."
Posted by: Section 506 (Before moving) | April 23, 2008 11:21 PM
...
get 506 and his girlfriend to the game
Posted by: flynnie | April 23, 2008 11:40 PM
...
See you Nats Nerds Sunday. behind 142/143.
Posted by: i hate walks | April 24, 2008 5:41 AM

"We've just come to a point where we're not going to lose anymore," Reds owner Bob Castellini said emphatically.

Who here would not cry out in joy if Ted Lerner made that statement?

Instead, we get statements like this from Manny "What, Me Worry?" Acta:

"...with the plan we have here, and what we're trying to accomplish here, an outing by this young man (Lannan) like that is worth three or four of those losses that I have suffered already."

"We've just come to a point where we're not going to lose anymore," Reds owner Bob Castellini said emphatically.

Who here would not cry out in joy if Ted Lerner made that statement?

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 8:59 AM

-----

Not me. I would cry out for joy if it happened, not if some exec said it.

We didn't hit last night, again. But it was really a lot of strange little stuff that beat us.

In the second, Redding gave up a double to Beltran, but then got three straight groundouts. Still, Beltran scored.

In the fifth, groundout, walk, walk, groundout, infield single, groundout. Not exactly an offensive explosion, but a second run for the Mets.

Now, the sixth, the Ray King twilight zone. Single, infield single, Zim's error allows one run to score, foul out, infield single (another run), and two steals (ouch) allows a third run to score on, yes, another groundout. That's three runs on one real hit. That's hard to do.

And in the ninth, strikeout, single, steal, walk, groundout advances the runners to second and third so that they both score on Churchie's single.

That's seven runs on five real hits (excluding the infield singles). What's killing us? The walks, the steals, the error, the Mets' smallball skills, and our own continued bad luck.

Anyone else notice last night that the pitchers on the out-of-town scoreboard were swapping teams? If 20 was pitching for team A and 32 for team B then a little bit later 32 would be pitching for team A and 20 for team B. Then they would switch back. In the late innings it was a good puzzle to try and figure out the pitching matchups.

Yes, 1stbasecoach, a lot of names were suggested in the off season, including Livan. Some have gotten off to decent starts. Picking the right one is a trick, especially if you are looking beyond April. If 20 names are suggested, a few will look good. Josh Towers was another name. Perez turns out to have been a pretty good signing too, you'd admit?

Livan has faced Oakland, KC twice, TB, and LAA. Respectively, those teams rank 12th, 13th, 7th, and 2d in OPS. Other than the Angels, none of the top offenses. And the Angels are the least patient at the plate of all the top teams, so a nibbler might be effective. TB is good, but not patient, either.

It is his first time through that league. Anything in his NL record the last 2 years suggest that hitters familiar with his stuff would not kill him?

Last night was abysmal. I feel for Zimm on that Church squibber. The ball had a lot of english on it, but common, it was Church running (NOT REYES).

For those of you not there, the concessions (upper deck) were the worst that I've ever seen. I, for one, will never ever patronize any Food From Around the Majors stand. Nothing there was fresh, except for the fries (not the garlic fries, they didn't have any of those), and it took me 2 innings from being the 10th person in line to checkout. Two arguments erupted between angry fans and staff. But when you've been waiting for an inning already, it's hard to cut your losses and move on. I was utterly dumbfounded.

Signing a decent pitcher was a top priority, which should be quite clear now.

We have 5 starters who can't make it past the 5th inning on a regular basis. (Lannan may be the one exception - hope springs eternal).

You can set a clock by Redding -- when the 6th inning arrives, he departs.

We didn't hit last night, again. But it was really a lot of strange little stuff that beat us.

In the second, Redding gave up a double to Beltran, but then got three straight groundouts. Still, Beltran scored.
---------------------------------------
Bob L.,
That's what good teams do. Lead-off double. Move the runner over. Make contact to score the runner.

Here's what the Nats would do. Lead-off double. Grounder to SS, runner doesn't advance. Strikeout. Strikeout.

Another scenario I can envision. Lead-off triple. Strikeout. Pop-up. Groundout.

I will say this about the concessions -- as abundant as they are -- and juicy -- it would be nice to have a few healthy alternatives. Even a Subway concession stand would be nice.

And as for the parking lots, I gave up on parking there due to poor lighting and no security.

My Nats Express bus went by two of the lots last night -- perhaps 25-30 percent filled, but the lots had almost no lighting and I didn't see any security around.

Park there and you might want to pack some heat.

You can set a clock by Redding -- when the 6th inning arrives, he departs.

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 9:28 AM
-----------------------------
Not to mention the stopwatches on all out pitchers, seeing as they see fit to run as pleased. Hey Ray, throw a look at the runner, something!

BASERUNNING
SB: J Reyes (4, 2nd base off T Redding/W Nieves); A Pagan 2 (2, 3rd base off R King/W Nieves, 2nd base off R King/W Nieves); L Castillo (5, 2nd base off J Colome/W Nieves)

When Chico pitches with his new leg kick, you might as well play Venus de Milo at catcher.

well we went to our first nats game of the season last night and i gotta say we were really disappointed with the stadium. not nearly as impressive as it has been made out to be. its kinda weird, it even looks like its not finished, even though it is. it looks like it was made on the cheap.
not nearly as pretty as camden yards and also we were at coors field in colorado last season and that stadium is amazing. this one doesnt even compare to that.

as for the scoreboard, yes its nice but every stadium has a nice scoreboard.
for us it didnt matter cause we sat behind the nats dugout so we couldnt even see it.
but they were nice seats and my son became friends with all the pitchers in the dugout and saul rivera tossed him a ball which was cool.

speaking of scoreboards, the one we watched, between home and third base, is probably the worst scoreboard ive ever seen, when its working, which it wasnt for the parts of the game. its confusing and gives you almost no information. pretty amazing.

one good suggestion, if you take a family to the game, buy the nats special at the concession stand, it consists of a dog, fries and drink for $7, which in todays world is a big bargain.

and finally, the ushers have got to chill out. they are nuts. except for the mets and cubs, that place is gonna be empty and they act like nazis.
before the game we were upstairs walking around checking out the place and they wouldnt even let us sit down to eat.

after the game we started walking toward the exits in the 9th inning and the place was empty and they wouldnt let us sit down in some seats in the outfield in rf.
gimmie a break.

Guys! We got beat by (arguably) the best pitcher in baseball last night. And Redding flatly outpitched him for 5 innings. So, no its not the end of the world. I don't think anyone would have expected us to win that game. It was 2-2 going into the 6th and only a couple of bad walks in the top of the 5th were the difference in that game.

Then we bring in that fat slob King and he blows the game, lets his inherited runner score plus three others. King deserves that loss. Zimmerman made a bad throw on a tough play which turned into a 3-base error, but lets not forget that King's inability to hold runners let Pagan basically go from 1st to 3rd on two pitches.

I was *never* a king fan, and feel like we could have had a more versatile bullpen by having Bascik in there as the situational lefty instead of King. At least Bascik could give us long relief and spot starts too.

correction: i meant to say we sat behind the nats bullpen not the dugout.

a couple of more notes: the playstation area is cool for teenagers but its pretty small. it should have been twice the size. same with the kids batting area, i think they only had 2 or 3 cages at most. whereas at coors, to give you an idea, they had an entire area devoted to games and batting and such.
its just not a real impressive looking stadium. 2 bad.

as for transportation, we metro-d it and that is a great way to go. real ez. stadium is a 1/2 block walk from the metro. although another bad thing, they wiped out all the food vendors that they used to have outside of rfk. so you cant buy anything on the way to the stadium except some tacos. what happened to all the hot dog vendors??

btw the nats have become so bad, they are almost impossible to watch.
like the bad news bears out there.

*, I agree that's what good teams do, that's why I credited "Mets smallball" for this loss.

Sutton said Nieves was getting the ball out quickly and making great throws and that most or all of the steals were on the pitchers. Memo to St. Randy ....

and finally, the ushers have got to chill out. they are nuts. except for the mets and cubs, that place is gonna be empty and they act like nazis.
Posted by: dk | April 24, 2008 9:40 AM
---------------------
The sections behind the Nats bullpen are the worst for usher-nazis. by far.

"after the game we started walking toward the exits in the 9th inning and the place was empty and they wouldnt let us sit down in some seats in the outfield in rf.

"gimmie a break."

Agreed, dk, but many season ticket-holders on this blog and elsewhere made the fair point that they shouldn't have to pay money just so other people can move there for free.

Three cheers for the Usher Nazis -- people should sit in the seats they bought.

Anyone who moves to a seat that's priced higher than the ticket he purchased is effectively stealing money from the Nats. You can rationalize it anyway you want -- but it's still wrong and should be illegal, in my view.

I paid good money for my seat in section 128 -- no one has the right to sit there unless he did, too.

Gametime, sure. Check my ticket. But ushers ask for tickets 2 hours before the game, when you're just walking around looking.

Agreed, dk, but many season ticket-holders on this blog and elsewhere made the fair point that they shouldn't have to pay money just so other people can move there for free.
Posted by: Section 506 (Before moving) |

506 im not talkin about during the game. im talking about the upper deck, which was empty way before the game started and then the keft field bleachers in the 9th inning after the place had almost completely emptied out. there wasnt one person in the entire section where we sat down just for a minute as we were leaving to watch a final batter and the usher ran over and made us leave.
sorry but thats complete bs.

I sat for the first time way up in section 407. I thought, 2nd row, shouldn't be too bad. But the people in the first row kept leaning on the glass in front. Not to complain or anything, but it was impossible to see.

The height of the glass barrier is definitely a design flaw, IMO. The height of it invites people to lean on it, effectively ruining the views of the 2 rows behind them. I'm never sitting up there again.

Barry's bound to post again soon, but I'll try our Second Favorite Topic: Food/Restaurant recommendations

I need a decent brunch spot accessible from Crystal City, by Metro, for Saturday. Suggestions?

This is not entirely off-topic. An old high school golfing/baseball buddy is now a beat writer covering the Cubs for a suburban Chi. paper (we've linked to his articles here a time or two). So this is fair.

Anyone who moves to a seat that's priced higher than the ticket he purchased is effectively stealing money from the Nats. You can rationalize it anyway you want -- but it's still wrong and should be illegal, in my view.

I paid good money for my seat in section 128 -- no one has the right to sit there unless he did, too.

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:00 AM
--------------------------
Looking at the product they've put on the field, and the overpriced and empty seats behind home plate and in the OF, and the overpriced and empty ugly parking garages, the Nats ownership deserve to be stolen from.

It's a pain in the butt to have to kick people out of your seat when you first sit down. Often, the interlopers are slow as molasses to leave, too, as if you are wrong for deigning to sit in your own seat.

It's rude, poor social manners and theft.

Not sure how it looked on TV, because I was at the game, but it sure looked like Nieves was right on some of those guys for the steals at 2nd. The steal at third was easily safe, but I swore he nailed at least 2 or 3 of the would-be stealers as 2nd.

Ray King did a miserable job last night holding Pagan, and after Pagan stole 2nd, he didn't even check him to see if he was running for 3rd. And then, to top it all off, Colome has to understand (or someone should have told him when he got brought in, if he couldn't see it from the bullpen) that the Mets had been pushing hard on the basepaths and testing whether or not our pitchers were paying any attention to them at all. Those 3 late steals were more frustrating than the error and the Ray King throw in the back combined, especially because Nieves would have nailed both runners at second (and it actually looked like he did my buddy and I at the game) if his pitchers had given him half a a chance.

Posted by says:
"Looking at the product they've put on the field, and the overpriced and empty seats behind home plate and in the OF, and the overpriced and empty ugly parking garages, the Nats ownership deserve to be stolen from."

That's the problem with our society -- everyone wants to make his own rules. It's like those who says it's okay to steal copyrighted music -- the big record companies already make too much money, right?

Well, that's a rationalization of immoral (and illegal) behavior. Anything to make yourself feel better about your poor choices in life.

Doesn't this invoke Godwin's Rule?

I mean, they are supposed to be customer service, not cops, but that kind of training may have to be part of the Plan, too. Somebody's got to train the fans, I suppose.

**********
and finally, the ushers have got to chill out. they are nuts. except for the mets and cubs, that place is gonna be empty and they act like nazis.
Posted by: dk | April 24, 2008 9:40 AM

frustrated error gremlin:

"2 or 3 of the would-be stealers AT 2nd";

"and it actually looked like he did TO my buddy and I at the game)";

and

"half OF a chance."

"especially because Nieves would have nailed both runners at second (and it actually looked like he did my buddy and I at the game) if his pitchers had given him half a a chance."

Just spit out my coffee.

I was at the game last night and I thought Nieves had Pagan out at 2nd. I also thought that the umpire was squeezing Redding a bit in the 5th inning. What looked like strikes were now being called balls.

As for the Usher Nazis, I agree that during the game no one should be able to move down and sit in the good seats. However, I do have a problem when I get to the game at 5:30, let my daughter play in the playground then we go get something to eat. The picnic tables are full, so we go to Section 136 (which has about 10 people total in it at this point) to sit down and eat and the usher tells us we can't sit there. 90 minutes before game time and we can't sit down to eat?! Give me a break.

Also, this is now our 5th time at the stadium. Each time, we've gotten an ice cream that comes in a helmet. Why can't we get a Nats helmet? Our choices tonight: Braves, Marlins, Athletics (previous choices had all been AL West teams). Even one of the guys behind the counter was laughing his a** off when I inquired if there were any Nats helmets.

Agree on the ice cream helmets. My Braves helmet was deposited in the trash last night -- where it belongs.

That's the problem with our society -- everyone wants to make his own rules. It's like those who says it's okay to steal copyrighted music -- the big record companies already make too much money, right?

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:07 AM
----------
I don't even know what you're talking about. We're talking about sitting in different seats at a ball game to take in different views, see where you might buy tickets in the future, not music.

The ownership might want to loosen some of their policies to woo fans to the stadium, considering the product on the field won't.

The other thing that bugs me:

The mural of Frank Robinson is him from his Oriole days. Come on....

updating the Inherited Runners Scored Stat (unofficial):

Nats: 32 inherited runners. 13 scored. (40.6%)
King: 9 inherited runners. 5 scored. (55.5%)

I'm not math wizard, but neither of those numbers look good.

Well, that's a rationalization of immoral (and illegal) behavior. Anything to make yourself feel better about your poor choices in life.

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:07 AM

-----

It's true, you can't rationalize it, it is stealing. I don't mind stealing to cheer my team on (especially since WHEN I can afford those seats, I will buy them so fast), but if you do that, you have to understand that you have no (zero, zilch) rights to do so and you need to apologetically book it if the real owners come.

It's like jaywalking. I have no problem doing it, but if anyone stops me I'm just making a jerk of myself trying to defend it. Admit wrong and take your ticket.

And speaking of being a jerk, thanks dk for "arguing" with me when I started my post by saying "agreed." And I hope you see from the posts here that what time it is is utterly irrelevant to the seat-mover opposition.

If you paid, let's say, $25 for a ticket, you have no right to a $50 seat.

The music thieves say the same thing -- if I steal this song, I might be more likely to buy the entire album. Bull, you're just more likely to steal another song.

That was me, sorry

Posted by,
I do appreciate you accepting responsibility for your action -- the previous argument by your cousin -- posted by* -- suggests that seat theft is permissible because the owners have overpriced the tickets.

btw i really want to reiterate how bad the scoreboards are for the folks sittin the in the outfield. the scoreboards over first and third are confusing and give you almost no information. they dont even tell you if a play was a hit or an error. its just mindboggling bad having to rely on those boards after so much was made about the outfield board. they dont even give you basic info.

Swanni,
Who are you? Metalica?
Because they came across about as unsympathetic as you do.

You keep disputing some concocted argument.

Many people don't sympathize with people who support enforcing the law and the rules.

Posted by,
I do appreciate you accepting responsibility for your action -- the previous argument by your cousin -- posted by* -- suggests that seat theft is permissible because the owners have overpriced the tickets.

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:22 AM
-----------------
Swanni,
I see nothing wrong in sitting in the sections above the Nats bullpen. NO ONE SITS THERE! 3-4 sections are completely empty!

We'll call this the Nats Park paradox...
If no one is sitting in a section, and you sit down, are you blocking anyone?

The Lerners have overpriced the tickets -- but Mercedes Benz has overpriced cars. That doesn't give you the right to take one at half the price.

Did you check out the view from the first row in the 400's? That glass barrier not only invites people to lean on it, it DEMANDS it. If you sit back in your seat, the metal edge is directly in your line of sight. In order to see you have to either slouch way down to look through the glass and deal with the "boxed in" effect of only getting an uniterrupted sight line through that single pane of glass, or lean forward so that your resting on the glass. It does suck for those behind you, but I spent 9 innings going back and forth between the lean and the slouch and it's no picnic in the first row either. I would suggest row 3 or 4 as the best line of sight in the 400's. It truly is a big design flaw. Hopefully they can do something about it during the off season.

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

I sat for the first time way up in section 407. I thought, 2nd row, shouldn't be too bad. But the people in the first row kept leaning on the glass in front. Not to complain or anything, but it was impossible to see.

The height of the glass barrier is definitely a design flaw, IMO. The height of it invites people to lean on it, effectively ruining the views of the 2 rows behind them. I'm never sitting up there again.

Posted by: * | April 24, 2008 10:01 AM

Hear hear! Didn't we read something at one point about a sushi concession? If it's there I haven't been able to find it.

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

I will say this about the concessions -- as abundant as they are -- and juicy -- it would be nice to have a few healthy alternatives. Even a Subway concession stand would be nice.

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 9:30 AM

You're stealing if you sit in a higher priced seat than the one you purchased. Regardless of location and circumstances.

Now, if the Nats -- via an usher -- told you it was ok to sit there, that would be different. But it's not your decision to make.

You're stealing if you sit in a higher priced seat than the one you purchased. Regardless of location and circumstances.

what if youre sitting in a lower priced seat than the one you bought....oh just forget it. this is stupid.
common sense and courtesy people. thats all we're talkin about.
and btw, when the stadium is empty for the majority of the season, this will come bk to bite the nats in the arse.

One thing I'd like the ushers to do a little more often is to politely ask fans NOT TO GO BACK TO THIER SEATS IN THE MIDDLE OF A PLAY! I counted 8 times in the 7+ innings I was in my seat last night people that came back into my row or the two rows in front of me. People, please wait until at least the pitch is over before you ask us to stand up so you can come through. And this doesn't even count the number of times people got up to leave their seats in the middle of a play. I'm sorry, but a 3-2 count with runners in scoring position is NOT the time for you to get up so you can get something to eat.

Hang in there, Usher Nazis!

On concessions, any place that sold sandwiches that weren't greased and grilled would be nice.

Posted by,
I do appreciate you accepting responsibility for your action -- the previous argument by your cousin -- posted by* -- suggests that seat theft is permissible because the owners have overpriced the tickets.

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:22 AM

-----

Chill, swanni, I just forgot to put my moniker, which I corrected right away, but you were already responding.

And the answer is, yes, I would steal a Mercedes-Benz if the risk of being caught and the price of being caught were less than the reward of stealing it. And, no, I would never try to pretend that it wasn't swiping it, it's economics.

The rewards of cheering for the team where they can hear me far outweighs the punishment of having to return to my seat. However, given how strict the ushers are, the risk of being caught is too high to move in the new park.

In the same way, the Lerners will increase the price of tickets until the risk of people not buying them is too high. This is all basic econ, swanni, someone as cynical as you are should get it.

MORE IMPORTANTLY DO SOMETHIN ABOUT THE SCOREBOARDS THAT THE OTHER HALF OF THE PEEPS AT THE YAAD ARE WATCHIN. THOSE 2 BOARDS OVER FIRST AND THIRD WERE DESIGNED BY SOME1 WHO DOESNT EVEN WATCH BASEBALL.
TALK ABOUT A CRIME? NOW THATS A CRIME.

section 506 -- I have just alerted area Mercedes dealers of your larcenous ways. :)

BTW others who have been to the park, what are your thoughts? were you disappointed like we were in the stadium or did you think it was beautiful?
just wondering.

on a related note to the glass in the 400s. why would they make a brand new stadium with obstructed views? same with the 200s in RF upper deck. why would they put in seats that cannot see large chunks of the OF? it doesnt make sense.

as far as moving down is concerned. i believed someone mentioned a few months ago that moving down is a baseball right of passage. it happens. get over it. its not 'stealing' and to say it is seems childishly possessive of 'my seats'.

personally i do not move down because i dont want to sit near anyone. but if im moving to a section that is empty, so i can sit and watch a game in peace without hearing some annoying person talk about their day/job/children/lovelife/opinions, then i should have the right to do that. so if you want to argue about what is right and wrong, but only limit it to money, then that is a narrow point of view.

2nd that one! PacBell Park (at least it was when I lived there) had ushers who would control the flow of traffic to the seats during in-game action. There's little you can do about people leaving their seats except have the PA announcer issue courtesy reminders every couple of innings (which they did in SF). They used to do the same thing at the Shark Tank in San Jose. In worked pretty darn well in both venues and made for a much more pleasant experience.

I would blame it on uneducated baseball fans but even the most ardent fan (read MKevin) can be forced out of his seat when the kid has to pee.

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

One thing I'd like the ushers to do a little more often is to politely ask fans NOT TO GO BACK TO THIER SEATS IN THE MIDDLE OF A PLAY! I counted 8 times in the 7+ innings I was in my seat last night people that came back into my row or the two rows in front of me. People, please wait until at least the pitch is over before you ask us to stand up so you can come through. And this doesn't even count the number of times people got up to leave their seats in the middle of a play. I'm sorry, but a 3-2 count with runners in scoring position is NOT the time for you to get up so you can get something to eat.

Posted by: e | April 24, 2008 10:38 AM

section 506 -- I have just alerted area Mercedes dealers of your larcenous ways. :)

Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:41 AM

-----

Ha, ha, good call swanni. I walk past one every day I walk home. I'm casing the joint, as soon as I figure out a way to overcome their yellow nylon rope defense barrier....

I think the stadium is fine -- not homey like Camden, but fine. It needs more personal touches, particularly related to DC baseball. Feels like a stadium that could be in Anytown, USA.

People should sit in their own seats. Thank you Randy Cohen. I think it's just a teeny bit overblown to say "this is what's wrong with our society," but people should sit in their seats.

Now, can we got back to the matter at hand....

FIRE BOWDEN!

MKevin,
I sympathize, trust me. Obv, no one can sit in one position for 9 innings and I must say that I had trouble focusing last night. The same thought kept bothering me...what would be better...the plexiglass and metal edge or an old fashioned bar? The way the glass is now, it definitely invites people to hang over it (which probably isn't safe). But on the other hand, at least ushers don't have to remind people every 5 minutes to keep their beers off the edge like at RFK.

I agree though, if sitting in the 400s, definitely go rows 4 and back.

Should be, "section 506, before going on the lam."

Some Notes:

1. Swanni is absolutely correct. Whether you think that the tix are overpriced (let's remember that the seats behind the plate give you access to the Prexy Club, and most of those folks will be in the club for most of the game) or that the members of the RIAA made immoral money on the backs of under-represented performers in the 50s & 60s is an entirely different issue from moving to higher priced seats or stealing music from the 'net.

2. Absolutely every one of the SBs last night was on the pitchers. I'm not sure whether St. Randy can change the pattern for vets, like King. The kids need to be trained.

3. I wonder whether last year's great run at the end didn't blow out the arms of some of the relievers. They just don't seem to have the same edge that they had in June, July, August, September.

4. Many of the concessionaires really need to get their act together. They had a pretty good idea of how many people would show up last night. Lack of change in some of the booths and untrained personnel slowed down the process. A ballpark "meal" should be doable in less than an inning, not 2.5 innings. Maybe this is just an adjustment period. I certainly hope so.

5. The Mets fans were actually civil, particularly considering what we did to them last year. Much better than Yankee / Saux fans.

6. The team is definitely pressing. Zimm's throwing error was caused by him trying to make an impossible play. He probably needs to learn when to "put it in his pocket".

7. I was happy to see Milledge not try and make a play on the liner to center, late in the game. It was a much better play to cut it off and hold the batter to a single.

I think the stadium is fine Feels like a stadium that could be in Anytown, USA.
Posted by: swanni | April 24, 2008 10:44 AM

fine? not much of a plug. basically you agree with us then i guess. its really a shame 2. a real missed opportunity. "anytown usa"- yea that kinda sums it up. theres really nuthin distinguishable. its completely vanilla. 2 bad.

the shots they showed last night of nieves' face every time he made a near perfect throw and didn't even had a chance were priceless. you could tell he was frustrated.

e, the dead trees edition, NL notebook page, has a feature on Percentage of Inherited Runners Scored (Career).

The worst? Our own Ryan Wagner at 41.7%.

So yeah, the Nats number so far this year is not just bad, it's almost as bad as the worst reliever's career number! Yikes.

And King's number is off the charts, though not helped by the small sample size and the squibs and errors yesterday.

Also, you know what's funny? I've been lurking on the parallel Caps board a little bit recently and they have almost exactly the same dynamic over there as we do here -- a bunch of regular fans who generally agree with each other and occasionally disagree respectfully, a handful of guys that want to fire the GM and/or sign multiple free agents yesterday (a la this season was a total failure because they didn't get out of the first round of the playoffs), and a few odd posters here and there with, shall we say, interesting personalities. Seems to be the nature of the sportsfan blog.

1) Kearns needs to be benched for a game.

2) Manny needs to flip flop Zimm and NJ.

3) King needs to be released. Convert Chico to relief specialist or maybe bring up O'Connor.

4) The league has figured out how to hit Saul Rivera. Bring up Chris Schroder.

5) Get Dukes on a rehab assignment ASAP.

I think the stadium's final look was cemented in stone, if you will, when the city council decided to cap spending. If you recall, Jack Evans had a grand vision for how the stadium should look -- but the spending hawks squashed it.

"And King's number is off the charts, though not helped by the small sample size and the squibs and errors yesterday."

King's career number should not be a small sample size. Wagner's should.

Yep, nothing small about Ray "Burger" King.

For the "I knew it wouldn't last" department:

There is a concession stand called "Rookies" in the kids play section. This stand is primarily for kids (i.e. PB&J, Jr. Nats Dog, Juice Boxes, etc). The last time I had gone in there (Marlins game on 4/10), the Jr. Nats Dog was $2.50. This was an even better deal because the size of the hot dog was basically the same size as all the other hot dogs priced at $4.50.

Well, last night ... the price was $4.50. I asked what happened to the $2.50 Jr. Nats Dog and the workers looked at me like I was speaking in a foreign langauge.

Now, let the "lerners are cheap" barrage begin ...

"5. The Mets fans were actually civil, particularly considering what we did to them last year. Much better than Yankee / Saux fans."

___________________________________________

Phillies fans are the worst. Rude, smack talking, loud, jackasses. But that is Philadelphia sports in a nutshell.

*, I was referring to King's numbers for this year, not his career numbers, that's why he has a small sample size.

Wagner has the worst career numbers of any reliever (with a minimum of 75 inherited runners), so, not all that small of a sample size.

Swanni,
I your effort to find healthier food options, I heard yesterday that some concessions had veggie burgers, etc. Couldn't get a name on it though.

Did the WP have King's career numbers or just '08?

WP has career numbers for the best 10 and worst 10 (interesting to note that Jon Rauch is second-best at 21.1%, behind only Trevor Hoffman). King is not on either list. His numbers for this year were calculated by e, above.

The other thing that bugs me:

The mural of Frank Robinson is him from his Oriole days. Come on....
______________

Right on. And why oh why are there ANY murals of Yankees or Red Sox anyone other than Washington players. Who designed this park, Karl Ravech?

And why can't we in the batting cages swing at pitches from Shawn Hill, or Livan circa 2005, or Chief, or maybe an old video of Walter Johnson? I have to take cuts from Josh Freaking Beckett?? Pedro??????

And the ice cream helmets, and the almost invisible "Washington Hall of Fame" banner...

Look, I realize we have a limited baseball history, but how about we celebrate what we have? It really isn't "Nationals Park" at all.

PS FIRE BOWDEN!!!!

"The other thing that bugs me:

The mural of Frank Robinson is him from his Oriole days. Come on...."

You're right. They should have used his days on the Reds for that mural. After all, the murals depict Hall of Famers, with one exception - Frank Howard. Frank Robinson may have been the manager of the Nationals, but that's not what got him into the Hall of Fame. If managing the Nationals was all he had to his credit, the only way he'd be getting into the HOF would be by buying a ticket like the rest of us.

The Lerners aren't cheap. They are greedy monopolists, like all Monopolists. This is why anti-trust laws exist and why MLB shouldn't be exempt.

Ok, enough social justice arguments.

I had to watch last nights game on gameday since I'm up in Cananda for work. Can someone let me know how WMP looked? Looks like he only have up a single on defense ,d went 2-4 with both hits being singles, but he gave the last one a good ride.

Did he look more "together" after his day off (and good cry in the clubhouse according to ladsen)?

This story shows King and Rivera with very strong stranded runner stats last year (21-22%):

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/touchingbase/2007/10/top-relievers-win-inheritance.html

If managing the Nationals was all he had to his credit, the only way he'd be getting into the HOF would be by buying a ticket like the rest of us.
___________________

This is NATIONALS PARK. I am a NATIONALS FAN. I could care less about the HOFs of other teams or what team Frank played for. I do not root for the Orioles or the Reds. I want to see NATIONALS murals at NATIONALS PARK. I want a mural of Frank's old ass pulling Tomo Ohka mid-inning!! I want murals of Frank giving the steal sign to Soriano! At least let me cheer for my crappy ass baseball team in peace!

btw last night at the stadium was like being at shea. it was a complete met crowd. just like when the sox or yanks come to camden yards. thats gettin kinda old.

you're an angry man, steven. you ever think about looking into counseling?

Steven, you forgot to fire Bowden.

So since the return trip home has brought the stadium etc back into play, can anyone who's heard the "Nuts About the Nats" song give a critique? This has me a little worried. My wife is going to torment me mercilessly if this thing is terrible.

http://tinyurl.com/66o9zh

Not to demean King at all, but he's a lefty specialist typically facing only 1 batter an outting. (Except on the Nats where he gets an inning of work). I'd bet that Hoffman is the same. Coming in with runners on and 2 outs in the 8th or something. Other relievers don't really have those restrictions. Coming into a game with a runner on 2nd and 2 outs is different than with 1 or 0 outs and being expected to finish the inning. The latter is much harder.

a couple of things for the kids.
the playstation area is nice. theyve got ps2 games and car racing games and batting cages. but again its like they did it on the cheap. its a real small area.

at coors field they have the same thing only its like an entire level. like walking down the boardwalk. just stunning.
but the game was so boring, my kids decided they would rather play the ps2 than watch. so it all worked out.

Swanni--I'm with you on the park. It has all the personality of a terminal at Dulles.

But for crying out loud, don't blame the city for failing to provide enough of a subsidy. MLB should build their own stadiums just like Lauriol Plaza paid for its new restaurant on 8th street and Starbucks and CVS pay for renovating the 19 billion storefronts they have in DC.

The only reason cities and states pay for all these new stadiums is that Monopolist League Baseball uses their exemption from anti-trust laws to collude and leverage billions from taxpayers all across the country for private profit. Now THAT'S stealing.

But the Supreme Court in all their wisdom decided that the billion-dollar industry that is MLB isn't interstate commerce, and Congress, corporate lapdogs that they are, never had he cojones to change the law.

So if you feel the MLB in general (and the Nats in particular) are providing a sub-standard product on and off the field, I'm with you. But blame the lack of market competition, not the merely obscene government subsidies.

Oops Lauriol Plaza is still on 18th street. Typo. Don't want anyone to get lost!

I prefer to think of myself as "spirited" rather than "angry."

But thanks for the reminder--FIRE BOWDEN!!

I love the park. It feels open, like I'm outdoors (instead of feeling like I'm in a dome with a hole in the roof), and the field looks great and I can see it well from almost any seat.

All the other things are just fluff.

And when the Lerners had the opportunity to pitch in (woah, sorry for the pun) they went for the above ground lots. Also, they went for the cheaper (non-steel) structures that don't allow for development around the outsides.

Since dk asked, my two cents' worth is that I love the new park. I'd watched construction progress via the webcams, but IMO cameras and photos do not do it justice. I was enchanted by my view of the park when I exited the Navy Yard Metro. I was there for the open house and at the end of the game I didn't want to leave the park. It felt like home.

231, I'm kinda with SoCH on this one (anger and all). As much as I think a mural of Roberto Clemente is pretty cool, it does promote the notion that the Nationals/Senators themselves aren't worth promoting, and so they have to put up all this stuff from other teams.

I'll bet they don't have Frank Howard mural at PNC in Pittsburgh.

I love the park. It feels open, like I'm outdoors
Posted by: Section 506

thats true. when you walk around there are no walls blocking you from seeing the field so its very airy and you can see the field most of the time when you go to the stands. i agree with that.

joebleux, my comment to steven was a pretty much "overall" comment. once he gets going, he seems to get pretty worked up... ;)

i have to wonder, though, if they put up a poster of joe cronin, how many people would know (or care) who he was?

say what you want about loduca, but hes right:

"This team needs to believe it is good. You have to start every season wanting to go to the playoffs and expecting to be in contention," Lo Duca said. "You need to be cocky. We're going to have some fun this year. Once we get over the hump, we're going to enjoy this new park. But we've given away four or five games already. We have nothing to lose. We should play that way. The worst thing you can do is play not to lose."

natsfan1a & others:

I'd be volunteering to bring name tags, but there's still some chance that I won't be able to make it (work stuff, bah). Last year I volunteered to bring nametags and didn't make it, so I don't want to start a streak.

If I show up, though, I'll have some with me :) Hope for both!

i recently saw some pics of the new yankee stadium and man it made me cringe how nice that place is gonna be with marble and archways etc.
ok ok, thats ny, still, we're washington, our place should at least be nicer than baltimores stadium, which it isnt. and why does colorados stadium blow ours away.
it aint right.

I saw a proposal years ago to split the charging of inherited runners. A runner inherited from 1B who scores would count .25 for the original pitcher and .75 for the reliever, 2B would be .5 each and 3B would be .25 to the reliever and .75 to the relived pitcher. I don't recall if there was an adjustment for outs...

I think everyone decided that baseball stats are already to convoluted, have a strong historical component and BTW ERA as a stat is BS anyway (though it has a lot to do with salary negotiations).

and some1 better do somthin about those seats behind home plate. last night was packed (albeit with met fans) and the only section that was empty was that section behind home plate that every1 sees on tv. its ridiculous.
do somethin about those seats.

this is very cool:

the ball that saul rivera threw to my son from the bullpen last night has an emblem on it. it has a picture of the new nats stadium with the words:
2008 inaugural season washington dc.

so the nats are playin with special balls at home.
pretty neat.

Isn't there a lounge for the folks behind home plate? How crowded is that every night? Are the fans in those seats now in the lounge?

And when the Lerners had the opportunity to pitch in (woah, sorry for the pun) they went for the above ground lots. Also, they went for the cheaper (non-steel) structures that don't allow for development around the outsides.

Posted by: * | April 24, 2008 11:31 AM
---------------------------
* -- I do recall (2006?) that the Lerners did make the final decision to build above ground garages. However, it was because the city had failed to finalize the plans to build the below ground garages in time. The Nats had an agreement with MLB to have the stadium completed by April 2008. At the time the Lerners made their decision to nix the below ground garages because there would not have been enough time to get them built to meet the April 08 deadline. I recall them saying that if Opening Day came without the garages built, then they would be completely embarrassed and people would be ticked off. I think we can safely put the parking blame around the stadium squarely on the District.

Of course, if they would have been able to take their time and open the stadium next year, then all the final touches could have been in place and most everyone would have been happier.

Thanks, IHW. Will put a backup name tag plan in place just in case, but hope to see you there!

honestly they really don't bother me. Yeah I still think the Lerners are cheap, but the whole organization has done a fine job in making positive use of the garages (team stores, ticket offices, kids strike zone, etc). They don't bother me. And I think the stadium is a hit. It's the team's play that ticks me off.

listen im hardcore baseball. i love watching it. especially live. but last night was excruciating. i mean i couldnt believe it, there i was at my first game at the new stadium and i was bored outta my mind.
this team isnt just bad, they are bad news bears bad. its getting impossible to watch.
i never felt that with the nats before.

dk, how did you feel about the 2007 Nats at this time in April?

We have the CHEAP LERNERS whom everyone wants to FIRE BOWDEN now?! Works for me.

Quick practical matter. What time does the box office open for day of game sales? I'm trying to get me some of those $5 seats that are always sold out. Is it 3 pm?

dk, how did you feel about the 2007 Nats at this time in April?

good question. luckily i was away traveling at the time and missed most of that early losing streak.
maybe cause i didnt have any expectations then, i didnt feel as bad as i do now.

i really thought this team was gonna be improved. and to witness this massive regression and ball playin which is bordering on unwatchable is mindblowing.

fundamental deterioration that even my kids little league team doesnt make is ridiculous.

i have to wonder, though, if they put up a poster of joe cronin, how many people would know (or care) who he was?
___________

We'd learn. As a GB Packers fan in my other life, I didn't learn about Johnny "Blood" McNally and Don Hutson from going to games personally.

I'm simply not sure how it was possible to be bored during at least the first five innings of the game last night, dk. Redding was going toe-to-toe with Santana and coming out ahead, actually driving in the runs to put himself in place for success.

That's more than half of the game on the field that was excellently played, and it was generally, quite riveting baseball. Maybe we weren't winning 30-3 by the end of the second inning and homers weren't flying out of the park every other Nationals batter, but it was a tight game against the universally-crowned best pitcher in baseball (against whom most teams suffer from a dire lack of offense), and every second of it was pretty enjoyable to me.

I'm simply not sure how it was possible to be bored during at least the first five innings of the game last night, dk.
Posted by: faNATic

pitching duel in the first 5 innings was good fanatic. but the cumulative affect of the nats anemic offense is wearing. and dont tell me about its santana. they make every1 look like santana.
and the only meaningful hit of the game up to that point was by our pitcher. our offense is truely horrid.

and again 5 innings does not a game make.
6 thru nine--well please let me forget it.
acutally i think i already blocked it out.

Look at me!

"and some1 better do somthin about those seats behind home plate. last night was packed (albeit with met fans) and the only section that was empty was that section behind home plate that every1 sees on tv. "

Not true. There are three to five sections (depending on the game) in RF mezzanine that are always ENTIRELY empty. The only game they weren't empty was the sold-out opener. Why are they empty? Because (a) for a long while the Nats were trying to sell them as part of season-ticket packages, not making them available for single game sales, but mainly because (b) they are WAY overpriced for what you get there. There is an obstructed view of right field and you can't see the scoreboard. So no one was willing to pay $25-$29 for a season ticket there, and no one is willing to pay $33 ($38 for a premium game) for a single game seat there either. Those sections will sit empty all season long unless the game is an absolute sellout. Unfortunately, those also are the only sections that are visible in one of the prime secondary TV shots used by MASN, namely the closeup shot of the pitcher taken from the first base side. So on every TV game, you have a view of empty seats either behind the plate or in RF throughout most of the broadcast, no matter how big that day's crowd really is. Not good.

Ironically, from other comments here it sounds like those empty RF mezzanine seats are also being heavily policed by the ushers to keep seat squatters out. That's not smart. They should actually be encouraging people to squat in those seats, not keeping them out, to improve the look on TV. Ultimately, though, they're gonna have to cut the price on those seats to reflect their true (lack of) value.

natsfan1a, I'll be there, thanks for the welcome, the gathering, and if you need anything just let me know. I will bring my poster for everyone to sign, and will bring an NJ sign, but it will be lame/feeble, as I have no access to graphic design or anythng but posterboard and a marker.

dk- loved the new park, just loved it. Love the open spaces, the big wide concourses, the view of the diamond, which is all I really care about. This is why i can't see it as anything but an improvement over Camden yards, where you can't see the diamond from the concessions. I agree that the usher nazis need to use some common sense, and that they give credence to the impression that the Lerners are cheap. Someone in management has 'em all geeked up in a way that I've never experienced at Camden Yards, Fenway, or any other sports facility.

swanni, thanks for the "no security or lighting in paid parking- if you're going to park, pack some heat." thanks for caring about our safety. I'm going tonight and was thinking of parking. Since I own no guns, and don't like to even be around them, and wish the 2d amendment said that the right to bear arms is for a well-regulated militia who knows what the hell to do with them (oh, it does?) I will metro in and stay in the middle of the herd of wildebeasts. Trouble with metro is the empty parking lots at the end of the line, where I am the only wildebeast amidst the hungry crocs.

And this is why there's less season tickets this year than at RFK, which was a parking paradise and a DMZ.

Bring back Jeffrey Hammonds!

Bring back Jeffrey Hammonds!