A great way to honor Mr. Robinson. Go Nationals!

These guys aren't keeping it real.

Thank you, Mr. Robinson, and also thank you to all the black baseball players. Let's not forget that DC has a great Negro League baseball history as the part-time home of the Homestead Grays, who are as much a part of our legacy as the Senators are.

And thank you especially to the not often remembered activists, black and white, who labored for years so that Jackie Robinson could break the color barrier and we could celebrate his career. Nothing happens without a Plan, I guess.

A note to the Nats FO folks, if they read this:

Please make Homestead Grays jerseys available in your team stores. I personally wouldn't mind getting one with Zimmerman's name and No. 11 on it, seeing as he hit a game-winning single against St. Louis while wearing one just like that last year! :-)

I second Juan-John's motion!

Make the Homestead Gray's Jerseys available!

If Hill can't go on Saturday I'm pretty sure, as I said yesterday, that we'll see Mike O'Connor, who had his third straight strong outing for the Clippers last night (courtesy of NFA):

"LHP Mike O'Connor struck out 10 Knights hitters over six innings of work as Columbus edged Charlotte 2-1 (box/gamer). O'Connor allowed only five hits over six innings of work, surrendering the only run on a solo homer in the fourth inning."

http://www.negroleagueshop.com/pd_homestead_grays_prostripe.cfm

I think the construction camera is TOAST! Maybe this temporary due to the Pope's visit, but it's only showing pictures on archive now.

OK, now for some Pope jokes off the top of my head:

What are they using to build the altar on TerraNatsa? That'd be papal mache.

Who is the pontiff's favorite closer? Jonathan Papal Bon, no doubt!

(OK I'll stop now.)

bob l. will be here all week. please remember to tip your servers.

How about we call up O'Connor this weekend and then trade Redding to the Tigers and call up Detwiler as the 5th starter so our rotation would be;
Perez
Lannan
Chico
O'Connor
Detwiler

We should also option Schroder and call up Arnie Munoz

Allright, one more:

"And we're through six at Nationals Cathedral, it's the Cardinals three, the Heretics nothing."

The arnie munoz, whose career stats include 26 hits and 20 runs in 19.2 ip, career era 9.15? i'd rather keep shredder.

I'm guessing that this is, basically, a convenient time for the construction company to shut down the site. They aren't actually doing anything visible and there are no baseball activities going on.

OTOH, it would be a great idea if the Nats replaced that camera with one of their own. It would be good to be able to go onto the site, periodically and see what is going on, whether they are lining the field, setting up for BP, or whatever.

Great idea for the Nats to keep the camera going - seeing pictures kept me going all through the winter.

For those who have a bit less cash they have this jersey option too:
http://www.negroleagueshop.com/pd_homestead_grays_stadium.cfm

laughing
___________

"And we're through six at Nationals Cathedral, it's the Cardinals three, the Heretics nothing."

Posted by: Bob L. Head | April 15, 2008 4:12 PM

"The arnie munoz, whose career stats include 26 hits and 20 runs in 19.2 ip, career era 9.15? i'd rather keep shredder."

I was thinking of having Munoz as a second LOOGY so neither would ever have to face a right handed batter.

And BTW you seem to have missed the whole point of my post, that would have all 5 starters and 2 of 7 relievers be lefties...

The Tigers might be several games under .500, but they don't need to resort to Tim Redding.

When they make the Homestead Grays hats and jerseys available, how about some original plain W caps? The white ones with the Red W that they wore last year for the Walter Johnson game looked great. I don't think the original team ever wore that configuration, but this team took the field and wore them that night, so why not? I'd buy one... if they have it in size 8.

Look at the cooperstown collection on mlb.com... I got a royal blue senators hat w/ a red block W... think it was from the late 50's, but I'd have to double check on that.

Barry,

Do you know anything about one of our prospects drafted last year, Brandon Whiting? The guy stole 37 bases for Vermont in his professional debut, but I don't see him on any of the minor league rosters this year - will he be in Vermont again, or was he released/traded? I remember reading an article about him at one point last year, and he seemed quite promising.

In other news, the Yankees' Mariano Rivera has been ordered to change his jersey number to 42(a) for tonight's game.

I think all this #42 stuff is losing it's effectiveness. Even if Robinson didn't get into MLB, eventually it wouldn't have mattered. Someone else would have, and rightly so. I think it's nice he did, but this every year?

Was just on the Nats site acquiring tix for the Sunday 4/27 game (not part of my plan) and, as a lark, decided to see what season ticket plans were still available. All of them (full, half, partial) come up as unavailable. I wonder if this is a temporary glitch or if there are some things going on behind the scenes in view of attendance to date and the window offered by the current road trip.

Brandon Whiting is still listed as being on the vermont roster

There are many, many worse things to celebrate. Like the 71 years the National League banned blacks, starting on their formation in 1876 as the first whites-only major league. Today is 61 years, so it's still more time spent segregated than integrated, unfortunately.

I know you're not trying to say it's not important, just that it needs to be kept special. I think Jackie Robinson tends to give MLB a chance to "forget" all the other great players who weren't allowed in and all the people that pushed and suffered for him to get his chance. Maybe only have one player wear 42.

42, I don't agree - Robinson did it under a lot of pressure, with tremendous style and grace, and that should be honored.

And if we think everyone having #42 is going to be confusing, in a month or so we will honor the Negro Leagues by having the Homestead Grays play the Homestead Grays! I do hope they had "home" and "away" uniforms.

I was also wondering about how the unis would work for that one, traveler - also the boxscore.

Well, despite the unis (and as there are more than one version - see the links above - one would _hope_ that they would go for different ones - there may even be a rule about that, but it's time to go home so I'm not going to look it up) it is officially the Nationals vs. the Pirates and the box should read that way.

I heard a funny story about Robinson recently. So on the day of his major league debut, he kisses his wife goodbye and leaves the house to head off to the park. A minute later he comes back in and says to her, "If you have any trouble recognizing me from the stands, I'll be the one wearing No. 42."

Hurray-Jackie Robinson, Montreal Royal.

Great jokes, Bob L. Head! I may have to pass them on (with credit to you, of course).

42- Yes someone else would have. Jackie Robinson DID it. Doing this every year is important. I have an 8 year old son who is doing a biography presentation on Jackie Robinson. He was really flabergasted when he found out that blacks were not allowed to play in the majors. There are countless other kids (who are also fans) who may not hear this story otherwise. The best way to repeat history is to forget about it.

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I think all this #42 stuff is losing it's effectiveness. Even if Robinson didn't get into MLB, eventually it wouldn't have mattered. Someone else would have, and rightly so. I think it's nice he did, but this every year?

Posted by: 42 | April 15, 2008 5:23 PM

so the pope and the dalai lama are talking. the pope says, "what do you think about the big bang?" the dalai lama says, "which one?"

O's Exec has Brady-burns! And now for my alter ego, the reformed O's Exec.....

Posted by: O's Exec | April 15, 2008 4:56 PM

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

I would never refer to myself in the 3rd person, ala George Costanza.

My God, how many times have we left the bases juiced this year? Seems like a crazy amount, and so many of them with no runs scored at all!

My God, how many times have we left the bases juiced this year? Seems like a crazy amount, and so many of them with no runs scored at all!

My God, how many times have we left the bases juiced this year? Seems like a crazy amount, and so many of them with no runs scored at all!

10 or so?

What- was it David Wright bobblehead night?

Jackie Robinson Day should always be remembered and celebrated, period!

It's a damn shame that the Nats couldn't find a better, more visible place to hang his number. The visitors bullpen? Come on.

Seems it was an afterthought.

I love the honoring of #42 each year, but having ALL the players on BOTH teams wear the number? Come on. That's silly (and confusing). I thought the way they did it last year was much more classy.

And I liked the negro league game night, but if they have Greys vs. Greys well... that's stupid.

Cliffy -- I hadn't heard that story before, that's great!