NATS 5 PAHRTS 4
Muffled Nats Make Some Noise – The Post
Fritz and I finally made it back to RFK yesterday for the first time since opening day. We were quite pleased with the result, the first win I had seen in person since July 5 of last year. Equally pleasing was getting the win the presence of a couple of Pirates fans, Sam B. and Jake. I don’t think Pittsburgh has beaten Washington in any sport while Sam and I were both in attendance.
Mike O’Connor was on the hill for the garishly-clad Nats. Seeing the red jerseys in person did not make me dislike them any less, but enough about my fashion preferences. O’Connor, the GW product pitched OK, but not great. In his mere five innings of work he threw 95 pitches and gave up four walks. Still, despite these struggles, he got through five innings and won his second game of the year. He is now 2-1 (twice as many as wins as Livan Hernandez) with a 2.12 ERA. It was not pretty, but he is getting the job done for the most part.
The Nats exploded in the 3rd off of P Zach Duke. 1B Nick Johnson knocked in two runs with his single to center, setting the table for RF Jose Guillen’s two-run shot to the upper deck. I think it landed in section 443, not far from our seats in 533. ¡Dutch! followed up with a double and C Matthew LeCroy knocked him in for the GWRBI. Duke setted down for another few innings and the Nats were through scoring. Not long after Sam said, “it’ll be a 5-4 or 6-4 loss” Felix Rodriguez gave up an eighth inning run. Thankfully, the Buccos would get no more than that, and Chad Cordero pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his third save. Yes, he only has three saves so far.
The most interesting aspect of the game was Felix Sanchez’s at bat in the top of the 4th inning. He fouled off what seemed like 20 pitches to left before mistakingly heading for first on what he thought was ball four. It was pretty funny to see him have to head back ot the bag, but the joke was on the Nats since he tripled, to left of course, immediately after, scoring two runs. It may have been the most impressive at-bat I have ever seen, live.
Also, we scored some free hot dogs and had a perfect Metro experience coming home, with the Yellow Line waiting for us at L’Enfant Plaza for our transfer.
More from The Wash. Times: Nationals take a step forward
Boxscore – ESPN
Soreness delays Patterson’s return – The Wash. Times
P John Patterson won’t pitch again until at least May 18. His arm is still sore, but surgery appears to be unlikely. Also, Gary Majewski has tendonitis; who’d have thunk it?
More from The Post: Patterson To Rest Arm A Bit Longer
More changes still are coming – The Wash. Times
New ownership means that employees of the Nationals have to prove their value, perhaps a tall order.
Business With MLB Goes Beyond Price Tag – The Post
A looooong article about Bud Selig’s glacial pace in naming an owner for the Nationals.
MARC FISHER – Nats Need to Move to Less Angelos – The Post
Another reminder that Peter Angelo$ is the real reason we cannot watch our baseball team.
It doesn’t take a conspiracy theorist to believe that Angelos is less than keen to have the Nationals sink roots in this region. After doing everything he could to stop baseball from putting a team in Washington, he now wants us to believe he is doing his all to get the Nats on Comcast. After all, his contract with baseball requires him to pay the Nationals a $20 million fee this year to broadcast their games on his Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.
The question I want someone to specifically ask Angelo$ is why he believes he cannot succeed without being subsidized (in the form of TV rights) by the Nats and their fans. Is Baltimore a second-class city that cannot support his franchise?
Jim Williams: Quest for Nats on television continues – The Wash. Examiner
Williams is optmistic and suggests that Comcast, owner of OLN/Versus, wants a Thursday night broadcast next season, which could be part of the solution.
Over the weekend I discoverd it was the 51st anniversary of Damn Yankees debut on Broadway. With that in mind, I posted over at Metroblogging DC about the need for the song “Heart” to be played at RFK following the 7th inning stretch.