William F. Yurasko

Nats take out Pittsburgh on wild pitch on draft eve

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wfyurasko

WASHINGTON 6 Pittsburgh 5 (ESPN Boxscore)

The Nats had seen a comfortable 5-1 lead turn into a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning. Micah Bowie had put together a solid 5+ innings, but Jon Rauch and Billy Traber couldn’t protect the lead out of the bullpen. Prior to their arrival on the mound, Saul Rivera and Jesus Colome each put in an inning of hitless work. I can’t help but think Manny Acta over managed.

The Nats prevented what would have been a rather devastating loss in the ninth.

After Felipe Lopez struck out, SS Cristian Guzman singled to put the winning run on.

3B Ryan Zimmerman hit a ground ball in the infield that the Pittsburgh shortstop couldn’t field to get on.

PH Ronnie Belliard struck out swinging for the second out.

RF Austin Kearns drew a walk to load the bases.

The third pitch of LF Ryan Church’s at bat was wild and Guzman scored from third without a play. Game over!

After Blowing Early Lead, Nats Relish a Wild Finish – The Post

Almost heartbroken – The Wash. Times

Despite the exciting finish, the sports sections seem more interested (The Post) in the season ticket prices (The Wash. Times) in the new ballpark. I suppose it is the bigger story.

All lower bowl tickets will cost more than $25 while all upper deck tickets will cost $20 or less. The most expensive seats will by $400. Nats president Stan Kasten defeded the pricing as a way to keep prices lower elsewhere in the park. It is expected that the Nats will have ticket prices will be in the top 5 in MLB. Most curious to me are the $40 seats in what used to be called the bleachers. (Graphic from The Post)

I saw on the video board something about a Negro Leagues exhibit, but I couldn’t hear it too well. It turns out that exhibit is at the Mayflower hotel downtown. P Ray King was there with former Gray James Tillman and Sean Gibson, who said was Washington was a second home for his grandfather Josh Gibson. The Sun has more column inches on the exhibit. I’ll have to check it out.

So, will you be watching the game at 1:05 today or the first televised MLB draft on ESPN2? The Nats have the sixth selection (The Post), along with four others in the first seventy picks. Of course, due to the nature of baseball player development, we won’t know if the highly touted scouting operation (The Wash. Times) does a good job today for several more years. More from The Free Lance-Star

Jim Bowden has his weekly column in The Wash. Examiner. Well, his weekly dictation.

For some reason, The Wash. Examiner profiles a Detroit scout instead of a D.C. one.

Other notes:

  • There was a Gustafsson sighting last night! Joe Riley too.
  • I left right after Guzman crossed the plate. I ran from RFK to the Metro (I am feeling that today), arriving at the same time as the train. I reluctantly switched at L’nfant and was rewarded with a 2 minute wait. Oddly enough, I ran into Fritz, who left in the eighth inning. He was stuck on the platform for Yellow for a long time. He wasn’t too happy.
  • Does anybody know the name of the song that played over the p.a. when Bowie was replaced? It one of those not quite jazz/not quite smooth jazz tunes and I have been wondering for about ten years what it is called and who it is by. Anybody know? It is quite an earworm.
    ©MMX William F. Yurasko