'Till next season.

Nats on WGN

Soriano leading off. Should be fun.

They won a freakin' game!

Now it's off to Wrigley to get swept.

Why Crow didn't sign

The Nats could not promise that he would be able to get popcorn without waiting in line for 30 minutes. :)

Seriously though, good riddance. The last thing this team needs is every draft pick bending us over a barrel. We went above slot for many players in order to restock the farm system last year, but you don't let some unproven guy make crazy demands and get away with them. Maybe they should not have drafted Crow at all, but I am glad they didn't sign him at his price. Sure he might be a nice pitcher someday, but it's not like the Nats are one player away from respectability.

The dual nature of this blog didn't dawn on me until recently, but man I miss the excitement of Redskins games at RFK. Sort of like the Phone Booth was at the end of last year, as the best run franchise(scary isn't it) in DC made their run to a South East Division Championship.

Ugh

Well, hats of to the gwitch-ster for resurrecting this nightmare. I thought it could die a slow, painless death much like the gNats. I'm with El Rey...34 years for this? No baseball is better than this. The freaking Royals are better than the ex-Expos. I just want it all to end and for the Danny to rip down RFK and replace it with a 125,000 retractable dome stadium visible from space.

Jason Taylor anyone?

What's made me most bitter is that the baseball team was going to be my salvation and allow me to forever walk away from the NFL franchise I grew up loving. That is before the Danny and his minion The vinny came in and destroyed it. But now, I have no choice. I have to fight against the dying of the light because my 9 year old daughter thinks Tom Brady's great and has announced the Patriots to be her favorite team. At least it's not Eli and the Giants...yet. Who am I kidding? Given the choice between her room and a cardboard box on Constitution Ave, I'm sure she'd take her room.

Worst Game Ever

I have never left a game so quickly. It was embarrassing. I didn't even get a chance to see how long the food lines were. Beer lines were short prior to the game though. :)

Oh, and the fireworks during the National Anthem have to stop. They scared my date so much that she jumped. Funny? Yes. But seriously, stop the explosions during the Anthem.

A note to the fans in DC's northern most suburb, NYC

In the NY Post today, Phil Mushnick expanded on his column last Friday about Shea/Yankee Stadium(s) v2.0 ticket hikes by mentioning the utter lack of coverage by non-team owned media of the impending hikes:

"The fellow written about here Friday, the gent who was a Mets season ticket-holder since Shea opened in 1964, made up his mind Saturday he's not renewing. His four box seats cost him $5,837 in 1993, $11,836 in 1998, $23,702 last year and $33,300 this season. Last week, the Mets informed him that comparable seats next year will cost him roughly $60,000. That's it; he's done. "

My advice: buy average seats at Shea v2.0 and pick up good seats via StubHub at STBNGNP. Because as bad as as it is, STBNGNP ain't going to be nearly the corporate glory hole that Citi (assuming they're still solvent) Park is sure to be.

Evict the bums

The Lerners are withholding rent. The city should evict them and send them back to RFK.

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat

First, the defeat. All year long I've been drowning my belly-aching, whiny-ass sorrows with a 16oz souvenir cup filled with Home Run Ale from the Baseline Brews behind section 137 for the low, low price of $7.50. Not really a "deal" but not exorbitant either. Well last night, right as the game was starting, I went for the usual and lo and behold, the Nats' MBA's got to 'em and made them put the "premium" beer in the smaller, clear plastic cups and reserved the red white and blue souvenir cups for the mass-produced swill.

I'm sure the $.09 per beer savings will add up to C.C. Sabathia.

Now the victory. As I've been saying all season: Nobody better mess with the Jesus. Lannan looked good, Micha (not Bowie) Owings did not. Hence the 5 - 0 shutout of a first place, albeit sub-.500, team.

As for the injuries. Someone with more time than me needs to start looking at strength and conditioning coaches that we can grab. Wonder if the guy at the Caps could make the jump over to baseball. I'd like to see a few baseball players as tough as hockey players...just not as dumb.

On this day in '05

It's all Carpenter's fault

Wow. The suckiest team in baseball has the suckiest teevee ratings.

This is a surprise?

The worst team in baseball

A blissful day off before this train wreck limps home.

Over at Nationals Journal they've got a poll going about the first half of the season. Is it just me or isn't there a more technically advanced option to tabulate the data they're getting in the comments section and make an easier user experience? Harlan did mention in one post that his intern went to Mizzou so perhaps that explains it. One - he has an intern to do this grunt work; and Two, the kid went to Mizzou and isn't capable of much else.

Is there something going on with this team and imjuries besides bad luck? Are the players being properly prepared for games? The curse of fragile Nick Johnson? I just don't get it.

Probably going to jinx it

The last 21 innings are kind of the way I envisioned this year going so it's pretty amazing given the injury catastrophe the denizens of STBNGNP are currently in. They're up 2 - 0 on the Fish, who as we all know have owned them the past couple of years. Belliard's GS last night secured the win and the night before was a win minus a bad pitch from Rauch.

How about how well Belliard is seeing the ball, huh? Get Zimm and AK back, Ballister and Bergmann keep pitching well, who knows...maybe the second half of this year will be as enjoyable as last year's part two.

Ronnie!

Even with the Charm City Crew this year.

O's fans agree

Sitting next to a couple of O's fans last night, and one of them went to get a beer in about the 3rd inning. He was gone for more than an inning, before returning with his beer. He then remarked how they had at least figured out how to serve customers at RFK. Another visiting fan joins the I miss RFK bandwagon.

Coming clean

So as I've mentioned before, I've got two kids, both girls. 9 & 6. I loved taking them to RFK and I like bringing them to STBNGNP. After five or six games, I'd successfully avoided all the kids crap. Arcade, batting cages, playground, and most importantly, Build-A-Bear. The last one was easy. I simply said that it had no place in a ballpark and that I was morally opposed and there was no way they would get one from me and if they didn't pipe down about it, no Dippin' Dots.

Well, the wife joined us for the first time tonight, hence the picture.

Ugh.

Nice win

The Jesus comes through in the clutch and the gNats get a win. What I really liked was Lo Duca coming out and hugging the Jesus and giving what looked like words of encouragement. Could have been otherwise, so who knows.

Stop the fireworks during the Anthem

So I strolled in just before game time last night, and was walking behind the center field wall to my seats out in left field. While we were behind the wall, outside of the seating bowl, the fireworks went off in the middle of the National Anthem. My friend, who was walking alongside me, jumped out of her skin. Funny, but annoying. Those explosions are way too loud, and completely unnecessary.

More errors than runs

And the gNats have three runs. I've always appreciated the civility of fans here in Our Nation's Capital toward the home team - no matter which one. When Lez Bullets were winning 20 games per year. When the Caps were at the bottom of the Patrick (except '89.) When the 'Skins had Jack Pardee, the hometown fans took the losses with class. But none of those teams threw a $611 million toilet seat around the necks of said fans. Which is why I think it's time we got our Philly on. Boo the bums. Boo all of them. From "Fragile" Nick Johnson to HR Puff-in-chief Cordero, to Face of the Franchise David Wright v 0.5 Ryan "0-2" Zimmerman. Oh wait...they're all on the DL. Well...I can't get that worked up over Pete Orr and Wee Willie Harris so I guess I'll just stay home. Say hi to the Birds this weekend. I'm sure we'll get swept and give them the continued ability to keep screwing DC. Just like the gNats did to both ex-Senator franchises.

So this is what it's like to be a Royals fan. But without the '85 series.

New fave blog

firejimbowden.blogspot.com

"I'm not allowed"

Well blimey, just when I was getting all warm and fuzzy about SOON TO BE NAMED GAYLORD NATIONALS PARK, Scott Watson over at WaPo's "Gounds Crew" blog posts a story about a manager at the Red Porch refusing to turn half the Teevees to the Belmont Stakes thus depriving the crowd of the idiotic in-stadium pregame show starring "Clint."

Hat tip to Big Train for alerting this blog to the story and one of the comments which pretty well sums up what life in DC has become.

"there's a 'totalitarian undercurrent' to the ballpark, and the organization."

Again, we waited 36 years for this?

Yes, the anti-bellyachers will come out in force against us but ask them...how many other parks have they been to? It doesn't have to suck.

Free Willie

Wee Willie Harris is on fire. Lopez, not so much. Easy call, no? It was heartening that the gNats took a potential WS team to the wire in a game they should have won (thanks fLop, Orr, the Jesus, etc.) Bergmann looked like good Bergmann for a change. I was not at the game but did go on Sunday with my kids. Drove for the first time and because it was getting late, I decided I would pay for parking before hand online as I've been hearing never ending ads for that on the radio...untill I saw the total service charges were in excess of $7. So, taking my chances against what ended up being a decent-sized crowd, I drove to the "T" lot at 3rd & M and payed the $20 flat rate. Excessive yes, and I probably won't do it again but with two kids under 10, it was a luxury that was worth it at the time.

SI piles on

In the current issue of SI, Josh Levin has an article about new corporate parks (STBNGNP specifically) and their inherent lameness. It's called Shake Me Down at the Ball Game and is right up our alley:

Yes, the freshly poured Nationals Park has wider concourses, better food, fancier souvenir shops and, for the corporate-lawyer types, opulent club sections with leather chairs. But the 21st-century ballpark peddles a different brand of friendliness. If RFK Stadium was an old acquaintance who'd seen better days, then Nationals Park is the pal who's always asking you for money.



Well done Mr. Levin.

Farmer's tan

According to Dan Steinberg over at WaPo's DC Sports Blog, a group of immodest baseball fans at STBNGNP were told to cover themselves by an usher.

This is a good thing. I don't want to see sweaty dudes with their shirts off. Someone commented that it's perfectly acceptable in places like Chicago, NY and Boston. Precisely the reason I don't live in any of those cities.

Thoughts?

Calling The Jestaplero

As our only known visiting Mets fan, what's your take on the way they handled "Free Willie?"

Ex-Senators vs. Ex-Expos

Last night, the gNats anemic offense was on display in a park which looks far, far worse (at least on TV) that STBNGNP. Livo didn't top 80 in either mph or pitch count and the game lasted a whopping 1hr59. Do you think they walked off after the top of the ninth and asked for their paychecks?

Has anyone seen been to a game at the Metro-Humphrey-Dome?

We're not the worst!

A sweep of the lowly Mariners in the "pesto of cities" grants the gNats some separation from the AL bottom dwellers. More later as I am of to enjoy the waning hours of Father's Day by watching some golf.

Battle of the bads

Nats up 1 nothing after one.

This sucks.

Tim Russert, a fine Nats fan and journalist is dead at 58.

Poland 1 - nil over Austria in the second half

Why am I blogging about a Euro 2008 match on a day when the gNats played? Because they are an awful, awful baseball team undergoing a horrendous run of bad luck. Anyone know if they have half-smokes where the Potomac Nats play?

So the Dukes vs. Manny dust up has gotten some good coverage over on the WaPo blog. Anyone have any thoughts on whether they think Dukes will make it to September? Once AK-47 comes back and hits a rollicking .249 sending Dukes to the bench, does ED accept the diminished role?

"D.C. shelled out $611 million for this?" -Boz

Boz gets on board...almost. But I do like the Senators III line.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/10/AR2008061002747.html

44 Mill does it again(sort of)

44 Mill won it with a HR last night, making that 2 in 2 games. Well, sort of, since his home run Monday night was ruled a double. I have yet to see a replay, and Milledge ended up scoring so it must not have been that controversial. From my seats in section 142, you could clearly see the dent that Milledge's blast left on the metal on top of the wall. Did it hit the plexiglass and bounce back in? Either way, its good to see 44 Mill driving the ball. Dukes is showing flashes as well. It may be a long season in the standings, but it is exciting to watch young players mature into quality major leaguers. Hopefully I won't miss their growth, because I am standing in line for a hot dog.

Only 46 more chances for overpriced misery

Last night was an awful culmination to an awful 1 - 6 homestand. The gNats showed that even among the crappiest teams in the league, they still suck by letting the Giants beat the snot out of them. Mike Rowe should to an episode of Dirty Jobs on being a gNats fan. Luckily, this weekend we get to play the Mariners and find out exactly who is the worst team in baseball.

It was 20 (minus 17) years ago today

The Nats were in first place and in the middle of that awesome third base line seat bouncing 10 game winning streak. The had a home (RFK) record of 19-9.

Bergmann tanks. Nats exhume Walter Johnson for Sunday start

That. Was. Pitiful.

Over/Under on food lines

We were discussing what the magic number is which throws food service at S-T-B-N-GNP into utter chaos. 30K? 28K? 25K?

The gate last night was about 32K and it was business as usual, e.g., 20 minutes at a Nats Dogs for our favorite tepid treats.

Anyone have anecdotal evidence to share?

Solution to the problem

Have every game be a day game after a rain out. With no one in line at Red, Hot, & Blue 10 minutes before the first pitch, I was able to get my lunch, add BBQ sauce, and still get to my seat in the top of the first.
Of course, game 2 was an entirely different story. Lines were absurd enough for Cardinals fans to ask me if they are always like that. This was before the game got started. I had to reply, yes, of course. I thought about getting a drink after the first inning, but the shortest line would have cost me an inning worth of viewing.
Here's to a series of rain outs, followed by day/night double-headers.

Nats suckage prompts DC to ask for refund

DC Council member and notorious baseball hater David Catania wants some money back. Apparently the District hired one of those smoke and mirrors consultants to stare into their crystal ball and project how many tickets to S-T-B-N-GNP would be sold over the first five years. Their projections were for 39,130 for this year. At a 41,000 seat park. Now I'm just some idiot blogger, but I could have told you there was no effing way the Nats were going to pull that as an average. So Catania wants a refund, which is stupid because he and other people should have called bs on this when they got it in the first place.

The Examiner wrote it up.

The St. Louis Baseball Cardinals and the curse of the bobblehead

So Zim's on the DL the week of his bobblehead night. Correct me if I'm wrong, but Da Meat was on the DL when his Chinese made wobbly miniaturized likeness was given away. A coincidence? Kearns' must be next.

The big O Perez throws against Phillies cast-off Kyle Loshe tonight. Wonder if Pujols can hit the Red Loft?

At the urging of a commenter, I spent some time reading the Post's S-T-B-N-GNP (soon-to-be-named-Gaylord-Nationals-Park, hat-tip to Scoreboard Scotty) blog and came across this entry on ushers. Of all the lousy STBNGNP experiences I've had, this isn't one of them. The ushers - a few I ever remember from our beloved RFK - have always been professional.

I Miss Barry

The Nats beat writer, not the mayor.

Mail Bag

Sorry it's been awhile, we've been busy with our day jobs of maintaining the unofficial Joan Jett online fanzine. And no, it's not another blog. IT'S A FANZINE.

Well, our fanbase continues to expand as fast as Meat Hook's waist. Just today we received this pleasant note:

Wah, I want my nachos said...

I love the editorial "we"; don't lose it.

I, too, miss RFK. But I miss "anonymous" more. . .

We couldn't agree more. Anonymous...come back.

Now on to business. Went to the Sunday game last weekend against the Brewers. 33K+ in soon to be named Gaylord Nationals Park. Given the time of the game, I had already eaten so I can't bellyache about the food lines, which according to a friend sitting in 405 we as abysmal as usual. But those tepid hot dogs are so damned tasty after a 25 minute wait.

I CAN however bitch about the lines and service at the Base Line Brews behind 139. Partial to the oddly served (Leinenkugel? Really? You can't just re-brand Dominion like everyone else?) but nonetheless tasty Home Run Ale, I endured a 15 minute wait. Granted, it was my choice...I could have stayed in my seats and downed a Miller Lite like a normal person, but then I couldn't regale my audience with stories of inconvenience AND I would eventually have to vomit my soul for putting that crap in my system. Now, if they would only serve High Life dammit.

The next game on the plan is a weekday against the Cards so I doubt we'll have too many gripes. Weeknight games against teams from small markets aren't usually big draws, but who knows? It is intern season.

Worst. Blog. Ever.

Anonymous said...

Worst. Blog. Ever.

Thanks. What an achievement! Worse than Michelle Malkin even?

Anonymous, your courage inspires us! We were going to give up on this as the dwindling fan base has made getting the chili nachos from Hard Times a breeze lately...but your astute comments encourage us to trudge on!

Thank you, thank you. A million times...THANK YOU!!!!

No more fireworks during the Anthem

OK, so this was problem at RFK too, but it has gotten worse. From my section out in 142, it feels like I have been hit with a concussion grenade. The explosions during the National Anthem resonate, and destroy any fine performances I might otherwise enjoy.
I can live with the rockets red glare, but give me a break on the bombs bursting. It takes what is sometimes a nice rendition, and ruins it. I get especially annoyed when this happens on special days, where the Anthem is meant to honor those that lost their lives. The explosions damage the experience, as the Nats take a moment of honor and try to spice it up.
Even Orioles fans had the good sense not to yell "O" during a few special moments.(Post 9/11 or the All-Star game)
So stop the explosions during the Anthem. This is a change that needs to happen everywhere, but let's stop it in DC first. Let's not cheapen the National Anthem with explosions.

The Great Blackout of Aught Eight

So I was ready to shut this down by the third inning. After reading Boswell this morning and seeing that there was at least some public recognition of the things that have been bothering those of us less enamored with soon to be Gaylord Nationals Park. After finally being able to walk up to a Nats Dogs and get a half smoke without waiting for twenty minutes. After finding a Home Run Ale somewhere other than the Red Porch, I was feeling it. My two kids were having fun. Lannan had yet to implode. The blog was going to be deleted when I got home.

And then...

...half the lights go out. It's too dark to play. I'm hanging out near the back of 104 and one of the ushers I remember from Section 209 at RFK comes over and says hi during the over 30 minute "intermission" which was a BLAST for my daughters of six and nine.

"Remember this ever happening at RFK?" I ask. "Nope," he says grinning. "We uh, got a few more things to iron out over here."

I'll say.

Anonymous said...

"Hey, sneak back into RFK and wallow amongst the rats and the standing water. Or just move back to wherever you're from. RFK sucked even during the last days of the Redskins."

I admit that RFK was lacking in cleanliness but I think that was due to management not really giving a crap about the place because they knew they were short timers there. And I disagree about the 'Skins and RFK. In my close to 40 years in DC, seeing a quality 'Skins game at RFK was and probably will always be the best DC sports experience. Fed Ex (or Giants Stadium South) is a lousy, corporate stadium.

Listen, I want the new Park to succeed. I don't want to go back to RFK. But with the time and the amount of money put in to the Park by the city, the Lerners and the fans who pay more for everything, not being able to get a freaking hot dog (some people like to eat at games) is a joke.

The new food vendors are making the same mistakes Aramark made at RFK three years ago and that is unacceptable.

Calling all math geeks

There must be a formula we can come up with which factors the attendance at soon to be Gaylord Nationals Park with the wait time at the Nats Dogs behind section 143. Obviously we have to allot for which inning or pre-game timing etc. Being a math-o-phobe, I'm just not the right person to do it.

Welcome

This is a blog for people to vent their frustrations about all aspects of Nationals Park. Got a beef? Can't get a hot dog? Think the concourses are actually narrower when the lines at Nats Dogs are 40 people deep? Then this is your place to air those grievances.