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Mid-Season Assessment: “At least we were right about one thing…”

By Maggie on July 13, 2012

The Nationals start the second half of what seems like a beautiful season so far tonight. Back in early April, we posted our predictions for the coming season. I was fairly optimistic, and Ashley tempered my optimism. And apparently, we shouldn’t have been quite so moderate in our guesstimations. Let’s take a look at those prognostications and see just how things stand here before the Nats start up again.

1) Who will lead the Nats in home runs in 2012?

Original Answer: Ryan Zimmerman
Current Leaders: Desmond at 17, LaRoche at 15 … Zimmerman 8

Oh Ryan. He had a rough first half, and things didn’t turn around until about 3 weeks ago when he got that cortisone shot. In the mean time, Desmond is having a career season, and Adam LaRoche is getting off to a faster start than usual.
Modified Answer: LaRoche – I’m not sure Desmond can keep up his furious pace through the rest of the season though I’d love to see him try.

2) Who will lead the Nats in RBI?

Original Answer: Danny Espinosa
Current Leaders: LaRoche 53, Desmond 51… Espinosa 24

This prediction was probably wishful thinking in the first place. Espi had a great first half last year – would it be silly to think he’d repeat? Maybe he’ll bounce back in the second half this time around, but it looks like it’ll be difficult to catch up with LaRoche and Desi who are running away with this so far.
Modified Answer: If we’re going with the “second place guy takes it” again, then we’ll give it to Desmond.

3) Who will lead the Nats in stolen bases?

Original Answer: Roger Bernadina
Current Leaders: Espinosa 14, Desmond 11, Harper 10 … Bernadina 8

This is a situation where the Shark’s new role as a pinch hitter has hurt him. He’s still a speedster, as evidenced by the fact that he’s only 6 bases behind Espinosa despite his fractional number of plate appearances.
Modified Answer: Gotta give this one to the Kid. Harper loves to run, and I have a feeling he’ll do a lot of base stealing in the second half.

4) Who will lead the staff in wins?

Original Answer: Jordan Zimmermann
Current Leaders: Gonzalez 12, … Zimmermann 5

Poor Jordan. We should have known from last year that the team’s bad habit of not giving him any run support would hold over. He deserves a better win-loss record (and fingers crossed tonight gives him another W in that column).
Modified Answer: Gotta go with Gio. He’s a workhorse, and he seems to love pitching in Nats Park. I have a feeling this one is locked up.

5) Who will pitch more innings for the Nats this season: Chien-Ming Wang, John Lannan, Ross Detwiler?

Original Answer: Ross Detweiler
Current Leaders: Detweiler 78.2, Wang 23.2, Lannan 0

This is one of the few answer’s we’ve got right so far. Yay us! With Wang’s hip acting up again, and Lannan pouting in Syracuse, we’ll stick with our original answer.

6) Who will get more at bats for the Nats this season: Rick Ankiel, Roger Bernadina, Bryce Harper?

Original Answer: Roger Bernadina
Current Leaders: Harper 248, Ankiel 158, Bernadina 111

With Ankiel in a reduced role, Bernadina as pinch hitter, and Harper debuting in the big leagues WAY before anyone expected, it looks like we were wrong on this one.
Modified Answer: Harper. He’s run away with it so far, and the only way I see this changing is if the worst comes to pass.

7) Date of Bryce Harper’s Major league debut?

Original Answer: June 2
Actual Answer: April 28

We were OH SO WRONG. But really…whoulda thunk? And dude is really proving himself.

8) Which minor leaguer are you most interested in keeping tabs on this season (other than Bryce Harper)?

Original Answer: Anthony Rendon or Matt Purke (btw, check out that photo!)

With Rendon essentially out for the season with a broken ankle, and Matt Purke not starting his season until late May followed quickly by a trip to the DL, it seems that both of them won’t be doing much for a while. In the mean time, we’ll be keeping an ear to the ground about Alex Meyer who did an awesome job at the MLB futures game.

9) How many all-stars will the Nats have? Who?

Our Answer: 2, Zimmerman and Strasburg
Real Answer: 3.5, Strasburg, Gonzalez, Desmond (withdrew), Harper

Let’s give ourselves partial credit. Of course Strasburg would go – that was the obvious answer. But the other 2.5 (we’ll call them that since the Nats technically had 4 all stars, but only 3 showed up) were awesome surprises. Congrats to the team on making the great leap from the last few seasons when they had someone at the All Star Game only because every team HAD to have someone at the All Star Game.

10) Total wins and what place in the division?

Original Answer: 85, 2nd
Current Answer: 49 wins, 1st in NL-East, 1st in NL, 3rd in MLB … more than halfway there!

This is amazing. The team currently stands 10 wins behind their entire win total from both 2008 and 2009. They’ve got 79 more games to win the 36 games needed to meet our prediction. That’s .456 over the second half of the season. It’d have to be a big drop-off on the current pace, but that means this team is likely to at least meet and probably exceed our expectations.
We won’t amend our prediction (just because we’re cautious), but yeah. This is very good.

Essay Question: Single most important development for the Nats this season?

Original Answer: The team really needs to stay healthy. Physically, this includes trying to avoid silly injuries early in the season that could be avoided and not overworking injury prone players. Mentally, the team needs to keep up camaraderie in the clubhouse and not get caught up in early season hype until they’ve proven themselves.

Response to Essay: DAMN STRAIGHT. How many more games could this team have won early on if they’d had Morse from the get-go? Had Storen as their closer, and didn’t have to deal with the nagging Lidge elbow-issues. What if Zimmerman had gotten his cortisone shot earlier? Or if Werth could have continued producing in his sophomore season without the devastating wrist injury? If Desmond and Harper didn’t have nagging injuries that they’re playing through (to All-Star caliber), that might be holding them back from their full potential? Who knows what would have happened…but it would have been fun to watch. Thankfully the camaraderie has been there to make up for the other failings. This is a team with clubhouse chemistry like you would not believe, and they seem to be having fun, but also being realistic about expectations. Good on them!

Ok – the second half starts now. Good luck, boys!

Whoops! July Predictions – Part 2

By Maggie on July 7, 2012

Sorry for the delay in putting up the link to part 2 of our July predictions. Drew had them up on the 5th, and then I think I was distracted by the wonders of Atlanta (have you been to the Georgia Aquarium? Or the World of Coke? Holy crow, those are cool places!).

In any case – Drew puts part 2 up here.

July Prediction Post – Part 1

By Maggie on July 3, 2012

Time for another prediction post with Drew from Crunching Through My Day. We made predictions for both May and June…so let’s see how things go for the month of July! We’ve both got birthdays at the end of the month, so I know we’d like to see some wins on those days. I’ll present the first half of the month here, and Drew will show us the rest of the month later this week.

7/3-5 vs San Francisco Giants

Drew: Well now, the G-men have really come on lately and taken the NL West by storm. Does this scare me? Yes actually. It does. The Giants just swept the Dodgers (which killed the Nats back in in May.) In many other ways, the Nats and Giants are similar. Their pitching staffs (staves? What’s the rule here?) are about K/9 and HR/9. The Nat’s pitching staff provides a few extra WAR while the Giants offense beats the Nat’s in that category. However, with the heat and a tough road trip against the Braves, plus the bottom half of the Nats rotation coming up, I’m going to say the Giants take 2 of the three games. However, the Nat will win on the 4^th of July to support Truth, Justice, and The Natiude Way!

Maggie: There is nothing in this world that makes me sadder than missing the Lincecum-Zimmermann matchup tonight. The game should be epic. Drew has said with stats and whatnot what I see with my eyes: the Giants are a team that is coming on strong in the middle of the summer, and they should be rightly feared. Not enough where I don’t think the Nats will take a game…but appropriately feared. Nats lose the series, 1-2.

7/6-8 vs Colorado Rockies

Drew: The Nat’s took advantage of the thin air (is the humidor still on?) in Colorado to awaken their anemic offense. I have a feeling that the bats will slow a bit in the warm confines of DC but that the Nats will still beat up on the Rockies. I know the Rockies are probably better than their record indicates but I can’t be much. When Jamie Moyer is your staff ace at the start of the season, there’s not a lot good things I can (besides the 4.11 FIP and .340 opponent BABIP say enough). I’m going to say 2-1.

Maggie: Sure, we split the series with the basement-dwellers, but that was at the end of a long series of road trips and homestands against the toughest divisions (the Easts) in baseball. Can you blame them for “taking a break” and “only” scoring 35 runs during that series? I have a feeling that once the Nats are back in their stadium, with the top of their lineup that the distinction between best and worst in the NL will become quite clear. Nats sweep, 3-0.

All Star Game

Drew: As much as I like the pageantry surrounding the All Star game, I’ve got to admit that the AL is probably going to win this year. They spanked in the NL in interleague play. I want my NL to win but I’m not going to hold out hope.

Maggie: This is another place where I agree with Drew. I love that the Nats have 3 players (maybe 4?) in the fight, but when the AL spanks the NL in interleague play, it doesn’t bode well for a reversal at the All Star game.

7/13-16 @ Miami Marlins

Drew: Miami has been a real disappointment so far. I spent the offseason worried that they might steal the last playoff spot from the Nats. Of course that was before the Phillies free fell into almost nothing. Since then, the Marlins have gotten lucky. They should be about even with Houston and Colorado in terms of wins. Their pitching has been pretty awful, with the lowest K/9 rate and opponents BABIP of nearly .300. Despite that, I don’t think the Nats can sweep this series. Due to the vagaries in the tea leaves and baseball, I’m saying we split the series 2-2

Maggie: More Miami hate from me. Watching them suck it up this year has been nearly as enjoyable as watching the Phillies tank. And because the Nats seem to do well when they play in Florida, I’ll expect them to continue to kick butt and take names in Miami. Nats take it 3-1.

Look for the last half of July later…

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Nationals at Braves, 7/1/2012

By Ashley on July 2, 2012

Ashley’s down in Atlanta for the week, so she took her brother to Turner Field to watch the Nats take out the Braves. It was a brutal summer day (official game temp was 101), but with lots of water, ice cream, and a win, the day turned out to be fun.

It’s hard to come into another stadium and be the lone fan cheering for your team. Ashley’s done it before in college, but it’s different when you grew up with the home team and have become a traitor (according to the brother). The tomahawk chop was still going strong, and the Braves uniforms haven’t changed in years. However, Ashley stuck to her guns and cheered when the rest of the crowd booed.

There were a lot of things that made this game great, but what really stuck out to me was how the overall game experience was so much better than going to a game at Nationals Park. Let’s go through a few of them:

1) Parking – it took us less than 30 minutes to get door to door. The Braves stadium is about 3 miles further away from home than Nats Park, but parking is available right at the stadium and there wasn’t crazy traffic. Yes, we went on a Sunday afternoon during a holiday week, but traffic has been so bad in DC on a weekend that we’ve turned around before. Parking was $10 in advance (plus fees) or $15 in cash.

2) Seating – the seats at Turner Field are slightly steeper, which means that you’re closer to the field. We sat in the 200s, which would be like an upper 100s seat. However, because of the way the seats were situated, I felt like we had a better angle on the field. Turner field holds about 49,000 (vs 41,000 for the Nats), but it didn’t feel like the stadium was bigger. Also, our seats were in the shade the entire game (for a 1:35 start).

3) Concessions – the food seemed of better quality (including a lot of local restaurants) and was cheaper. My brother got basic chicken tenders, which were delicious (even on a HOT day) and only cost $7. I grabbed a small cup of ice cream – $3. And my small had two scoops crammed into it. It was also Mayfield, which elevates it to a whole other level.

4) Season Ticket Holder (STH) Perks – wow, this really showed a difference in the two parks. The Braves had a lounge area set aside for STHs, and all STHs get 33% off concessions all year. It made me want to snap up a season pack.

5) Music – when visiting batters step up to the plate, the Braves organist tries to play something special for them. On Sunday we got “Send in the Clowns” for Harper, OUT spelled out in morse code for Morse, and “Never Gonna Give you Up” (by Rick Astley) for Ankiel. If you ever make it to a game in Atlanta (or are watching on TV), you can follow @bravesorganist on Twitter to give suggestions or find out what he’s thinking for our boys.

6) The Big Screen – in between innings, the music and videos definitely had a Southern flare. I had forgotten just how much I like country music in fact. The best thing they did though was show a montage of clips from a game last year where the Braves rallied back from 4 under to tie, and ultimately win, the game. “We did it before, and we can do it again…” was the basic theme, and then led into the tomahawk chop. I think that’s a great way to motivate the fans.

Overall, the game was one of the more fun, relaxed baseball outings I’ve had in a while. I didn’t realize how much Nats games actually stress me out. Dear Nationals, please take a look at this and try to find ways to make your game experience better. I felt like I was there to watch baseball, not there to make money for the owners. Even if the Braves had won, I still would have had a great day.

(Just to be fair, the one thing the Nats do better is cameras. I can bring an 8 inch lens to Nationals Park, but only a 5 inch lens to Turner Field. Hence, no awesome telephoto pics this time.)

Full album is here.

July 26, 2011: Washington Nationals vs Florida Marlins

By Ashley on July 30, 2011

I think it’s safe to say that we’re in the doldrums of summer. The weather makes us not want to go outside and the Nats make us want to avert our eyes. Ashley, Maggie, Drew, and Maggie’s sister Meredith took in the game on Tuesday. We were all really excited, because it was the first game we’d seen in weeks. However, the Nats did not put on a grand show for us. We sat in Section 220, so enjoy some views from a new part of the stadium. Here’s a rundown of the lineup:

Bernadina got on base with a walk, and the pitcher tried (unsuccessfully) to pick him off. Center field was fairly quiet all night – only a few balls went his way.

Espinosa didn’t have much luck at the plate, but he started a terrific double play in the 3rd. We were thankful he was able to pull it off, because the next batter up hit a home run.

Zimmerman was excellent on defense. Our favorite play was a run up to grab a bunt in the 7th. Z also scored one of the Nats runs in the 6th.

Morse was a solid presence at 1st, and hit a double in the 6th. We’re glad to see him out on the field.

Oh Jason Werth, this is how we feel about the Nats too. We’re optimistic that things start picking up soon. A dejected Werth had to watch at least 2 home runs sail over his head and two doubles land in the right field corner.

Nix smashed a ball into the stands for a solo homer in the 5th for one of the Nats’ only two runs for the night.

Ramos was solid behind the plate, but all of his at-bats ended in outs. He connected with the ball each time, but never managed to send it past the infield.

Desmond had much the same luck as Ramos, although he did get on base in the 5th (walked). Sadly, he was stranded by his teammates.

As for the bullpen, we got to see Zimmermann, Burnett, and Coffey before we decided that being awake at work the next day was more important than watching the last inning.

Our Founding Fathers were less interested in baseball and more excited about the end to the NFL lockout. They played a little touch football in the outfield, ending when George tackled Teddy and Tom carried the ball to the endzone, ahem, finish line.

We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the Nats get their mojo back. In the meantime, you can view more picture from this game here.

July 4, 2011: Washington Nationals vs. Chicago Cubs

By Maggie on July 5, 2011

Game:#086 – Nationals vs. Cubs
Starting Pitchers: Jordan Zimmermann (#27, 5-7, 2.82) vs. Casey Coleman (#27, 2-4, 7.23)
Final Score: Nationals: 5, Cubs: 4
Nats New Record: 43-43

The Fourth of July is a time to take pride in our country, and one way that I think is a very American way to spend the day is at a baseball game. For quite a few years now, my family has taken part in this tradition, starting when the Nationals were playing at RFK, and in their move to Nationals Park. It’s a day where our baseball family shows their love and support for those who liberated our country, for those who protect our country, and those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. The color guard represented all the services, the kids who were the starting 9 were part of the TAPS program and were accompanied by service members onto the field. The game ball was delivered by an actively enlisted serviceman, and as always, the Nationals saluted wounded and returned servicemen during the top of the fourth inning.

It was a crazy game. The Nats had a great first inning where they put 2 on the board. The Cubbies put 1 on the board in the 2nd, followed by another two runs in the fourth (including an embarrassing play by the outfield where no one caught a fly ball). Jordan Zimmerman got into a jam in the sixth, but pitched his way out of it with only 1 more run, but the Nats came back in bottom of that inning and in the seventh to tie things up. And then it was a battle of relief – from the seventh through an extra tenth inning, the Nats and Cubs couldn’t decide who wanted to win. You got interesting things like Jason Marquis (seen in the pic above) and Livan Hernandez stepping up to pinch hit for the pitcher, Laynce Nix making his debut at first base (along with Michael Morse coaching him on how to play the position from the dugout), and a little dribbler by Rick Ankiel in the 8th that no one realized was a fair ball – not even Rick!

But the crowd loved it. Everyone was enthusiastic, and the second half of the game was loud and involved a LOT of Nats fans on their feet. That’s the one thing that has impressed me the most this year – the fans seem to have finally woken up. We’re still a generally polite bunch: studiously watching the game, keeping score, or just quietly watching the game. But when things get interesting – at least this year – Nats fans get loud, and they STAY loud. Maybe doing the wave during a tie game isn’t the best idea (what happens if a play is made during the wave? were you paying attention to the game, or to where the movement of people was?), but people were REALLY into it.

In the bottom of the 10th inning, Jayson Werth was walked. Livo came up as the pinch hitter (you should have heard the crowd when they realized who it was), and laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move Werth to second. Pudge came up to the plate, and Werth immediately stole third base (that’s him and Pudge in the picture). Pudge waited patiently, and eventually Cubs pitcher Marmol threw a wild pitch. Pudge’s arms began to windmill, but Werth was already halfway down the basepath and crossed the plate on his feet.

And the crowd went wild. A run/walk-off win for America’s Team. Nats getting back to .500. A beautiful day that would turn into a fireworks-filled night. There’s not a lot that you can do on the Fourth of July to make you feel as good as a close baseball game with a win by the home team.

(full album from this game can be seen here)
Vote Michael Morse to the All-Star Game in the FINAL VOTE: http://atmlb.com/l1pGE4

July 2, 2011: Potomac Nationals vs Wilmington Blue Rocks

By Maggie on July 3, 2011

Starting Pitchers: Chien-Ming Wang (#38, 2.57) vs Elisaul Pimentel (#25, 4.07)
Final Score: Nationals – 14, Blue Rocks – 1

What are the elements of a beyond-awesome minor league game? How about a rehab appearance by an experienced major-league pitcher? How about players wearing jerseys that are as far as you can throw-back? How about an awesome giveaway item? How about a dominant offensive performance that included 4 home runs by the home team? And how about fireworks to top it all off?

Saturday night Ashley, Drew and I all attended the Potomac Nationals “History of Baseball Night”, which featured Abner Doubleday Bobbleheads, players wearing throw-back uniforms in the style of 1860s/Civil War soldier teams, and an excellent color guard in period dress (which means an all-wool uniform). We had fantastic seats – front row of the field box, right next to the visiting team dugout, which allowed us a good view of Wang as he pitched, and into the P-Nats dugout. The best part – these seats cost us $14 apiece and included seat-service for concessions so you don’t have to miss anything.

Wang pitched 4 excellent innings, and it was fun to see the Taiwanese media and all his fans watching with rapt attention to every move of his arm. It was also great to see the hot young players (particularly Hood and Peacock) doing great things for the offense – hitting home runs and just playing excellent ball. Since minor-league games tend to be more experiential, enjoy a few more pictures.

(full album from this game can be seen here)

Vote Michael Morse to the All-Star Game in the FINAL VOTE: http://atmlb.com/l1pGE4

July 31, 2010: Washington Nationals vs Philadelphia Phillies

By Maggie on July 31, 2010

Game: #104 – Nationals vs. Phillies
Starting Pitchers: Ross Detwiler (#48, 0-1, 1.00) vs. Joe Blanton, (#56, 3-2, 5.71)
Final Score: Nationals: 7, Phillies: 5
Nats New Record: 46-58
Play and Player of the Game: Ryan Zimmerman goes yard with a 3-run walk-off homer to win the game. That’s how we do it.
Runner-up Player of the Game: Ross Detwiler goes into the sixth inning for the Nats. Seriously good stuff.
Favorite Non-baseball Moment: Spotting @darkmeathook and @dcyetti at the game, and going over to chat. And then getting caught on the “Fan Cam”!
Who was there: Maggie and her friends Jon and Sudhir
Our Records: Maggie – 7-10; Jon – 2-0; Sudhir – 1-0
Where did we sit: Section 225, Row E. Good view – lower to the ground, but at a decent angle to the field, and you can still see NatsHD.
What did we eat: Lots and lots of $5 happy hour beers. But Maggie also had a grilled turkey sandwich from Dupont Deli which turned out to be delicious (some kind of raspberry vinaigrette sauce?) that came with a free bag of chips. Not a bad deal for $8.
Promotional Items: It was Nyjer Morgan bobblehead night. Little Tony Plush is just as eager to snag the ball as his life-sized namesake, and sports the signature slightly twisted cap and knee-socks.
President’s Race: Possibly the most heartbreaking race yet – Teddy leads through to the end…then trips about a meter before the finish line, and just LAYS there. George comes in and steals the win. The new faces are way too cartoony for Maggie’s liking.

Other Observations:
- The Phillies (Philthy?) fans, while maybe not quite as numerous as on opening day were still out in force. Before the game, they were overheard complaining about our “mediocre” ballpark, the price of beer, and the lack of people who come to games. All those fans became much more subdued when the Nats took a 3-run lead in the first inning. After taking the lead in the 9th, a few were VERY sore losers when Zimmy won the game for us. One girl kept repeating, “But you’re still in last place”. Nobody denied it, but instead she was confronted with, “But what does that mean if your team loses to us twice in a row?” Said Phillies-lady-fan was later heard shouting “I have a Masters degree!!!” Context for this quote was never discovered.
- Speaking of Philthy behaviour – a pre-game video on acceptable stadium/game behavior was shown starring Rachel and a few Nat-Packers. Maggie is quite sure that this video was created for the sole purpose of letting Phillies fans know that swearing, being rude and obnoxious, and SMOKING are not welcome at Nats park.
- John Isner, the winner from the longest game in the history of tennis, made an appearance before the game and threw out a ceremonial first pitch.
- One of the more interesting plays of the game occurred when Joe Blanton was hit by a pitch in the top of the 6th. He was just trotting off to first base, when he was called out. It turns out, he had stuck his elbow out, intentionally drawing the HBP, which is not allowed. Fans in the stands were a little confused at the time – especially those of us without the proper sight-lines to see what happened.
- You would not believe the cheer that went up during Adam Dunn’s first at bat. There are a lot of people in this town that are glad to see him stick around – at least through the end of the season.
- Finally – Maggie had a great time at the game, mostly because Jon and Sudhir – her two college buddies who accompanied her – had never seen her riled up at a professional sporting event. They got the full treatment of whoops, yells, and player nicknames. A good time was had by all.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYRLA48YQJI]
(the rest of the album from this game can be seen here)
(videos from this and other games can be seen here)

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July 27, 2010: Washington Nationals vs Atlanta Braves

By Maggie on July 28, 2010

Game: #100 – Nationals vs. Braves
Starting Pitchers: Miguel Batista (#43, 1-0, 4.02) vs. Tommy Hanson, (#48, 3-4, 4.23)
Final Score: Nationals: 3, Braves: 0
Nats New Record: 43-57
Play of the Game: Nyjer Morgan manufactures a run all by himself in the first
Player of the Game: Miguel Batista – came in to the game to boos (everyone was expecting Strasburg), but managed to go for 5 scoreless innings – a FANTASTIC job for a middle-reliever filling in for the young phenom.
Favorite Non-baseball Moment: Ashley plays “One red cup” (see below).
Who was there: Ashley and Maggie
Our Records: Ashley – 6-8; Maggie – 6-10
Where did we sit: The ‘regular’ section (310), in the middle of Row C. It was a sold-out game (in anticipation of Strasburg), so there wasn’t a lot of elbow room.
What did we eat: Chicken fingers – previously reviewed here.
Promotional Item: Gray t-shirts with “Washington” emblazoned in curly script. No enormous logos on the back either – just a small Hard Times Cafe logo on the sleeve.
President’s Race: Stupid Abe led from wire to wire. There was really nothing of interest in this race.

Other Observations:
- As soon as Ashley and Maggie walked into the stadium (an hour early, no less), they were disappointed to find that there were tons of people there and all of the “T-Shirt Tuesday” shirts were long gone. However, they walked past members of the Nats Pack and Ashley stopped to say something about the stacks of Solo cups they were carrying around. They explained the game to her and asked if she would like to play. At that point, Maggie walked up and they recognized her as being a former winner! Ashley was excited about giving it a try, so at the appointed time she showed up to meet her fellow contestants and practice cup stacking. The object of “One Red Cup” was to take a stack of cups (39 blue and 1 red) and move the top cup to the bottom of the stack until the red cup made it the whole way through. Despite dropping a cup in the middle of the competition, Ashley managed to take the win! As evidenced by the pictures, it clearly took a lot of concentration to make this happen. For her efforts, she won a Nats Prize Pack and the eternal awe of Clint and the cheering crowds. The Prize Pack included: the backpack, a fleece blanket, blue Nats cap, Frank Howard bobblehead, and a Los Nacionales t-shirt. Not bad!
- You could tell the exact moment people started to figure out Strasburg wouldn’t be pitching. Probably the moment Batista walked to the dugout from the bullpen. And then a more full moment of realization as the lineup was announced, and the man who took the mound was obviously not a 22 year old. We’ve heard tell that some people got up and left at that point. There were a number of people in our section who loudly complained. Maggie was feeling a little antagonistic, and decided to call some of these people out on it, but really – it didn’t matter so much. No one from our section left. It was a beautiful night, and we had a wonderful baseball game to watch. And really – Strasburg is a $15 MILLION dollar investment for our team – no one wants to break him.
- Nyjer Morgan never seems to be completely happy until he is completely covered in dirt.
- If someone gets hit with a ball or a bat – they should get to keep that ball or bat. That wasn’t the case last night. The situation was too complicated to completely describe well, suffice to say – don’t be THAT guy.
- The field looked terrible after having been burned into submission before/during the Dave Matthews Band conference a few nights earlier.
- This was the fullest Ashley or Maggie had seen the stadium since opening day or the very first Strasmas. It was great to see so many people stay, even after they realized it wasn’t Strasmas anymore.
- Adam Dunn kept looking over his shoulder and yelling/talking to the other players. We wonder what he was saying…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4zT7KZPKsw]

(the rest of the album from this game can be seen here)
(videos from this and other games can be seen here)

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July 17, 2010: Delmarva Shorebirds vs West Virginia Power

By Ashley on July 20, 2010

Game: Delmarva Shorebirds vs. West Virginia Power
Final Score: Shorebirds: 3, Power: 2

Play of the Game: Another great minor league game! I regret that I didn’t know the players well enough to say “so-and-so had an outstanding play”, but it was still fun to watch them. The Shorebirds were tied 0-0 at the top of the 6th when a storm came through the area and delayed the game 45 min. Ashley and her Dad decided to head home (it was an hour drive), so they missed all the scoring. I’m sure it was exciting though!

Favorite Non-baseball Moment: Two of the promos/games took the cake. First, the announcer came over the PA system and asked “the person driving the car with license plate XXX to stand up.” His lights were not on, but he did have the dirtiest car in the lot so he won a free car wash! Then, a truck drove onto the field with a box on the back. A lucky fan stepped in, a pile of money was tossed in, and a fan was turned on to blow it around. It looked like he only managed to grab a few bucks… I think that game is probably harder than it looks!

Who was there: Ashley and her Dad

Our Records: Ashley – 6-8; Ashley’s Dad 1-0

Where did we sit: Ashley and her Dad splurged for $11 seats (grandstand were $8 and “premium” were $13) and ended up 4 rows back from the field between the dugout and home plate. It was close enough to hear the ball slap into the catcher mitt and see all of the Shorebirds warming up on deck right in front of us.

What did we eat: Ashley’s Dad jumped on the beer special – 32 oz. for $6. Ashley couldn’t handle that much beer without falling asleep, so she went for a smaller cup in addition to her Italian sausage. Ashley’s Dad enjoyed his beer with an Angus burger. Both were pretty tasty!

Other Observations: The Shorebirds have a very nice stadium! If I was in the area, I would definitely go back again. The fans were also very nice… none of them said anything about the Nats hat I was wearing (the Shorebirds are an Orioles team).

More Shorebirds pictures here.

Posts tagged “july”