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June Prediction Post – Part 1

By Maggie on June 2, 2012

Since the “Predict the Nats performance” post was such an interesting challenge (and since Drew and I did fairly well), I think a June prediction post is well in order. The Nats have a challenging month ahead of them where they’ll be playing the entire American League East over the course of two and a half weeks. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Once again, we’ll be splitting the predictions in two, with the First Ladies taking the first post, and CTmD taking on the second. Let’s get started!

Braves (vs June 1-3, @ 29-30, July 1)

Drew: I got a little carried away in my May preview with the ‘S’ word. I was thrilled to see the Nats actually get one sweep and take care of the Bravos in A-town. These two series are still going to be tough. I know the Braves have been struggling with injuries but so is everyone else. They’ve been pretty good team so far, with strong BB% and wOBA even with a mediocre pitching staff(1.03 HR/9 and 4.06 FIP). Despite that, I think the Nats have this group of Braves number. Since last season the Nats have played really well against the Braves. I’m going to say the Nats go 2-1 in both series and wind up 4-2 for June.

Maggie: This coming week is a big opportunity for the Nationals. They’ll be facing two division rivals, and one of those is the Braves, who they just swept. The Nats will (hopefully!) be getting some players back from the DL (can you say Michael Morse?), so they’ll continue to win. But after a long division road trip, I’m thinking they’ll be tired and don’t see them sweeping the Braves again. By the time we get to the end of the month, the Braves should have more players back and the Nats will be playing at Turner field again. I have a feeling this will be a turning point for Atlanta, so I’m only giving the Nats 1. (2-1, 1-2; 3-3 for the month).

Mets (vs June 5-7)

Drew: I’m still not sure I can buy the Mets as real. Their defense is pretty shaky with a .307 BABIP (3^rd highest in the NL), they still give up more than HR per game, they strike out 21% of the time(5^th most in all of baseball), and they’ve actually given up more runs than they’ve scored (214-234). These are not the makings of a winning team. No matter how they keep winning I can’t believe this team is for real until some of those stats take a more positive turn. I’m going to agree with Maggie on this one and go 2-1.

Maggie: The Mets have been a real surprise this season – maybe more so than the Nationals since everyone was still ragging on them at the beginning of the season and was talking up the Nats. The Nats haven’t played them since their second series, so I have a feeling it will be close, but as a homer, I’ll give the Nats a slight edge. (2-1)

Red Sox (@ June 8-10)

Drew: No one in Boston was really jazzed about the Sox over memorial day. They dropped 2 of 3 to the Rays and there isn’t much buzz. The thing is, they’re not playing terribly. Yeah, they’re last in their division but they’re over .500. In most other divisions they’d be competing for second. They’re offense seems to be performing with a solid wOBA (3^rd in the AL, 4^th overall), a decent BB% (ok, they strike out a fair amount too). Their pitching has been atrocious. The Nats have been a little bit inconsistent bat wise but I’m still going to pick their pitching to carry this one and say 2-1. I’d like to see a little revenge for April 3^rd.

Maggie: The Red Sox have been really struggling this year. Of course, struggling in the AL East means sitting at .500 and still being in 5th place. This is definitely not the team that dominated for a stretch in the mid-aughts, so I’m giving the young and surging Nats a slight edge here (though it will be close playing at Fenway). (2-1)

Blue Jays (@ June 11-13)

Drew: I have no idea what to make of the Blue Jays (really resisting the urge to call them the BJs). They’re playing about as expected from a run production stand point. But since they’re in the AL, and Canadian I don’t know anything else about them. Flipping a coin here aaannnnddd….. 1-2. Nats gotta lose some time right?

Maggie: The Blue Jays are another team that have “struggled” this year (though currently sitting just over .500), but they haven’t had a real signature dominant win within their division. I was originally thinking the Nats would take just 1, but will bump that up to 2 since they may have a decent cheering section considering the franchise’s former base in Canada. (2-1)

We’ll finish things out tomorrow!

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April 4, 2012: Nats vs Red Sox (Exhibition)

By Ashley on April 5, 2012

Welcome back to…

Spring! The cherry trees were in full bloom and military helicopters flew by the stadium regularly. What else says spring in DC?

Ballpark food! $5 pregame beers are back, along with Shake Shack (that delicious burger), and Box Frites (not pictured are our garlic fries). Your First Ladies will try to sample some of the new food options, but sometimes you have to go with what you know. Of note, prices have gone up again on some items.

Racing Presidents! We thought Teddy might have a chance in the preseason, but no luck. He was helped out by the bunny (who tackled Abe, Tom, and George), but got distracted by two jugglers right before the finish line.

Fabulous weather! The field started out completely in the sun, but the shadows stretched long as the game played out. Ashley’s new seats are over in left field… a girl could get used to this view.

Silly games between innings! So far the best new game was “Stealing Second”. The contestant has 45 seconds to run from center field to 2nd base, switch the base out, and run back. If he does it, he gets to keep the game used base. Nifty.

Great catches! Derosa was right in front of us in left field, and we got to see several nice snags. The infield wasn’t too bad either!

Home runs! Ramos got things started with a 3 run homer, and Desmond answered with a solo in the next inning. It wasn’t quite enough to put us over the top, but it was lots of fun. And very promising.

Dramatic 9th innings! The Nats had a chance to tie it up in the 9th with 2 outs, Desmond on 2nd, and a nice long line drive by Espinosa. Desmond ran as hard as he could, but the ball just beat him to the plate (at least, that’s what the Ump wanted us to believe…). I wasn’t disappointed that we didn’t pull out the tie (no extra innings in preseason), because the game was just so much fun. (Picture courtesy of Drew).

First impressions? I think the Nats will be a fun team to watch this year. Then again, it’s hard not to enjoy yourself when you’ve skipped work to go watch your team on a gorgeous spring afternoon.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a bonus post – the Wounded Warrior Amputee vs DC Celebrity Softball game.

Full set of pictures can be found here.

April 3, 2010: Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox

By Maggie on April 4, 2010

Game: #00 – Washington Nationals vs. Boston Red Sox
Starting Pitchers: Craig Stammen (#35, 1-2, 3.72) vs. Wakefield (#49, 4-1, 3.04)
Final Score: Nationals: 1, Red Sox: 6
Nats New Record: 10-21 (Final Spring Training Record)
Nats Play of the Game: Adam Kennedy picks up a hit that is heading out to the outfield, makes a fast turn to get the out.
Nats Player of the Game: Ian Desmond plays some defense, the likes of which we haven’t seen in a while, and scores Washington’s solitary run.
Favorite Moment: New-look defense double play (Desmond-Kennedy-Dunn)
Who was there: Maggie and Thea (friend from grad school)
Our Records: Maggie: 0-1 (spring training)
Where did we sit: Section 106, Row U, Seats 4&5 (end of row). The view was ok, but the foul pole blocked my view (from seat 5) of the pitcher, and Thea’s view (from seat 4) of first base. It was in full shade by 4pm – this may not be the case during the height of summer, but for today it was PERFECT.
What did we eat: I started out with an all-beef hot dog (from Nats Dogs) and blue slushie (from NJ’s Pretzels) for lunch. The all-beef hot dog is a significant piece of…pieces of meat. The slushie was, as always, excellent, and did it’s part to turn my mouth blue. Later (in the dinner hour), Maggie had a pretzel dog and water (from NJ’s pretzels), and Thea had boardwalk fries and a Blue Moon beer (from Boardwalk Fries). The pretzel dog was good. The pretzel part was better than the hot dog part (which should have been smaller). Thea said her fries were good, but needed salt, or malt vinegar, or SOMETHING. But the beer was good.
President’s Race: Teddy took the lead, with the other presidents lagging behind. “That Cat” appeared, and started picking off the stragglers one by one. He didn’t get to Teddy until near the finish line. He was rough with Teddy, so Teddy was rough with him. Teddy won – and then Screech dq’d him! In a shocking turn of events, “That Cat” won the President’s race, despite the fact that he is not a Rushmore. Shocking. Unacceptable. I’m thinking the promotional team didn’t want any of the presidents to win so that they all start with a clean slate for the regular season.
Other Observations: There were LOTS of Sox fans around, but it seemed like there were fewer walking around than at the Sox series last May. I have a feeling that many of those Sox fans are regularly Nationals fans (when they can’t see their AL team). I talked with the guy sitting next to me during the game, and that’s the impression he gave – for this game, he was a Sox fan; but for the other 162 games of the year, his heart belongs to the Nats. Good to hear.
The middle infield looked much improved. One of the things I remember from last year was a lot of silly mistakes were made. Desmond and Kennedy worked very well together, and I have a feeling that Guzman could fit well into that group if he has made the improvements that everyone says he has. In any case – the middle infield will be something to watch.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E_3aIRxK_ns]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2xXwwq3XMg]

(full album from this game can be seen here)

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