Farewell, Skip

I don't really have a lot to say except that for reasons that pass understanding, I'm really upset about the departure of Frank Robinson as Nats' Manager. Is it because he reminds me of a bygone era in baseball that I tend to romanticize? Is it because he put up with a never ending stream of shit from MLB as they used the Expos as a farm team for the rest of the league? Is it his sheer impressiveness as both a player and a manager? (Check out his numbers; they're unreal). I can't say why, but I'd still like to issue a big "fuck you" to the folks in the Nats' offices. They handled this whole thing like fucktards and Frank deserved better.

Angelos can kiss my... Nevermind.

As per ususal, DCSportsChick is way ahead of me, but I can't not mention the big news: Nationals games. On television. More specifically, Nationals games on my television. Finally.

I'm actually a little disappointed. The Comcast/MASN dispute was a great target, a good way to release pent up anger. Bad day at work? Complain to someone about how I loathe Comcast. Get cut off in traffic? Fuck Angelos. In fact, the Nats TV issue was the thing that inspired me to start this here blog.

And now its all over. It's a sad day for haters.

It's A Bargain

As I was watching a Simpsons rerun on Fox 5, Chad Cordero appeared on my screen to inform me that the Nationals will be hosting a blood drive at RFK during a game sometime soon. Sadly, I cannot find anthing online to verify this, but they did something similar last year, so I assume its legit. My favorite part, however, is the fact that, if you show up and give blood, you get two free tickets to a future Nationals game.

That's right. Can't afford Nats tickets? You can, indeed, pay for them in blood.

Update: Just saw the ad again, and I can give you the details I know you've been craving. The blood drive will be happening August 12, from 10 AM - 7 PM. At RFK Stadium. If you're planning on going that day, you should really do this.

RFK Part II: The Pictures

Okay. Sorry for the delay there. It looks like we've finally worked through all the technical difficulties, so now on to the pictures.

(Siobhan's Note: As Biff drinks beer, his hand grows less steady. Some of these shots look as though they were taken by Katharine Hepburn)

The Hat







The View From Our Seats



The Steam Cleaned Concourse



The Wave





The Corporate Suite



The Closest Thing to Improved Concessions That Biff Could Find





The Reason Biff Couldn't Find Burrito Brothers Next to Section 120





The Douchebag With the Popped Collar



Siobhan's Ass - On my way to smoke and get more beer



The Red Carpet After the Game





And last but not least...

The President Race!!!













For further coverage of all the Grand ReOpening fun, go here and/or here.

Also, huge thanks go out to BigTDog for providing the photographic equipment needed to make this happen. His selfless act makes him the first official Friend of the Opossum Palooza (FOP for short).

"Get Your Red On"

As promised, the O-P team attended Friday night's Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Grand Reopening Red Carpet Extravaganza. Needless to say, we arrived late like the quality journalists that we are. We walked past the inflatable wonderland that was the Nats' Fan Zone on East Capitol Street and arrived at the red carpet just in time to hear the fireworks that accompany "rockets' red glare" during the national anthem. Unlike other nights, though, the anthem was also accompanied by a flyover and a bevy of fireworks at the end of the song as well. (Biff's theory: Extra unused "Nats Win!" fireworks.) Standing in line waiting for tickets, we were at least able to see, via television screen in the Team Store, the first pitch being thrown out by the "US Armed Services" (whatever that means).

Upon entering the stadium, we were each handed a (surprisingly good quality) red "W" baseball cap (sponsored by Tickets.com). (Siobhan's Note: These hats smelled like what I remember Wal*Mart smells like: shoddy workmanship and cheap child-labor) After finding our way to our seats (we entered the seating bowl to the tune of Ridin' Dirty, thanks in no small part to Ryan Zimmerman), the rest of the evening proceeded more or less as usual.

As far as the "improvements", a quick rundown of the concourse by Biff found very little to get excited about (Siobhan's Note: Burrito Brothers is next to Section 120, if you're interested - and I think you are.)

All in all, it was a pretty exciting evening, but the fact of the matter is, nothing will do it justice like pictures. Pictures are what you need, and pictures are what you'll get. As soon as we figure out how to make our computers work.

Siobhan's Note: There is still a shockingly small number of beer vendors in the 500-level seats; Budweiser was in troublingly short supply. Cotton candy more your thing? (If it is, I have no idea why you're reading this blog, by the way) I saw roughly 5 vendors of the cloyingly sweet confection to every beer vendor.

Run, You Stupid Fecking President, Run!

This is what I'll be seeing tonight at the RFK "Grand Re-opening."
How great is that?

RFK Make-Over?

So I awake to news that the Nationals' new owner is going to make some changes to that old piece of shit, RFK stadium. These changes include, but are presumably not limited to:
"...planting flowers and improving the landscaping outside the stadium, steam-cleaning the concourses, adding banners outside the ballpark and staging races between innings around the perimeter of the field by costume characters resembling former U.S. presidents...(Biff's note: Run you stupid fucking president, run!)"
I'm speechless really at the absurdity of it all.
This to improve the flagging attendance numbers? How's about putting a team on the field that doesn't suck, Kasten?
Lipstick on a pig, friends and neighbors. That's what this amounts to.

(Biff's Note #2: Pigs wearing lipstick racing around the field? I would absolutely pay to see that.)

More reasons to love this month

Since moving to Washington, DC, the Nationals are an obscene 24-6 in the month of June (20-6 last year, 4-0 so far this year) after beating the Braves last night.

A-Sor: Home Run King!

Alfonso Soriano hit his 20th and 21st home runs of the season during the Nationals' 8-4 win to complete a three game sweep of the Brewers. That puts him in second place in the majors, just four behind the now injured Albert Pujols (or A-Jols, as I like to call him). Yet somehow, as of May 30, he was fifth in All-Star voting among National League outfielders. Now, I understand that there is more to being a good baseball player than hitting home runs. Soriano's fielding has been somewhat suspect, to be sure. That doesn't justify such a low ranking, though.

Unfortunately, the fan voting is usually pretty much a pathetic sham. I don't particularly care for the concept of letting fan voting decide anything in the All-Star Game (especially in the MLB where the game actually counts for something), and this is a great example of why. Some people make the argument that the All-Star Game is "all about the fans" and therefore the fans should get to decide who they want to see on the field, but this is not what most fans want to see. Only a relatively small minority of baseball fans want to see an AL lineup consisting of nothing but Yankees and Red Sox players. The rest of us just want to see the best players the league has to offer, but we are far too lazy to stuff the ballot boxes to compete with rabid Yankees fans. In Soriano's case, its especially magnified because he plays in a city where, unless you're wearing a burgundy uniform, you're not likely to be paid much attention, and therefore there are hardly any people who are going to go out of their way to push him into the starting lineup.

A-Sor: Home Run King?

Albert Pujols was taken out of the Cardinals' 8-5 loss to the Cubs last night after the second inning after straining his right oblique muscle running down a fly ball. He could be out up to six weeks. Which is pretty awful if you're Bud Selig or MLB. Pujols had provided a delightful (and sorely needed) counterpoint to all the Barry Bonds hoopla, and was finally starting to get the respect that he deserves after having been overshadowed by Bonds' artificially enhanced dominance over the past few years. He was even on pace to Barry's single-season home run record.

This means that now Alfonso Soriano now has the most home runs of any non-injured player in the National League. (I know, I know, Ryan Howard also has 19 and has played two fewer games. I'm slightly unabashed in my homerism. Sue me.) I think if A-Sor finished the year leading the NL in home runs, it would be the worst possible thing that could happen. Anything that makes Jim Bowden look like less of an incompetent dolt is not okay in my book.

Happy Memorial Day

Wow. Memorial Day Weekend was certainly a boring one, DC sports-wise, wasn't it? That's right, nothing happened this weekend. Move along folks, nothing to see here.

Hello, Nats.

The Washington Nationals I knew and loved in 2005 seem to have finally returned to RFK Stadium, after capping off a 7-3 homestand to move to within nine games of .500 (They're also only ten games out of first). I'm excited to see how they'll do against the Phillies, ostensibly the second best team in the NL East.

Interesting note in the AP article regarding yesterdays game. "Nationals INF Matt LeCroy received a cortisone shot for his sore right elbow and is day to day." Could Frank be manipulating the media to protect the ego of his one time third string catcher?

Things that make you say "Huh?"

Jose Guillen of the Washington Nationals, left tonight's game against Houston because of an eye injury caused by his batting glove. Also, Nats catcher Wiki Gonzalez left the game with a concussion caused when he got hit in the head on an opposing batter's backswing.

Just as bizarre, I think, the Nationals won their fourth of their last five games. Rookie pitcher Mike O'Connor gave up just three hits and one run over six innings, lowering his ERA to 2.65.

Battle of the Beltway(s): Mascot Issues

Screech is bad enough. But during today's telecast of the Orioles-Nationals game, I also saw a bizarre looking big blue thing in a red, white and blue top hat. What the hell was that thing? Also, why was the O's mascot also at the game? That seems sort of silly.

Runs? Anyone?

Remember the last time the Nats scored a run? It's been a long time, so you might not. But, I assure you, it did actually happen once.

Pitching. Pitching. Pitching.

So can we now officially agree that Tony Armas Jr. is the staff ace? I don't really know how I feel about that, and I can't help but wonder what might have been if Patterson could just stay healthy. But good for Tony.

Huh?

The Nats are one Livan Hernandez quality start (a long shot, I know) away from winning their second straight series after handing it to the NL Central-leading Cincinnati Reds. (I'm kind of ashamed to admit that the only way I can ever spell "Cincinnati" correctly is by singing a song in my head from this movie.)

And then everything was okay.

Just when everything I thought I knew was crashing down around my head, the Washington Nationals had 16 runners reach base, yet managed to score just one run in a 3-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.

But think how much lower they'd be if they'd wasted all that money on a pitching staff.

The New York Yankees are the first baseball team ever to be valued at over $1 billion according to Forbes Magazine. But that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is at number six on the list of MLB's most valuable franchises.

That would be the owner-less, TV deal-less, competent GM-less Washington Nationals.

How has MLB not sold this team yet?

Jose v. Pedro, Round II

I was at the Nationals-Mets game at RFK last night, and let me just say, I was sorely dissappointed. The closest I came to seeing any ort of shenanigans was when Jose Guillen lined a pitch right back at Pedro Martinez. Which, I'm assuming, wasn't intentional.

I get that the MLB wants to protect its image, and bench clearing brawls do not accomplish this in any way, but the fact is that there were nearly 30,000 people in RFK Stadium just praying that someone would get beaned, and (presumably) because of MLB's warnings to the two teams, nothing happened and everyone went home empty handed. Except the asshole Mets fan who was sitting behind me.

I'd like to see baseball model itself after the NHL. If Pedro wants to bean someone, let him do it. If, in retaliation, a Nats pitcher beans Pedro or another Met, they should be allowed. In the NHL, this sort of thing happens all the time. But, the NHL also has a rule in place wherein any player leaving the bench to join in a fight is automatically ejected and suspended ten games. I think a rule like this would solve all of baseball's problems.

Except for Jim Bowden. There's no solving Jim Bowden.