April 10, 2007
In-Nat-equate
Well, Nats fans, what's there to say? What can we add to the criticism leveled by so many others?
What can we say about an opening week where the Nats have yet to lead for a single pitch? When the pitching has spotted the opposition leads of 6-0, 6-0, 5-0, 4-0, 7-0, 6-0, and 3-0? When the lineup needed 30 at bats to finally get a hit with a man in scoring position? When the defense has a worst-in-the-league eight errors?
At least they're consistent.
There was very, very little to like about the first week of the baseball season. Other than the big crowd on Opening Day, the fans have stayed away in droves. Between the on-the-field performance and the weather, it's a wonder anyone was there at all.
There are a few bright spots, however, which may point to brighter days ahead. Shawn Hill and Jerome Williams both showed something in their starts, despite being let down by the defense behind them. Despite terrible springs, Ryan Church (.393 OBP and slugging .708) and Felipe Lopez (.300 BA) started the season with fairly hot bats. And somehow, despite his troublesome past, that Dmitri Young is irresistable.
So we'll just hope the Nats can get things going this week as the hit the road to face the Braves and the Mets, who lead the early NL East standings. Tonight they send rookie Matt Chico to the mound to face resurgent righty Tim Hudson in Atlanta.
Photos by Flickr user Speedy Delivery. Biting commentary by RFK section 524.
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The cold weather hasn't helped. Who wants to spend major league money on a decidedly minor league team, and freeze their butts off in the process? I thought about going once over the weekend, but it was just too damn cold.
If the people of DC are anything like me, they're interested in their team doing well, but recognize that this year will not be pretty, and is pretty much biding time until the big unveiling next year, at which point we hope that the team will be better, and the excitement of a new park and excited fan base will propel us past the damn Mets.
It's time for us to simply take pride in our team sucking. Hey, it's worked for the Cubs all these years.
When tickets are $5, there's no complaining about how bad the team plays. Hopefully they bring back the Coke can discount, which knocked ticket prices down to $3 last year.
Wow. DC couldn't care any less about baseball. On to the next multi-million dollar waste of money to give our hopeless city some identity!
Hey D: By 'on to the next multi-million dollar waste of money' do you mean DC public schools?? At least a new stadium will bring in some revenue for DC!
DC has never been a baseball town. Not when it had the Senators and lost them, not it when it got the Senators back and lost them, and not now. For whatever reason (or reasons) the DC area is simply not willing to support a Major League baseball team.
Next year will be a mirage. The new stadium will sell, people will go because its new. But the reality is that the new stadium will suck compared to what other cities have done and once the "newness" wears off, it will be hard to tell the difference between the Nationals and the Marlins.
SWester,
Have you seen the VR tour of the new stadium? I think it might take long while for that place to suck. They are really gearing it toward cooperate suites which are far superior to anything I have seen. Honestly, I rather watch them suck it up in RFK, at least the focus is on baseball not the 30 different restaurants and the HD jumbo tron..
SWester,
You're all wet when it comes to your knowledge of Senators history.
You say D.C. is not a baseball town...keep in mind in the span of a decade that both incarnations of the Senators had misantrope (and possibly racist) owners who were more interested in the bottom line and suburban ballparks in the midwest for their teams. It was evident that both owners were all too happy to operate the team on the cheap and were indifferent to spending money on scouting, minor league talent or free agents and they did not have to worry about a stadium because Congress built one for them.
In 1961, Calvin Griffith moved the team to Minneapolis because he felt that he could find better "read as whiter" crowds. Bob Short may have been looking for the same thing after the 1968 riots when he moved the team to Texas and changed their name to the Rangers.
For pete's sake, give the Nats a few years to get established in what is arguably the toughest division in the majors. I would agree if you said that DC sports fans are especially impatient and fickle, and are fair-weathers for anything other than the Redskins, but claiming impending doom of their demise and move to someplace like Las Vegas (bleech) is significantly premature.
And for all of you people out there that still think that private citizen's taxes are going to the ball park, THEY'RE NOT! It is being paid by a tax on BUSINESSES! Think a little more pragmatically about this...if you were to get the 2000 largest businesses (think major law/lobbying firms) in D.C. to pay an additional tax on anything, would they rather pay for a new showplace like the stadium, or for D.C. schools--when few of the corporate stakeholders don't actually live in D.C., and if they do, most likely would send their kids to private schools?
Ok. I have to rant about the 'newness wearing off' too....Of course it will wear off eventually. Back when FedEx (er Jack Kent Cooke) Stadium opened in 1996, people marveled at its size and amenities. 11 years later everyone laments it as a poorly planned monstrosity, that was situated in a way to guarantee a headache in getting there for a game. Some are now thinking of building a new Redskins stadium in DC once RFK is razed. People will flock to the new stadium for a few years because its shiny and new. There will always be a brand new stadium somewhere, in some sport. The difference between the Nats and the Marlins in a few years will be primarliy that the Nats have a real baseball park and not a poorly modified NFL stadium; and a fanbase (for the Marlins) who I can understand if they don't want to go to a baseball game on a muggy night in Miami.
Personally, I can't wait for the new stadium and the completion of the waterfront development. Bad team or not (and with Kasten trying to run the team like he did the Braves in the 1990s, it could be good in about two or three years), just from the renderings, that ballpark will be well worth the price of admission. At least it better be.
The difference between Nationals Park (until the new corporate name is chosen) and FedEx is that the latter is a monstrosity in the middle of nowhere, while the former is going to be just off Capitol Hill, far easier to get to (not touching the parking issue for now, but at least you can get there by Metro), and will eventually be in the middle of an actual neighborhood with stuff to do. No comparison to Raljohn.
This article makes me sad. Boo hoo. How, in our nation's capital, are you actually THIS fickle that you cannot enjoy America's original pastime??? I lived in D.C. when the Nats came to town and spent three hours on eBay trying to get opening day tickets. The daughter of a career officer, I had never had baseball in my life before, and I welcomed the chance to root for the home team and follow the boys through ups and downs. Even though a year later I had moved across the country to San Francisco, I still get excited when the Grapefruit League starts and my Google "Nats" Alerts roll in by the dozens each week. Well, except when crap like this comes to my inbox and I wonder how people like the author are able to enjoy life when they're so focused on the negative and can't just sit back and enjoy what it means to be a fan.
Emilie, I hear you on enjoying the national pastime but it is hard to deny how bad the Nats are going to be this year. The first week was hard to watch their play and with the weather out here this past week, who can blame the fans for staying away. Sure an afternoon ballgame in July will be great with some hot dogs and beer - no matter the score. But in April night with hot chocolate and a team that blows routine ground balls? Please tell me Kasten will get it done.
timfry-
Obviously, I can't tell you that Kasten will get it done, but I can tell you that I hope Kasten will get it done. Of course fans might not be able to make every game during a season like that of baseball. But do you see football fans in Wisconsin wincing about braving some weather, even if the Packers have a losing season?
I don't blame current DC-area residents for not showing up as much as I blame the constant put-downs in the media, which foster the attitude of not showing up. If there were some more positive stories about the Nats; what they are doing RIGHT and why you should go to the games, then I think the clean-slated masses could be rallied. But if you have a fresh fan base and all they see is blow after blow in the op-eds, why would they even want to go to a game that's either A) not taking place in perfect weather or B) not with a winning team? I think it's fun to have a baseball team to root for, rain or shine, win or lose.
Emilie, I wish I could agree with you whole heartedly but I can't. I've been a baseball fan forever and boycotted the Orioles (my 1st "home" team) when Angelos started blocking DC's efforts. I've been to many games including all 3 home openners, but we suck...we really, really suck this year. It will be better in the future. I will always be a fan, but I will not be a blind fan. Timfry, as for those hot dogs, hope you get a bun with yours in that they can't provide the basics right now. I, who never leaves anything early, left the home opener before the 7th inning stretch. I will be back...when it's warm.