The New York Times Magazine featured, this past Sunday, the work of former Expos and current Mets General Manager Omar Minaya, whose work in Flushing has concentrated on attracting Latinos, both to the stands and the playing fields of Shea. Mentioned in the piece is the stellar work Minaya did with Les Expos, bringing in Latino talents such as current Nationals All-Star pitcher Livan Hernandez and second baseman Jose Vidro, in keeping the troubled team near the top of the standings during its march through the MLB wilderness. Minaya’s work has led many to dub the Mets “Los Mets,” but it is noted in the article that the Nats actually share the honor of having the highest percentage of Latino players in baseball. Los Nacionales (Los Nacs?), anyone?

And with whom do the Nats share that highest percentage? None other than the Dodgers of Los Angeles, who entered the Bobby last night with a sub .500 record and promptly hit four home runs in the least homer friendly park in the show, while long drives by Brad Wilkerson and just-returned slugger Nick Johnson fell maddeningly short of the RFK fences. After falling behind 5-2, Washington managed to pull within one, and Vidro put the tying run on base in the ninth with a daring dash to second that turned a single into a two-bagger. But the beisbol gods said “no”, and Jose Guillen grounded out to the pitcher for the final out as the Nats dropped their tenth one-run game in a row.

The heads are shaking in the Nationals locker room, but after a month that saw the club lose 19 games, the story of the first half of the season remains only two games off the wild-card spot in the National League. Perhaps the most pressing question for the team is, as the withering heat of August continues and the city turns its attention to the Gibbskins, will the interest and attendance to keep the team above water (and .500) remain?

With that in mind, DCist brings you this week’s Nationals promotions:

Tonight (versus the Dodgers) is College Night, where a student ID gets you a $7 ticket to the game.

Friday‘s game aginst the Padres is Miller six-pack cooler night, where all fans over the age of 21 receive a free six-pack cooler (six-pack not included).

And Sunday (versus the Padres) is Family Day, where $49 buys you four tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas, four bags of chips, and four precious memories. Come on out and support the team.

Filed Under: Angeles, baseball, Brad Wilkerson, college, College Night, dcist, Dodgers, dogs, Family Day, Flushing, games, general manager, hot dogs, Jose Guillen, Jose Vidro, josevidro, latino, livan hernandez, Los, los angeles, mets, MLB, National League, nationals, new york, new york times, New York Times Magazine, nick johnson, Night, Omar Minaya, Padres, sports, the city, the game, The New York, the new york times, this week, Times Magazine, Tonight, washington,