The Nats finally enjoyed a day off yesterday after more than two weeks of consecutive gamedays. A winning May seems to have gotten the season back on track after a disasterous April, but the Nats still have to cover plenty of ground if they want to make a run at the top half of the division. Winning four out of the six remaining games on this roadtrip will be necessary to maintain some momentum heading…
The outcome was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but it’s still one more step toward getting the Nationals on the right track. Today in New York, baseball’s team owners unanimously approved the Lerner group’s purchase of the Nats for the sticker price of $450 million, according to the Post. Lerner won’t officially get the reins of the team until June, when he’ll also be replacing team president Tony Tavares with new hope and ownership partner…
Last week brought rosy predictions as to how much revenue the new Washington Nationals stadium would attract. According to a study commissioned by District CFO Natwar Gandhi, the team stood to rake in $203 million in its first year and $190 million a year thereafter, making it the third highest grossing team in baseball. In fact, the predictions were so high that even baseball officials were left to express doubts: The projections greatly exceeded the…
We’re always one to celebrate when the District is good at something. But today’s news is bittersweet. We’re really good, it seems, at having really bad air, or so reports the Washington Times. According to an updated EPA report, air quality in the District is the fourth worst in the country, ranking behind New York, California and Oregon based on tests for 177 air toxins, including lead and benzene. We can try and take solace…
The Post identifies an interesting criminal trend in the District: church robbing. Perhaps not as lucrative as banks or liquor stores, churches still present inviting targets, particularly as security tends to be much more relaxed than in other places of business. Thieves have gotten away with computers and other electronics (including a vacuum cleaner) and with wallets and credit cards. According to the Post, 12 Northwest churches have been robbed in the past two months….
Earlier this week, the Nationals dodged a bullet when former baseball hero Sammy Sosa opted for likely retirement rather than take Washington’s admittedly measly non-guaranteed $500,000 offer. Bully for the Nats, who won’t have to see wasted green on the bench and whiffs at the plate, but still, it’s a sign of the straits in which the club finds itself that one of the major attempted deals of the offseason was a throwaway contract…
Last night at the National Press Club, Nats fans got a few minutes of Nationals president Tony Tavares’ time. He appeared with the W. Post’s John Feinstein, NPR’s Scott Simon and moderator Marvin Kalb, as part of Kalb’s semi-annual “Kalb Report” interview show/discussion panel. Besides the always-hot topic of steroid abuse, one of the evening’s big subjects was Sammy Sosa and published reports that D.C. came thisclose to getting him. Responding to talk that another…
As we posted yesterday, the as-yet-unnamed D.C. baseball team has finally told expectant fans when and how they can purchase season tickets. But that’s not the only exciting information to be found on our nameless team’s website. As of Nov. 1, the team has officially began seeking qualified individuals to fill a number of positions within the organization. Obsessive about baseball stats? You may be an ideal Manager of Baseball Information. Want to be Tony…
On the heels of the latest controversy, DCist notes that there’s been more baseball confusion surrounding our “team to be named later.” First, the Post reported that a plan for purchasing season tickets in 2005 will be unveiled today. We’re nearing the close of the business day and DCist has been hitting refresh on a number of baseball websites — with no plan in sight. Though the Expos president, Tony Tavares, states that past delays…