April 7, 2016 – Marlins 6, Nationals 4 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/171094890/nationals-unable-to-cash-in-on-opportunities

 

Attendance: 41,650

Game Time: 3:32 (delayed 1 hour, 25 minutes by rain in the second inning)

Weather: 61 degrees, cloudy (but MUCH colder after the storm hit)

Wind: 11 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Lance Barksdale, First Base - Will Little, Second Base - Ted Barrett, Third Base - Toby Basner

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones (a welcome return from 2015)

 

Section 135, Row NN, Seats 10-13

 

Highlights – our seats were under cover … Daniel Murphy smashed a bases-loaded triple in the bottom of the first, matching the three runs Miami scored in the top of the frame … Bryce Harper got his MVP, Silver Slugger, and the keys to the city prior to the game, and later contributed two walks and a seventh-inning homer

 

Other – our seats being under cover didn’t help much when the wind and rain kicked up, as they evacuated the stands … the 100-level concourse was no place for the claustrophobic during the rain delay, as it was almost impossible to move … we were all surprised that Dusty brought starting pitcher Tanner Roark back after the long delay … Roark was hit often although not always hard during his 4-inning, 99-pitch stint, giving up 9 hits and 3 walks … the Nats managed only 6 hits for the game, wasting most of the 9 walks they drew

#115 Sunshine, Lollipops And Rainbows – Lesley Gore (1965)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQmBXEZEYtg

 

Not only did the Nats 2014 season end with a whimper rather than a bang in baseball terms, they were also not making good choices with their seventh-inning stretch songs, at least in my humble opinion. I’m sure “Friends In Low Places”, for instance, appeals to some, but it’s neither sufficiently uptempo nor easy enough to sing along with.

 

Naturally, I came up with a short list of tunes (7, if I remember correctly) that I considered more appropriate, and this was one of those that made it. In addition to meeting the criteria mentioned above and being a nice tribute to Gore, who died early the next year, it’s short enough (just 1:36) that you might be able to squeeze the whole thing in before play resumed.

 

Fortunately for us Nats fans there was a happy ending. I never heard them use this song, but they did go with the Tom Jones classic “It’s Not Unusual” (which was also on my list) during many of the games we attended last season, and I’m certainly not complaining about the times they played “Uptown Funk” instead.

#114 More Today Than Yesterday – Spiral Starecase (1969)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoLRZUgFTy8

 

I can’t say I know much about this band, other than that they were from Sacramento and never had another big hit. I liked this when it came out but it didn’t initially make much of an impression on me. It’s grown on me over the years, though, and is one of the best songs ever for wedding anniversary parties. (And yes, they did spell their name “Starecase”.)

#113 Michael (Row The Boat Ashore) – The Highwaymen (1961)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRv-fgfLFTk

 

When I was very young, my best friend and I (who shared the same first name) had a little club, which if I remember we called the “Searching Party”. It was a very exclusive club, not so much because we wouldn’t allow anyone else to join but because I don’t think anyone else was especially interested in applying for membership. Initially our favorite song we “I’ve Been Working On The Railroad”, which we typically would sing over and over again. (Fortunately for both sets of parents, almost all of this activity was outside in somebody’s back yard, rather than indoors.) At one point, though, the two of us did have a difference of opinion on picking a more contemporary official club song. This one was my choice; my friend wanted to go with “Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow-Polka Dot Bikini”. I can’t remember which of us prevailed – most likely we simply moved on to other things. “Michael” has nonetheless remained one of my favorites over the years (although I admit that “Bikini” is also on my iPod).

April 2, 2016 – Nationals 8, Twins 8 – Nationals Park (pre-season exhibition)

Home Run Derby, a little early (story, box)

 

Weather: 53 degrees, partly cloudy

Time: 3:09

Attendance: 24,799

Section 306, Row F, Seats 1-3 (just beyond third base)

 

Once again the weather forecast was dicey, and in fact there was a light rain falling when we exited the Metro station to walk to the ballpark. Fortunately the rain ended before the game started and held off thereafter; the sun even came out, making it a nice day for a game. The official attendance was 24,799, although not nearly that many folks appeared to actually show up. (Presumably not all of the season-ticket holders showed up, although the game was part of all the ticket plans.)

 

The two new Mike Isabella stands on the 300 level weren’t open yet, but I did try an order of beef and onion dumplings from Pinch Dumpling – very good, but as the old joke about Chinese food goes, I was hungry less than an hour later. (A slice of pizza fixed that.)

 

Although it certainly wasn’t hot and the wind didn’t appear to be much of a factor, the balls were flying for the first four innings of the game, with 6 balls leaving the yard and a few others backing outfielders to the warning track. After Brian Dozier (a former member of the Bethesda Big Train) led off the game with a round-tripper, the Nats struck back for 3 runs in the bottom of the frame on homers by Zimmerman and Murphy. Nats starting pitcher Joe Ross had an interesting 5-inning outing; he issued no walks and fanned 8, but gave up 12 hits and 8 runs. With the home team down 8-5 (Taylor and Espinosa having added solo shots), things quieted down considerably for a while. The Nats chipped away at the lead with single runs in the 7^th and 8^th, while their bullpen kept the Twins off the board. Finally Chris Heisey, who had just won the final spot on the regular-season roster, celebrated by leading off the bottom of the 9^th with a blast that tied the game.

April 1, 2016 – Nationals 4, Twins 3 – Nationals Park (pre-season exhibition)

Gee but it's great to be back home (story, box)

Weather: 81 degrees, partly cloudy

Time: 2:42

Attendance: 0 (as no tickets were actually sold, plenty of empty seats and space for the kids to roam)

Section 129, Row H, Seats 11-13

 

For the first time this year, the Nationals had two exhibition games at Nats Park just prior to Opening Day, instead of just one. The 6:00 Friday game was basically for season ticket holders only, with general admission tickets and only the lower level of the stadium open. I took Metro and got there at 3:00 expecting a long line, but was pleasantly surprised to find myself among the first to arrive. While I wasn’t able to outrace all of the younger folks who were also heading for the prized seats behind the Nats’ dugout, we did wind up in that section, just 5 rows back. Even better, we had friends on either side of us, as we wound up occupying 11 of the seats in the row. Although the weather forecast was ominous, we had no rain at all, although there was quite a bit in sections of Montgomery County.

 

The Nats struck quickly in the first, notching two on a leadoff triple by newcomer Ben Revere followed by a Rendon walk, Harper sac fly and Zimmerman double. They added one more in the third on consecutive doubles to start the frame by Revere and Rendon. The Twins came back to tie in the top of the fourth, however, with 4 consecutive hits off Tanner Roark. Both pitching staffs then tossed goose eggs until the bottom of the eighth when the Nats took the lead in unexpected fashion, keyed by a double off the bat of pitcher Blake Treinen.

 

All of this set the stage for the first Nats Park appearance by Jonathan Papelbon since the infamous “Papelchoke” game last September. The reception as he entered the game was decidedly mixed (we estimated a 35% favorability rating), but the controversial closer turned the boos to cheers with a 1-2-3 save featuring two strikeouts.

Serendipity #58

Constant Craving – k.d. lang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXqPjx94YMg

Heard 3/31/2016 shortly after 10:00, at Wegman’s (Germantown)

March 29, 2016 – Phillies vs. Yankees (split squad, rainout) – Clearwater FL

Rain, rain, go away

 

Section 105, Row 15, Seats 14-18 – same section as Friday night, but several rows closer (and unfortunately no longer under cover)

 

Although the sun was out for a while in the morning, the weather forecasts for the afternoon’s game were fairly ominous, and they turned out to be pretty correct. We arrived early in search of autographs (Larry Bowa and Charlie Manuel, among others, were collected). We were somewhat encouraged because the tarp was not on the field, although it was rolled-up between first and second bases, ready for action. Although a moderate rain started falling shortly before game time, they proceeded with most of the pregame festivities, although close to the scheduled start they put on the tarp and announced that the game would be delayed. Around 1:45, to our surprise, they removed the tarp and started the game, although the rain had not let up at all. They continued to play through the bottom of the fourth inning despite deteriorating field conditions, when they halted play and announced a lightning delay. Again to our surprise, they didn’t put the tarp back on, although it was still raining as hard as before – maybe there’s no point in covering an already-wet field? We continued to wait around for a while, with the infield getting wetter and wetter, until they finally did cancel the game.

 

Our Phillies did not exactly distinguish themselves during the portion of the game that did take place. The Yanks rocked Brett Oberholtzer for 7 runs in his 4 innings, with a 3-run Dustin Ackley homer keying a 4-run top of the first and a subsequent 2-run blast by Miguel Andujar (no, I don’t know who he is either) in the 4^th. This despite the fact that Brian McCann was the only regular in the New York lineup, with almost all of the big names across the bay for a home game with the Pirates, where they did manage to finish 5 innings before calling it a day. The Phils, meanwhile, scored only once off Tanaka.

March 28, 2016 – Blue Jays 2, Phillies 1 – Dunedin FL

Another late loss (story, box)

 

Weather: 77 degrees, overcast (brief periods of ominous darkness early on and sunshine a bit later, with the lights on for for most of the afternoon. Light rain started just a few minutes before the game ended.)

Time: 2:22

Attendance: 4,975

Section 110, Row 7, Seats 13-17 – Almost the same relative location as Saturday’s game, so again we had to stay alert, although no balls came particularly close to us.

 

Food item of the day: salmon sandwich, about the size of a burger, and a bargain at $7.75.

 

Florida Auto Exchange Stadium is quite a different experience from Bright House and Champions Stadium – older and much smaller (actually the smallest total capacity of any spring training site in Florida, since there’s no berm or any other general-admission area). That does give the place a certain throwback charm, although fans have to put up with certain limitations in the amenities (only one men’s room and women’s room). For the most part, the Canadian hospitality was great; I met one usher originally from Hershey PA, so we reminisced for a bit about high school basketball and the Hershey Bears. There were a couple of exceptions; I wound up having to check my small folding umbrella outside the gate (after a VERY thorough bag search). And after the game, one of the staff took the “no re-entry” policy to a ridiculous extreme, as one member of our party who wandered outside the gate for a minute or two was almost prevented from coming back in to join the rest of us. On the good side, it wound up being a great place for the youngest member of our crew to get a number of autographs.

 

This one turned out to be a pitchers’ duel, as well as the best-played game of the trip to date. Marcus Stroman tuned up for his Opening Day start on Sunday by tossing four scoreless innings. Vince Velasquez did a masterful job of blanking the powerful Blue Jays lineup for six, giving up just two hits and three walks while fanning eight. The Phils struck first when Darin Ruf led off the top of the seventh by homering off lefty specialist Randy Choate, who somewhat oddly entered the game to face two right-handed hitters, followed by a right-handed pinch-hitter and a switch-hitter. Mujica pitched a perfect seventh, but in the bottom of the eighth, Dalier Hinojosa grooved a 3-0 pitch to Darrell Ceciliani, which he took out of the park for a two-run shot that gave the Jays the lead and the victory.

March 26, 2016 – Tigers 5, Phillies 4 – Clearwater FL

So close and yet so far (story, box)

 

Weather: 83 degrees, cloudy (significantly warmer where we were sitting!)

Time: 3:10

Attendance: 8,382

Section 118, Row 7, Seats 11-15 – just beyond third base, and close enough that eternal vigilance could be seen as the price of survival. While there was an occasional breeze going, the temperature display above the scoreboard was in the 89-91 degree range all afternoon with a bright sun, so sunscreen and copious beverage consumption were also essential. We weren’t complaining one bit, however.

 

Food item of the day: rice bowl with chicken (new this year) from Tijuana Flats. Quite good.

 

The game was pretty close throughout, tied 3-3 after 6 featuring a solo homer by Freddy Galvis and two by Detroit’s Justin Upton.  Verlander went 5-plus for the Tigers, giving up the first 3 Philadelphia runs. The Phils used 9 relievers for one inning each as they attempt to clarify their muddled bullpen situation. (This led to the oddity of James Russell being the starting pitcher after appearing in relief the night before.)

 

The Phils took the lead with two in the bottom of the seventh, on singles by Galvis, Blanco, and Herrera, with the second run scoring on a Ryan Howard fielder’s choice. The Tigers, however, cut the lead to one in the top of the 8^th, and won it with two more in the 9^th.