For example: “Democrats have put ourselves at a longtime, strategic
disadvantage,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who has introduced a bill
that would make most college free but has waved off questions about the cost.
“We have to pay for progressive priorities, and they borrow money for theirs. After the tax cut, there’s almost no
enthusiasm for worrying about how to pay for new proposals.”
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Hey Alexa, come clean about how much you’re really recording us
Hey, Alexa (and friends) – you’re NOT welcome in my home!
Friday, May 25, 2018
May 24, 2018 – Keys 5, Salem Red Sox 1 -- Nymeo Field
Umpires: HP: Mark Bass. 1B: Mike Snover.
Weather: 76 degrees, sunny.
Wind: 3 mph, Out to LF.
First pitch: 11:03 AM.
Time: 2:11.
Attendance: 5,373.
Section 203, Row J, Seat 1 – my preferred location for the Keys: second
section on the first base side, as close to the concourse as possible (3 rows
down), on the aisle. In the sun for the whole game, as were pretty much all of
the seats in the stadium.
Game notes – Frederick starter Cristian Alvarado baffled the visitors
for 7 innings despite not pushing the stadium radar gun past the mid-80s,
fanning 7 while giving up just 3 hits, 1 walk and an unearned run … second
baseman Preston Palmeiro (son of Rafael) provided more than enough offense with
a 3-run homer in the third
Tuesday, May 22, 2018
May 20, 2018 – Dodgers 7, Nats 2 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 40,201
Duration: 3:08
Weather: 86 degrees, Partly Cloudy
Wind: 10 MPH Out to Right
Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: Bruce Dreckman. 2B: Mike Estabrook.
3B: Kerwin Danley.
Mama said there’d be [weekends] like this
Game notes – Nats managed only 4 hits, and took their only lead in the
third on Difo’s single and Turner’s HR … Strasburg pitched into the seventh,
giving up a solo homer to Yasmani Grandal in the second and a 2-run shot to
Kike Hernandez in the fifth … Suero and Kelley each gave up 2 runs in an inning
of work to put the game out of reach … 19-year-old phenom Juan Soto made his
debut as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, getting a nice round of applause despite
striking out
Other – due to scheduled off-days and unscheduled but nearly-constant
rain, the Nats played only 5½ innings from Monday thru Friday … lost both games
of the resulting doubleheader Saturday, and Howie Kendrick went down for the
season with a ruptured Achilles … hot, but no rain so won’t complain … traffic
was fine coming down, but heavy on the way back … reminder to self: BBQ pork
sandwiches at Nats Park are extremely messy
Tuesday, May 8, 2018
May 6, 2018 – Nats 5, Phillies 4 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 30,611
Duration: 3:33
Weather: 68 degrees, Cloudy
Wind: 5 MPH Left to Right
Umpires: HP: Sean Barber. 1B: Mike Winters. 2B: Rob Drake. 3B: Mike
Muchlinski.
Game notes – Jake Arrieta got through 6 innings on only 75 pitches,
allowing just one run on a 2nd-inning homer by the red-hot Matt
Adams … Phils fanned 15 times against Scherzer, but ran his pitch count up
enough to get him out of the game in the 7th with one out and one on
… went on to score 3 runs in the frame on a single by Nick Williams (hitting
for Arrieta) off Solis, followed by a Hoskins double and Herrera single off
Kintzler … stretched their lead to 4-1 in the top of the 8th on a
Franco HR off Carlos Torres … Nats closed the gap in the bottom of the inning
when Philadelphia relievers walked 2 consecutive batters, who both scored on Rendon’s
bases-loaded single … Washington completed the rally in the bottom of the 9th
as Neris imploded (leadoff single, errant pickoff attempt, hit batter,
consecutive walks to force in the tying run) and Difo hit a walk-off single
with the Phils deploying a 5-man infield
Other – Nats lost all 4 games I saw on their first home stand (3-7
overall), and won all 4 this time around (overall 7-3) … Signature Sunday featured Moises Sierra and Pedro Severino … the
expected rain never arrived
Saturday, May 5, 2018
May 4, 2018 – Nats 7, Phillies 3 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 35,497
Duration: 2:49 (39 minute rain delay)
Weather: 86 degrees, Mostly Cloudy
Wind: 13 MPH Out to Left
Umpires: HP: Rob Drake. 1B: Mike Muchlinski. 2B: Sean Barber. 3B: Mike
Winters.
Section 311, Row D, Seats 7-9 (usual section, one row back)
Nats notch sixth straight win
Game notes – Phils wound up with the bases loaded and two outs in the
top of the first, after two walks and an error, but failed to score … Nats
battered Nick Pivetta for 3 in the bottom of the first on Harper’s leadoff HR,
two walks, and RBI singles by Zim and Wieters … he fared no better in the
second, as Difo walked, Harper hit another one out, and Turner singled … Drew
Hutchison replaced Pivetta and promptly gave up a homer to Matt Adams, but
pitched through the end of the 6th with no further damage … Gio
blanked the visitors for his 5 innings, with a rain delay in the middle … Phils
finally broke through off Trevor Gott in the 6th on Altherr’s
infield single, followed immediately by homers by Santana and Franco, at which
point Gott left the game with what turned out to be a sprained ankle … Wander
Suero, Madson, and Kintzler kept the Phils off the board for the rest of the
game, while Zac Curtis pitched two scoreless frames for Philadelphia
Other – we took Metro and arrived in plenty of time to get our Max
Scherzer bobbleheads
Friday, May 4, 2018
May 3, 2018 – Nats 3, Pirates 1 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 30,434
Duration: 2:42
Weather: 87 degrees, Clear
Wind: 12 MPH Right to Left
Umpires: HP: Chad Fairchild. 1B: Bruce Dreckman. 2B: Mike Estabrook.
3B: Eric Cooper.
Section 220, Row D, Seats 11-12 – club level was a good choice this
afternoon, as we were out of the sun on an unseasonably hot day, and were able
to spend a couple innings in the air-conditioned lounge behind the seating area
Game notes – after scoring 12 and 9 runs the previous 2 games, Nats eked
out the win despite getting only 4 hits … continuing the season-long avoidance of having
Hellickson face opposing batters more than twice, Dave lifted him with 2 out
and 1 on in the 6th, with the game scoreless, after only 61 pitches …
Washington scored its only runs of the game in the bottom of the frame (Difo
single, homers by Turner and Zimmerman), giving Solis the win after he relieved
Hellickson and retired Gregory Polanco on one pitch … after Madson got into a
bases-loaded one-out jam in the 8th (an error on a double-play ball
didn’t help), Doolittle was summoned to get the final 5 outs
Trump is where the end begins
A perceptive column by Richard Cohen, helping to explain Trump’s
appeal:
“For all his wealth, Trump is a bundle of insecurities and resentments.
In that way, he validates similar feelings in others. If they loathe the
establishment, so does he. If they loathe foreign aid, so does he. If they
misunderstand trade agreements, so does he. If they fret over an America that
is less white and more tolerant of homosexuality and immigrants, then so does
he. If they recoil from a news media that talks the PC language they abhor, so
does he. They are him. He is them.”
Tuesday, May 1, 2018
April 29, 2018 – Nats 3, Diamondbacks 1 – Nationals Park
Attendance: 30,285
Duration: 2:49
Weather: 54 degrees, Partly Cloudy
Wind: 18 MPH Left to Right
Umpires: HP: Bill Welke. 1B: Mike Everitt. 2B: Tony Randazzo. 3B: Nic
Lentz.
We finally see the Nats win one!
Game notes – Arizona starter Robbie Ray had to exit in the second
inning with what turned out to be a right oblique injury … Wieters homered off
T.J. McFarland, who replaced Ray during his at-bat … with two outs in the
inning the Nats loaded the bases on two walks surrounding Gio’s single, and
plated another run when McFarland booted Zim’s chopper … Taylor homered in the
3rd to give the Nats what turned out to be their final run of the
game … Gio allowed some baserunners but kept the visitors off the scoreboard
thru 6 innings … with his pitch count in the mid-90s but the bullpen heavily
taxed, Davey allowed him to hit for himself and pitch the 7th,
during which he allowed one run on a sac fly … Kintzler and Doolittle shut out
Arizona over the final 2 frames to nail down the much-needed victory
Other – weather still windy and somewhat chilly, but much better than
our two previous Sunday games … despite multiple promotions (Youth Baseball/Softball
Day, kids fidget spinner giveaway, Pups in the Park), the number of occupied
seats appeared to be significantly below the paid attendance … traffic down was
wonderful, and not too bad coming back either … our first Signature Sunday of
the season featured Trevor Gott and Andrew Stevenson
Janis Ian – The Birchmere, 4/28/2018
Table 216 – 8-person table parallel to the stage, house left section,
about 1/3 of the way back.
When we saw the James Hunter Six at Pearl Street Warehouse earlier this
year, I remember thinking that venue might not be ideal for relatively quiet,
acoustic acts. Janis Ian would not be an ideal performer to work there,
although at the Birchmere you could have heard a pin drop during her quieter
material (which was much of the 95-minute show, starting with a leisurely
version of her classic “Jesse”). The show worked well, however, as she mixed in
a fair amount of audience banter and some more uptempo material, including “The
Tiny Mouse”, “Married In London”, and “My Autobiography.” She did the latter
with some clever modifications to the original lyrics; it would never have
occurred to me that “Donald Trump” and “Forrest Gump” rhyme nicely. My favorite
was a tribute she did to Ella Fitzgerald near the end of her first set,
complete with a great guitar solo in the middle. She did get to “At Seventeen”
(although not “Society’s Child”), and borrowed from Livingston Taylor the idea
of doing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” as an encore. (Great song, but maybe not
the best choice for an audience singalong.)
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