April 9, 2015 – Mets 6, Nationals 3 – Nationals Park

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2015_04_09_nynmlb_wasmlb_1#gid=2015_04_09_nynmlb_wasmlb_1&mode=wrap

 

Umpires: HP: Tim Timmons. 1B: Todd Tichenor. 2B: Tim Welke. 3B: Mike Everitt.

Weather: 47 degrees, cloudy.

Wind: 8 mph, Out to RF.

T: 2:54.

Att: 25,327.

Section 416, Row C, Seat 1 (in our “regular” seats for the first time)

 

Highlights – “Uptown Funk” for the seventh-inning stretch … no rain, despite the gray skies

 

Other – Nats “offense” completely shut down by Matt Harvey (first regular-season start after Tommy John surgery) … another Desmond error, this one on a likely double-play grounder … Strasburg unable to limit the damage, leading to a 4-run third inning for the Mets (3 of which were unearned), and giving up two more runs before being lifted in the top of the sixth … cinnamon pretzel bites were definitely not at their best either

April 6, 2015 – Mets 3, Nationals 1 (Opening Day) – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/116692890/max-scherzer-undeterred-by-hiccup-in-nationals-debut

 

Umpires: HP: Tim Welke. 1B: Tim Timmons. 2B: Chris Segal. 3B: Todd Tichenor.

Weather: 76 degrees, sunny.

Wind: 14 mph, Out to CF.

T: 2:35.

Att: 42,295.

Section 420, Row J, Seat 26 – upper level out beyond first base, but not bad overall

 

Highlights – great weather … got to the old lot HH before it filled up (after failing to find a parking place at the Shady Grove Metro) … got to the stadium just in time to get one of the last of the 25,000 10th Anniversary Commemorative Collectors Tins … the usual Opening Day ceremonies and announcements … the Nats’ three hits (leadoff single by Taylor in the 1^st, homer by Harper in the 4^th, single by Harper in the 6^th) … nice debut for Max Scherzer … brisk pace of play

 

Other – the Nationals offense (except as noted above) … two Desmond errors that led to the 3 Mets unearned runs … waiting over 20 minutes to get into the old lot HH to park

April 4, 2015 – Yankees 4, Nationals 3 (exhibition) – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/116345110/chris-youngs-homer-for-yankees-negates-strong-start-by-nationals-doug-fister

 

Weather: 57 degrees, partly cloudy, 17 MPH wind left to right

Time: 2:46

Attendance: 36,998 (game was included in all season-ticket packages, not nearly that many bodies in the stands)

Section 416, Row N, Seat 20

 

Highlights – new Subway on M near Half Street finally open (and $6 footlongs all month!) … list of 10-year season ticket holders is posted on both lower level (beyond the Jammin Island stand in centerfield, just under the grandstand) and upper level (across from section 305) … A-Rod DHs and goes down swinging in all three plate appearances … Nats jump out to 3-0 lead in the first (singles by Taylor and Escobar, 4-pitch walk to Harper, Ryan Zimmerman sac fly, 2-run single by Ramos)

 

Other – seats in topmost row of the section (but with nice river of the river and beyond if you turn around) … windiest I’ve ever felt it at Nats Park … upper-level pretzel stand not open … Yanks come back with 2-run homers by Stephen Drew in the 5^th (off Fister) and by Chris Young (off Storen) in the 8^th for the victory … tree fell on the northbound GW Parkway just beyond route 123 after the game, so I went around the other way (and 295 was painfully slow)

Shuffle #53 (April 4, 2015)

Wooden Ships – Jefferson Airplane

Concierto De Aranjuez – Jim Hall

The Road To Hell – Chris Rea

River’s Gonna Rise – David & David

March 24, 2015 – Phillies 5, Braves 3 – Lake Buena Vista FL

Phils blow early lead, rally for win

 

Weather: 70, cloudy

Time: 3:10

Attendance: 7,304

Section 213, Row J, Seat 3 – upper level, a few rows below the press box, just to the right of home plate, on the aisle (not sure why there were no seats 1 or 2). Very comfortable weather for a game, the lights were on at the start but the sun came out around 2:30.

 

Champion Stadium certainly doesn’t have any small-town charm, but if you can tolerate ESPN / Disney corporate overload – Mickey supervised the ceremonial first pitch – it’s not a bad place to see a ball game. While the main concession stands mostly featured “baskets” (sandwich or other entrée with chips or fries) that ran over ten bucks, I found a decent pork BBQ sandwich for $8.50, along with a bottle of Coke that was a relative bargain at $3.25.

 

The Braves gave three-inning auditions to two of their young starting rotation candidates. Mike Foltynewicz didn’t particularly help himself, giving up a run in the second prior to walking two (including the Phillies pitcher), then yielding back-to-back homers to Ryan Howard in the third. Manny Banuelos, on the other hand, kept the Phils off the scoreboard for the next three innings.

 

Severino Gonzalez got the start for the Phils and made a good impression, working quickly and shutting out Atlanta in his three innings of work. Colton Murray and Paul Clemens extended the shutout through the sixth, but Andrelton Simmons hit a two-run homer off Clemens in the seventh and tied the game later in the inning with a run off Phillippe Aumont. The Phils, however, came back against Luis Vizcaino for two in the top of the eighth, which featured the odd sight of Aumont being allowed to bat with two outs and the bases loaded. (He struck out.)

March 23, 2015 – Nats 7, Yankees 6 – Viera FL

Given the ominous weather forecast, and the over-two-hour round-trip to Viera, I decided to skip this one, figuring there was no more than a 25% chance of getting much baseball in. Naturally, things cleared up some, and they got the game in without interruption (I listened to the radio broadcast), although I believe there was some rain here and there.

Serendipity #32

Do-Wah-Diddy – The Exciters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6ho_R4soA

Heard 3/23/2015 around 7:00, playing in Old Town Kissimmee

Shuffle #52 (March 23, 2015)

Oye Como Va – Santana

The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff

Raise It Up – The IMPACT Repertory Theatre & Jamia Simone Nash

Bring Me Some Water – Melissa Etheridge

Been To Canaan – Carole King

The Way – Ariana Grande

Paper Thin – John Hiatt

Where The Boys Are – Connie Francis

Your Fire Your Soul – Dar Williams

Kiss This Thing Goodbye – Del Amitri

March 22, 2015 – Nats 7, Tigers (SS) 7 – Lakeland FL

Long balls and kissing your sister

 

Weather: 83, partly cloudy

Time: 3:10

Attendance: 7,027

Section 301, Row K, Seat 13 – lower level, shallow left field, bleachers, next to the top row in the section but not bad overall. No liners or popups into the section, but Tigers third-base coach Omar Vizquel tossed a ball in our general direction at one point and the guy sitting in back of me stumbled while trying to catch it (thought we might need to catch him instead). Quite warm again, but some clouds and enough of a breeze to keep it from being really miserable. Only one other member of the Maryland crew made it, understandable given the expected heat and lack of Nats star power at the game.

 

These same two teams played to a scoreless tie last Thursday, but each managed a touchdown this afternoon. The Nats struck first off Justin Verlander (not at his sharpest), with two runs in the second, then hit a leadoff home run in each of the next three innings – Michael Taylor, Ian Stewart (who also had two singles), and Taylor again. They added a single run in the top of the sixth, and one more in the eighth.

 

A. J. Cole, who was filling in for Strasburg (slightly sprained ankle), looked impressive on the hill for the Nats. He gave up only one hit (unfortunately it was a two-run homer by J.D. Martinez) in his 3.2 innings and notched four strikeouts, including Miguel Cabrera (who was making his spring debut) twice. Following Cole, Tanner Roark held the Tigers scoreless through the fifth, but he was the only Nats reliever to escape unscathed. The home team scratched out a run off Matt Thornton in the sixth, then went back to work with the long ball: two-run shot by Alex Avila off Blevins in the seventh, then solo shots by third baseman Wade Gaynor in the eighth (off Xavier Cedeno) and second baseman Joey Pankake in the ninth (off Manny Delcarmen) to tie things up. No extra innings, as is typical for spring training.

 

Joker Marchant (MARCH-ant) Stadium in Lakeland is celebrating its 50^th anniversary this year, and while it has some charms, it is certainly not one of the more fan-friendly places in the Grapefruit League. The concourse is claustrophobically crowded with long lines for concessions even an hour before game time. The men’s room I visited before the game had 5 sinks, 3 of which had missing or broken soap dispensers. I stopped into a different rest room after the game, and 3 of the 7 urinals had plastic garbage bags over them. (Hey, I understand that the place is old, but at least put a little money into plumbing maintenance, folks!) However, it was the most pleasant drive so far – some traffic on I-4 and a brief slowdown at one point on the way there, but NO TOLLS! Joker Marchant is only a mile or two off the interstate, and since it’s in the middle of the town there are numerous private parking options (I paid five bucks), which are not only cheap but are much easier to get out of than the official lot (based on experience from last year).

 

I bought a Coney Island dog for $6.75 (sloppy, but seemed like the best choice among the places without a long line), along with a $4.50 bottle of Pepsi.

March 21, 2015 – Nats (SS) 4, Marlins 2 – Viera FL

Making four-run innings a habit

 

Weather: 87 degrees, sunny

Time: 2:27

Attendance: 4,622

Section 116, Row 6, Seat 16 – just beyond first base, lower level, 6 rows back from the field. Definitely needed to be paying attention to the game, although no balls came close to us. Out in the sun, but there were some clouds and a breeze, so it was much more comfortable than the temperature suggested.

 

Note that I actually wound up in seat 12 – as I was walking to the car to make the drive to Viera, I got a text from my Maryland friends who are also down for some ballgames. They were originally going to catch the other Nats game (against the Braves), but decided to make the trek to Viera instead due to cheaper ticket prices and the prospect of J-Zimm starting. (They were rewarded by getting a couple autographs and a nice chat with Denard Span.) They got tickets on StubHub in my row, so the 4 folks in the intervening seats were nice enough to slide down one so we could sit together.

 

Parking was a little cheaper than Kissimmee ($9.00). I had a decent Cuban sandwich (with chips and a pickle), also for 9 bucks, and a $6 souvenir-cup Coke. I was a little disappointed by the combination of not having cupholders in our seats, and also not having a plastic cup for the drink. Fortunately there were no spills.

 

The Nats scoring was limited to the bottom of the third, when the first 5 batters combined for 4 runs: Desmond single and steal, Harper walk, Zimmerman fly out to advance both runners, two-run single by Wilson Ramos, and a two-run homer by Dan Uggla. Miami scored a first-inning run off Jordan Zimmermann on a leadoff triple by Dee Gordon and an RBI single by Adeiny Hechavarria, but J-Zimm kept them off the board for the remainder of his 5 innings despite giving up 8 hits. The Marlins also touched up Rafael Martin for a tally in the top of the ninth.

 

“Shake It Off” was the seventh-inning stretch song. Oh well.