April 3, 2017 – Nationals 4, Marlins 2 – Nationals Park

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/221849148/stephen-strasburg-nats-top-marlins-in-opener/?topicId=27118414

 

Attendance: 42,744

Game Time: 2:47

Weather: 66 degrees, cloudy

Wind: 5 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Jerry Meals, First Base - Ron Kulpa, Second Base - Ed Hickox, Third Base - Chris Conroy

Seventh-inning stretch song: Can’t Stop The Feeling – Justin Timberlake

Section 133, Row UU, Seats 14-19 – lower level, about a third of the way down the right field line, top row, on the aisle, good view (did suffer a mid-game “beerfall” due to a spill in section above us)

 

Highlights – Strasburg tossed 7 efficient innings (63 strikes in 85 pitches) to get the win, allowing just 2 runs (both in the fourth inning) and 6 hits (2 of which were by Miami starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, a lifetime .082 hitter), with no walks and 3 Ks … Harper put the Nats on the board in the sixth with his fifth opening-day homer, and Adam Lind made his first Nats’ appearance count an inning later, with a pinch-hit two-run blast to give Washington the lead for good … Solis and newly-anointed closer Blake Treinen set the Marlins down 1-2-3 in the 8^th and 9^th to nail down the win … perfect weather for baseball, and the drives down and back were not nearly as bad as they could have been … food was good at the “Budweiser Brew House” sit-down restaurant in center field (still the Red Porch Restaurant to me), although getting and settling the charges took an excruciatingly long time

 

Other – Nats didn’t take advantage of early opportunities, failing to score in the first and fourth after getting their first two men on base … ballpark operations lagged far behind the baseball side (getting an F- from one frustrated fan on Twitter), as they were having “technical problems” with both their eCard and credit card processing … fans wanting to use cash found that the ATMs were down as well … it took one member of our party 55 minutes to get a pretzel and two sodas … to top off the frustration, the “Magic 8-Ball” giveaway  items were not distributed until fans exited (with vouchers distributed on the way in), causing lines to get out of the park … so far, more than 24 hours later, no apology to fans that I’ve been able to find, via either Twitter, email, or press release

March 27, 2017 – Nationals 6, Mets 0 – Port St. Lucie FL

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/221109958/nationals-harper-turner-homer-behind-scherzer/

 

Attendance: 4,510

Game Time: 2:43

Weather: 78 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 8 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Chris Conroy, First Base - John Libka, Second Base - Ryan Additon, Third Base - Nick Mahrley

Seventh-inning stretch song: Lazy Mary [Luna Mezza Mare] – Lou Monte

Section 203, Row V, Seat 20 – a bit down the first-base line, on the aisle, two rows from the top (but still with a good view), in the shade all afternoon

 

I went through the first 4 of my 5 games this spring without seeing the Nats hit a single ball out of the park, but they made up for it this afternoon. Trea followed his single leading off the game with solo shots to left off Mets starter Seth Lugo in the third and fifth, the latter a no-doubt-about-it blast. Harper, who ended the first by grounding into a double play, hit two long ones to the grassy area beyond the right field wall: a solo shot to lead off the fourth and a two-run blast in the eighth. Doubles by Drew and Zim added another 4^th-inning run, a frame that ended with an excellent at-bat by Scherzer with runners on 2^nd and 3^rd, as he fouled off several pitches and worked the count full before finally grounding out sharply to Lugo. (The final 6 Washington batters of the afternoon fanned against Mets minor leaguers, but by that point no one really cared.)

 

Max didn’t do badly on the mound in just his second official spring start, throwing 85 pitches over 5 innings and holding the New Yorkers to 2 hits while striking out 7, although he did issue 3 walks. Enny Romero, Vance Worley, and Koda Glover, all competing for the final two spots in the bullpen, held the Mets to one hit and one walk the rest of the way.

 

The Mets regular outfielders and shortstop were playing a split-squad game down the road in Jupiter, so New York started some guy named Tim Tebow in left field. (You may have heard of him.) Appearing to make a statement, Max brought the heat in the second, fanning him on 3 pitches that registered 97, 96, and 97 on the scoreboard. He struck him out again to start the fifth. Tebow did get a nice round of applause when he ended his 3^rd AB (against Romero) by grounding the ball back to the pitcher, but Glover fanned him one more time to end the game.

 

I have to say that I really liked First Data Field (“Tradition Field” until a month or so ago). It’s not the newest or fanciest place, but the sightlines are good, there’s plenty of shade, the lines for food and restrooms were short-to-nonexistent (at least when I went), and they did a nice job of getting the cars out of the parking lot after the game. (Allow 10-15 minutes after exiting the lot to get back onto I-95, however.) The concession prices were also reasonable; I got the largest slice of pizza I’ve ever had in my life for a mere $6.

March 26, 2017 – Astros 5, Nationals 1 – West Palm Beach FL

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/220962032/astros-go-yard-twice-musgrove-sharp-vs-nats/

 

Attendance: 5,135

Game Time: 2:47

Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 13 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Brennan Miller, First Base - Mike Estabrook, Second Base - David Rackley, Third Base - Shane Livensparger

Seventh-inning stretch song: It’s Not Unusual – Tom Jones

Section 110, Row M, Seat 6 – same section and row as Friday

 

After yesterday’s 4-run outburst, the Nats’ offense continued its struggles on Sunday. Things started off well with a leadoff double by Turner in the bottom of the first, followed by long fly outs by Murphy and Harper to bring him home. The Nats managed only 2 hits over the final 7 innings, however, and fanned 9 times over the course of the game. (Hitters from both teams were frequently frustrated with Brennan Miller’s strike zone.)

 

Meanwhile, the Astros tied the score on a solo homer by Jake Marisnick in the top of the third (the first round-tripper I’ve seen this spring), and teed off on Gio the next frame, with an infield single by Altuve and a double by Gurriel plating the go-ahead run, followed by a two-out single by Josh Reddick and a homer by Marwin Gonzalez to complete the day’s scoring.

 

There were no actual games going on in the complex when I arrived around 11:15, although I did get to see Strasburg and Joe Ross throwing on the side. Went with the grouper tacos again for lunch.

March 25, 2017 – Nationals 4, Astros 1 – West Palm Beach FL

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/220907504/daniel-murphy-tanner-roark-help-nats-in-win/

 

Attendance: 4,354

Game Time: 3:07

Weather: 76 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 17 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - John Libka, First Base - CB Bucknor, Second Base - Greg Gibson, Third Base - Mike Estabrook

Seventh-inning stretch song – Deep in the Heart of Texas

Section 109, Row R, Seat 7 (same seat as Thursday)

 

Tanner Roark and Daniel Murphy made their first game appearances since returning from the World Baseball Classic, so the Nats had what looked like a regular season lineup on the field. (Although Houston used Carlos Beltran as their DH, Washington elected to let Roark hit for himself.) Tanner was in fine form, allowing only one run before exiting with one out in the sixth after 73 pitches to a standing ovation. Solis, Kelley, Romero, and Treinen blanked the Astros the rest of the way.

 

The batter’s box wasn’t an especially safe place in the first few innings. Roark plunked Bregman in the first and Gurriel in the second. In the top of the third, after Murphy beat the shift with a one-out single to left, Houston starter Lance McCullers got Harper and Rendon (although Bryce wanted to decline the base and take his swings). Werth then put the Nats on the board with a long sac fly.

 

Washington broke things open and chased McCullers the following inning. With one out, following a Zimmerman double and a Wieters single (and a wild pitch advancing Matt), Turner grounded to second – Zim looked like an easy out, but somehow managed to avoid the tag at the plate. Murph then doubled into the right-field corner to easily score Wieters and Trea.

 

This was a home game for Astros in their shared ballpark, which meant Astros programs on sale and plenty of appearances by quirky-but-cute green mascot Orbit. No Racing Presidents, and the Washington player photos didn’t appear on the scoreboard when they batted, although there seemed to be more Nats than Astros fans in the stands.

 

Splurged on a “Diablo Burger” (lettuce, tomato, pepper jack cheese and jalapenos) – large and tasty, but definitely not a bargain at 12 bucks.

 

I arrived at the complex around 11:15 and got to see the last several innings of a pitchers’ BP contest – starters (Max, Stras, Gio, Ross) vs. relievers (Guthrie, Albers, Worley, Nathan). No infielders or baserunning (except for ghost runners), with the two teams taking turns batting and playing the outfield. Coach-pitch until the last two innings, when they used the machine. Quite competitive, as the final score was 20-19, with Gio making a game-saving catch in right to end it.

March 24, 2017 – Cardinals 3, Nationals 1 – West Palm Beach FL

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/220715242/dexter-fowler-triples-in-cards-win-vs-nats/

 

Attendance: 5,078

Game Time: 2:42

Weather: 74 degrees, partly cloudy

Wind: 19 mph

Umpires: Home Plate - Ryan Additon, First Base - Mike Estabrook, Second Base - John Bostwick

Section 110, Row M, Seat 1 – next section to where I was yesterday, just a bit down the first base line. “Dugout Box”, so somewhat closer, and more in the sun.

 

No weather issues today, but the Washington offense continued to struggle. They did load the bases with two out in the first against Cards starter Michael Wacha, but failed to score, and went down in order in each of the next 4 frames. They finally broke through in the sixth on singles by Turner, Harper, and Werth off Trevor Rosenthal, but Eaton fanned with the bases loaded and two out to end the threat.

 

Jeremy Guthrie started for the Nats and held the Cards hitless through his 4.1 innings. They finally broke through off closer candidate Koda Glover, plating two in the 6^th keyed by a Dexter Fowler triple, and adding another in the 7^th. Glover, who’s typically more of a one-inning guy, wound up facing 9 batters, retiring 5 and allowing 4 hits.

 

For lunch, I decided to try a “PB half smoke”, which it turns out is topped by pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and cole slaw. Actually good, not quite as messy as expected, and a relative bargain at $7.00.

March 23, 2017 – Nationals 1, Mets 0 – West Palm Beach FL

http://m.nationals.mlb.com/news/article/220541248/nats-erick-fedde-outduels-robert-gsellman/

 

Attendance: 6,086

Game Time: 2:26 (start delayed by 42 minutes due to rain)

Weather: 73 degrees, cloudy (but it got significantly cooler later in the game)

Wind: 12 mph (and up)

Umpires: Home Plate - Angel Hernandez, First Base - Chris Conroy, Second Base - Nick Mahrley, Third Base - Shane Livensparger

Seventh-inning stretch song: I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown

Section 109, Row R, Seat 7 (“Infield Box”) – Lower level (as are virtually all the seats at The Ballpark of The Palm Beaches), almost exactly behind home plate. I purchased “Dugout Box” tickets, which are $3-5 more expensive, for a couple other games, but only got a few rows closer to the action)

 

It was nice and sunny up until about 12:30, when a thunderstorm arrived. Fortunately it didn’t last too long, but the game started closer to 2:00 than the scheduled 1:05. Rain event #2 came an hour or so later, in the middle of the 5^th inning; it wasn’t hard enough to stop play, but the wind whipped up to such an extent that most of us cleared out of the stands until it stopped. We had a little more in the final couple innings, by which point quite a few of the fans had already left the building.

 

After Hall of Famer Tim Raines threw out the first ball, Erick Fedde and 5 Nats relievers combined to hold the visitors to 4 hits, without walking a single batter. Fedde was particularly good, throwing a ton of ground balls during his 5-inning stint. The only baserunners he allowed were on two one-out singles in the 4^th, but he retired Curtis Granderson and Neil Walker to end the threat. Closer candidate Blake Treinen handled the ninth, retiring Michael Conforto and Juan Lagares with the tying run in scoring position.

 

The Nats didn’t do much better against the Mets pitchers, but did manage to scratch out an unearned run in the 3^rd, as Trea reached on an error by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera and scored on a two-out double by Tony Two-Bags.

 

Cabrera provided a little more excitement a half-inning later, as he managed to get tossed after his one-out single. Apparently he complained a little too much about being denied a timeout prior to the previous pitch. He got a little bit of revenge with his exit, strolling slowly from the third-base dugout across the middle of the field to the visitors’ clubhouse beyond right field.

 

My first glance at the concession selection and prices at the Nats’ new spring home left me less than overwhelmed. The $8.00 pair of grouper tacos was pretty good, however.

Chuck Berry

Long live rock & roll!

 

Rolling Stone obituary

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame entry

 

Favorite songs:

Brown-Eyed Handsome Man

Roll Over Beethoven

Johnny B. Goode

Back In The U.S.A.

Rock And Roll Music

Almost Grown

School Days

No Particular Place To Go

Sweet Little Sixteen

Nadine

 

Favorite covers of Chuck Berry songs:

You Never Can Tell (C’est La Vie) – Emmylou Harris

Memphis – Lonnie Mack

Roll Over Beethoven – Electric Light Orchestra

#141 The Dark End Of The Street – James Carr (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HC3AXQ8dPJM

 

The first time I ever heard this soul classic by Chips Moman and Dan Penn was when it was performed in the 1991 movie The Commitments.  It’s been recorded by Percy Sledge, Don Dixon, Eva Cassidy, and many others, but somehow never managed to become a hit. The original version by James Carr was the only one to appear on the Hot 100, peaking at a modest #77.

#140 The Windows Of The World – Dionne Warwick (1967)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjNNijd4t0Q

 

Dionne Warwick, of course, made a career out of recording songs written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. This one unfortunately wasn’t a big hit, but it’s one of their best, and almost certainly the most poignant. (Chrissie Hynde and the Pretenders later did a great cover version as well.)

Shuffle #95 (March 12, 2017)

Running On Empty – Jackson Browne

Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It – Will Smith

Summer In The City – The Lovin’ Spoonful

All Alone Am I – Brenda Lee

Shattered Dreams – Johnny Hates Jazz

I Want A New Drug – Huey Lewis & The News

This Is My Country – The Impressions

I Wanna Be With You – The Raspberries

Sunshine Of Your Love – Cream

Boom Boom Pow – Black Eyed Peas