The Nationals continue their winning ways, beating the Phillies 9-7 in a great game. Yours truly was in attendance, albeit in 226U. That's 8-1 for our Nats in the past 9 sweeping AL West contender the Dodgers and taking 2 of 3 from the Phillies. Tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 8th, Ronnie Belliard got a pinch hit RBI to give the Nats the lead. Then Cristian Guzman gets to the plate with bases loaded and clears the bases with a double, giving insurance runs. We needed those as Hanrahan gave up two runs in the top of 9th before closing it out. Ryan Howard hit 2 home runs for the Phillies in their losing effort and now trail the Met by 3 games for the NL East crown.

As part of the game, in the next section over, a Philadelphia Eagles fan wearing the Westbrook jersey led chants of "E-A-G-L-E-S EAGLES!" every once in a while. I missed it, but during the top of the 8th, apparently a Nationals or presumably Redskins fan yelled back "Z-E-R-O, ZERO!...Superbowls!". That shut up Mr. Westbrook.

Guzman, coming off last weeks cycle game, comes in the clutch. Let's hope these performances are indicative of the offense next season.

Up next, a road trip that includes Atlanta, the Mets, and the Marlins. Only a 2 game set against the Mets, but hopefully the Nats can continue the winning ways.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 01:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi there. If you want to follow live with comments not made by the TV or Radio teams and oddball views from the fan seating, follow my Twitter postings here. It won't be play by play, but I'll summarize important plays or amusing anecdotes live. Also feel free to subscribe to my Twitter feed for instant analysis of future Redskins games, some Maryland Men's Basketball, and other sports or non-sports events. Summarized analysis and pictures on the next day.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Nationals put together a streak fans should be happy about. Along the way of the sweep, Cristian Guzman hits for the cycle, getting the elusive triple in his last at bat.

Not only do the Nats put together a pretty good winning streak, but they put the Dodgers in peril of winning the NL West. Of course the Arizona Diamondbacks are making it interesting by not winning that often either.

Guzman wasn't the only part of the offense, as Elijah Dukes hit two home runs in the game. Hopefully this is a sign of the offense we'll be seeing next season.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Busy day with the Washington Nationals.

Ryan Zimmerman returns after a stint on the DL. While nobody is expecting a Nats run at the playoffs, this should help the team get on track and put together a decent run in preparation for next season.

Next, Jon Rauch gets traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio. Bonifacio has been designated the Nats 2B of the future and will spend time at AAA Columbus until then. Obviously this puts pressure on Felipe Lopez to keep his job.

Finally, Cristian Guzman signs a new contract with the Nats. This event alone does not really mean much itself, except that the Nats are assured that shortstop will not be on their shopping list for next season. However, in combination with Zimmerman, and the Lopez/Bonifacio 2B, most of the infield is set. All we need is Nick Johnson to stay healthy for longer than a week or Dmitri Young to step up his defense, and the Nats have a pretty solid overall infield.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 09:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The hometown Nationals appear to only play two ways. Win late or lose. They won last night, 5-4 in the bottom of the ninth. Catcher Jesus Flores, after going K, K, groundout, K, finished the night 1-5 with a single that scored Elijah Dukes.

Continue reading "Winning Late in the Game" »

Posted by Big Money Tony at 08:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

In a game that ended sometime last night, thankfully before midnight, the National defeated the Texas Rangers 4-3.

Elijah Dukes had a 5-6 night including the tying and the game winning hits. Not to be dismissed was his excellent fielding as well.

Continue reading "14 Inningzzzz" »

Posted by Big Money Tony at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Big Money Tony's streak of wins has come to an end. It should have come as no surprise if everyone knew how the evening started. I met BMT at his client's office as I exited metro. We happened to have a parking permit for our seats to last Friday night's game. As BMT's vehicle was being pulled from the garage, he had to run back upstairs to grab something. The parking lot attendant then had to move the vehicle over a second time. As I stepped inside I tipped the attendant. BMT then came down and jumped inside ready to go. I told him I had tipped the parking lot attendand to which he uttered damn. He had tipped the attendant, too.

We joked about going back to say there was a misunderstanding and ask for a tip back. Then it dawned on me. Wasn't this a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode? Maybe one of the lurkers on the site would be able to chime in? In any event the smug remarks forshadowed the pounding the Marlins gave the Nats on Friday and then twice over on Saturday.

Continue reading "A Nationals Weekend" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 09:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Nats found themselves taking the Braves, Cubs, and Pirates series at home this past week. Not only did the streaky Nationals find some hitting but you could see how much fun the players were having. Winning has also made it easier for Manny to find time for players like Boone to receive more playing time and contribute making it a happy clubhouse.

The winning isn't the only change at home recently. The Nationals also changed the look of the HD Scoreboard. Now it shows both lineups and the live stats of the batter and pitcher. It also displays balls, strikes, pitch count, and mph. It looks fabulous and provides all the stats one could want.

Now on to more important things that being food of course. As BMT and I share a partial plan, we've been able to take in some of the cuisine at the new ball park. After sampling some of the dogs, I prefer the Hebrew National Dog and for a dollar more than the Nats dog it offers a lot more flavor. The Kosher Dog follows a close second and the potato knish was a tasty treat with less salt than a pretzel. The chili mac at Hard Times tastes great too.

We also tried the cafe in center field as we were seated and had waitered service. The view to home plate was fantastic and the chicken caesar salad was pretty good. The chicken was nice and juicy. We may never need to go back, but if we do I'll remember to ask for more dressing. Gifford’s Ice Cream even on a mild is always a nice treat.

The only thing lacking was finding the cuisine of the visiting city. I had read that Nationals Park would provide a taste of a Chicago dog when the Cubs came to town and I walked around the concourse level to no avail. Anyone that's had a Chicago dog done right knows just how delicious it is.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

With baseball season being back, it's time to see the ballpark. And for us National fans, do we have a great one.

Photo by BMT

Continue reading "Welcome to Nationals Park" »

Posted by Big Money Tony at 09:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

That's right the Nationals are now 2-0 and own a half game lead over the Mets in the NL East. The future looks bright, but let's not forget to enjoy the present. The Nationals have a great new ball park, new players, and lots of optimism following a season ago where many were predicting Washington to set a new MLB record for losses prior to last season.

Continue reading "Nationals Lead NL East" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

From the pre-game festivities to the nationally televised game on ESPN, the Nationals from top to bottom delivered the goods. Channel 7 and ESPN's pregame showcased the stadium, it's view, and all it's emenities. The only thing left to accomplish in their new ball park was to bring home a win and that they did in a dramatic walk off home run by Ryan Zimmerman in the bottom of the 9th for a 3-2 victory.

Continue reading "Nationals Break In New Park With a "W"" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:03 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Did you hear it? No, everyone pretty much knows about March Madness (yeah, Georgetown is out!). The Major League Baseball season started this morning (for those of us in North America) or tonight, if you are in Japan or other parts of Asia. In not going to begin to figure it out for Istanbul. At least they didn't start the season tomorrow. The defending World Series Champion Boston Redsox defeated the Oakland A's 6-5 in 10 innings. Yes, it was also the first extra innings game for the season.

Continue reading "Play Ball!" »

Posted by Big Money Tony at 01:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Part one of my Major League Baseball season preview by division begins with the NL East. Teams are listed in order of predicted finish.

New York Mets. The Mets have a lot of question marks for a team predicted to win their division. Can you really expect to get much production out of Pedro Martinez and El Duque in the starting rotation? Can Oliver Perez and John Maine have the consistency they’ve lacked in the past? Besides Billy Wagner, who is going to solidify the bullpen? Does their high priced, aging lineup have enough left in the tank? David Wright, Jose Reyes, and Johan Santana are bona fide stars, but the Mets are going to need production from other guys as well. The one thing the Mets have going for them is that the NL East is a relatively weak division.

Continue reading "NL East Preview" »

Posted by Bob at 08:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

Stan Kasden has done it again. He already improved RFK with the food court. He brought in some of the best minds in baseball and improved the farm system from one of the worst to a top ten farm system making it one of two teams that had the biggest leaps in grading MLB farm systems. With Stan's committment to winning and improvements made in the outfield, how can Stan mark another big win for the Nats?

Continue reading "Nationals Park - Home Cookin'" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What kind of an apology is it when someone doesn't even say what they're sorry for especially when they say "c'mon bro" when that very question is posed to them Lo Duca. What kind of comment is that?

Isn't anyone else tired of players paraded around and being forced to tell what they've done wrong? Is Pettite such the honest man when compelled to tell the truth. He may have confessed his soul, but after an inquiry. All of these players are now tainted, but the attitude Lo Duca has could spell disaster with such young players like Dukes on the roster. Whatever happened to being humble and trying to correct a mistake? Could the signing of Dukes who could be a changed man be the better signing than Lo Duca who already has an attitude over what he perceives to be something in the past?

A misjudgment and error in thinking that irreparably harmed himself and the game would have been a more appropriate ending to the discussion for Lo Duca, but instead readers of the "fireside" chat with Lo Duca had to settle for indifference. This is strike one for Lo Duca in my book. Bob could be right in his assessment of Lo Duca.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

It was the end of August as Stu, BMT, Q, & I were driving down to Charlotte, NC where our 2007 Keeper Fantasy Football Draft was held. Every year twelve of us get together for a weekend at one FFL Owner's house for draft weekend festivities that have included in the past such items as a grill out, pool, Phillies Game, Pat's & Gino's Cheesesteak, Tony Luc's, all night poker, a bachelor party, minor league baseball, Chinese food cooked by a fabulous chef, and Sonny's sweet bbq.

Somehow along the long drive out of Virginia traffic on a Friday night we stopped for gas and stopped in to use the restrooms. This was not the cleanest of stations, so when Stu went in first and I heard some extremely loud leaf blowing machine or something emanating loudly from the restroom for nearly a minute I wanted to yell - Stu are you ok?!

Continue reading "Feel the Power" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

No, this is not a rehash of an old article. The Nationals signed Johnny Estrada to a one year contract.

This seems a bit interesting. Is there more to the LoDuca injury that has been let on? While Estrada has had problems with coaches at other teams, the Nationals seem to think they can fix that issue. Seems to be a lot of rehab projects going on in DC.

Posted by Big Money Tony at 08:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Nationals acquired the catcher they were looking for to mentor Flores by signing LoDuca to a one year contract ESPN

Washington makes a good signing for the right amount of time. It’s interesting that the Mets essentially traded catchers with Nats after trading for Schneider and giving the Nationals Milledge. Also interesting to note is that the Mets could have protected Flores in last year’s rule #5 draft and the move to acquire Schneider may not have been necessary.

Posted by The Sports Freak at 08:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)

The Winter Meetings for MLB concluded on Thursday. The Nationals made three trades, a free agent signing, and extended Willy Mo Pena's contract. It was a spectacular start to a new season and new ball park.

Continue reading "Winter Meetings - Grading the Nationals" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 07:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The Nationals completed two trades that appear to have been in the works for a while. Milledge has some mild baggage from New York and Dukes has some serious baggage from Tampa Bay. Both could potentially be the middle of the line-up bats that the Nationals are looking to add to the team. The question is at what price.

Continue reading "Nats Trade Recap" »

Posted by The Sports Freak at 11:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My first thought. Who the F is Elijah Dukes, when I heard about him on Elliot in the Morning. Well they were trying to track him down because of his incidents in the past. It then reminded me who he was. I hear Dmitri Young had some doing in getting him so Young could bring the kid into the light and get him on a straight path. Very noble of him.

Continue reading "Nationals Make a Trade II: the Elijah Dukes story" »

Posted by Big Money Tony at 04:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

So it's interesting that the Nationals are "in the market" and made what I think is an excellent trade. ESPN reports that the Nationals acquired Lastings Milledge for Ryan Church and Brian Schneider. My initial thoughts are that we won't miss Church. He was a touted prospect who ended being a good filler when we needed the help. Schneider however will be missed.

Continue reading "Nationals make a Trade" »

Posted by Big Money Tony at 03:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)