Home Run Derby Outfielders

I'm currently watching the Home Run Derby, and so far its pretty entertaining. My favorite part are the kids in the outfield. These kids get a chance to field non homeruns and be on the field during an all star game. I'm sure its a great thrill.

So Why am I starting to be reminded of the Natinals?

It is interesting to watch 5 kids all misjudge the same flyball, and it drop in between them all. At least they don't get the wind knocked out of them or get hit in the groin...(Willie Harris).

Watching the kids miss fly after fly ball, with the occasional lucky grab is like watching a whole outfield full of Adam Dunns.

Balls landing that should be caught, line drives bouncing past fielders, rollers going under legs, Balls bouncing off the top of gloves...

Maybe if your team is in last place, your kids are allowed to be on the field to catch fly balls. Are those the "Children of the Nats"? Is it "Honey I Shrunk The Nats"? Ug CATCH ONE!

Are Baseball Fans More Likely To Blog?

Ballhype is a web site that tracks sports blogs and ranks blogs based on certain criteria that is not important right now. What is important is that it is the place to go to find all the blogs about a certain team, how many posts they have per week, and their rankings.

After checking out the Nationals blogs, I was surprised to see so many. Tons that I never even visited or heard of. There were way more than the Wizards, so I decided to see how each DC team stacked up against each other.

(not all blogs are tracked in Ballhype, also keep in mind its the offseason for the other sports)

Washington Nationals

• Total Blogs: 28
• 10+ Posts Per Week: 6
• 2-9 Posts Per Week: 14
• 0-1 Posts Per Week: 8

Washington Wizards

• Total Blogs: 10
• 10+ Posts Per Week: 3
• 2-9 Posts Per Week: 3
• 0-1 Posts Per Week: 4

Washington Redskins

• Total Blogs: 10
• 10+ Posts Per Week: 0
• 2-9 Posts Per Week: 7
• 0-1 Posts Per Week: 3

Washington Capitals

• Total Blogs: 14
• 10+ Posts Per Week: 3
• 2-9 Posts Per Week: 4
• 0-1 Posts Per Week: 7

So why do all these Nats fans have blogs that they frequently update? It may have something to do with the season being in session, but still there are 10+ more blogs based on the Nats than the other 3 sports.

The Redskins stadium holds 40,000 more people than the baseball stadium, and fills close to capacity many weeks. So the pure # of fans can't be the reason.

I think it has to do with the amount of free time a person has. People with the patience for watching baseball probably have more patience for writing a blog. Blogging during a slow inning is no problem.

Basketball & Hockey games are show up late leave early, kill a few hour events, while baseball is more of an experience. Football games are long days, but involve more drinking, plus Skins fans prefer to discuss aloud their feelings about the team.

Baseball is also an every day experience, so if you are a true fan you watch baseball just about every night, as opposed to a few games a week, or in the case of football 1 game per week. That's a lot of baseball to follow, and a lot of things to opine about.

Those are my thoughts about why the Nationals lead DC in blogs, not sure if its correct but it is something to think about...

Curly M Visors

Nat's Nation posted a picture of a visor given out in 2008 at Nats games where the W is upside down. Check it out here.

The Red Sox Fans Are Coming

How about a riddle...Who Am I?

I bought 2 $10 upper deck tickets to see the worst team in baseball, the Washington Nationals, play a Wednesday night game in Washington, DC. I paid $30 above face value per ticket, spending a total of $80 for the worst seats in the house?

Give Up?

Answer: A Red Sox Fan

This week marks the worst week in the history of the Washington Nationals. The Boston Red Sox will be in town at National's park for a three game midweek series.

Whenever a team like the Sox comes to town, all the bandwagon fans come out of the woodwork. The fans who have never even been to Boston. The fans who never even had a layover in Massachusetts. The fans who have never even seen a picture of the New England area. They will take the night off work from their jobs packin kahs and invade Nats Park.

In order to get tickets to this series, you had to enter your email into a lottery before the season. Red Sox Nation DC Local 1324 was on top of things. Sox fans flooded the Nats ticket selection lottery and who knows how many tickets they ended up with. Between them and the scalpers, I'd guess maybe 4 actual Nationals fans were able to pull tickets.

These games can go either 1 of 2 ways. First, the Sox could win. Although they are supposed to win, Sox fans will high five each other with every run scored like they just won the championship. You see a Red Sox fan doesn't celebrate their team scoring, they celebrate the people around them's team getting scored on. 11-0 won't stop the cheering and gloating.

The second possibility is what happens when the Celtics fans come to the Verizon Center. The game is close and Boston fans are worried. In the end DC wins and Boston fans go home actually sad. Like really sad inside over a game. You see a Red Sox fan doesn't care if a loss has no bearing on the standings, they are upset if their team loses while they are at a game. In fact they probably don't even know how many games ahead the Sox are.

So if you have tickets, and aren't in the mood to make a decent profit, enjoy the game. But be prepared, your Bill Buckner comments don't hold as much weight as they used to.

Bonus Challenge:

If you are at the game, go up to a girl with a Red Sox hat and ask her why she likes the Sox. If her answer is not "I'm from New England" punch her in the face. (joking...ish)

Nats Crowd Shot TV Fail

The Nationals just scored 2 runs in the 8th to take the lead on the Reds. The camera cuts to a crowd shot where a Nats fan proceds to fake a high five and turn it into a middle finger to his bro. I'm not that good at depth perception, but I think that old woman is not in the same row, but seems to be getting a good view of the bird being flipped.

Yes, that is my TV. Its in my parents basement where I reside. Mom sprung for DVR.

Step 1, Draft Stephen Strasburg, CHECK

As expected, the Nationals selected Stephen Strasburg with the #1 Pick in the first year player draft. Now all they have to do is drive directly to the nearest bank and rob it in order to pay this guy.

"This kind of player only comes around every 20 years"
--Ben McDonald on MLB TV, Drafted exactly 20 years ago--

The next Ben McDonald is expected to ask for around 50 Mil, and the debate will be whether or not the Nationals should sign him for that overvalued price or even half that price.

Last year the Nattys picked at #9 and failed to sign Aaron Crow (who was once again available and passed on when the Nats picked at #10) Back then, fans were upset at the waste of a top draft choice, which means this year, the Nats really have no choice but to open their wallet.

I know and care nothing about the financial aspects of sports teams. I just know that if you have the chance to pick someone proven in college to be great like Carmelo Anthony, you can't pick Darko Milicic just to save some cash (cash was not an issue in that case, just stupidity) Fine, bad analogy.

If the Nats don't sign this guy and move him to the majors fast, DC united will have a new stadium, and Las Vegas will have a new baseball team...

I don't do baseball or drafts, so check out Nats Farm for all the Nationals draft info you need