Take Me Out to the Ballgame

On his bus ride to work the other day Ben was startled by a large costumed George Washington walking across the street in a Nationals jersey.  Luckily, other riders saw this and so Ben knew that it was not the result of bad cream cheese on his morning bagel.  A few blocks later a similar Abe Lincoln mascot was crossing the street.

                                                           (Honestly, that is Abe Lincoln)

What did all this mean?  It meant that the Nationals were back from a road trip. It also meant that it was Nationals time!

Today Kelly and Ben went to see the Nationals try to defend the home field against the San Diego Padres. We were nervous about our ability to procure tickets as this was a fierce battle between two last place teams known to have fair weather fan bases.  As we approached the stadium, a gentleman offered to save us the trip to the ticket window.  For $7.50 each, we managed to get in the door.

(Despite the mustache binky, this kid got carded for beer.)  

Conveniently, many of the Washington faithful did not show up and so we were able to relocate to premium seats.

  (These two thought Super Dave was going to make an appearance.)

Nationals Park is not the greatest stadium in the majors.  This is especially true amongst the newer stadiums.  It is not bad, but it just lacks any real defining architectural characteristics. There are a few good views if you walk around the stadium.

(just to the right of the Capitol is an impressive parking garage)

What Nationals Park lacks in design (and honestly quality of baseball - more on that below) it makes up for with an impressive dedication to ballpark cuisine. 

 ("so here is what I am thinking, we take a hotdog and put chili on it")

 (actually, they also do a macaroni & cheese dog - on the left)

 (Kelly loves chili dogs - Ben loves taking pictures of Kelly eating chili dogs)

If you have made it this far, you may be wondering why we are only now getting to the game itself.  Well, that is because it was somewhat of a snoozer with a 2-1 win for the Padres.  The highlight for fans was the Presidential Mascot race which Abe Lincoln won easily.  He even taunted Washington and Madison by falling backwards through the finish line tape.  Teddy Roosevelt was too far behind to even be taunted.  This may have been due to his childhood asthma (if you have not read David McCullough's Mornings on Horseback, note that he spends many many chapters on this).

The game itself was highlighted for the Nationals by Lance Nix who threw out a runner at home from left field and added a solo home run.  As Cardinals fans, Kelly and I enjoyed seeing former Cards Rick "The Rick" Ankiel and Ryan Ludwick. 

(Rick reminded us about how he used to strikeout for the Cards too - in this instance with the game on the line)

We also got to see Southern Illinois University's own Jerry Hairston Jr., who didn't seem to have the juice on this day and was unable to pump up the Nationals to victory.

The most enjoyable part of the game was when reliever Todd Coffey took the mound.  As he sprinted from the bullpen, a stopwatch appeared on the scoreboard next to the words "Coffey Time."  We arent sure about the origins of this but it is probably because Mr. Coffey's weight is higher than his ERA.

(and this is why baseball will always be America's past time)

After the game, we headed home for a lazy evening at home.  Tomorrow we will be attending a bbq or two and possibly the Memorial Day concert on The Mall (which will air live on PBS).  Will we be there?  We don't know yet.  You'll just have to read the next post to find out.