I know, I know … I have Nationals season tickets, so I’m supposed to root for them. And under most circumstances, I do. But not when my Mets are in town. I grew up watching the Mets with my folks and my grandparents and am a vociferous fan.

Last night the game ended before we could make our traditional late-game comeback. So I was a little nervous heading into tonight’s game.

We jumped out to a 1-0 start with a Jose Reyes run in the first inning off a stupid base-running error by center-fielder Carlos Beltran.

The Nats answered with three runs in the third — backup catcher Gary Bennett, shortstop Cristian Guzmán, and centerfielder Brad Wilkerson.

The game continued in traditional fashion until the seventh inning when reliever Joey Eichen (who is noted for his cut-throat playing style) fielded what seemed like a routine grounder to his right. Unfortunately, he stumbled and fell heavily on his arm and lay there in agony. Eventually they brought the golf cart ambulance out to the mound, but Eichen managed to get to his feet and leave the field under his own power. Last I heard he had gone to the hospital for X rays for an arm injury.

In the top of the ninth, the Mets fed off the energy of the New York fans in the stadium. (I was impressed by how many of us there were — and by how many old-timer jerseys I saw.) right fielder Eric Valent scored off a sac fly by second baseman Miguel Cairo, followed by pinch hitter Marlon Anderson and shortstop José Reyes off a double by Beltran, giving us a three-run lead.

Being Mets fans, we understand that the game isn’t over until the third out of the bottom of the ninth. And that’s good. Because closer Braden Looper did give us a scare, giving up a triple to Guzmán and walking pinch hitter Termel Sledge (I think his name pre-destined him to play baseball), before bringing the game to a close.

I will be hoarse tomorrow…

Last night the real heroes of the Nationals-Mets game didn’t come on the field until the bottom of the 8th.

Technically, that’s not true. We got a sneak preview of them in the 6th, but their greatness was only hinted at then. But two innings later, when the players and umps finally left the field after innings of pelting rain, that other, more impressive team took the field — the grounds crew team.

It was a downpour. A third of the attendees had left during the first rain delay in the sixth. Another third left when the umps called the second delay. A third of us stayed, knowing the game was probably over, to watch the spectacle — the infield tarp — unfold in front of us.

Except it didn’t.

The grounds crew couldn’t budge the heavy tarp once they got it fully unfurled. Right field was being protected, but the expensive (and, by then, muddy) infield was not.

They called in male members of the “Nat Pack,” a group of young people whose sole purpose up until last night seemed to be to fire t-shirts into the crowd once a game. The tarp inched forward, but it was clear they still needed some extra hands.

Two fans decided to pitch in instead of watching the struggle from afar. As I’d mentioned before, it was clear to all of us that the game would be called — no one was playing on that field again last night. Unfortunately, field management wanted to make sure fans understood that they should not jump onto the field. One man was escorted off the field quietly. The other made a break for it back into the stands, where he was eventually stopped by the field security (and possibly the police). My guess is the first guy was let off with a warning, but the second guy may have gotten himself barred from the park for a while. The fans (and the media) had nothing to do but watch this interaction take place. The cameras raced over to film the fan. The rest of us chanted, “Let him go.” Clearly jumping the barrier isn’t something that should be condoned (since crazed fans could actually hurt a player), but given it took the poor grounds crew another 30 minutes to get the tarp shifted to the infield, it does seem like this might have been a case of overreaction and bureaucracy gone awry.

The grounds crew did eventually get the tarp into position and those of us who’d remained gave them a standing ovation. Then they called the game.

Other game notes: My veggie dog was excellent, as was Rudi’s chorizo … Cheers to the designated driver program, which has switched to two free small sodas instead of one larger one that you finish before the game is over … Jeers to the irritating fan in the next section who yelled obnoxious things at the Mets … A special shout-out to David Wright, who remained in the dug out even after the game was called to sign autographs. This is a fan-friendly player and we appreciate that … Kudos to the Aramark women I chatted with at two different stands during the 6th inning. In a city with noticably terrible customer service, they greeted me with a smile, checked to make sure I was happy with my (free) soda and my pretzel, and left me with a pleasant feeling … Free sample folks were giving out full-size candy bars outside both the Nats game and the Wizards game. A tasty way to cut down on the cost of 8 hours of sporting events … Thanks to Molly and Mike who provided us with enjoyable seatmates and a pen to fill out our All-Star ballots … And a final boo to the rain, which cut the Mets comeback short, 5-3.

This column from today’s Post, “How the Nats Brought Me Home,” hit home with me.

Unlike the author, I do follow sports. And I really enjoy baseball; I’d like to make it to a game at each of the stadiums sooner or later.

And I have had animated conversations on the Metro with strangers in the past — wearing political buttons will do that. (My commute on Metro is only two stops and lets out in liberal Dupont Circle, so perhaps that accounts for all my political Metro conversations being positive.)

But he’s right. The city has moved to embrace baseball with an enthusiasm that surprised me. And it is a rallying point — something that’s ours. When I get on the Metro late at night to come home and see Nats hats in abundance, I have no qualms about walking up to a stranger and asking what the score was. And coworkers have complimented the new Nationals pennant adorning my office door.

So, let’s go Nats!

I’m a little slow about posting on the Nationals’ home opener…
(more…)

Well, we were there for their first home win…. Why shouldn’t we be there for their first home loss?

Tonight’s game just was not as good as Thursday’s. It’s bad when the highlight of the night is seeing Senator Chris Dodd walk past.

The crowd was lackluster. The folks who run the canned organ music (it’s probably too much to hope that there’s an actual organist) just didn’t understand that it was their responsibility to help create an atmosphere to get the fans energized.

The defense was off from the very beginning. Pitcher Tomo Ohka pitched a ball for his first throw (and, from what I could tell, threw balls during his warm up as well) and seemed more interested in getting his batters to first and then throwing as often to first as to home. Catcher Gary Bennett threw four runners out at second, but also threw one late and high, allowing the first run to score. Infielders were flopping all over the place, but they were slow to throw themselves after the ball and then slow to get up. And at one point they were so shifted to the right, that a routine foul pop fly over the third base coach went uncaught because the third baseman was playing where the shortstop should have been. Outfielders (with the exception of one leaping catch by JJ Davis in center field) couldn’t seem to get anywhere near dropping balls.

And the offense just wasn’t connecting tonight. The exception was the bottom of the seventh, when I went out to stretch my legs. Someone hit a homerun while I was in the ladies’ room, so I decided to stay out in the concourse while they ran their course. And they managed to force the Marlins to pull their starting pitcher and the first reliever before ending the seventh.

I had hope when we managed to keep anyone from scoring during the eighth or ninth innings, but, despite a run in the bottom of the ninth, it was unfounded. The end score was 9-4.

The crowds starting thinning out in the seventh, so we didn’t need to fight to get on a train at Stadium/Armory, but we did have to wait about 15 minutes for a Red line train at Metro Center.

No red cap yet, but a pennant to hang on my office door. =)

Five hours and counting until the Nationals home opener. Rudi and I went in with a bunch of people on season tickets and won the Opening Day raffle to go tonight. Our seats are behind home plate — I’ve never sat in the infield before! I’m sure I’ll post more tonight after I’ve thawed out. (I have four layers to put down as the temperatures drop…)