Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn homered, and Jason Marquis pitched 5.2 solid innings to lead the Nationals to a 9-3 victory over the Florida Marlins in Miami on Monday night. The win was the third in a row for the Nationals — a “laugher” — who have energized their sudden surge by scoring 40 runs in the last five games. On Monday, the Zimmerman-Dunn combination accounted for seven of the nine runs, as Zimmerman hit his 25th and Dunn hit his 33rd home runs. Roger Bernadina and Michael Morse also continued their offensive assault, with both accounting for two hits. The sudden plate production stands in stark contrast to the Nats of just a week ago — when the Anacostia Nine had difficulty scoring against the Braves, Phillies and Cubs, and dropped seven of nine games.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains: It was a bad night for Florida baseball. The official attendance for the Nats-Marlins tilt was given as 18,326, but after a nearly three hour rain delay the Marlins were playing in front of hundreds — not thousands. In the seventh inning, a ballgirl snagged a ground foul along the first base line and trotted towards the seats to hand it to a fan: there was no one there. Then too, it’s an open debate whether anyone scrambled for Adam Dunn’s home run into the right field seats — no fan was even close. If you head to see the Marlins tonight, you might want to look under your seat. When the game finished at 1 a.m this morning, there were more people in Dupont Circle than at the Marlins game. The Marlins are counting on a new stadium to solve their attendance woes, but you have to wonder whether that’s really going to work. There’s a beautiful stadium in Toronto and a good, young team — and they don’t draw a lick . . .

Over in Tampa, where the Rays were taking on the Jays, precisely 11,968 patrons showed up at “The Trop” — an embarrassing non-anomaly for a team that now ranks 23rd in MLB attendance (just behind the last place Nats). The Nationals ranked as high as 19th in attendance this year, but the Rays have never been a notch over where they are right now. Bleacher Report’s J.C. De La Torre says there’s a reason for this: 70 percent of the fans live nearly an hour from the stadium (which is true) and Tampa has the second highest jobless rate in the state. And De La Torre notes that Cincinnati, San Diego and Texas also have attendance problems. They are all first place teams with 62 percent or less in capacity this season.

No matter what the issue, the Rays’ problems are long term and not likely to be resolved anytime soon — and they will have an impact on the franchise, which will see star left fielder Carl Crawford headed out of town (wouldn’t it be nice if he came to Washington, instead of New York) come October. “It was a big letdown,” Crawford said of the sparse crowd. “We came out all fired up and you see that, it’s really depressing.” The Rays desperately need a new stadium, but are locked in a head-to-head battle over whether the team will play in St. Petersburg (where they are now, officially, located) or Tampa — which could be the site of a new stadium in the waterfront area. The battle won’t be joined until after the season, which means that a new stadium (if there is one) won’t be started for at least another year. And no one has yet figured out how a new ballpark will be funded.

(above: Jason Marquis AP Photo/Wildredo Lee; below: Carl Crawford against the Red Sox in Tampa)

The San Diego Padres have had a volatile, if often unsuccessful, history. Founded in 1969 as an expansion franchise, “the Friars” spent their first six years in last place, before future Hall of Famer Dave Winfield (22 seasons, 3110 hits, 465 home runs) was signed out of Minnesota as a first round draft choice in 1973. The Padres finished first in the NL West in 1978 and went to the World Series in 1984, where they lost to the Detroit Tigers in five games. Tony Gwynn was just 24 in 1984, but he became the face of the franchise after Winfield was signed by the Yankees. The Winfield-Gwynn “switch off” seems emblamatic of the franchise: the Friars seem always to have one future hall of famer and face-of-the-franchise in tow: in the 1970s it was Winfield, in the 1980s and 1990s it was Gwynn, now it’s San Diego native and first baseman Adrian Gonzalez.

Padres’ fans will undoubtedly take issue with that description, arguing that the Padres are a successful franchise that is deeply rooted in the San Diego community. That’s true now, but it wasn’t for many years. In 1974, the Padres were on the verge of coming to Washington — baseball card companies had even changed their card design to reflect the move. Instead, the team was sold to McDonald’s mogul Ray Kroc who, the next year, apologized to fans for his teams’ play over the team’s public address system: “I’ve never seen such stupid playing in my life,” he said. Padres’ fans will also point out that the team’s front office has a reputation for savvy trades: landing Gonzalez from Texas in 2006 for minor leaguer Billy Killian and pitchers Adam Eaton (now with Baltimore) and Akinori Otsuka. True enough. But for every Killian-for-Gonzalez trade there is an offsetting and haunting swap: like the 1981 trade that sent superstar Ozzie Smith to St. Louis in exchange for Sixto Lezcano and Gary Templeton. Padres’ fans are also quick to note that perhaps baseball’s best all-time reliever, Trevor Hoffman, was a Friars’ mainstay before moving onto Milwaukee at the beginning of the year. That’s true, but it’s also irrelevant. That was then, this is now.

The 2009 San Diego Padres bear no resemblance to the 1984 NL champs, nor the 1998 Gwynn-Hoffman nine (which lost the series in four to the Yankees) nor even to the 2006 Western Division winners. While the team has gained a cadre of dedicated fans (and committed themselves to San Diego with the building of Petco Park in 2004) last year’s cash-strapped Padres finished the season with 99 losses and have been in rebuilding mode since: attempting to off-load all star pitcher Jake Peavy for prospects and dangling Gonzalez to teams in lieu of paying him added millions when his contract is up in 2010. The club was also victimized by an off-season divorce of primary owner John Moores’ and his wife Rebecca, who fought for custody of their lavish houses — and the Padres. This is the team’s story: not of on-the-field heroes, but off-the-field eccentrics who have been undercapitalized (first owner C. Arnholdt Smith), weird (Ray Kroc), parsimonious (TV producer Tom Werner) and absent (Moores, who rarely attends Padres’ game).

Still, it is hardly the place of Nats’ fans to scoff at such a history. The Padres boast one of the games best pitchers (in Peavy, who is now on the DL) and one of its potential greats (in Gonzalez). An all star pitcher? One of baseball’s potential greats? The Nats have neither. The Nats take on the Padres in a three-game set beginning at Nationals’ Park tonight, with Garrett Mock (0-3) facing off against Matt Latos (0-1). The two teams will face-off again tomorrow (Tim Staufer is scheduled to go against J.D. Martin) and then on Sunday (with Chad Gaudin slated to face John Lannan).

Washington Nationals’ fans got a taste of what the future could be on Tuesday, as John Lannan dominated the New York Mets and the team backed him with timely hitting and stellar defensive play. Lannan threw 106 pitches, 80 for strikes. His seventh inning was his best: he threw seven pitches, all of them for strikes, setting down the Mets almost effortlessly. While Lannan got most of the credit for the win, the 4-0 blanking of the Chokes would not have been possible without the defensive play of centerfielder Nyjer Morgan, whose third inning catch against the wall saved three runs. Morgan has been a spark for the team, who made another circus catch later on in the game. The scoring began with timely hitting from Adam Dunn. This was the first win for interim-manager Jim Riggleman.

The impressive win energized Nats’ fans, who have had little to cheer about since the all star break. Lannan was given a standing ovation at the end of the game and fans chanted his name along the first base concourse during the post-game. Some of the fans were almost giddy: “F … ing John Lannan,” one fan shouted, which brought laughter and cheers from the crowd. You’d have thought the Nats had won a playoff game. Even so, the fans (and club ownership) got a taste of what success can look like: a dominating shutout of a NL East rival (the first complete game shutout since former Nats hurler Pedro Astacio accomplished the feat in August of 2006) and a happy fan base enjoying a game on a beautiful night in D.C. The shape of things to come. We hope.

Down On Half Street: I caught a foul ball in the third inning off the bat of Omir Santos, though it was hardly a diving stab. The ball hit in my row (which was empty) and bounced my way, so I grabbed it and flipped it to a kid with a Nats cap sitting two rows further down. You’d have thought I was Gandhi. Later in the inning, a woman came up to me and said, “now that was really nice, let me buy you a beer.” I protested, but she trotted up and returned with a MGD. One inning later the boy’s father arrived with a Budweiser. When I protested (“I already have a beer”) he waved me off: “Have another one.” In the fifth inning, a man plopped himself down beside me. “My name is staff sergeant Adam Lambert” (well, it was something like that) “and I served my country in Anbar Province,” he said. I shook his hand, and he continued: “I’ve noticed that everyone’s buying you beer . . .” So I told him the story. “Hey, that’s pretty great,” he said. “Let me buy you one.” I protested once again, pointing to the beers in the holders in front of me. “So, you going to turn down a Marine staff sergeant?” The question was rhetorical. So that’s three beers in two innings . . .

A reader from Annandale — “Pam” writes that “Down on Half Street” should be called “Down near the Navy Yard Metro.” She continues, “the park is not really on Half Street.” Yeah, okay, but still, Pammy, it doesn’t have the same ring . . . The stadium seemed almost empty when the first pitch was thrown last night, but filled up. There were still people coming in during the third inning. Washington is getting a reputation for their late-arriving crowd. By the end of the night there were over 23,000 in the stands . . . Scott Olsen is done for the year, which is a kind of exclamation point for the tenure of the dearly departed Jim Bowden, who was delusional enough to believe that Olsen and Danny Cabrera were the answers to the Nats’ pitching woes . . . Readers can comment on-site (as irritated Mets fans have recently), but for those who need to contact us directly our email is centerfieldgate@gmail.com . . . Readers will also note the appearance of our sister blogs on the right hand column . . . and for those of you following along in your book, CFG has added readers in Argentina and (gasp) Malta. I have no idea why . . .

Plays havoc with the game. About six weeks ago, my wife (here she is) looked out from our porch at the pouring rain. ”Well, it’s about time,” she said. “We need the rain.” In the weeks since (according to MLB Network), it’s rained so often that the Nationals hold the major league lead in rainouts and suspended games — seven in all. The May 3 Nats versus Cardinals rainout was the worst; the umpires kept fans waiting for one hour and 54 minutes before calling the  game. Just three days later, the Nats and Astros went into the 10th inning of a 10-10 slugfest only to have the game suspended. More recently, the Nats doubleheader with the McCoveys — scheduled because of a rainout – was a rain fiasco: the first game was delayed by rain, the second was called with the Giants leading 4-1. It went into the books that way, as a doubleheader sweep. 

By rule the umpires make the final decision on whether to play once they’ve received the home team playbook (rule 4.01), and they make the decision on whether to suspend a game. But, in truth, the umps always consult with the home team. Prior to “the Big Train’s” first attempt at 300, Stan Kasten could be seen trooping with the umpiring crew around third base, trying to decide whether the game could be played. No one seemed capable of making a decision. Inevitably the fans started to leave. The impact of the indecision was catalogued by Dan Steinberg over at DC Sports Blog. It’s pretty grim. Kasten’s indecision was motivated, apparently, by his desire to play the game for those who had come — no matter how long the delay. But you have to wonder: wouldn’t it have been in the interests of the Nats (and the fans) to postpone the game? What’s the point: to get the game “in” — or to get it in when there’s a chance that people will come?  

Even so, it’s hard to blame Kasten for the indecision. The amount of rain on Maine (Ave.) has been unusual this year. There’s no question it’s dampened attendance (it kept me away once, and I’m a fanatic). You have to believe that without the rain the Nats, who are averaging 20,000 a game, would be drawing better. In just five years, Washington fans have set a tradition for arriving late, leaving early, and staying away when it pours. That’s not true in Chicago or St. Louis or Boston or New York. And Nats fans with families traditionally stay at home until the school year is completed. And when they do come out with their school-age kids, they leave early. They won’t stay past eleven. The Nats and the umps should know this. There’s no reason to keep people waiting past 10:30 in Washington — unless you want to play a game in front of a few thousand diehards. This ”well, we need to get the game in” attitude is just stupid. And it kills end-of-year attendance figures.  

That said, my bet is that when it stops raining and we get into the mid-summer (and school is out) the fans will return, in spite of the on-field product. The Nats are now 27th of 30 in attendance (that’s actually astounding, when you think about it), but by the end of the year don’t be surprised to see them jump a few places. They’re now outdrawing Oakland, Florida and Pittsburgh — which is dead last. If you haven’t watched a game in Pittsburgh you should. The stadium is beautiful and you can talk with your buddies without being interrupted by cheering.

A friend looked over at me during the Lincecum game the other night and said that he thought that Twinkie catcher Joe Mauer is probably “the best player in baseball.” I thought about it for a minute and shook my head: “No, it’s Albert Pujols,” I said. But I’ve been thinking about the comment ever since, and making up lists of the “ten best players in baseball” in my head. He has a point on Mauer: the AL catcher was out for the first three weeks and has still hit 12 home runs. And he plays a tougher position than Pujols. Still, I would put him second. So here’s my list of the “top ten” — not counting pitchers. And you can tell me where I’m wrong: 1) Albert Pujols, St. Louis Cardinals, 2) Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins, 3) Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins, 4) Alex Rodriguez, New York Yankees, 5) Alberto Gonzalez, San Diego Padres, 6) Ian Kinsler, Texas Rangers, 7) Mark Teixeira, New York Yankees, 8) Derek Jeter, New York Yankees, 9) Dustin “Our Lord and Savior” Pedroia, Boston Red Sox, 10) Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals.

Two things strike me about the list: there are a lot of first basemen here (Pujols, Morneau, Gonzalez and Teixeira) and a lot of Yankees — three in all. And I would adamantly claim against all comers (including fans of the “chokes”) that the number ten spot is accurate. Zimmerman might or might not belong in the top ten, but he’s a better hitter than David Wright — and a better fielder.

Assessing The National Pastime: Forbes is out with their annual list of “Baseball’s Most Valuable Teams.” The top five are predictable: the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Dodgers and Cubs. Forbes concludes that “the national pastime has never been stronger.” That said, the Tigers, Giants, Indians and Rangers are suffering, their values slipping over the past year. The Nats are ranked 14th, just behind the Mariners, but ahead of the Orioles (at 17th) as well as the D-backs, Blue Jays, and Brewers. The Marlins are dead last.

The Nats are valued at $406 million and, while their value will increase, don’t let anyone tell you that D.C. is recession proof. Barring a near-miracle, the Anacostia Boys are sure to draw fewer patrons this year, and the Washington Post reports that development around Nationals Park is at a standstill. While the team is still viewed as a Major League stepchild and needs to establish a clear local identity, the idea that the Nats are poorly run and that the city didn’t shell out enough for the ballpark is a crock.

Nationals Park is unfairly stigmatized: the result of all the oohing and ahhing over Camden Yards, a weird comparison with “the cathedral” in New York and the belief (repeated in Baseball Prospectus) that the new stadium is a “$693 million boondoggle.” But the real boondoggle is 225 miles north of here and is priced at $1.5 billion. It’s a monument to excess. It’s amazing to me that we have yet to hear from baseball’s gurus about how embarrassing Yankee Stadium is — and that has nothing to do with the wind.

I talked with a fan of the Trolleys last week who advised me on finding a nickname for the Nats’ home for use in the blog. I told him that I was playing with “the blossom” (for Cherry Blossom). He smiled and suggested “the Happy Meal.” Nats Park, he went on to say, “lacked the grit of Dodger Stadium” and “the feel of a real baseball park,” implying that all those Dodger fans out there in L.A. were not as fey as I might suppose.  That’s right: L.A. is known for its blue collar ethic, its toughness, its “grit” — which it lacked, apparently, in Brooklyn. That Athens of America.

Nationals Park is a good ballpark: it plays well, it’s easy to get to, it has great sight lines and there isn’t a bad seat in the house. The Nats are in last place, but the franchise is solid. Don’t complain about Mark Lerner, we could have this guy. The one thing the franchise could use is better radio coverage and less dependence on guys like this who, frankly, just don’t like baseball. Apart from that, there isn’t anything wrong here that winning can’t solve.

MLB Extra Innings: I signed up in April, just as the season started. It’s been worth it. There’s nothing to hate and the local feeds give viewers a chance to assess booth talent (D-backs color man Mark Grace is overrated and the Red Birds Mike Shannon is deplorable). If you’re interested in seeing west coast games, EI is an alternative to the endless blathering about “the nation,” ”the evil empire” or the New York Chokes. 

My first week I had access to over 100 games, which means you have to set limits. My rule is that I cannot watch a game during the day, unless it’s the Nats or Cubs or a game that features Lincecum, Haren, Greinke, Meche, Webb, Lowe, Lester, Buehrle, Oswalt, Harden, Lilly, Cook, Francis, Lackey, Braden, Hamels, or Maholm. Other than that …

On Friday night I watched the Nats attempt to master Johan Santana; during commercials I checked ”the nation’s” game against the Yankees. I settled on the Red Sox and Yankees before switching over to D-backs-Giants game, catching a part of the Bucs-Padres tilt during commercials. I finished by watching the “Showboats” lose to the McCovey’s in Arizona, just so I could see Lincecum pitch. You can see why he won the Cy Young.

 

The problem with “Extra Innings” (if it is a problem) is that there’s almost too much to watch. So, after my first week, I decided that (barring reports of a no-hitter in progress) it’s better to watch one game at a time. Like having one cigarette at a time, it doesn’t end the addiction. I couldn’t pass up the Nats-Mets broadcast on Saturday, but then watched the Red Sox-Yanks before finishing with the Rangers-Orioles. Extra Innings is great, so long as you don’t have to make a living.

Just A Few Words: about the O’s … who are in the process of getting crushed by the Rangers, whose pitching staff is being carried by their bats.  Ian Kinsler is hitting over .500 against the birds and is on his way to an MVP season … it appears that the “great left field hope” Felix Pie might never master big league pitching. The Cubs gave up on him and shipped him to Baltimore. He’s two for his last 26 … he’s likely to be replaced by Lou Montanez, another Cubs prospect, drafted third overall in 2000. It’s been a long road to the majors for Montanez, but people say he can hit. That’s what they said about Pie … the O’s are filled with former Cubs, the result of having Cub front office guy Andy McPhail as the team’s president of baseball operations … Pie and Montanez are just two of the Cubbies that McPhail brought over: the one other worth mentioning is lefty Rich Hill who, after one good year in Chicago, slipped badly. He’s currently on the DL.

There is nothing quite like Opening Day, particularly when Ryan Zimmerman can hit a walk-off home run. But like most fans, I spent much of my time oggling the new stadium, checking out the concessions, and attempting to determine just how the field would “play.” It’s an all-important question, of course, because you build a team to fit a field — and not the other way around. Even so, the assumption here is that National’s Park will be a hitter’s park: primarily because it’s not RFK. I noticed this on opening day: the place looked positively small. The fences seemed on top of the field, just right there.

But honestly? The fences are not in all that much. And from where I sat on Opening Day (just up the third base line beyond the dugout and twenty rows back) it seemed to me that National’s Park looks small only because the fans seem on top of the field, though they are most decidedly not. It’s the same for the players, who commented on this in the wake of the exhibition game versus the Orioles. So my guess is the field will play “long” — that it will be a slight pitcher’s park except in the alleys, where the ball will travel 370 in right-center and 377 in left center (it was 380 at old RFK). That’s a ways to go for someone like Wily Mo. Here tis:

A pitcher’s park? You mean like PETCO? My comment is based on observation, on what I saw: I could be wrong. There’s no question that Zim’s walk off would have been a long out at RFK, but that does not disprove my point: while the actual dimensions of National’s Park are nothing compared to cavernous PETCO Park in San Diego (an astounding 402 feet in the alleys), they are hardly the bandbox dimensions of Wrigley, Houston’s Minute Maid and the positively claustrophobic Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. So what’s the best comparison?

St. Louis’ new Busch Stadium is 375 in left-center and right-center — presumably reachable distances and very much like Nats Park — and 400 in straightaway center. The dimensions in DC and St. Louis are almost exactly the same down the lines. In fact, Busch II (as they call it) is close enough to National’s Park to be almost a replica, and no one (no one) views it as a hitter’s park. Guys like Albert Pujols are easily strong enough to hit the long ball at Busch, but that’s not the point: last year Pujols hit more home runs in Pittsburgh, Houston and Chicago than he did in St. Louis — where he plays half his games. Not scientific enough? The Cardinals ranked 25th in homers last year and while it’s true their line-up is not stacked with big boppers, total home run production at Busch (or Busch II, which opened in April 2006) actually dropped 27 percent last year. That’s for everyone, not just the Cards.

At the end of the year we’ll look back and say “wow” — look what National’s Park did for the team’s hitters compared to RFK. And while that’s a true comparison, the Nats aren’t playing other teams at RFK, they’re playing them in San Diego and San Francisco (where the distance in the gaps is a breathtaking 421 feet), in St. Louis and now in Busch II’s replica stadium along the beautiful Anacostia.

The question is not whether Ryan Zimmerman and Austin Kearns and Dimitri Young will hit more home runs in Nats Park than they did at RFK (they will), the question is whether that means the “Learners” (as Tom would, appropriately, spell them) should start drafting clones of Dave Kingman.

The answer is obvious. This is a game of pitching and so the Nationals should build the team by building their pitching. But my bet is that that is as true for the Nats now as it might have been had they stayed at RFK (God forbid). It might not yet be totally clear, but it appears the Nats are playing in a stadium that will favor strong arms and quick outfielders.

Fine by me.

I know I’m supposed to comment on Mark’s AL predictions, and I will, but after attending this evening’s pre-season contest at Nationals Park I thought it best to offer some impressions for those of you who will soon see a game in the new venue.

Despite the cold (if you’re going to attend Opening Night wear winter clothing) it was an excellent night of baseball. The sight lines are very good especially from the concourse where you can continue to watch as you get to where you’re going. The exception being that if you are in the first row of the 300 Level seats, the top of the plexiglass wall (which is clad in metal) obstructs the view of the infield if you are in the range of 6 feet tall. I am 5′ 11″ and my friend is 6′ 2″ and it was a problem for both of us. Luckily our seats were two rows behind and we had no problem from there.

From section 313 the Capitol Dome was clearly visible and is a beautiful addition to the atmosphere of the park.

Some general observations:

Home Run Potential – With the fences 336ft. down the lines and 377 ft. to the power alleys the park won’t necessarily give up a lot more home runs than did RFK — especially with the wind blowing in as it was tonight. But only time will tell.

Staff – From the ticket takers to the beer guys to the food people in the concession stands everyone had a smile on and greeted fans as guests. A great touch if the Learners can maintain the feeling past the honeymoon period.

Getting There – I was lucky enough to ride with a friend who had a parking pass at Ft. McNair. A four block walk was all it took to get to the park. It will not be that simple for most people and from what I could tell the bulk of the crowd came from the Metro and streamed into the center field entrance. Most seats were full for the start of the game so I assume getting there by subway was not a problem. I don’t know how people fared getting home by Metro but reports will no doubt be in the newspapers. Two fans I spoke to said they parked at RFK and took the shuttle and thought it worked wonderfully. Being free was no doubt an added bonus.

Concessions – Lots of ‘em and lots of variety with the best-named food stand being “Slice Down the Line,” a pizza joint along the first and third base lines. I didn’t try it but the kid three seats away seemed happy with his choice. The Ben’s half-smoke with chili, onion and mustard was very good and the coffee was tasty as well (no kidding). The service at the stands I used was attentive but slow; no doubt a result of tonight’s contest being the shake out cruise. Hopefully that improves since it was no better than the service at RFK. Fans put up with it in the old stadium — they won’t put up with it for too long in the new. On the upside, and this is no small matter as far as I’m concerned, there were plenty of condiment stands (unlike at RFK) and much like the system at Dodger Stadium (and Costco) you can churn out onion and relish to your heart’s content from stainless steel containers. Also, mustard and ketchup is available in almost limitless amounts from what I’m guessing is a tube-fed system from below the condiment counter. No more stupid packets of relish and plastic gallon-sized containers of ketchup!

Video Screen - In a word: awesome! Huge. Bright. Instant replays. Tons of information (although pitch speed wasn’t provided tonight). Like being at home in front of a 50-inch plasma.

Bathrooms – I only used the men’s of course but it was large (six stalls, 12 urinals) and had plenty of soap and papers towels. At RFK the dearth of washing items made me think the team was trying to save pennies to get a good arm in the bullpen. Alas, they were just skimping.

Disability seating – I didn’t do a count of spaces (I’m sure its on the Nats site somewhere) but since I have a friend in a wheel chair I made a point to look. There appeared to be plenty and several elevators service the upper decks.

Quibbles – A plastic cap for my coffee would have been nice — especially since it cost $3.50. And the much-touted cup holders are an improvement from the old place down the street but rather than being at the front of the arm rest on your seat they are on the rear of each arm rest of the seat in front of you. It’s not a huge problem but when people pass in front of you it will be easy for them, especially if they have food in their hands, to not see your draft beer cup at ankle level and give it a good kick and, in the process, soak their feet and waste a good chunk of your $7.50.

More than a quibble – Screech, that mangy, dirty, creepy-looking thing they call a mascot ought to be eliminated. And you can take that any way you wish. I’m not the first to make the recommendation and I won’t be the last. The worst thing about the franchise is that ridiculous pigeon masquerading as something lovable.

A secret – The elevators are separated from the concourse by a wall of glass with glass doors providing access which creates a vestibule for those waiting for the cars to arrive. That vestibule is heated (and I assume cooled in summer) providing a great respite from whatever the elements dish up. There is a very nice flat panel t.v. in the vestibule so you can still watch the game. Don’t tell anyone or they’ll be packed in April and August.

Teddy lost. “Sweet Caroline” played and “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was sung at the stretch. Baseball is back and it is wonderful.