Guest Report from Drama Day

March 21, 2006

Nationals vs. Dodgers March 20, 2006

Viera, FL 6:05 PM

Report by Phil: It was a 6:05 pm game at Space Coast. The lineup had Soriano leading off and playing left field. The stadium was buzzing with compliments for Frank Robinson, who had apparently finally convinced Soriano to move to LF. The rest of the Nats lineup included regulars, even Jose Guillen and Brian Schneider and the Dodgers also started their regulars.

As the Nats took the field, only eight players left the dugout. There was no left fielder. After what seemed like a minute, Frank Robinson went to home plate with a lineup change and Brandon Watson headed for CF and Church moved to LF. Initially, I thought Soriano was pulled at the last minute because he had been traded, possibly for the Bowden coveted Wily Mo Pena, who earlier in the day had been traded to the Red Sox for Bronson Arroyo. I later learned from XM radio on my trip down 95 after the game that Soriano, at the last minute, had refused to take the field.

The Nationals were over matched again by a much improved Dodger team. The only plus for the Nationals was three strong innings by starter Tony Armas Jr. Brad Penny pitched five decent innings for the Dodgers. Armas left with a 2-0 lead but terrible pitching by Joey Eischen and Valerio de los Santos and weak defense helped the Dodgers break the game open. Daryle Ward hit a pinch hit solo homer late in the game and Mike DiFelice knocked in two runs in the ninth with a double. The final score was 11-5. Maybe things will change for the better, but off of what I have seen so far this spring, the Nationals are not going to come close to winning 81 games this season. Attendance was about 4500.

Apparently, MLB has made no effort to market the Nationals in Viera this year. I sat next to a guy who told me his company sponsored an outfield sign last season. The Nationals never contacted the company to renew the sign advertisement for this season. The guy also told me that last season he purchased four season tickets for the spring training games. This year, the team never sent him a renewal form nor did they contact him in an effort to secure his renewal. This isn’t pathetic marketing, this is no marketing. Tony Taveras should be ashamed of himself.

Posted in Gameday, Washington Nationals