Tongue Power Needs Some Work

April 5, 2008

As any regular reader knows, I was pretty impressed by Ronnie Belliard last season. And no, it’s not just his wagging tongue, although that is highly entertaining! I figured his unconscious tongue-power gave him his physique-defying defensive range and ability, plus slugging power. Well, I’ve seen that tongue wagging plenty on the telly, but his play seems to be matching his physique at the moment. Two balls scooted past him in the death-by-singles game, if I remember correctly, and he paused like he was going to throw home (no force) before taking an out at first in the bottom of the 4th last night against St. Louis. He hit infield grounders and got lucky on the first one, popped out to the pitcher, and got an rbi on another infield fielder’s choice. Where’s the power?! C’mon Ronnie! On the other hand, Felipe Lopez fared worse at the plate, striking out when a hit was needed most and ending the Nats last hope in the top of the 9th by watching a called strike go by. He still looked okay in left field.

Thank goodness Odalis Perez pitched well enough to win the home opener and christening of the new ballpark. Yowza, he was not sharp last night! Despite a late inning comeback, the Nats were only able to come within one run of the Cardinals and lost 4-5.

So the Nats lost their second in a row and dropped to second in the NL East. Dmitri Young flew back to DC to have his inflamed back re-examined. Chad Cordero was suprisingly placed on the 15-day disabled list after the game. I thought that was odd considering recent reports said he was feeling well and thought he could pitch tomorrow. All signs indicate John Lannan will be called up and start tomorrow’s final against the Cards.

The Nats have secured single game parking, but you have to order it ahead of time. Green Lot HH is $15/game, Orange Lot W is $20/game and Red Zone parking is $40/game. I saw parking lot W across from the Navy Yard on M St. (the real yard, not the Metro station) when participating in the ball walk. It’s probably about 5-6 blocks from the ballpark. No idea where the others are, although I know lot F is in the red zone and close (1 block) to the stadium, but looked like it had traffic backup issues after the game, whereas the further out lots are a breeze in and out (we’re in the Orange zone).

The first MASN HD games are coming up next week. The first, Monday, is on My20, so I guess I’ll have to hunt around and find where their HD broadcast is on my cable system. Wednesday and Thursday are also supposed to be HD, but has anyone heard any channel allocations for that? Or will the regular MASN channel suddenly be in HD for that? Did I miss something?

Today’s game is at 1:00 PM on MASN and 3WT Radio.

Posted in Gameday, Injuries, MLB, Washington Nationals