First the good, the ball park is great. I have been twice. Once I sat in the infield box and last night out in the left field box.
While both seats and sightlines were great, I preferred sitting in left field. We got a couple of batting practice HR's one by Milledge and one by Marlins SS Hanley Ramirez and just missed a HR in the game.
The view is great from there.
I am sure you have heard by now about 2 things about the park. The huge HD scoreboard and screen and Ben's Chili bowl. Both are worth the price of admission. Grab a half smoke and take a gander at the screen.
So call me impressed by the park.
As for the NATS, well there is only one place to start and that is with the pitching staff or more precisely the lack of one. Bergmann went last night and started well but got torched in a 7 run inning with 2 HR's..
With the help a errors the Nats scored 4 runs and for the most part have scored enough runs (and should be able to on a consistent basis once Wily Mo and Dukes are back) to be competitive in most games but not with this staff.
Hill is back this weekend and should help but folks and NATS fans this is a 95 loss season unless a couple of SP step up from the current staff, a kid or 2 in the minors can impress or find a SP or 2 through trades.
The Nats have a surplus of young OF bats now with Pena, Milledge, Dukes, Kearns, even Lopez now that he has a start or 2 there. With Johnson back, if Young can get healthy he may even have some trade value. Gotta find a way to add some arms or this will be a tough year.
I agree that the new park is a potential gem. My only issues so far are that the concession stands aren't the fastest at getting people through, there have been some issues with the ball-strike-out counts and radar readings on the scoreboard, and the hands on the big "W" clock are hard to see (the rest of the clock is lit up, why not the hands?). Of course, the fact that this kind of nit-picking is all that I have to complain about is a very good thing. I love the park.
I agree that the pitching is an issue but I hope that the team does not panic into making bad trades where they give up their strong minor league talent in an effort to win 80-85 games this year. The goal is to build a strong team that can win a championship. All the trades in the world will not make that happen in 2008.
Zimmerman is mature beyond his 23 years and should be a strong cornerstone for years to come. I think that Milledge is going to be the real deal to anchor the outfield (Thank you Mets). Now we need to develop the talent in the farm system. The Nats now have strong management and leadership in their minor league system. I think that the ownership is aiming for a team that is ready for a post-season run in 2010 and strength going forward from there. I just hope that they stay patient.
Hopefully the NATS will do fine with Zimmerman, MILLEDGE, Pena, and Flores. There is still questions with the middle infielders. Johnson is a mainstay if he stays heathy.
I am losing confidence in Rauch and beleive Cordero is overrated. The main questions are the starters and it would be nice if 2-3 spots were finalized this year. It would make for less growing pains the rest of the year and would allow them to be competitive next season. So far Hannan has has his normal baserunner troubles. And Hanrahan Has not been able to get anyone out.
This team is still in need of a 220 inning horse and a consistant .310 30hr 110 rbi shortstop. I know neither grow on trees.
It would be nice to see Guzman have a good year and resign.
Were still looking at three-four stop gap offensive players with no one at the AAA level. (Dukes-Maxwell)
I went to see the Nats play the Cubs on the 25th and not only was the game a great one (walk off homer by Nieves), but I have to say that the stadium is beautiful.
They need to make the hands on the big "w" clock glow white so that you can actually see them, and they seem to be working out some bugs with the huge HDTV screen (which is absolutely beautiful).
There was a pretty good fireworks show after the game as well, started off slow with one at a time, but the finally was better than some of the 4th of July ones i've seen.
I had to park at RFK, but didn't mind because its free and you get to the stadium quickly, no lines. However, AFTER the game there is a HUGE line for the busses and it took me about 30 minutes to get onto one. Probably better to just take a Metro bus from my neighborhood to the game and back.
All in all I think we have a special park here in DC that we can all enjoy for years to come.
2 of 3 from the first place Cubs was pretty impressive, lets keep this momentum going.
I really enjoy the new park. I went opening night, and then again last night for game three against the Cubs, a 2-0 win for the Nationals. Someone else pointed out the lines at the food stands. I agree that there needs to be work done on the "flow" of people. Lines can get long, even with small crowds.
I've found the Metro a great way to go. The stop is only a block or two from the stadium, and while it gets crowded after the game, the trains load fast.
If we could just get a winning team, we would have it all.
