On their day off yesterday three Nationals pitchers (Bacsick, Cordero, and Schroder) and about 20 other team associates toured the Pentagon. The Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England, a self proclaimed baseball fan, invited the group to spend the day at the Pentagon in an effort to strengthen relations between baseball and the US Military.

Chad Cordero thanked US Troops for their support and mentioned that it was an honor for him to be able to play before service members during RFK home games. He said, “They’re out there maintaining our freedom. They’re out there making sure we still have all of our rights that we know and love,” he said. “And for us, we just go out there ( and ) we’re trying to basically give everybody a place to go to have fun.” “For the troops, I want get a chance to ( let them ) not think about what their job is for a day,” he said. “We go out there to entertain them, so any time we can do that for them, it’s good, because they’re the ones doing all the fighting for us.”

As a child from a military family, I am consistently impressed with the support the Washington Nationals give our Armed Forces. From military appreciation night at RFK, to scheduled trips like this one, these players really support the men and women defending our nation.

WETA’s special on the Washington Nationals airs tonight (7/31) at 9 pm.

The Washington Nationals — WETA All Access is a new one-hour television show that spotlights a game day for the Washington Nationals baseball team, exploring what it takes on and off the field to make a great experience for local baseball fans and following some of the people who make game day a success no matter what the score.

You can watch a preview of the show here.

If you miss it tonight, you can still catch it later this week.

That brilliant quote belongs to our MIA-Ace John Patterson.

Sunday was just that - a rainy day. A long subway ride out to Shea.

Five innings of watching Billy Traber get beaten down in the rain.

No offense.

A rain delay we wisely chose not to wait through.

At least the best host in the world got to watch her man David Wright do some damage.

I figured a Saturday double header was the perfect chance for me to head to New York City for the first time. Not only was it my first time in the city, it was also my first major league double header. We started our trip somewhat spontaneously on Friday after work. After an insanely long bus ride we finally made it to the city. Approaching the city at night was incredible. I can’t believe it has taken me so long to visit NYC! Our friend Rachel and her two wonderful roommates were generous enough to let us stay with them in their awesome Times Square apartment.

We woke up pretty early for the first game on Saturday, and took the train to Queens. I was pleasantly surprised by Shea Stadium. A few people had told us what a dump it was, but I didn’t feel that way at all. It reminded me a lot of RFK and it seemed like every seat had a good view. We opted to sit in $9 tickets, and ended up above the Nationals bullpen. We quickly made friends with the usher in our section; his name was Alfred Rodriguez (A-Rod for short). He was impressed we had made the trip all the way from DC, and thought we were the only Nationals fans in the stands. After a few innings he offered us seats in the front our section just above Ryan Church in left field.

Kristen and I headed to the concession stand for a drink and were stopped by another Nats fan. It was awesome to run into people from home. He had made the trip with his family, and was also a season ticket holder at RFK. I love road trips because we get to see different stadiums, watch great games, hang out in fun cities, but mostly I enjoy the camaraderie we have with other traveling fans.

We headed back to our seats and settled in for a long, hot, and sunny game. The game itself wasn’t too exciting. I am a fan of the Redding/Flores combination. Redding has really impressed me in his last three starts, and he and Flores seem to have a rhythm that usually works. Saturday afternoon Redding lasted six innings giving us just one run on five hits. He also struck out a season high eight batters including Gotay, Delgado, Castro, and Anderson. Redding got into some trouble in the 4th but only one run was scored.Unfortunately, Redding couldn’t get the offensive boost he needed from the team. It was looking dim for the Nationals, Jimenez led off with a single but that was the only hit for 3 more innings. With Felipe Lopez up to bat, I leaned over to our friend Rachel and told her to look out because Lopez likes to hit shot home runs in situations like this. Sure enough he took the next pitch and knocked a homer over the right field wall. It was impressive, it tied the game in the sixth, and kept the Nats from a shut out.

It was in the 7th when Saul Rivera got into some trouble. With one out and a runner on second, Gotay singled to right field and Jose Reyes scored, giving the Mets the lead. Rivera then walked David Wright and Delgado singled scoring Gotay and the Mets led 3-1. It was a surprising performance from Rivera. He has been such a force in the bullpen as of late, pitching his last 6 innings without giving up a run. With our starting rotation constantly changing, it is a comfort to us to have a strong bullpen. These guys have stepped up every game.

Despite the loss, the game was great fun. We had a great time chatting with A-Rod and I think we impressed some Mets fans with our baseball knowledge. We headed out of the stadium to find a place to relax during the break between Saturday’s games. The area around Shea isn’t that impressive, in fact it was hard to find a place to re-dehydrate. We finally settled on a Mexican place and had some authentic food before the game. It was a great afternoon and I was pumped for the last leg of our day…Saturday night’s game!

So it’s not live and it’s actually kind of late - but we had to get up a post about one of the most exciting games we’ve seen this season.

In between games, we killed time outside Shea (not an easy thing to do) and tried to pick up our energy for another game. Our good friend, host and David Wright fan, Rachel, was gracious enough to agree to attending the day-night double header. That’s a lot of baseball for the casual fan but she had a blast (I hope).

We headed in to the same section — lower level left field, right above the bullpen and decided to watch Joel Hanrahan warm up. Oddly, Nick Johnson also hung out in the bullpen for the beginning of the game. Hanrahan looked great so we stopped worrying about his spring training games and tried to have some heart.

. And what could be better than watching him start his Major League career with a triple! He helped us to finish the third with a 3 run lead.

Over the course of the game, he gave up three runs and four hits, struck out seven and walked one. One of those was, of course, Carlos Delgado’s devastating home-run. The game was tied after the 6th.

Then things got crazy. Manny brought in King and Rauch in the 7th. Okay - Fine.

Manny let Rauch bat in the top of the eighth….in the midst of this rally…Rauch struck out, of course.

We scored 3 more runs in the top of the eighth. Mets fans were angry and frustrated, but unpredictable Ryan Langerhans came through to bring in our 6th run.

Then, Rauch pitched a horrible eighth. He gave up 4 hits and 2 runs bringing the score to 6-5. We were nervous - Chief, after all, likes to make things exciting. Apparantly, Rauch and Manny do too. Bad decision. He still gets credit for the win.

But the whole game was full of odd decisions…

Tom Glavine pinch hit in the ninth inning…We were surprised, Mets fans weren’t. It didn’t matter - he grounded out.

Also odd? Tony Batista was intentionally walked. Hey, we’ll take it.

Chief pitched a perfect ninth, the Nats hung on to win it 6-5 on a special Saturday night in New York City.

In preparation for this series with the Mets, we had the opportunity to talk to a Mets blogger about his team and its future. Amazin Avenue also asked us a few questions about our Nationals.

1. Draft picks - What do you think of your #1 pick RHP Eddie Kunz? (We are very excited about our #1 pick, LHP Ross Detwiler.)

Anytime you can get your top draft pick under contract and back playing ball is exciting. With the Mets’ record last year and their signing of free agents this winter, their first pick didn’t come until #42 overall (Detwiler was #6 overall). Kunz wasn’t dominant in his last year at Oregon State, but he’s a big kid and the Mets are hoping to reproduce the success they have seen with Joe Smith in the bullpen this year. Plus, my wife thinks Kunz is hot, so that’s probably more important than anything he does on the field.

2. Both teams, Mets/Nats, have new stadiums in the works - how do you think playing in a new space will affect the ball club in the future?

It certainly shouldn’t affect their play any, but it will affect the fans and the area around the stadium immensely. I love Shea Stadium, but it’s basically a dump. Citi Field will have all of the amenities and clean bathrooms you come to expect in a new ballpark, but it will be classy and impressive, while understating the fact that it is state-of-the-art. The area around Shea is comprised largely of auto body and chop shops, so cleaning up that area and replacing them with shopping and other commercial properties will be a huge improvement to the community.

3. Its no secret that the Nationals are trying to rebuild and focus on a long term goal. In fact, at the beginning of the 2007 season they were predicted to be as bad at the ‘62 Mets. The Mets have sure come a long way since their ‘62 season. Do Mets fans have any advice for Nats fans on how to stay positive?

The 1962 Mets set futility standards sixteen years before I was born, but you don’t have to go back that far to find lousy Mets teams. As recently as 2004 the Mets lost 91 games, and they lost 95 in 2003. The most important thing is to have a general manager who understands the big picture and who can optimize the resources he is given. The Mets have more resources than most teams, and Omar Minaya understood that. The most important thing he did was to change the perception of the Mets among current and future ballplayers. In 2004, nobody wanted to come to play in Queens. So, Minaya brought in guys like Pedro Martinez and Carlos Beltran, two big money free agents who have brought credibility to the team that really transcends what they do on the field. If you believe in your GM and you believe that he won’t do anything catastrophically stupid that might jeopardize the long-term success of your team, then there is plenty to be optimistic about.

4. We’re a rebuilding team, but you are strong contenders. What do you think the Mets should be looking for as the trade deadline looms? Could you speculate on the rumors about a trade for Chad Cordero and if that deal were to happen, can you give us some insight about which prospects might be offered up?

Jim Bowden is famous for asking for the moon, and whether or not Cordero gets traded will depend on what Bowden will ultimately settle for. The Mets would love to acquire a pitcher like Cordero, and Omar Minaya especially since he drafted him when he was running the Expos. The names I have heard are Mets AA first-baseman Mike Carp (currently hitting .263/.326/.402) and RHP Kevin Mulvey (8-9, 3.30 ERA). I don’t know if that’s enough to get Cordero, but I also don’t know if the Mets would part with one of their elite prospects, either. I guess we’ll know better in a few days.

5. When and where do you think Tom Glavine will get his 300th win?

Well, considering that he won #299 last night, his next two starts will probably be on Tuesday in Milwaukee and next Sunday in Chicago. The Brewers and Cubs are two of the better teams in the National League right now, and with the way Glavine has been pitching there are no guarantees he’ll get it either of those nights. I feel like it has been something of a distraction to him, so as a Mets’ fan I’m hoping he picks it up sooner rather than later.

6. How does your second half schedule look? What should we expect from the Mets in this year’s post-season?

Lots of games against the Nationals, and a lot of games against the Marlins and Braves, too. Let’s wait until the Mets make the postseason before talking about it; they’re just a few games up on Atlanta and Philadelphia, and you never know what’s going to happen with all of those head-to-head matchups. The Mets’ pitching has been very good, and their hitting is finally starting to come around. I think they’re the best team in the division, and the favorites to win it, but it hasn’t been the cakewalk it was last season. Maybe that’ll be better for them should they make the postseason.

Make sure to check out Amazin Avenue for more on the Mets v. Nats series this weekend!

Hunter Wendelstedt has tossed Lannan and Manny Acta - in Lannan’s MLB debut.

For those watching gameday, I’m sorry you couldn’t hear how angry Don Sutton was about this call.

John Lannan, Washington’s 2005 11th round draft pick will start in his first major league game today. The Nationals face the Phillies for the final game in the series, and Lannan looks to impress. Our new #26 was having a heck of a season in the minor leagues with a 12-3 record and a 2.35 ERA over 20 games. Incidentally, Lannan is the 4th rookie pitcher to start for the Nats this year. With our starters still dropping like flies, we are excited to have Lannan on the roster. We wish him the best of luck in his debut!!

Is Dmitri going to stay?

First baseman Dmitri Young is close to signing a two-year extension with the Nationals, according to multiple sources. The move would come a few days after the team signed infielder Ronnie Belliard to an extension.

What are your thoughts?

Okay, so it’s Hamels…but we’ve got Matt Chico! Our only remaining starter. We have faith.

Make sure you check out this fun Matt Chico fan-site!

Unfortunately, we’re going to have to miss this one. I can’t think of the last time I missed a game this season (not watching or going). So, cheer on Chico for us.