Last night was the first Ladies Night of the 2008 season.  The very successful event was held in a tent outside the first base gate.  Female fans of all ages gathered before the game to sample wine and beer, get massages, win prizes and enjoy samples of food from Nationals Park.  It was well worth the $30, for those of us that paid to attend.  The ladies were also treated to appearances by Joel Hanrahan, John Lannan, Jesus Flores and Luis Ayala - as well as Desperate Housewives star Ricardo Chavira.  It was also a special treat to meet Deidre Silva and Jackie Koney, authors of It Takes More Than Balls.  Their book is a guide to understanding baseball, designed specifically for women and we’re looking forward to reading it.

Of course, it was Elijah Dukes that really gave the ladies something to celebrate.  There’s nothing better for getting new fans hooked than a walk off home run in extra innings. And it wasn’t just that home run that made Dukes the star last night.  Elijah went 4 for 6 with 4 RBI, 2 singles, a triple and a walk off home run in the 10th inning.  Were it not for the official scorer’s decision to score an error on Skip Schumaker in the second, Dukes would have hit for the cycle.  He also made a fantastic diving-somersault catch in the 8th inning to rob Ryan Ludwick of a hit.  It was a great performance by Dukes and a glimmer of what all that potential and power could become if he continues to work hard and stay out of trouble.  Congrats to Elijah on a fantastic night.  It was great to see a win - even if it came after blowing a 7-0 lead.

The Nats scored in each of the first 4 innings to accumulate 8 runs heading into the 5th inning.  Dukes’ RBI triple came in the first inning to score Guzman.  Boone and Casto got things going in the 2nd with 3 RBI between them.  In the third, Guzman and Dukes drove in 2 more runs.   Guzman will get overlooked by Dukes’ heroics, but the Short Stop also had a 4 for 6 night with 3 runs and an RBI.  He did bobble a ball that scored the tying run in the 9th - a mistake that his teammate Dukes would help erase.

Tim Redding cruised through the first three innings before things got bad.  He got out of an ugly 4th inning with a 7-3 lead.  Glaus’ home run was followed by a string of singles and a 2 RBI double to pitcher Mike Parisi.  In the 6th, Tim faced more problems.  A walk, a wild pitch and a single put 2 men on for Mark Worrell.  The rookie reliever hit his first home run to put 3 more runs on the board, closing the gap to an uncomfortable 8-6 lead.

Rivera finished the 6th and Manning and Ayala pitched the 7th and 8th with scoreless frames.  The save situation was set for closer Jon Rauch.  After getting La Rue to ground out, Rauch gave up a double to pinch hitter Brendan Ryan.  We were getting a little nervous.  Albert Pujols came out of the dugout to pinch hit and the Cardinals fans in attendance went wild.  But Rauch went after Pujols aggressively and got him on three called strikes to collect the second out.  Unfortunately, Skip Schumaker hit a ball hard to Lastings Milledge, who misplayed the ball off the wall and watched it bounce back into center field before he could retrieve it.  It was scored an RBI triple.  The Cardinals had come within 1 run, with the tying run on 3rd base.   Aaron Miles singled on a ball to Guzman to score Schumaker and the game went to extra innings.

Sanches pitched the 10th, but gave up a homer to Joe Mather, his first career home run.  The game was quickly slipping out of reach.  Sad fans left lamenting over how their team could blow a 7 run lead.   But Elijah Dukes, whose hard work in the cages is finally starting to pay off, would have none of it. 

With Cristian Guzman on first, Dukes faced pitcher Ryan Franklin. The new, more patient Dukes took 6 pitches and waited through 4 pick off attempts before driving a slider to straight-away center field for a walk off home run in extra innings.  His teammates celebrated the win, which went to Sanches.  A happy ending for a team that watched an impressive early lead slip away quickly.

Tonight, Jason Bergmann faces Lincecum (2.23, 7-1).  Willie Harris is the only guy that has seen Lincecum a few times with some success (Double, Triple in 6 at-bats).

We certainly thought it would have been a great idea for the Nats to show baseball movies on the huge HD screen throughout the summer when the team’s away.  Clint mentioned that something was in the works (back in April), but they haven’t announced anything yet.

However, you can catch baseball movies all summer long just outside of Nationals Park  on the Department of Transportation complex at New Jersey Ave SE and Tingey Street SE.  Every Wednesday, Capitol Riverfront will be presenting classic baseball movies on a 32′ screen at approximately 8:50pm.  Pre-movie festivities include interactive games, snacks, music and beverages.  At 7:30, fans can play Wii Baseball on the giant screen.  And, it’s all free.

You’ll notice they are doing the movies even when the team’s playing at home.  An organizer told us that the 8:50 start time is designed to catch people as they are leaving the game.  The movie schedule is as follows:

June 4th (Nats v.STL)–Field of Dreams, rescheduled for tonight, June 5th
June 11th–Bull Durham
June 18th–A League of their Own
June 25th (Nats v. LAA) –Angels in the Outfield
July 2nd– Bad News Bears
July 9th (Nats v. AZD)–Major League
July 16th– Eight Men Out
July 23th– The Pride of the Yankees
July 30th (Nats v. PHI)– Rookie of the Year
Aug 6th– The Sandlot
Aug 13th (Nats v. NYM)– The Natural

Riverfront Reel is sponsored by the Capitol Riverfront Business Improvement District and produced by ASG Sports.

The Nationals have partnered with Discovery’s new 24-hour eco lifestyle and entertainment channel, Planet Green, for tomorrow’s Get Your Green On promotion.  The Nats take on the St. Louis Cardinals at 7:10. 

All fans are encouraged to wear green in support of the event.  The first 5,000 fans off the Navy Yard metro will get a pre-paid farecard for the ride home.  The players and ushers will wear green hats and the Nat Packers will wear green t-shirts.  Additionally, Food Network star Emeril Lagasse will be there to do the play ball announcement. 

Planet Green will flip the switch to their new programming from Nationals Park at 6:00pm. Discovery President & CEO David Zaslav will throw out the ceremonial first pitch from the green pitching rubber. Capital Blend, an a cappella  group comprised mostly of Discovery employees, will perform the National Anthem. The line-up card delivery to the green ceremonial home plate will be handled by Eileen O’Neill, Planet Green President and General Manager. Emeril Lagasse, star of Planet Green show Emeril Green, will start the game by announcing “Washington…Let’s Play Ball”.

I think the coolest thing about the event is that it seems only natural that it take place at Nationals Park.  As we reported back in April, Nationals Park is the only LEED-Certified sporting venue in North America.  Even if the team’s not winning, this is something cool to be proud of.

Hopefully we see lots of you tomorrow with your green on!

Ladies Night will now feature a guest appearance by Ricardo Chavira, who plays Carlos Solis on ABC’s Desperate Housewives.  Chavira will be in town for this weekend’s Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.

He will be joined at Ladies Night by actress Gabrielle Union.

Get your tickets now.

It’s definately a good week to get out to the park…

Tuesday is T-Shirt Tuesday, featuring Tom Jefferson.

Wear green to the game on Wednesday.  It’s Get Your Green On Day presented by Planet Green, the first all green TV network.  Apparantly, the team will also be wearing green caps.

Thursday is Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead Day.  Let’s hope the 3rd baseman is back in the line-up and not on the DL for his special giveaway.

Thursday is also Ladies Night!  For $30, you can enjoy a pre-game roof-top happy hour, get your copy of It Takes More Than Balls signed by the Savvy Girls of Summer, get autographs from your favorite Nationals players, and sit under the scoreboard to watch the Nats beat the St. Louis Cardinals.

Bang, Zoom go the fireworks after Friday night’s game against the Giants and kids get a free baseball glove at Sunday’s game before running the bases.  You can also get your favorite players’ autographs on Autograph Sundays before the game.

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Woman of the Year nominee Chartese Burnett is hosting a charity date auction on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM in the Stars and Stripes Club at Nationals Park. NBC4 Sports Anchor Lindsay Czarniak and XM Radio’s Holden Kushner will emcee the event.  The event will help Chartese in her quest to raise $170,000 to fund research for cures and treatments for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

The Bachelors:
Nationals Players: Ryan Zimmerman, Lastings Milledge, Joel Hanrahan
Former DC United player - Shawn Kuykendall
Secret Service Special Agent - Shawn Holtzclaw

The Bachelorettes:
CBS’s Survivor: Cooke Islands - Becky Lee
Miss DC of USA - Chelsea Rodgers
Cherry Blossom Princess - Jen Corey
Former Woman of The Year Candidate - Colleen Sasser

There will also be a special live auction to spend an afternoon with Manny Acta & Chartese Burnett.

An exclusive after-party will be hosted by Michael Romeo at Tattoo with 5% of bar sales benefitting Chartese’s campaign.

Tickets are $40 in advance and $50 at the door. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

We applaud the Nationals and Major League Baseball as a whole for continuing to reach out to female fans with special events and promotions.  The team has recently announced it’s scheduled Ladies Night Out games for this season.  The first one takes place on Thursday, June 5 against the Cardinals.  The second will be on August 14 against the Mets.

Come out to the game, bring your friends, sit under the scoreboard and enjoy the pre-game party from 5-7pm.  Tickets are only $30 and include:

Home Run Happy Hour pregame party
a Scoreboard Pavilion seat (Value $27)
Roof-top Party Zone with views of the city and ballpark (Garage B Rooftop)
Nationals Player Appearances
Diamond Club upgrades
Live DJ
Light food and drinks
Giveaways
Demos and sampling just for ladies
Book signing and presentation by Savvy Girls of Summer

Exhibitions include:
Cantina Marina, Noah’s Pretzels, Washington Sports Clubs, Honest Tea, Mercedes, Nail Taxi, Potomac Massage Training Institute, Arbonne, Jewelry by Paula, Slumber Parties by Beth, Kysela Pere et Fils, Anheuser Busch, Ltd (wine) with The Curious Grape and more.

Click here for more information about the event and here to purchase your tickets.  We had such a great time at these events last year.  It’s definately a great night to bring your friends out to the park.  It’s also Ryan Zimmerman Bobblehead Night!

Next Tuesday, Lastings Milledge will make an appearance for a special question-and-answer session at ESPN Zone downtown.  Charlie Slowes will host the event.  It begins at 12 noon.

I was hesitant to even mention it given a handful of terrible experiences at ESPN Zone in Washington DC, including one where we had to beg management to put the Nats game on one of the many televisions.  If you decide to go, be there early.   Lastings will probably keep you waiting, but the tables do fill up fast.

Today, “two religions (Catholicism and baseball) collide.” - Express

I was fortunate enough to attend today’s Papal Mass at new Nationals Park.  It’s not terribly relevant to this blog, but you may find the photos enjoyable.   

Stan Kasten was there, checking things out around the park.  Metro did alright.  I’m not giving out gold stars or anything, but they moved the crowd of 46 thousand plus to and from the park without a total collapse.  It wasn’t pretty and it wasn’t quick, but it worked.

Security was thorough, as expected.  Restroom and food lines were incredibly long.  It was pretty strange to see our baseball stadium morphed into a religious place.  Corporate signs were covered with American flags and plain colors.  The Red Porch and Red Loft were covered too.  The cherry blossoms in left field are beautiful right now. 

The ceremony was nice.  Did you know Placido Domingo was going to perform? I sure didn’t; what a treat.  He was phenomenal.

I heard rave reviews about the park from many people.  I got caught as an amateur tour guide for awhile after telling one person how to get to the Diamond Club.  As a line formed around me for questions, I ducked out of this duty and tried to dissapear quickly.

The Pope entered and exited through the dugout.  I can only hope this brings our guys some divine help.  They sure need it.  Don’t worry — the Pope Mobile drove past the bullpen too.  I may or may not have said a quiet prayer for Chief’s fastball to return. 

Today, Major League Baseball will, as they have for the past five years, celebrate “Jackie Robinson Day.” The day marks the 61st anniversary of Robinson’s entry into Major League Baseball. Rachel Robinson, Jackie’s wife, and Sharon Robinson, Jackie’s daughter, will join Bob DuPuy, President and Chief Operating Officer of Major League Baseball, in an on-field recognition of Jackie Robinson’s legacy prior to the Mets vs. Nats game at Shea Stadium. The celebration will also honor the good work of the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

On this special day, every member of the Washington Nationals and the New York Mets will wear #42 as they collectively celebrate the life of one of baseball’s most important legends.

The Mets are looking forward to rolling out a “Jackie Robinson Rotunda” next year when Citi Field opens. The Rotunda will greet fans as they exit the subway. The memorial will be styled after Ebbets Field.

MLB has special coverage of the celebration available here.

A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives. — Jackie Robinson

For another take on how far we’ve come, but how far we still have to go, consider the perspective of Torri Hunter.