Gabe Oppenheim’s piece for the Washington Post on the John Lannan Q&A yesterday is quite the kick in the face to Nats fans.  We’re already having a tough season, so Oppenheim takes aim - not at the Front Office, but at fans for being naive and pathetic, illogically supporting a last place team and hoping for brighter days. 

He suggests throughout the piece that Nats fans only consist of middle-aged men that lost the Senators in their youth, waited patiently for baseball to return, and cherish having the national pastime in the nation’s capitol regardless of wins and losses.  Nevermind us girls and regional transplants.   I may be bitter, but I believe and hope that Lannan, Zimmerman, Flores and Dukes are the foundation for something better here in Washington.

Oppenheim ignored the fact that several knowledgeable female fans were in attendance at yesterday’s event, including ladies that attend close to 80 home games every year.   Several answered trivia questions correctly.

Oppenheim continues the piece by taking a shot at Boone, followed by a shot at pitcher John Lannan.  He forgets to mention Lannan’s stellar ERA, his composure under pressure or his long shot run for Rookie of the Year.  Instead, he reminds readers that Lannan got ejected from his debut.

So Aaron Boone wound up with the Nationals, scheduled to appear in the ESPN Zone. But then he injured himself again, and had a rehab game Tuesday, and now here is Lannan, 23 (yes, the Nats have to use backups even for PR appearances). Lannan was ejected from his Major League debut, in pure Nationals style, for hitting two batters in a row.

There’s no need for the Post to kick us while we’re down.  There’s certainly other more worthy targets than Boone, Lannan and the small base of fans that support this team.  Thanks to Cheryl, Denise, Danielle and the crew for passing along the story and filling us in on the event.

Zimmerman’s got an answer.  The face of the franchise wants to take your questions for his next blog entry.  Click here to read his blog and find out how to ask him a question.

There’s also a Q&A at ESPN Zone scheduled for this Wednesday at noon.  The guest is supposed to be Aaron Boone, but if he’s rehabbing in Columbus, it will likely be someone else.

Know any Nationals fans who are 12 years old or younger and have dreams of working in big-league broadcasting?  It’s time to enter them in ESPN Zone’s Junior Broadcaster contest on Tuesday, August 19th at 6 p.m. To enter, stop by ESPN Zone’s SportsCenter Studio Store and complete a sign-up form.

COMPETE: In Round One, each contestant will sit behind a microphone on set at ESPN Zone and present the play-by-play for one Nationals highlight. Contestants may either recite the original broadcaster’s play-by-play (a transcript of which will be provided) or present their own original play-by-play.  Judges will then select five finalists, who will each call a second, different play.  Judges will provide feedback and vote, which counts for half of the final results. The other half will come from fans in attendance, so come out and support your favorite Junior Broadcaster!

WIN: Two winners will be selected to spend a day in the TV broadcast booth at an upcoming Nationals game, and two winners will be selected to work in the radio booth. The four winners will also receive game tickets and an ESPN Zone prize pack.

While flipping through baseball games this weekend, I caught a glimpse of rapper Ice Cube sporting a curly W hat.  You guys know Ice Cube right, the guy from the Friday and Are We There Yet movies.  Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.  It seems the Nationals have fans in high places.  I did a little digging and found that Ice Cube not only loves his Nats hat, but he wears it a lot.  He even wore it for an album covershot! He seems to have a jersey also, which he wore during a performance here.  Check out more evidence here, here and here.  Rumor has it that Ice Cube’s favorite player is Dmitri Young.  Hmm maybe we will see Ice Cube at Nats Park sometime soon…

A must read:  Zuckerman’s piece on Bowden’s financial investments this season.

Zimmerman also updated his blog.  He tried to upload pictures of his dog, Miley, but it didn’t seem to work.  Still, he says the trade deadline was crazy!!!  Enjoy!

Thanks to Mark Zuckerman for pointing this tidbit out. The Nationals are now the butt of jokes across the league. Today in Texas the Nationals were the butt of a trade deadline practical joke. Rangers reliever Eddie Guardado was sitting in the steam room before the game and the trade deadline this afternoon, when manager Ron Washington told him the news. Guardado, he said, had been traded to the Washington Nationals, and sadly the Rangers got nothing in return. Guardado was so angry with the news, he stormed to the front office, wearing his warm up clothes and shower shoes and demanded an explanation.

“There’s Jay Robertson, John Hart, Thad Levine, all those guys,” Guardado said. “They’re all sitting around and nobody is smiling. I go, ‘Washington Nationals? You’ve got to be kidding.’”

The execs couldn’t keep a straight face for long though, and eventually Guardado discovered he had been the victim of a classic trade deadline practical joke.

Guess no one wants to come to DC. After losing nine in a row, who can blame them. However, we are excited to see the new guys in action hopefully this weekend.

There hasn’t been much of it to go around this season.  But young catcher Jesus Flores certainly has shown that he belongs.  Flores was presented with the Heart and Hustle Award yesterday, an honor given by The Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association.  “The esteemed award honors an active player who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit, and tradition of the game.”  The final winner will be announced on November 7, 2008 in New York City.

Jim Hannan talked about Flores before the game and described why he was a deserving nominee:

Well, basically, it’s pretty simple.  He was the starting catcher near the end of last year, they made a trade, they sent him to the minors, he came back up, he didn’t complain about it, he got his chance and he capitalized and he’s performed extremely well.

Here’s the list of the 2008 winners from each club.

Here’s the video of Jim Hannan talking about why Jesus deserved the honor.

Congrats to Jesus!  At least somebody has heart in 2008.  We’re glad Flores is being recognized for what we, as fans, saw all along.

Matt Swenson writes a quick piece criticizing GM Jim Bowden in today’s Express:  Nats Strike Out with Bowden.

The worst record in baseball is all the evidence needed to demonstrate Bowden’s mismanagement with this rebuilding club.

No one is expecting a playoff team, but there is no excuse for the Nats to keep declining when they started in such a lowly position.

We weren’t able to catch Teddy Roosevelt partying in Georgetown this weekend to promote Miller Lite Party Nights, but we do think the promotion is a great idea.  On Fridays, for the rest of the season, fans can get a special ticket to the Miller Lite Party for just $25.  The ticket includes a seat in the scoreboard pavillion, a voucher for a beer, and a pre-game party at 6 with live music and prizes.  After Friday games, fans are always treated to a fireworks display.  To buy Miller Lite Party Night tickets, click here.  This Friday is also U.S. Coast Guard Appreciation Night.  Discounted tickets for members of the military are available here.

If you’re coming out to watch Ken Griffey Jr. this weekend, you may be interested in the Weekender Promotion.  The ticket package includes 5 weekend home games of your choice with a complimentary Diamond Club ticket for the last home game.

This weekend the Nats will play Rookie of the Year following Saturday’s game against the Reds.  The team will also be collecting Back to School donations at the gates before each game:

On these days, the First Ladies will be present at all gates to collect school supplies and new books from fans. Fans can donate backpacks, pens, pencils, notebooks, and books as well as other necessary supplies for the classroom, which will then be donated to a school or agency in need.

As always, tomorrow’s game against the Phillies is t-shirt Tuesday.  On Sunday, the Nats will host the first Gospel Fest Celebration Day,

…a family oriented musical event that will showcase song selections performed by Community of Hope A.M.E. Church, St. Marks United Methodist Church, Reid Temple A.M.E. Church, and Ebenezer A.M.E. Church under the direction of Minister of Music, Byron Cage, and other gospel performances! This post-game event is free complimentary to all ticketed fans attending the game and will take place inside Nationals Park immediately following the game.

Additionally, this year’s second Ladies Night is fast approaching.  The next one is August 14 against the Mets.  It will feature Comedienne Erin Jackson, as well as the Savvy Girls of Summer.  Buy your ticket here.

This month’s August issue of Washingtonian includes a nice feature story on Jon Rauch, just days after he put on an Arizona Diamondbacks jersey.  In an interview with Brett Haber, Rauch discusses the Nationals, the Olympics, and the pressures of late inning relief work.  It’s well done and worth checking out.