Check out the pumpkin carving patterns the Nationals have posted and make your jack-o-lanterns, Nationals fans. Or for the creative Nationals fan, design your own pumpkin pattern and enter it in the contest to win a 2009 game used jersey. For full instructions click here.

Here are our pumpkins from last year!

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As many of you may have read, the Washington Nationals hosted a Blogger Day a few weeks ago during which we were able to interview several players, one being Adam Dunn. In many of the blogs, Adam was quoted as saying to us, “I don’t even know what a blog is,” which resulted in much laughter. Well, it looks like he figured it out!

Today it was announced that Adam Dunn would begin blogging on MASNsports.com. According to MASN, Adam has forged a partnership with the network that will include a monthly blog of self-selected topics in addition to a weekly video segment in which he will answer questions submitted directly from the fans. The blog and video segment will both appear on MASNsports.com.

“To talk to fans directly, answer their questions, and be able to explain what we do out here every night — that’s a pretty unique opportunity,” said Adam Dunn. “I’m obviously new to blogging, but I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

Adam will also participate in several Wired Wednesday segments throughout the rest of the 2009 season. In case you are not one of the reported 9,000 folks who watch games on TV, Wired Wednesday involves players wearing a microphone during the game for the enjoyment of the viewers. The segment works best with players full of personality, and watching Adam wired up should be fun.

As part of their announcement, the network stated the following:

“MASN is proud to be the home of Adam’s new blog, which will surely showcase his energy, enthusiasm, humor, and humility. It will be a great platform for fans to get to know more about Adam, both on and off the field,” said MASN spokesman Todd Webster. “On television and online, MASN continues to implement new features that bring fans closer to the game and the Nationals.”

Unfortunately, MASN’s announcement did not give a definite start time and only states that his blog will appear “soon.” We’ll keep you posted when we know more.

So this very belated post would be my take on the June 10 conference call for bloggers.  As a quick note, I think it’s great that the Nationals are reaching out to bloggers and I was grateful for the opportunity to participate.

Here is the transcript of the entire call from Nats320.

With the starters part of the call, I found the differences between Randy St. Claire and Steve McCatty really interesting. I think that St. Claire’s approach with video and analyzing the motion is good for younger pitchers still trying to get consistent arm movement but McCatty’s approach looking at what feels right and how hitters react is different but still successful.

Personally, I am a fan of the more technical analyzing; there is something I don’t like about the guess and check method. Needless to say, I am not a Nationals pitcher so the method is not as important to me as the final product, which would be a win.

I really liked Craig Stammen’s advice to Stephen Strasburg about being humble and working hard. The worst way, I think, is to come into the clubhouse this September or in Spring Training or whenever and think you are the greatest pitcher that ever walked the earth and not give respect to the veterans that are already there. That is partly what got Lastings Milledge on the Mets bad side.

John Lannan also touched upon the lack of a veteran in the starting rotation. Now with all of this talk of tearing the team apart and trading away the veterans, I think this could really hurt the team in a more general sense. It’s almost always easier to adjust to a new situation with the guidance of someone who has done the same thing a few years earlier, like an older sibling helping a younger one in the first weeks of high school. It is also something very similar to what the Marlins would do and have done.

I also thought the last question was a great way to end that part of the call, asking how the media affects the team because when I watch MLB TV or ESPN or read anything, really there are always remarks about how terrible our performance is. I don’t think it is fair to anyone but I am glad the team tries to not let the media and opinions bother them but I don’t know if that is always true.

After the starting pitchers (minus Martis), Drew Storen, #10 overall (in case anyone forgot), came on the call. His father worked in Washington and he went to Nationals games at RFK so he has a few ties to the area and the team. He also was a fan of the Expos and Chad Cordero — and Jack McGeary and Storen were friends at Stanford. I really like that he has a mental toughness suited for late innings. Storen also really likes and wants pressure (I just hope it is not in the same way Chad Cordero put himself in pressure situations at RFK, that got too scary sometimes!).

I like the term “critical relief” that they use at Stanford; I think that the Nationals should adopt that instead of naming a new closer every few weeks.

and one last note… Storen and Strasburg are already Facebook friends.

It’s nice to get a glimpse of the future during these tough times in NatsTown.

In the spring of 2005, I was in the process of relocating back to the DC area. I was living in Chicago, working on a project outside Indianapolis, and flying to DC every other weekend to get reacquainted with my new home. Things were hectic to say the least. But one of things that made this arrangement enjoyable was knowing that every other weekend when I was in DC I was most likely to head to RFK and cheer on this new baseball team of ours! And they were a baseball team that was winning games. How exciting!! So I flew to DC every other weekend, rented a car, and went to games with my family. Considering I was going to games almost every other weekend (when both the team and I were in town at least), you’d think I would have seen a winner every now and then, right? Well, think again. That first spring, the Nationals did not win a single game that I attended. Not one. This is not an exaggeration; they were losing every game I went to. I would leave after the weekend ended and my brother would report to me all the winning games he went to the following week. And then I’d come back two weekends later and see…a losing game.

When the days of splitting weekends was over and I was permanently living in the DC area in July 2005, I figured that I’d start seeing winning games. I mean, I traveled Monday through Friday for work, but I was now home EVERY weekend, so my chances to see a win increased, no? Now, by this point I think the Nationals had been in first place for the entire month of June or something like that (I don’t claim to have my facts entirely accurate here, so hold your comments). I figured, “This is it! Bring on the winning games!!” But, um, no such luck for me. Every game I went to, they lost. Somewhere near this time, I recall reading a Gene Weingarten article about how every game he attended was a loss and someone responded that every game that person went to was a win, and what would happen if they went together? Funny, but it made me feel a little better that I was not the only one missing out on these wins!

Eventually, on August 9th of 2005, my birthday no less, I saw the Nats win. Unfortunately, I was working on a project in Houston at the time and the Nationals were playing the Astros – at their home, Minute Maid Park. So while I was thrilled to see the win (oh, and how much do I love seeing my team win when they are away and I am there wearing my Nats hat?), it still was not a home win. I flew back home for the weekend happy, but still unfulfilled. The season ended without my seeing a home win.

After seeing another Nats win while working in Atlanta in 2006, I finally decided that I was destined to only see wins on the road. In fact, it would not be until sometime in June or July of 2006 – Yes, 2006 – that I would see a win at RFK. And it isn’t like I wasn’t going to games…I was! I cannot tell you the exact date, but I do know that it was won on a Nick Johnson walk-off homerun. I remember turning to my brother and saying, “Do you know what this means?” And he said, “Yes, we won!!” and then, “Oh wait…you saw us win at home!!!!”

1 ½ seasons to wait for a home win. But the funny thing is, I really didn’t care. I still enjoyed going to games, I still had fun discussing the losses, I still wore my hat and was excited for the team to be in DC. And then the next season, I became a season ticket holder. So here we are, three years after viewing my first home win, and I find myself slowly becoming less excited, and this concerns me. Me, Ms. Positive, I’m starting to get worn down. But what am I down about? Is it the losses?

In 2005 and 2006, amid all those losses, I didn’t know about chat boards. I didn’t know about blogs. I didn’t realize that there was this world of “fans” that discussed on a daily, no wait, on an hourly basis the ins and outs of each bit of Nationals baseball. I just didn’t realize that people had the the time to do this. I had no clue. But now I read the blogs, I read the chatboards, I read the online reports and the responses from folks. And now I am down. I am depressed. I am having a harder time keeping my chin up. I am having less fun at games. I am less optimistic. Is there a correlation? I don’t know.

I have a belief that negativity breeds negative results. I also believe negativity is contagious. Am I blaming the fans for the losses? Absolutely not! But I am blaming them for my as-of-late baseball fatigue. I am blaming some of them for my spiral downward. I am blaming them for starting to not care. So here is what I am going to do: I am going to go to games and pick a piece of something good and write about here, and if folks want to submit comments to me and be negative here, I’ll deal with that. But I am not going to read the comments posted on other blogs, chat rooms, or online articles. I’m not going to listen to “Fire Manny,” which will be replaced with calls for “Fire Person X” when that result doesn’t work, followed by “Fire Person Y” when that doesn’t work, etc. I’m going to go into my positive cocoon and think, “It is only baseball. It’s fun. It’s a good way to spend the summer afternoon or evening. It’s a good way to bond with friends, family, and strangers who truly love the game.”

I sit in a section of the ballpark that is pretty much designated for groups. There are hardly any season ticket holders up there with me. At first, this bugged me because I felt like the lone group of fans among the masses of those who don’t care. But now I am thinking in a different light. I am going to take this as an opportunity to talk to people in those groups and find out if they are having fun. Is it their first trip to Nationals Park, to any baseball game? Do they closely follow the game of baseball, or are they just happy for being there tonight? Are they enjoying themselves despite the loss? Basically, are they ‘me’ as I was back in 2005-2006? I hope that I find out that they are.

As most of you probably know, voting for the All-Star game has been in a progress for some time now, and Ryan Zimmerman has a good chance of winning the fan vote, but he needs your help! Many of you have already shown your support by handing in multiple ballots at the game and also voting on line. But there is so much more you can do! Although voting online is limited to 25 votes, voting by ballot is unlimited. Did you ever consider taking home a stack of ballots and bringing them back to the game the next time? I was able to punch about 150 ballots in 20 minutes the other night while watching some TV. 20 minutes! And not to brag, but my family has contributed to about 1500-2000 votes mostly done at home while watching TV! Don’t we all have an extra 20 minutes per day to give for Ryan?

OK, maybe Ryan’s winning the fan vote is not enough incentive for you? Well, how about this…At tonight’s game, in the Main Concourse near the Home Plate Gate Team Store, the Nationals will have a table set up promoting their All-Star Ballot Contest. They did this last night as well and offered T-Shirts to anyone who handed in 200 ballots. They also were giving away official line-up cards and game used balls to those who handed in 500 ballots! And I don’t know if they will do it again tonight, but last night, they even put you in a drawing to win field access to watch Batting Practice at a future game if you submitted more than 500 ballots and your name was picked! If seeing Zim win the All-Star vote is not enough incentive, perhaps winning these great prizes is.

So tonight, and every night before the July 2 deadline, get out there and vote for Zim. Do what you can to get our third baseman the national attention he deserves. It’s like free marketing for our team if Zim wins! Let the rest of the baseball community see that there are many bright spots on this team, and although our record may not necessarily reflect that, Zim’s talent does.

And if you are on Facebook these days, join the Ryan Zimmerman for 2009 All-Star Team group and spread the word to your friends and family to get the vote out!

Join the Facebook Group!

So as we used to say in Chicago, Vote Early and Vote Often!

I have to follow up Danielle’s Fick post with a simple request to vote for our third baseman for the All Stars.  He’s better than Robert Fick (obviously), and a whole lot of other third basemen too.   Thank you.

Vote for Zimmerman here.

I adopted a dog a couple of weeks ago and named her Emma. Emma has a Nationals cap, and she actually doesn’t seem to mind wearing it. It’s not surprising with the level of my fandom that I bought her the hat. It’s not like Emma walked into the store, saw the hat, and barked, “I need that.” No, it was me, her mom, who wanted to reflect her own pride in the Nationals through her dog. But I am beginning to think that Emma, too, is a fan. She likes her hat. She was more than willing to pose for pictures in it. And she really loves sitting on the couch watching games.

Now, in the pet store where I found the hat, there were just a few left - a couple of size Small and a couple of Large or X-Large. So what? Well, what this says to me is that there are a lot of Nats fans out there that feel the need to make their dogs wear the cap and show the pride. And that’s great. It’s one thing to be a fan and spend some bucks on gear, but to spend the money to adorn your pet in that gear? That’s being a fan. But, I’ve never seen a dog wearing a Nats cap. Not a single one. Not in all these years. Clearly, they are sold – and almost sold out at this particular store – but who’s wearing them?

When it comes to my Emma, well, she won’t leave the house in her cap. She is happy to put it on and sit on the couch and listen to screams and cheers from her family members at the crack of a bat or the announcement of a homerun, but just try to get her to walk around or go outside in the hat. No way. So I am thinking…Is she a secret fan? A closet fan? Someone who wants to root for the team, but is embarrassed to admit it?

So many people, er, I mean dogs, will wear their hat when the team wins. They’ll go outside and stick it on their head and walk with pride. But how about when a team loses? Isn’t this when we need to wear that hat the most? I think what I need to do is encourage my dog and say, “Emma, wear that hat outside with pride.” And maybe I need to say that to those other dogs as well. “Put on those hats! Be a true fan!”

I said to someone the other day that anyone can cheer for a winning team because it’s easy to do, but it takes character to stick with the team that doesn’t do so well. I think once Emma figures that out, she’ll be willing to walk outside with her cap on!

Just when you need a break and take a night off, the Nats do something cool.  They put a rookie on the mound who pitches a solid 6.1 innings and surrenders just 4 runs.  The bullpen actually holds the Pirates scoreless.  The Nats come from behind to get a lead.  Joel Hanrahan records a save to stop the skid.  Sigh.  Happiness.

Now…for the busy weekend. I did a recap of this weekend’s events and giveaways at MASN’s Nationals Buzz.

ESPN’s Draft Blog has more on Strasburg’s injury, which appears minor.  It also has some notes on a good performance by Mike Minor of Vanderbilt.

Peter Gammons says the Nationals would like to deal Johnson and/or Kearns to get relievers.

Nats320 says that Chad Cordero’s wife recently gave birth to their first child, a baby girl.

That’s about all for now. Get your red on!

I know it does and that we all express it differently.  If you’ve hung around this long, you’ve passed any imaginable test of fandom.  You’re in this for the long haul and someday it will have been worth it.

Earlier this season Dave at Nats News Network wrote a nice post about surviving another tough year.  Steven at FJB had a similiar one.  Read those.  If wins and losses make or break your day, it’s going to be a painful couple of months.  I refuse to go through that again.  I was cranky, depressed, cynical, mean — last summer was a challenge.  But I learned a lot.

Keep your expectations low.  Look for small victories.  Enjoy the offense.  Meet new baseball friends.  Enjoy a night at the ballpark.  Teach someone about baseball.  Come watch the young kids learn how to pitch.  Learn to laugh at yourself (and your team).  Complain (hey, we all need to complain sometimes, right).

Don’t expect to win, think of that as a bonus.  Don’t expect any magic solutions.  There’s not a lot of relief pitching out there to be had and Strasburg will stay in the minors, apparently.

Decide what the Nationals are worth to you — in terms of your leisure time and hard earned money, and stick within that parameter.  Don’t overdo it… not yet.  There will be a time and a place for 24/7 commitment, but now is probably not that time and if you’re investing that kind of energy, you’ll probably get burned.  I did.  You can still be a fan and scale back a little.

If you are giving 100%, go you.  I can respect that.  I love that.  Just watch your heart.  The Nats are prone to breaking it.

Hi everyone! I wanted to introduce myself because you might start seeing me here from time to time. A special thanks to the We’ve Got Heart ladies for inviting me to share my opinions and love of baseball with them and all of you.

I’ve been a baseball fan for most of my life. In my family, if you didn’t say, “Let’s Go Mets!” by the time you were two, I think you were put up for adoption. I have many memories of spending summer vacation days at the Jersey Shore listening to the Mets on the radio or hoping to get them (and not the Phillies) on the TV. Back then, baseball meant seeing my family fill with excitement, maybe taking a train to NYC and Shea Stadium, eating a bit of hotdog and cotton candy (and maybe sneaking a sip of beer), and inevitably falling asleep on Mom’s or Dad’s lap. As I got older, baseball meant putting off going out with my friends until I got to see my favorite players at bat, memorizing lineups and uniform numbers and batting averages, playful banter with my Yankee-fan friends, and the 1986 World Series. Heck, I even dressed as Lenny Dykstra for Halloween one year. Those were good times!

When I went away to college, I lost my baseball team. I went to school in DC, and as far as I was concerned, there was no baseball there. Orioles? No thanks. And good luck trying to find a National League game on TV! Plus, as a college aged girl, there were other things to focus on other than baseball. So my passion for baseball was put aside, but not for long because after college, I moved to Chicago. Now, I tried to keep my loyalty to the Mets while living in Chicago, but when you live on the North Side and can walk to Wrigley Field from your home, it’s hard to not become a Cubbies fan. So I spent many days drinking beer and cheering on a team that never seemed to win. And I loved it.

In the Spring of 2005 I made my return to the DC area, and who came with me, but the Washington Nationals. I instantly felt that this was fate. We were coming to DC at the same time! So this must be the team I was meant to root for. I was thrilled to have a team that I could accept as my own and support from the beginning (I’ve put aside past DC teams, Montreal Expos, etc…this, in my opinion, is a new team with new history to write). And that is what I have done since then – 100%.

So, what kind of fan am I? Well, I’ll be honest. I’m not going to pretend that I know all the ins and outs of baseball or that I know the best strategy for winning a game. I can’t throw out stats from seasons past or maybe even for other teams from this very season. I don’t know it all. That’s not me. But I love watching baseball, and I love the Nationals. I love going to the games – whether those games are part of my season ticket plan or the extra ones I treat myself to. I love including myself with the other 8,999 folks who watch on TV when I can’t make it there in person. I’ve been to Viera three years in a row. I collect autographs and balls and caps and bats and, yes, bobbleheads. I’ve been to charity auctions for the Nationals. I have a ball on the wall. I don’t boo at players, even when they may deserve it.

I try to keep positive and look for the silver lining on our dark clouds. I believe that the energy fans bring into the ballpark can affect – negatively or positively – the attitudes of the players and the outcome of the game. I’m very superstitious about everything (and agree that I am ridiculous in this regard). Overall, I am pretty simple. I like my seats in 408 where I can see everything from the top of the world, and I don’t care what fancy food is served at Nats Park – just give me a dog (OK, make that a pretzel dog) and a beer, and I am happy. Although, I do wish I could find some kettle corn like they had back in season 1 at RFK…

I’m new to this blogging thing, and that makes me nervous. I don’t know what I am going to say here. I certainly don’t know if you’ll enjoy it, but I hope you do. I’m just going to be honest and write about the things that make me enjoy this game, and who knows, maybe those are the same things that make you enjoy it, too.

The Nats aren’t winning too many games right now, and my positivity despite that has been criticized on chat boards, etc., but I’ll tell you what… I do remain positive, because I am watching some pretty exciting baseball games. And I am happy about healthy players, hitting streaks, signed contracts, and homeruns that seem to be more than just few and far between. Sure I want my team to win, but I spent far too many years in Chicago to think that I can enjoy a great day at the park only if my team wins!

Thanks for your time…and Go Nats!!