According to the Nationals, fans have one more chance to get tickets for the home opener on Sunday. Grandstand tickets for sections 401 and 402 may be purchased on Sunday at the box office for $5.  Tickets go on sale at 3:30 pm, but fans can’t start lining up to buy them until 3pm, so no camping out for these babies!

More info -

“Grandstand tickets for Opening Night, in Sections 401 and 402, may be purchased for $5 at the Nationals Park Main Box Office, located on Half and N Streets, beginning at 3:30 pm on March 30. Fans may not camp out on Nationals Park grounds or line up for tickets prior to 3:00 pm. Fans may purchase only one ticket per person and must immediately enter the ballpark through the Center Field gates, located next to the Main Box Office. Please note, fans may not re-enter the ballpark once they exit through the gates at any time. The Grandstand seats are available for purchase only on day of game when gates open at Nationals Park, normally two and a half hours prior to first pitch.
 
“The Washington Nationals are excited to offer these affordable seats for the Inaugural Game at Nationals Park,” said Nationals Team President Stan Kasten. “Fans who purchase these tickets will be asked to enter the ballpark immediately to ensure these tickets remain in the hands of the loyal fans who have anxiously awaited the opening of the ballpark.”

The gates to the park open at 3:30 on Sunday, so be sure to get there early to explore. Sounds like there will be a lot to do, and some great entertainment also!  We can’t wait.

“The Washington Nationals will host the Atlanta Braves at 8:15 pm in the Inaugural Game at Nationals Park, their new home on South Capitol Street, SE in the Capitol Riverfront District.  The Nationals open the 2008 Major League Baseball season with this true “home opener”, which will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
 
Nationals Park gates will open four and a half hours prior to the first pitch at 3:30 pm. All guests will receive a red Curly “W” lanyard and a “Welcome Home” rally towel as they enter the ballpark. Fans are encouraged to enter early and enjoy the various amenities and entertainment options available at Major League Baseball’s most spectacular new venue, including the Red Porch Restaurant and Strike Zone kids area, located in the Center Field Plaza.  As spectators exit the Navy Yard Metro Station onto Half Street, they will be greeted by the music of the Sheiks of Dixie, a local Dixieland jazz band. The Ringers, a Washington, DC barbershop quartet, will entertain guests as they make their way to the Center Field Gate. Face painters, balloon artists and stilt walkers will welcome fans at the entrance to the Center Field Plaza. Additional Opening Night entertainment may be found inside the ballpark, including the Mambo Combo, a regional zydeco band, Washington, DC guitarist Brian Gross staged in the Lexus Presidents Club, and face painters, caricaturists and balloon artists throughout the Main Concourse. Fans will have the opportunity to view the both the Braves and the Nationals batting practice as Atlanta takes the field at approximately 4:30 pm followed by Washington at 5:45 pm. The Nats Express, the free shuttle for fans who choose to park for free at RFK Stadium, will depart from RFK beginning at 3:00 pm and run continuously until one and a half hours after the final out. “
 
Pre-game ceremonies, led by Nationals Television Broadcaster and Hall-of-Fame Pitcher Don Sutton, will begin at approximately 7:45 pm with the Nationals “Welcome Home” video, shown on the 102’ X 47’  HDTV scoreboard. Following the video, two giant American Flags will be unfurled in the outfield by the DC National Guard. The American Flag unfurling will be followed by with a flyover by four F-16s from the 121st Fighter Squadron of the DC Air National Guard. The Washington Nationals 2008 roster will then be introduced, followed by the presentation of the colors by the Joint Services Color Guard. The National Anthem will be performed by Denyce Graves, recognized worldwide as one of today’s most exciting vocal stars. Denyce is a native Washingtonian and Duke Ellington School for Performing Arts graduate. The ceremonial first pitch will be thrown out by the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, for the first time since 2005, when baseball returned to the District and he held the honor at RFK Stadium. The President will be escorted to the pitchers mound by Nationals Managing Principal Owner Theodore N. Lerner, Nationals Manager Manny Acta and Nationals Third Baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Following the ceremonial first pitch, Washington, DC Mayor Adrian M. Fenty will start the game and a new Nationals tradition with “Washington….Let’s Play Ball”.  American Idol finalist Elliot Yamin, a Richmond, Virginia native, will perform “God Bless America” prior to the Seventh Inning Stretch.  

Sure you’ve already heard about it — but President Bush has accepted the invitation to throw the first pitch at new Nationals Park.  Love him or hate him, we’re pretty excited about him continuing this great tradition, which honors the American pastime and kicks off a new era of baseball in DC in our new home. 

“I never dreamed about being President, I wanted to be Willie Mays.” – George W. Bush

Here’s the White House photoset from the president’s pitch in 2005.

From the press release:

As part of their continuing effort to make tickets available to as many fans as possible for Opening Night, the Washington Nationals today announced they are able to make a limited amount of Opening Night tickets available to the general public. Fans may register for the opportunity to purchase two tickets online at nationals.com and winners will be selected through a random drawing. Registration will begin on Monday, March 17 at 9:00am and end on Friday, March 21 at 5:00pm. Selected winners will be notified via e-mail on Tuesday, March 25 and will have 24 hours to purchase their tickets.

We’re almost there - nearly two weeks away from Opening Night. 

The Post has a cool piece today by Fred Bowen interviewing Jim Chibnall, an architect who helped design the new ballpark.

But the most important thing is to come down and experience the building. I think people will like this building and call it their home away from home for years to come.

Metro has released special plans to accomodate the Papal Mass at new Nationals Park in April including extra trains, shuttles from RFK Stadium, extra staff and a commemorative Metro pass for $9 good for the entire day.

WMP strained his left oblique muscle.  According to Barry, “club officials were preparing for the possibility that Peña could be out as many as six weeks.”

Dmitri looked good in his debut in Grapfruit League action (2 for 3 and a walk).  Austin came alive with a double and Aaron Boone hit in the only Nats run.  Schroder, who now seems to be fighting for a spot in the bullpen with Hanrahan, gave up two inconsequential hits and Saul Rivera collected a rare blown save.  Saul hadn’t given up a home run since last April.  He would have been out of the inning without Kasto’s costly error.

Dave and Charley have the Cleveland game at 1 and the Dodgers game Saturday.  The Nats are on MASN on Sunday, but with the O’s broadcast team.

No - not for Hillary or Obama.  For the music at new Nationals Park!

You can vote here - until March 26th

The organization is sponsoring a contest for fans to choose the music for the 7th inning stretch, home runs and game wins.  You’ve got lots of great choices, but we’re officially prepared to make a big endorsement:

7th Inning Stretch (after Take Me Out to the Ball Game):  “You’ve Gotta Have Heart” from Damn Yankees

Here’s the lyrics.  Heart’s a DC baseball classic about the hapless Washington Senators.  It’s already part of our identity and it would be a great tradition to carry with us into the new park.

Other Key Endorsements:

DC Sports Bog

William Yurasko

Do your part to keep us from an onslaught and crappy country music and hip hop and vote for Heart and Bustin’ Loose. –WFY

Miss Chatter

Harper Gordek

If it isn’t You Gotta Have Heart they should take down the ballot.   Yes, it’s old but if there are so few songs that people can associate with baseball and a city, how can you not use it? — Oleanders and Morning Glories  

(Note - If you are in a state with an upcoming presidential primary, you should seriously vote.)

We’d sure would be happy to take his seat instead.

Manager Manny Acta already has his favorite seat picked out. Not a fancy box seat or suite, but a lower-deck outfield perch just above the Nationals’ bullpen in right field with the game spread out before him like a panorama and the Anacostia River just over his shoulder. “The perfect place to watch a game,” he says, as if he wishes, for a day, he could be a fan. — T. Boswell

Cherry trees are now planted, opening day tickets are already sold out and the new HD scoreboard is ready to go.  Even the announcers are eager to get to the new park.

Twenty-three days.

Our favorite local magazine is a must-read for Nats fans.  The Washingtonian is constantly doing great features on our team.  This month’s edition has a number of great pieces.  For starters, the monthly guest list includes Dmitri Young.  Last month’s guest list included VP of Communications Chartese Burnett.

Next, Mark Sandalow takes us inside the new stadium.  He also features local places to eat and transportation options. 

Then, Mary Clare Fleury’s Real Estate section features “Ballpark Living” — a guide to new condos and office space near Nationals Park.

It’s definately worth your time and $4.00.

We just got back to DC late last night, so we’re still trying to catch up with all the Nats news over the past few days.  We’ll have final thoughts on our spring training trip and a few special interviews later this week.  Make sure you check out all the photographs from the past week too. 

 We did return home to a wonderful treat.  Atop a stack of magazines, junk mail and bills sat a package from the Nationals containing our season tickets.  Nats Pride has a cool post up about the season tickets featuring photos.  Only 27 more days!

And so, we wanted to remind non-season ticket holders that tomorrow is the day you’ve been waiting for!  At 9am, fans can finally purchase tickets to Opening Day at the new Nationals Park!  Remind your friends and co-workers because tickets will go fast.  You can only purchase 4.

The Nats also announced that George Washington University will play the first game at the new park on March 22.  The game will not be open to the public.

In other exciting news, the team also announced partnerships with local vendors for the new park:

Ben’s Chili Bowl, Boardwalk Fries, Cantina Marina, Gifford’s Ice Cream, Krazee Ice, Kosher Sports, Hard Times Café, La Piccola Gelateria, Mayorga Coffee, Noah’s Pretzels, and Red Hot and Blue.

Can’t tell you how excited we are about the coffee place. 

It also seems that the team has launched advertising encouraging fans to take metro and the Nats Express shuttle from RFK.  The spots ran through most of the radio game today pointing listeners to www.nationals.com/waytogo.  Check it out.

With a little over a month before Opening Day, everybody is growing anxious to see our new summer home. Two new Nationals Park tours are available and worth your time: MLB.com’s Ed Randall and WUSA9’s Dan Guzman.

In other news, it appears that Luis Ayala will finally be arriving at camp today. Jesus Flores will likely report on Saturday. Jesus Colome and Arnie Munoz are still having Visa problems.

The Nationals sure have had a busy couple of weeks. Seems as though some of the trades the club made at the beginning of the month have come back to haunt them a bit.

We were not happy when the Nationals acquired outfielder Elijah Dukes. His previous actions and run ins with the law had us worried that the change Jim Bowden promised Dukes would make was unlikely. Now, just two weeks after the trade was announced, Dukes finds himself in hot water again. The situation is actually quite similar. A former flame has accused Dukes of domestic violence and has requested a restraining order. According to Amanda Reese, who says she dated Dukes from August to October, Dukes sent her a number of threatening text messages. Sounds pretty familiar huh? Remember the message he sent his soon to be ex-wife, “you dead dawg.” Apparently the Nationals have set up a support system to keep Dukes in-line. He will live with Barry Larkin until Spring Training. Perhaps an easier fix would be to take away his cell phone? Of course the Nats say they didn’t know about this situation, that it happened before the trade, and that since he has been with the club, Dukes has been cooperative. Regardless I’m sensing a theme, its pretty obvious that the club is going to have their work cut out for them on this one.

In addition, with the release of the Mitchell Report, the Nats found the name of their new catcher Paul Lo Duca* on the list. President Stan Kasten made a few comments about the report yesterday. He would not specifically name Lo Duca* or Nook Logan, but it was pretty clear that the Nationals didn’t know about Lo Duca’s* steroid use when they acquired him. Kasten made it clear that talking about steroid use is a personal decision left up to the player. We commend those players like former Nat Gary Bennett and the O’s Brian Roberts for being honest about their usage. Wonder when or if Lo Duca* will say anything, my guess is no…

The Nationals have also announced their official 2008 schedule today. Still no word on Spring Training. President Bush has been invited to throw the first pitch at the new stadium. Sadly, there will be no baseball in the nation’s capitol on the 4th of July. The 2008 schedule includes an away game in Cincinnati on July 4. What’s a Fourth of July celebration in DC without a baseball game? We can’t imagine the Nats passing on a sell-out game opportunity in the new stadium.