You know the anecdote, about the optimistic little boy and the pile of manure.  This post is mostly about the pony, but my goodness, it would  be easy to go on and on about the manure.  Poor John Lannan, the fourth was painful.  And nine walks by the pitching staff?  Yikes!  Finally, can I just say that I hate Phillies fans.

But on to the pony:

• It’s just one loss and we’re only one game back.
• Presidential first pitch-that’s pretty cool.
• Nice day!
• How about Pudge (“I’m not old”) Rodriguez? Three for 4 with 2 doubles and a pair of defensive plays that brought me to my feet. His day makes me happy because I love catchers and I’m thinking he’s going to be easy to love.
• A tip of my Curly W cap to Mike Morse for his single and heads-up base running. I was rooting for him to make the team and am glad he did well today.
• And last but not least, I was thrilled for Jesse English.  With zeroes across the board in 1.1 innings pitched, I’m sure today was his dream coming true.

Let’s get ‘em on Wednesday!

I hope that you, like me, are more than ready for another year of Nationals baseball.

I’m ready to cheer on a team that will be better than last year.  Maybe we’ll surprise everyone and win the NL East.  (I know, I know, but a girl can hope.)

If our boys don’t outplay the Phillies, Marlins, Braves, and Mets, I’ll celebrate the smaller victories, like Justin Maxwell’s walk-off home run in the last home game of 2009, and John Lannan’s complete game shutout of the Mets—my favorite win last year.  And I’ll mark our progress with the arrival of Drew Storen and that Strasburg guy.

On Saturday, I noticed the pennants at the Red Loft Bar, ordered to reflect the final 2009 standings in the NL East.  With no breeze to assist me, it’s hard to tell the pennants’ order from the photo, but who really wants to see it anyway.  I’m ready to see the order change throughout the season, with our pennant at least a little higher, and the Phillies pennant lower, please.  Maybe the photo will look better a few short hours from now, with the Nationals’ flag atop the pole, and the other guys’ on the bottom.

I’m looking forward to fewer and shorter rain delays, my excellent new seats behind the Nationals’ dugout (quick shout-out to my ticket reps for the upgrade), and a lot of hours spent at the ballpark with friends.

And of course, I’m looking forward to joining the ladies of We’ve Got Heart, where I’ll chat with you about our team.

All together now:  Let’s go Nats!

Great news, Nats fans!  We’ve Got Heart is alive and well…resurrected a bit, if you will.  Perfect for Easter.

Even better, the renewed effort is also perfectly in time for Opening Day.

We’ve recruited a strong team of passionate Nats fans to carry WGH through this promising season.   Carolyn, Cassi, Danielle, Jenn and Rachel are a diverse mix of intelligent Nationals fans who really want to make this blog great again.  I am so excited to see where they take it.

I’ll be here behind the scenes — answering questions and making sure things go smoothly, but I have every confidence in the world that these lovely ladies will do a great job.   You can read my stuff over at Nats Buzz on MASNsports.com if you’re so inclined.

Please give our new gals a warm welcome and come back often!

Happy Opening Day!

Well, I can’t make Spring Training come any faster, but John Lannan and Craig Stammen will be among the attendees at the Bethesda Big Train Auction. Come support The Big Train, who were ranked #9 among colligate summer league teams and improve the quality of baseball and softball fields in Montgomerty County and the District of Columbia.

In addition to being able to see two of the Nationals most promising young pitchers, ESPN baseball anaylist, Tim Kurkjian will also be at the event. There are also some great Nationals Auction items, like a Ryan Zimmerman autographed baseball and a 2009 team signed ball.

The Auction is this Sunday, November 8th from 5:30 to 8:30 at the Pooks Hill Marriot. You can find out more about The Big Train and order tickets at their website (www.bigtrain.org) or buy tickets at the door for $50 (adults) or $25 (kids 5-12, under 5 is free).
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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 part of We’ve Got Heart’s support of the Baseball Blogger Alliance Awards, we wanted to post the ballots submitted by the Washington Chapter.   Nats News Network and History’s Perspective at Nationals Pride submitted ballots this season.

History’s Perspective:
Manager of the Year: Monday, October 12
Jim Tracy - Colorado Rockies
Bruce Bochy - San Francisco Giants
Joe Torre - Los Angeles Dodgers

Rookie of the Year: Thursday, October 15
Chris Coglan - Florida Marlin
J.A. Happ - Philadelphia Phillies
Tommy Hanson - Atlanta Braves

Cy Young Award: Monday, October 19
Tim Lincecum - San Francisco Giants
Chris Carpenter - St. Louis Cardinals
Adam Wainwright - St. Louis Cardinals

Most Valuable Player: Monday, October 26
Albert Pujols - St. Louis Cardinals
Prince Fielder - Milwaukee Brewers
Hanley Ramirez - Florida Marlins
Ryan Braun - Milwaukee Brewers
Ryan Howard - Philadelphia Phillies
Derrick Lee - Chicago Cubs
Ryan Zimmerman - Washington Nationals
Troy Tulowitzki - Colorado Rockies
Pablo Sandoval - San Francisco Giants
Adrian Gonzalez - San Diego Padres

Nats News Network:
N.L. MANAGER OF THE YEAR
3. Joe Torre, LAD
2. Bruce Bochy, SF
1. Jim Tracy, COL

N.L. ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
3. Chris Coghlan, FL (.321/.390/.460, 9 HR—47 RBI—8 SB)
2. J.A. Happ, PHI (12-4, 2.93, 119 K in 166.0 IP)
1. Tommy Hanson, ATL (11-4, 2.89 ERA, 116 K in 127.2 IP)

N.L. CY YOUNG
3. Chris Carpenter, STL (17-4, 2.24 ERA, 144 K in 192.2 IP)
2. Adam Wainwright, STL (19-8, 2.63 ERA, 212 K in 233.0 IP)
1. Tim Lincecum, SF (15-7, 2.48 ERA, 261 K in 225.1 IP)

N.L. MVP (AVE/OBP/SLG, HR/RBI/RUNS/SB)
10. Andre Ethier, LAD (.272/.361/.508, 31/106/92/6)
9. Ryan Zimmerman, WAS (.292/.364/.525, 33/106/110/2)
8. Pablo Sandoval, SF (.330/.387/.556, 25/90/79/5)
7. Derrick Lee, CHC (.306/.393/.579, 35/111/91/1)
6. Ryan Braun, MIL (.320/.386/.551, 32/114/113/20)
5. Prince Fielder, MIL (.299/.412/.602, 46/141/103/2)
4. Ryan Howard, PHI (.279/.360/.571, 45/141/105/8)
3. Troy Tulowitzki, COL (.297/.377/.552, 32/92/101/20)
2. Hanley Ramirez, FL (.342/.410/.543, 24/106/101/27)
1. Albert Pujols, STL (.327/.443/.658, 47/135/124/16)

I don’t think many people know about the DC-IBWA just yet — it was created by a few pioneering Washington, DC bloggers who wanted to give more legitimacy to the news that bloggers report on the Washington Nationals to complement the information provided by more traditional sources.

All of the participating blogs had the opportunity to vote for end of year awards which were named after successful Washington baseball players, similar to the end of season awards given to players as voted on by sports writers.

Here are the results…

Goose Goslin Most Valuable Player
Player most valuable to the success of the Washington Nationals
Ryan Zimmerman

Walter Johnson Starting Pitcher of the Year
Excellent performance as a starting pitcher
John Lannan

Frederick “Firpo” Marberry Relief Pitcher of the Year
Excellent performance as a relief pitcher
Tyler Clippard

Sam Rice Hitter of the Year
Excellence in all-around hitting, situational hitting and baserunning
Ryan Zimmerman

Frank Howard Slugger of the Year
Excellence in power hitting
Adam Dunn

Joe Judge Defensive Player of the Year
Excellence in fielding
Ryan Zimmerman

Mickey Vernon Comeback Player of the Year
Player who overcame biggest obstacle in the preceding season to contribute on the field
Nick Johnson

Josh Gibson Humanitarian Player of the Year
Player who meritoriously gave of himself to the community
John Lannan

Minor League Player of the Year
Minor league player most destined for big league success
Derek Norris

Awhile back, I mentioned a girl from a small town near where I grew up who is battling a rare cancer.

Today, she was featured on The Today Show, along with Troy Polamalu.  You can watch it here.  You can also visit the website her family set up.

If you would like to send a monetary donation (no matter how small), your donations would help her family with food, transportation and lodging for the numerous trips they make to Pittsburgh, as well as the increasing costs for Heather’s care.

Heather Miller Medical Fund
PO Box 229
Osterburg, PA  16667

Welcome to September Nats fans!

The Nats know that sometimes being a Nats fan is not the easiest thing in the world.  They understand that the fans they do have tend to get a little bit of grief every once and awhile.  For instance, while walking my little chihuahua this evening (I was wearing a Nats tshirt), someone stopped me and said, “There are actually Nats fans?”  I, being highly offended, said, “Yes sir there are.  In fact, the average attendance in 2008 was 29,000.”  He then turned away and kept walking as he should have.  The point being that Nats fans are great.  We stand by our team through thick (and it can get REALLY THICK) and thin.  We are there cheering every time our Nats are playing down on South Capitol and we take naps so we can watch the Nats on MASN when they are playing on Pacific time (I did this last night and plan on doing it again tonight).  This month, because of our dedication and hard work (sometimes I feel like cheering for the Nats can be hard work!!), they have decided that September is Fan Appreciation Month.

Throughout the month, the Nats will be having ticket giveaways, awesome promotional items and will have players greeting fans at the gates.  On top of the extras, there will be three T-shirt Tuesdays during September.  I LOVE T-shirt Tuesdays, but always seem to get there too late to grab my size, so WORD TO THE WISE:  Arrive Early!!  Also, the team photo will be given out at the game on Monday, September 28th.  It sounds like a fun month down at Nationals Park and I hope to see all of you there!!

On a more serious note, along with Fan Appreciation Month, the Nats are partnering with the American Diabetes Association for Diabetes Awareness Month at Nationals Park.  I’m sure we all have someone that Diabetes has touched, so please be sure to stop by the American Diabetes Association Table at the Nationals Community Desk (Main Concourse, Left Field) and also take advantage of discount tickets with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the American Diabetes Association (www.nationals.com/diabetes).

It’s going to be a fun month here in NatsTown, so let’s show the Marlins, Phillies, Dodgers, Braves and Mets who has the best fans in the land!  NOW, off to take a power nap so I can stay up and watch the Nats take one from the Padres!!

WTOP is reporting that the Potomac River Company will provide water taxis from the Alexandria waterfront to a dock at Nationals Park beginning Tuesday, September 8. It’s a 40 minute boat ride and costs $12 one way or $20 roundtrip. They will be offering the water taxi rides for seven Nationals home games in September (Sept. 8, 9, 10, 25, 28, 29, and 30).

For those wishing to water taxi their way over from National Harbor, a separate taxi can be taken over to Alexandria to catch the baseball water taxi, but this would be an additional $8 one way or $16 roundtrip.

According to the report, the company hopes to expand the water taxi service in time for baseball next season.

For More info, visit WTOP.com