NATIONALS LIVE (oh, and some giants stuff)
Earlier, I prepared some crab cakes, fresh picked from Dungeness shells, mixed with homemade lemon mayo, diced red snapper, and scallions. I made a tartar sauce with capers, gherkin juice, and drained pickle relish. Just finished prepping an English-pea-and-fava-bean salad with crispy, crumbled pancetta and mint leaves.
I timed my food prep to conclude moments before the Nationals' final series show against the Mets, whom they've beaten twice in a row. Right now, it's the top of the 6th, score tied at 3-3, just the way these guys love to play.
Nationals starter John Patterson has me biting my nails. For all kinds of reasons -- sustaining already great morale, fandom, standings, prestige -- D.C. needs to call this one a sweep.
Mike Piazza is up against Patterson, 0 and 2.
A guy I work with, a Rockies fan who bemoans that expansion team's neglect, regularly marvels at what the Nationals have been able to do. He says it's money. Interesting. I hadn't thought about it. Apparently, the infusion of serious cash into the franchise ensured that they'd have a fairly decent debut in D.C. Rockies saw no such largesse.
[insert Giants stuff here]
I know, I'm being bratty. Giants swept Colorado (zzzzzzzzz) in their own park, how embarrassing. Coolest thing about today's game was Alou's homerun: the ball struck the left-field foul pole, gonging like a Notre Dame bell. It was pretty cool. Would make a great ringtone.
[end insert Giants stuff here]
[7:03PM PT] Patterson just walked a man, men on 1st and 2nd. Thank Rawlings. He struck out Valent to eliminate the threat. Yesss!
[7:10PM PT] Bottom of the 6th. Ha, Vidro walks. Ho, Guillen strikes out. Ha, Castilla walks, Vidro to 2nd. Ho, Church strikes out. Catcher, Bennett, is up. Ho, he grounds out.
Special Prediction Moment:
[7:20PM PT] I've mentioned before that the Nationals excel at hits late in the game, working the weaknesses of relievers. I'm gonna say that D.C. will win this, that they'll score one or more runs in the 8th. Can't predict what NY will do, but I don't think it will be enough.
[7:22PM PT] Top of the 7th. Joey Eischen relieves Patterson. I know absolutely nothing about this guy, save that he's Washington's only LHP. Guess I'll be less educated in a few minutes. 7:25. He's injured after snatching a hit ball and then falling on his wrist and forearm. There you have it. Hector Carrasco takes the mound. (Perhaps I should modify my SPM?)
[7:38PM PT] Still top of the 7th. Carassco versus Carlos Beltran. Gulp. 2-2 count. I so have to go to the bathroom. The go-ahead run is at stake here. Nationals must hold this. They must hold this. Beltran is a better hitter than Carrasco is a pitcher. Is it just a matter of time? Beltran flies out to Wilkerson. Yesss!
[7:59PM PT] Nationals reliever Luis Ayala just prevented the Mets from doing anything in the 8th. Home half of the inning after the commercial break...
[8:07 PM PT] Bottom of the 8th. Ha, takes 12 pitches to get Nick Johnson out. Good start. Ho, Vidro grounds out. Ha, Guillen in the hole, hits a run. Wa! Ho, Castilla grounds out.
[8:14 PM PT] Top of the ninth. Something is going to happen. Something's GOT to happen. I've got fava-bean salad and Chez Panisse crab cakes to eat, dammit!
[8:16PM PT] You get what you ask for. Ayala has Mets on 1st and 2nd with no outs. There's a mound summit going on as I type. Drama. Unless Ayala twitches his bewitched nose, the Mets are about to score something.
[8:18PM PT] God! Bases loaded with Mets, no outs. What the f**k? Oooooh, at least I have salad and crab cakes to console me when this is over. There's the sac fly, one runner in. My wimpy little SPM evaporates before me. Thank Bud Selig I didn't wager money on this. Another flyball, here come two more Mets. 6-3. Darn, darn, darn.
[8:21PM PT] Two outs, Mike Piazza's up. I'm really ready to eat, now. Third out. Now heading to bottom of the ninth...should I bother? Or rely on the Nationals to do that occasionally magical late-game thing? I'll wait. Must smoke a cigarette first. Tummy grumbling.
[8:26PM PT] Whoa, fast commercial break, no time for a cig. Just as well. Smoking's bad for you, I've heard. Hurry up and win or lose, guys, my fandom is waning, rolling over to the authority of my appetite. One out left. Guzman triples! I'd have been more excited if that happened two outs ago. Sledge has one strike left. Um, who's Sledge?
[8:32PM PT] Oh, hell, what just happened? Sledge walked! Two men on base. And sorceror supreme Brad Wilkerson is up. Home run threat. RBI threat. Am I just having a starvation hallucination? Hell, it's over.
Yeah, time to eat!
I timed my food prep to conclude moments before the Nationals' final series show against the Mets, whom they've beaten twice in a row. Right now, it's the top of the 6th, score tied at 3-3, just the way these guys love to play.
Nationals starter John Patterson has me biting my nails. For all kinds of reasons -- sustaining already great morale, fandom, standings, prestige -- D.C. needs to call this one a sweep.
Mike Piazza is up against Patterson, 0 and 2.
A guy I work with, a Rockies fan who bemoans that expansion team's neglect, regularly marvels at what the Nationals have been able to do. He says it's money. Interesting. I hadn't thought about it. Apparently, the infusion of serious cash into the franchise ensured that they'd have a fairly decent debut in D.C. Rockies saw no such largesse.
[insert Giants stuff here]
I know, I'm being bratty. Giants swept Colorado (zzzzzzzzz) in their own park, how embarrassing. Coolest thing about today's game was Alou's homerun: the ball struck the left-field foul pole, gonging like a Notre Dame bell. It was pretty cool. Would make a great ringtone.
[end insert Giants stuff here]
[7:03PM PT] Patterson just walked a man, men on 1st and 2nd. Thank Rawlings. He struck out Valent to eliminate the threat. Yesss!
[7:10PM PT] Bottom of the 6th. Ha, Vidro walks. Ho, Guillen strikes out. Ha, Castilla walks, Vidro to 2nd. Ho, Church strikes out. Catcher, Bennett, is up. Ho, he grounds out.
Special Prediction Moment:
[7:20PM PT] I've mentioned before that the Nationals excel at hits late in the game, working the weaknesses of relievers. I'm gonna say that D.C. will win this, that they'll score one or more runs in the 8th. Can't predict what NY will do, but I don't think it will be enough.
[7:22PM PT] Top of the 7th. Joey Eischen relieves Patterson. I know absolutely nothing about this guy, save that he's Washington's only LHP. Guess I'll be less educated in a few minutes. 7:25. He's injured after snatching a hit ball and then falling on his wrist and forearm. There you have it. Hector Carrasco takes the mound. (Perhaps I should modify my SPM?)
[7:38PM PT] Still top of the 7th. Carassco versus Carlos Beltran. Gulp. 2-2 count. I so have to go to the bathroom. The go-ahead run is at stake here. Nationals must hold this. They must hold this. Beltran is a better hitter than Carrasco is a pitcher. Is it just a matter of time? Beltran flies out to Wilkerson. Yesss!
[7:59PM PT] Nationals reliever Luis Ayala just prevented the Mets from doing anything in the 8th. Home half of the inning after the commercial break...
[8:07 PM PT] Bottom of the 8th. Ha, takes 12 pitches to get Nick Johnson out. Good start. Ho, Vidro grounds out. Ha, Guillen in the hole, hits a run. Wa! Ho, Castilla grounds out.
[8:14 PM PT] Top of the ninth. Something is going to happen. Something's GOT to happen. I've got fava-bean salad and Chez Panisse crab cakes to eat, dammit!
[8:16PM PT] You get what you ask for. Ayala has Mets on 1st and 2nd with no outs. There's a mound summit going on as I type. Drama. Unless Ayala twitches his bewitched nose, the Mets are about to score something.
[8:18PM PT] God! Bases loaded with Mets, no outs. What the f**k? Oooooh, at least I have salad and crab cakes to console me when this is over. There's the sac fly, one runner in. My wimpy little SPM evaporates before me. Thank Bud Selig I didn't wager money on this. Another flyball, here come two more Mets. 6-3. Darn, darn, darn.
[8:21PM PT] Two outs, Mike Piazza's up. I'm really ready to eat, now. Third out. Now heading to bottom of the ninth...should I bother? Or rely on the Nationals to do that occasionally magical late-game thing? I'll wait. Must smoke a cigarette first. Tummy grumbling.
[8:26PM PT] Whoa, fast commercial break, no time for a cig. Just as well. Smoking's bad for you, I've heard. Hurry up and win or lose, guys, my fandom is waning, rolling over to the authority of my appetite. One out left. Guzman triples! I'd have been more excited if that happened two outs ago. Sledge has one strike left. Um, who's Sledge?
[8:32PM PT] Oh, hell, what just happened? Sledge walked! Two men on base. And sorceror supreme Brad Wilkerson is up. Home run threat. RBI threat. Am I just having a starvation hallucination? Hell, it's over.
Yeah, time to eat!
posted by Andrew at
8:48 PM
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