NATIONALS TREASURE?

NATIONALS TREASURE?

I was told that the Washington Nationals website is now up. In fact, if you try to go to the Montreal Expos website, it just automatically forwards you to http://www.nationals.mlb.com.

I actually lived in Washington, DC for four years (while getting my degree at George Washington University) without a baseball team in town! I even flew back to New York for a 1976 World Series game after a Tuesday afternoon class, watched the Reds butt-kick the Yankees, and then flew back in time for my 8 am Wednesday class. I attended a "Bring Baseball Back to DC" rally, where I got a Washington Senators pennant autographed by Bucky Dent and Andre Dawson (think it's ready to sell on eBay?).

If I were still living in DC, I'd be excited about the Expos moving there. (Baltimore may only be an hour drive from DC, but that's far enough in the congested Northeast to be a separate market. And, by the way, Mr. Peter Angelos: Don't be whining about the Expos moving in on your turf — not when the St. Louis Browns moved in on the Senators in 1954.

I looked ahead to the 2005 schedule, and some cool things are afoot. The New York Mets play the Nationals on July 4, and the only way that could be better or more appropriate would be for it to be a doubleheader. (Of course, baseball has given up on the doubleheader; got to maximize that revenue, you know.) And, this is probably left over from wondering where the Expos would be, but the Nationals start with nine straight road games, which is an incredible road stretch at the beginning of the season. Not only that, but the games are against Philadelphia, Florida, and Atlanta, meaning that the Nats can come back to DC with a horrible record; 0-9 isn't out of the question. Of course, that's Washington tradition, too.

I'm looking forward to visiting RFK and seeing baseball for a change. Too bad they didn't pick a team name that fit with the Redskins. You know, something like the Tar Babies, or the Crackers, or the Fighting Fags.*


*If you can't recognize this as sarcasm, then you need to take a class in getting the stick out of your butt before you start lecturing people on political correctness. On the other hand, if you don't get why "Redskins" belongs with those other names, then you probably need to spend a couple of nights in a blue state.