Submitted by Jeff on Sun, 03/30/2008 - 9:33am.
- On the field, the Nats easily handled the Orioles in their final tuneup before the regular season. Jason Bergmann pitched five innings of one-hit baseball (albeit with four walks) while Nick Johnson, Austin Kearns, and Paul Lo Duca all picked up RBIs off O's starter Adam Loewen. Nats beat the O's, 3-0 in their final matchup of the spring.
- The game itself, though, was of less significance than the ballpark itself, which generally met with rave reviews. "The night was great," Nationals President Stan Kasten said. "I know that because fan after fan kept telling me that." Some, though, complained about concessions glitches, from long lines to cold food.
- There were also—surprise!—transportation problems, particularly with Metro. While traffic flowed smoothly around the ballpark, trains were crowded (compounded earlier in the day by the Cherry Blossom Festival); at one point after the game entrances to the Navy Yard metro station by the park were closed because the platform was overcrowded.
- The players are pretty happy with Nationals Park as well. Manny Acta noted that the fans are closer to the field than at RFK, making it seem more crowded than the 25,000 or so who actually went through the turnstiles last night. Bergmann: "It was only half-full, but it was pretty loud out there."
- However, the players are still figuring out how the park will play. The dimensions are smaller than RFK, but in some places the fences are higher. "The popular answer: We don't know, and we won't for some time," writes Barry Svrluga. "The answer might be quite different on a cool March night as opposed to a muggy August afternoon."
- Among the columnists:
- On the field, the Nats have put together their lineup for tonight, with Cristian Guzman leading off, rather than Lastings Milledge, and Paul Lo Duca batting sixth. Acta said he put Lo Duca there to provide protection between two players, Austin Kearns and Elijah Dukes, who strike out often.
- As anticipated, Nick Johnson will start at first and Ronnie Belliard at second. Neither Felipe Lopez nor Dmitri Young, who will sit on the bench, are asking for a trade at this time, although the team was shopping Lopez earlier this month.
- The team also signed infielder Olmedo Saenz to a minor league contract. He'll report to Triple-A and be an "insurance policy" for Ryan Zimmerman and Aaron Boone.
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