Ready for their new home
Submitted by Jeff on Fri, 03/28/2008 - 10:02am.
- John Lannan may be starting the season in the minors, but Thursday he showed why he may not be there long. Lannan allowed a run on three hits through six innings, striking out five. Felipe Lopez homered for the Nats, who beat the Orioles 2-1 in their Viera finale.
- Lannan is the likely choice to replace Shawn Hill if Hill cannot make his planned start April 13. Hill is scheduled to pitch in a minor league game tomorrow before joining the team in Washington.
- After beating the O's, the team flew to Washington and immediately paid a visit to Nationals Park last night. The ballpark is getting rave reviews from the players. "It's even better than any of us thought it would be," said Ryan Zimmerman.
- The ballpark itself is "just about there", team president Stan Kasten said. Final touches are being made for the exhibition game Saturday evening and Opening Night Sunday, ranging from coats of paint to planting flowers. Today will be spent "cleaning the site".
- Once the ballpark starts hosting games, the team wants to ballpark to be "fan-friendly" with lots of activities for people to do (and spend money on) before the game even starts. Mark Lerner: "We need people to break the habit of coming at 7:05 for a 7:05 game… It's our responsibility to do exciting things to get them to come early."
- In an apparent bid to avoid embarrassment, Manny Acta and not Paul Lo Duca will catch the ceremonial first pitch from President Bush on Sunday night. The White House said they did not play a role in a decision, and Lo Duca said he was not upset with the change.
- Acta will announce Saturday who will get the starting jobs for Sunday's opener. Johnson is still expected to win the job at first, with Lopez the odd man out among him, Cristian Guzman, and Ronnie Belliard.
- Wily Mo Peña is recovering faster than even he expected from a strained oblique. He plans to remain in Florida and miss Opening Night so he continue his rehab. Elijah Dukes missed Thursday game "to take care of personal business", which turned out to be a court hearing in Tampa on a misdemeanor charge of violating an injunction last year stemming from a domestic violence incident. Dukes is scheduled to be with the team Friday and play in the Saturday exhibition game.
NeKCRup
tNGnek NeKCRup