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somebodyisfromhere.com
The destination destination.
Natinal, National Pride for Memorial Day.
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<<< The Washington Nationals are a preposterously bad team. Their G.M. stepped down
amid an FBI investigation. For a game in April, they infamously had a couple of athletes play in
jerseys that read "Natinals". As per performance, things haven't fared better.
Somebodyisfromhere.com caught the second game of a doubleheader on a day in which
Washington lost both games -- it ended prematurely due to rain. The following day, honest to
god, they lost a game in which the person covering first base (the 2nd baseman actually rotating
on a bunt) moved out of the way of an accurately thrown ball.
So there's little doubt that the team is bad, but can the city take comfort in the 41,000 seat
Nationals Park that opened in 2008?
Well, no, not really.
With so many new ballparks, it takes more for a particular stadium to stand out. There simply isn't
a novelty to newness anymore. The Nationals Park doesn't stand out, instead it feels more like a
gigantic minor league stadium.
amid an FBI investigation. For a game in April, they infamously had a couple of athletes play in
jerseys that read "Natinals". As per performance, things haven't fared better.
Somebodyisfromhere.com caught the second game of a doubleheader on a day in which
Washington lost both games -- it ended prematurely due to rain. The following day, honest to
god, they lost a game in which the person covering first base (the 2nd baseman actually rotating
on a bunt) moved out of the way of an accurately thrown ball.
So there's little doubt that the team is bad, but can the city take comfort in the 41,000 seat
Nationals Park that opened in 2008?
Well, no, not really.
With so many new ballparks, it takes more for a particular stadium to stand out. There simply isn't
a novelty to newness anymore. The Nationals Park doesn't stand out, instead it feels more like a
gigantic minor league stadium.
Behind the center field wallI there's grass. This serves as a batter's eye which is a dark area which ballparks are required to have in
center field. To the batter's vision, it appears directly behind the pitcher and it enables the hitter to better see the ball coming to the
batter's box at often alarming speeds. When it's grass, like it is in DC, It also adds a somewhat park-like field to the Park. The only
problem is that in DC they put a concrete looking loading area next to it.
Speaking of concrete, much of the concourse is enclosed. Concourses anymore are usually more open, again adding to a park feel.
The enclosed concourse, though comforting in rain, is drab and often claustrophobic.
The concourses don't have anything celebrating the history of the club like many stadiums have. This makes sense, of course,
because there is little history for this team (Though Somebodyisfromhere.com did see a person wearing an Expos jersey. Nice touch.)
They also were outnumbered by visiting fans. This should change when the fans sit through a couple pennant races (which admittedly
might be a few years away) and in the long term when people get used to having the team around or children start growing up with the
team. That's all for the future, though. Right now, it's stale.
You'll also hear about how the stadium offers a view of the capital. Ehh. Not without squinting. There are two parking lots across the
street. This isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. There is a tent atop one of them and it looks like people could mingle (which is what DC
does best) up there providing a party atmosphere and a unique view of the game that Somebodyisfromhere.com could imagine would
almost, sort of, kinda be like the view from the houses across from Wrigley Park in Chicago. But let's be real. It ain't the capital
There are some redemptive qualities to the stadium. A stadium named after their team (the Nationals Park) is refreshing in a useless
old fashioned kind of way. The locals also seem to enjoy Ben's Chili which is readily available at the Park.
Like many other things in DC, the Metro makes the stadium remarkably easy to access. The area feels renewed with buildings popping
up and there was a sanctioned tailgate tent/bar that made it possible to watch the big horse race.
center field. To the batter's vision, it appears directly behind the pitcher and it enables the hitter to better see the ball coming to the
batter's box at often alarming speeds. When it's grass, like it is in DC, It also adds a somewhat park-like field to the Park. The only
problem is that in DC they put a concrete looking loading area next to it.
Speaking of concrete, much of the concourse is enclosed. Concourses anymore are usually more open, again adding to a park feel.
The enclosed concourse, though comforting in rain, is drab and often claustrophobic.
The concourses don't have anything celebrating the history of the club like many stadiums have. This makes sense, of course,
because there is little history for this team (Though Somebodyisfromhere.com did see a person wearing an Expos jersey. Nice touch.)
They also were outnumbered by visiting fans. This should change when the fans sit through a couple pennant races (which admittedly
might be a few years away) and in the long term when people get used to having the team around or children start growing up with the
team. That's all for the future, though. Right now, it's stale.
You'll also hear about how the stadium offers a view of the capital. Ehh. Not without squinting. There are two parking lots across the
street. This isn't nearly as bad as it sounds. There is a tent atop one of them and it looks like people could mingle (which is what DC
does best) up there providing a party atmosphere and a unique view of the game that Somebodyisfromhere.com could imagine would
almost, sort of, kinda be like the view from the houses across from Wrigley Park in Chicago. But let's be real. It ain't the capital
There are some redemptive qualities to the stadium. A stadium named after their team (the Nationals Park) is refreshing in a useless
old fashioned kind of way. The locals also seem to enjoy Ben's Chili which is readily available at the Park.
Like many other things in DC, the Metro makes the stadium remarkably easy to access. The area feels renewed with buildings popping
up and there was a sanctioned tailgate tent/bar that made it possible to watch the big horse race.
On the right is John F Kennedy's
grave. On the left is Jackie's. She
later married a Greek guy after
JFK's death. When married twice,
how does one decide with whom to
get buried? I think it's like a
ballplayer deciding which uniform to
wear at the hall of fame - only with
dead bodies.
grave. On the left is Jackie's. She
later married a Greek guy after
JFK's death. When married twice,
how does one decide with whom to
get buried? I think it's like a
ballplayer deciding which uniform to
wear at the hall of fame - only with
dead bodies.
A PHOTO JOURNAL:
Clearwater: A Photo Journal.
>>> Listen to the national media and you'll hear that the fans in
Philadelphia are a vicious lot. Apparently, Santa Claus is still
sending out press releases about how he was wronged by snow
balls. You won't hear them talk about Pat Burrell, though.
Full Page: Burrell
Philadelphia are a vicious lot. Apparently, Santa Claus is still
sending out press releases about how he was wronged by snow
balls. You won't hear them talk about Pat Burrell, though.
Full Page: Burrell
Learning about a town by looking at their heroes.
The Burrell Phenomena.
>>> "It's all jazz," is stated a few times in The Soul of Baseball by ... oh, well, somebodyisfromhere.com
will get to that later...
Somebodyisfromhere.com isn't sure what makes something a travel book (or movie, or whatever). Is it about movement? Is it
about obscure locations? Or is it travel because somebodyisfromhere.com is there and you're not? (If he were to write about
his home town and you aren't there, would that be travel writing in the internet age?)
...In The Soul of Baseball, Buck O'Neil, a sage former Negro Leaguer, is followed for a year by sports
journalist Joe Posnanski as O'Neil promoted the Negro League and by extension the museum about the
subject.
Full Page: The Soul of Baseball
will get to that later...
Somebodyisfromhere.com isn't sure what makes something a travel book (or movie, or whatever). Is it about movement? Is it
about obscure locations? Or is it travel because somebodyisfromhere.com is there and you're not? (If he were to write about
his home town and you aren't there, would that be travel writing in the internet age?)
...In The Soul of Baseball, Buck O'Neil, a sage former Negro Leaguer, is followed for a year by sports
journalist Joe Posnanski as O'Neil promoted the Negro League and by extension the museum about the
subject.
Full Page: The Soul of Baseball
| The Soul Of Baseball: A Road Trip Through Buck O'Neil's America. |
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