May 22, 2006 [LINK]
The Washington Post calls it the "Battle of the Beltways", but I call it the "Parkway Series," which is a better geographic fit (the Baltimore-Washington Parkway traces a direct route between the two stadiums), and is a closer analogue to the Yankees-Mets "Subway Series." The point is, Washington won the first such series since 1971, thereby getting a token amount of revenge for all the torment it has suffered at the hands of Peter Angelos. After dropping the first-ever Nationals-Orioles interleague game on Friday night, the home team rebounded and took the next two. For once, Livan Hernandez started pitching like his old self, and the batters got just enough clutch hits to win the games.
In honor of this proud moment in Washington baseball history, the Griffith Stadium page has been updated with a new diagram and an interactive thumbnail diagram. A dynamic diagram showing the evolution of the stadium over the years is still pending, however.
Barry Bonds finally caught up with Babe Ruth in the lifetime home run rankings, and the fan response was underwhelming. Bonds was widely considered a shoo-in for the Hall of Fame before he got caught up in the home run frenzy of the late 1990s, and it's a shame all of his earlier accomplishments will be tainted in future history books. As long as he can get over his pride, there is still time for him to come clean, however.
Great news for baseball fans in the upper Midwest: Thanks to an all-night session by the Minnesota legislature, final approval of funding for a stadium for the Twins was passed just before the crack of dawn on Sunday. The Twins will pay for almost one fourth of the $522 million total construction cost. It is hoped that the new ballpark will be finished by the 2010 season. See MLB.com (hat tip to Mike Zurawski and Stephen Poppe). The Twins, of course, used to be the Washington Senators...
With Matsui, Sheffield, and Shawn Chacon out of action, it's hard for the Yankees to keep pace with the Red Sox, who are now two and a half games ahead in the AL East. It was a huge satisfaction to see the Bronx Bombers win after a ninth-inning comeback at Shea Stadium on the first FOX Saturday Game of the Week. Playing as underdogs to the high-flying Mets is certainly an unexpected role reversal. Tonight's 9-5 loss at Fenway Park was another reality check. I swear, I don't even recognize half the Boston lineup any more. How have they managed to stay so good while going through so much change in their roster?