September 3, 2023 [LINK / comment]
Nats' late summer surge stalls
I recently opined that Washington's winning ways were based in part on luck, and the "amazing upward surge" was unlikely to be sustained. Indeed not! On Thursday the batters just couldn't get anything going, and starting pitcher Joan Adon took the loss in a 6-1 outcome. Friday's game went much better, with the Nats matching the Marlins run for run in both the first and third innings. The game was tied 3-3 after nine innings, and the Nats squandered a big chance to win the bottom of the 10th after Lane Thomas hit a leadoff RBI single (scoring the "ghost runner" on second, of course). But they couldn't get it done, and the Marlins scored four runs in the top of the 11th inning after Robert Garcia gave up 3 hits. Final score: 8-5. Yesterday afternoon Trevor Williams had a miserable outing on the mound, giving up four (4) home runs and being charged with 8 earned runs (plus one unearned) in just four innings. The Nats tried to close the gap, but it was pretty futile. The two-run rally in the bottom of the 9th inning shows that at least they tried. Still, very discouraging. The Nats could have come within a half a game of the 3rd-place Marlins in the NL East race, but instead have fallen back into last place behind the Mets.
In a few hours, the Nationals will try to avoid being swept by the Marlins for the third time this year, as Josiah Gray takes the mound -- and I'll be there!
Royals seek new stadium
The Kansas City Royals unveiled plans for a new stadium that they want to build, either in the Northland area of the city (why there???) or downtown in East Village. The design echoes some elements of Kauffman Stadium, such as a tapered-profile upper deck and a fountain/pool in center field. The current lease on Kauffman Stadium expires in 2031, but the Royals want to move into the new stadium by 2028. See the Kansas City Star. I will grant that Kauffman Stadium is aging and has served a longer lifetime than most MLB stadiums, perhaps earning "retirement." In my opinion, however, its iconic, sleek design is well worth preserving.
White Sox seek new stadium
Not to be outdone, the Chicago White Sox have laid the groundwork for a future campaign to get taxpayers to subsidize a new stadium. The current lease on Guaranteed Rate Park expires six years hence, and White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf is getting antsy already. He is renowned as a profit-minded business promoter for whom civic responsibility takes a somewhat lower priority. One idea is to radically reconfigure Soldier Field, which the Chicago Bears are expected to vacate one of these years. Why there??? Another option is to move to another city, such as Nashville. See fox32chicago.com. That would be flat-out stupid. The White Sox have been playing at [approximately] the current location for well over a century; Comiskey Park was immediately to the north, and South Side Grounds was just to the south. The current stadium is somewhat isolated from the local community, and that itself illustrates part of the problem. The White Sox are an integral part of South Side Chicago's identity, and should cling to that [association].