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April 2026
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April 12, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Nationals sweep the Brewers!

The Washington Nationals were hosting the L.A. Dodgers for their home opener on Friday April 3, a beautiful day for a ball game. The Nats jumped on top 3-0 in the first inning, thanks to a home run by C.J. Abrams, who is having one heck of an early season. The Nats' starting pitcher Miles Mikolas got the first six outs, but then totally lost it in the third inning, when the Dodgers scored 5 times. By the time Mikolas was replaced in the 5th inning, he had given up 11 earned runs. The rest of the game didn't really matter in a 13-6 blowout. On Saturday, starting pitcher Jake Irvin got roughed up in the early innings, and the final score was 10-5. On Sunday afternoon, after a 2-hour rain delay, the Nats tried mightily to avoid getting swept, and had a 6-3 lead going into the 8th inning. But unfortunately the Dodgers staged a 4-run rally, as relief pitcher Cionel Perez proved utterly ineffective, not even recording a single out. Final score: L.A. 8, Nats 6. Getting swept by the mega-salary L.A. Dodgers surprised no one.

The next day the Nats welcomed the St. Louis Cardinals to town, and showed spunk on the heels of that distressing sweep by scoring twice in the first inning. But the Cards gradually came back and had a 6-3 lead by the middle of the 8th inning. That's when the Nats pulled off an incredible 6-run rally, featuring home runs by James Wood, Brady House, and C.J. Abrams. Final score: Nats 9, Cards 6. On Tuesday the Nats were ahead 5-3 until the Cards tied it in the 8th inning, and the visitors eked out a 7-6 victory in 10 innings. That was a big lost opportunity. On Wednesday Mikolas was on the mound, and fared little better than in his first two starts, as the Nats lost the game, 6-1, and thus, the series.

After a day of rest, the Nats flew west to Milwaukee to face the 8-4 Brewers in American Family Field. The Nats scored twice in the first inning, but a home run by Jake Bauers immediately put the Brewers on top, 3-2. The Nats tied it 3-3 on a double by Jacob Young in the 7th inning, and in the 9th inning they managed to score four times by three well-executed bunts and two singles. And so, the Nats won it, 7-3. On Saturday it was a scoreless game until the 5th inning, when the Nats took a 2-0 lead. Starting pitcher Foster Griffin had a no-hitter going into the 6th inning, and after he was replaced the Brewers loaded the bases but couldn't quite score. In the bottom of the 9th William Contreras hit a lead-off homer, and the the Brewers again loaded the bases but failed to score. Nats 3, Brewers 1. And today, it was a thrilling, back-and-forth game in which James Wood homered for the third day in a row. The Nats took a 6-3 lead in the 7th inning, but the Brewers quickly tied it in the bottom of the inning. The decisive play of the game was in the top of the 8th inning when Keibert Ruiz singled up the middle on a low pitch, scoring two runs that made possible the 8-6 victory which sealed the Nats' first sweep of the year! With a quite respectable 7-8 record, the Nats are now tied with the Phillies for third place in the National League East Division, just behind the Marlins. The 10-6 Atlanta Braves lead the division.

Tomorrow the Nats head to Pittsburgh for a four-game series against the first-place (!) Pirates. (The Brewers had been in first place before getting swept by the Nats.) Cade Cavalli will face the Pirates' ace pitcher Paul Skenes, a daunting challenge, but the way the Nationals' batters have been playing this year, anything is possible. Believe it or not, the Nationals' team batting average (.272) ranks #4 in the majors, close behind the Braves and Astros, and their home run total (17) is tied for 5th place.

Nats' pitchers are a mixed bag

To the surprise of few people, the Washington Nationals' pitchers this year are not exactly ready for prime time. Their relief pitchers keep blowing leads late in the game, and some of their starting pitchers probably won't last long at the rate they're going. In any case, here is the starting rotation for the time being, including their ERAs and innings pitched:

1. Cade Cavalli (2.51 ERA, 14.1 IP)
2. Miles Mikolas* (12.41 ERA, 12.1 IP)
3. Jake Irvin (7.07 ERA, 14.0 IP)
4. Foster Griffin* (1.76 ERA, 15.1 IP)
5. Zach Littell* (4.20 ERA, 15.0 IP)

As for the relievers, Brad Lord, Clayton Beeter, and PJ Poulin seem OK, but Cionel Perez*, Ken Waldichuk*, Cole Henry, and Andre Granillo* have been pretty shaky so far. In today's game against the Brewers, Gus Varland* got his first save with the Nationals, just barely. I hope he continues to improve.

* Asterisks indicate new pitchers for the Nationals this year.

MORE baseball on TV!!!

My last blog post discussed the big news that NBC will be carrying games on most Sunday nights, including tonight's 13-1 blowout of the Cleveland Guardians by the Atlanta Braves. NBC will also show games on a few other days besides Sunday during the summer months, ending on Labor Day, September 7. But wait, there's more! I recently learned that the Gray Media television stations in the Washington Nationals' area (including WHSV Channel 3 here in the Shenandoah Valley) will be carrying ten Nationals games on Friday nights, beginning this Friday on April 17! Whoopeee!!! As of this year, the Nationals are no longer bound to MASN, which is controlled by the Baltimore Orioles, and this spring "Nationals TV" began operations. I gave it a one-week free trial, but learned to my chagrin that my "smart" TV can't download the necessary MLB software to get the signal. I can watch on my iPhone, but the "mirroring" technique to transfer the signal to the TV is prone to frequent signal glitches. For the time being, I'm afraid it's not worth the $19.99 monthly charge. In any case, these new arrangements are another sign that Rob Manfred understands the need to adapt to the new era of Internet-based media.

Progressive Field update

I made some partial corrections to the Progressive Field diagram, taking into account renovations that have been made over the past two years. The main change is that most of the upper deck in right field and along the third base side past the infield has been permanently removed, replaced with new rooftop party areas. In 2015 most of the upper deck in right field (including the portion wrapping around the right field foul pole) was covered up with tarpaulin and temporary structures catering to partiers. The portion of the upper deck from the corner of the grandstand inward has now been restored to its original seating function. The 2025 version diagram now includes the "H" (home) and "V" (visitor) labels next to the respective dugouts. (I need to check to be sure about which bullpen is which, but when the two bullpens are adjacent and parallel to each other, the home team usually occupies the one closer to the field.) As indicated on that page, that diagram is a "work in progress," subject to future corrections.

Also, I got rid of the old (small-size) photos and replaced them with larger-size photos, including this one that I took from the upper deck behind home plate in 2012. (Disclaimer: I made slight digital edits to make the background sky look more appealing.) Beautiful, isn't it?

Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Guardians (then known as the "Indians"), on August 7, 2012.

April 13, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Weekend visit to Washington

Jacqueline and I were in northern Virginia on February 21 (Saturday), and we thought it would be fun to drive into Washington, where many interesting things have been happening lately.

One of the interesting things is that President Trump's name or face now adorns multiple buildings in Washington. This composite image summarizes the most notable cases of this extraordinary egotistical excess:

TOP LEFT: Justice Dept. Building; TOP RIGHT: The United States Institute of Peace; BOTTOM: The Kennedy Center. (Feb. 21, 2026) Roll your mouse over the image to see a closeup of those buildings with the President's name or face.

I will leave for another day some kind of blog post about our (apparently) demented Chief Executive, and the woes that are now befalling our sadly misled nation thanks to his awful words and deeds.

Among the other sights we saw that bright and sunny afternoon were the Supreme Court building, the Russell Senate Office building, the Ronald Reagan Building / Internat Trade Center, the Albert Einstein statue, the Federal Reserve building (currently undergoing a major and rather controversial renovation), and the Washington Post building. That last structure is situated along the north side of Franklin Park, the existence of which I had somehow forgotten many years ago. I guess I never ventured into that part of D.C. very often when I worked in D.C.

To see some of the above photos in larger size, see the Chronological Photos, 2026 web gallery page, which is still "under construction." Here in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia we had another brief snow event on March 12, but it was just a dusting. The bizarre "ice blizzard" that we endured on January 27

April 15, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Birding in Virginia, September 2024

(This is another episode in my valiant efforts to get caught up with my blog posts about birding; the last such post was on February 22.) My first big bird outing of September was on the 6th, driving along the Blue Ridge Parkway. (Actually, Jacqueline drove.) The highlights were Black-throated Green Warblers (two different ones shown below), Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Northern Parula, Red-eyed Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, and Tennessee Warbler.

Blue Ridge Parkway, September 6.

Three days later (September 9), I joined an Augusta Bird Club bird walk along Bells Lane, where a variety of confusing fall warblers were present, along with both a Red-eyed and a Yellow-eyed Vireo. Finally, we also saw a Red-tailed Hawk and a Great Crested Flycatcher.

Bells Lane, September 9.

On September 14, I went birding at Augusta Springs for the first time in a while. Sure enough, I saw some nice migrating species, but the only warblers were at the very end, in the bushes along the north stretch of the boardwalk. Clockwise from top left: Ruby-throated Hummingbird, American Goldfinch*, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Tennessee Warbler, Least Flycatcher, Wood Thrush, Eastern Phoebe, and (in the center below) a probable Nashville Warbler. Also seen: Cedar Waxwings and Indigo Buntings.

Augusta Springs, September 14.

The very next day (a Sunday), we went hiking at Calf Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park. I came about several clusters of neotropical migrants, and the highlight was no doubt getting great closeup looks at Black-throated Blue Warblers. I think it was the first time I had seen this species all year. Nearby were Pine Warblers (bottom left), Red-eyed Vireos, an Eastern Wood Pewee (bottom center), and goodness knows what else. This was on the north side of the Little Calf Mountain. It was indeed quite a weekend of birding and healthy exercise!

Calf Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park, September 15.

During the latter half of the month, I made the usual trips to Bells Lane, as well as to Montgomery Hall Park and Ridgeview Park in Waynesboro. Nothing really spectacular on those occasions, however. Additional photos and montages, including individual photos of some of the birds in the above montages, can be seen on the Wild Birds chronological (2024) page.

April 16, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Birding in Virginia, October 2024

October 4: After going to the recycling center, I headed over to Montgomery Hall Park, and was not disappointed! There were multiple Magnolia Warblers (bottom left), American Redstarts, Northern Parulas (left), and Red-eyed Vireos as soon as I entered the woods around Yulee's Trail. Best of all, I saw my first Ruby-crowned Kinglet (top left) of the [fall season]* there! Later on I came upon some Swainson's Thrushes and several Northern Flickers, perhaps 7 or 8.

[UPDATE: But that's not all! Somehow I neglected to mention the most significant bird of that day: a Kirtland's Warbler, the very first one I have ever seen! Late in the afternoon I drove over to Coyner Springs Park in Waynesboro, after finding out about this incredible rare bird sighting. As soon as I arrived in the parking area I spotted several birders probing the bushes in obvious pursuit of something special. Before long someone saw it, and we carefully went back and forth in hopes of getting a better view. The light conditions weren't that good, but my photos were better than I had hoped for. Life bird!]

Montgomery Hall Park [and Coyner Springs Park, October 4, 2024. Roll your mouse over the composite image to see a larger image of the Kirtland's Warbler.]

October 5: I went hiking along the Shenandoah Mountain trail (on the border between Augusta and Highland Counties, 15 or so miles west of Staunton), about 3/4 mile south of Rt. 250 (near the Confederate Breastworks) and then back again. It was rather quiet most of the way, with a few Blue-headed Vireos and Eastern Phoebes, but not much else. During the return phase I saw a Hairy Woodpecker, a young Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a couple Red-breasted Nuthatches, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Dark-eyed Juncos, and a Cape May Warbler. The "winter" birds arrive earlier in the mou.

Shenandoah Mountain trail, October 5, 2024.

October 7: A walk along Bell's Lane in the morning yielded two warbler species (Yellow-rumped and American Redstarts), and probably a Common Yellowthroat, based on their loud "TSCHAT" calls. Also present were a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker**, assorted woodpeckers (such as the Downy here), and a Swainson's Thrush or two, as well as many of their American Robin and Eastern Bluebird relatives. Finally, I saw one or two Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and I think I heard a White-throated Sparrow. Most of the photos I took that day, and for the next two weeks or so, were only so-so.

October 11: I paid a brief visit to Bell's Lane late in the afternoon, and finally got a decent view of some White-throated Sparrows, confirming my first-of-season observation for this species. You can hear them all around, but they are still very shy -- perhaps getting used to their new surroundings. Other highlights included a couple Ruby-crowned Kinglets (chasing each other), some Tufted Titmice, Carolina Wrens, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker.

October 12: On Bell's Lane, I finally saw a Palm Warbler for the first time this fall, as well as a few Yellow-rumped Warblers. I was amused to see an Eastern Bluebird checking out the nest hole that had been made this past spring by a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and the previous occupant soon showed up as well! A couple Eastern Phoebes rounded out the brief outing.

October 13: Jacqueline and I hiked along the Appalachian Trail to the top of Bear Den Mountain in the Shenandoah National Park, beginning on the northern side at Beagle Gap. (Our last time there we approached from the south.) Bird highlights included a Field Sparrow, some newly-arrived White-throated Sparrows, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-breasted Nuthatches, Carolina Chickadees, and a noisy Common Raven. We also heard Eastern Towhees and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

October 15: I did my walk along Bell's Lane this morning before the temps got into the 90s, and I had some nice surprises. The White-eyed Vireos are still singing, and I also heard an Eastern Screech Owl repeatedly whinnying in the vicinity. Wow!! I was also surprised to see a Black-and-white Warbler as well as a Worm-eating Warbler, along with the "usual suspects": Eastern Towhees, Field Sparrows, Eastern Kingbirds (not shown), Indigo Buntings, and an Eastern Phoebe.

October 19: I saw my first (lowland) Dark-eyed Junco of the season out back on Friday (the 18th), but couldn't get a photo of it. Then on the trail upstream from Braley Pond yesterday, I must have seen 40 or 50 of them! Otherwise it was fairly quiet bird-wise: just a few Eastern Towhees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Black-capped Chickadees, a Hairy Woodpecker, and various sparrows, including a Swamp Sparrow.

October 25: After a busy week I found some time to visit Bell's Lane late this afternoon, and I was amply rewarded with a nice first-of-season view of a male Purple Finch. Just beautiful perched in the sunlight! There must have been 40 or more Cedar Waxwings in various places, along with tons of frantic American Robins, a few White-throated Sparrows, an Eastern Phoebe, a Red-bellied Woodpecker, and a distant American Kestrel. I also heard and barely glimpsed a Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

Bell's Lane, October 25.

October 26: I went to the Cowbane nature preserve in hopes of seeing one of the Orange-crowned Warblers found there recently. No luck in that regard, but I did see plenty of Palm Warblers! At least a dozen, and probably 15 or more. Other highlights included Eastern Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings (both numbering in double digits), as well as a Yellow-rumped Warbler, Red-bellied Woodpecker, a Red-tailed Hawk, and some Song Sparrows and Swamp Sparrows.

Additional photos -- both composites (montages) and individual photos, will soon become available on the Wild Birds chronological (2024) page.

April 17, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Nats manage a split in Pittsburgh

The Washington Nationals had some real momentum going after sweeping the Brewers in Milwaukee over the weekend, and it lasted for exactly one inning as they took on the division-leading Pirates in Pittsburgh on Monday. Cade Cavalli lost command of his pitches in the 2nd inning, and the Pirates capitalized on a bases-loaded situation by scoring 4 runs. He was replaced, and the damage was contained, but in the 5th inning Jackson Rutledge gave up 7 runs, and Brad Lord gave up 3 more. (Rutledge's ERA soared to 47.25 before being sent down to the minors.) Final score: 16-5. But the Nats bounced right back in Game 2, with 3 runs in the first inning and 2 more later, one of which came on C.J. Abrams' 6th (!) home run of the year. This time the bullpen held tight, and te Nats won, 6-5. Wednesday's game was a genuine pitchers' duel, and the Pirates won it, 2-0. Yesterday was one heck of a wild ride, with the Nats scoring 4 runs in the 5th inning and the Pirates quickly matching that. From there it was back and forth, and the the Nats were one strike away from winning it in the bottom of the 9th, but the Pirates tied it. In the top of the 10th inning a single by James Wood scored the "ghost runner" on 2nd base, and then the Pirates grounded into a double play to end it on a triumphant note. Nats 8, Pirates 7. Getting a 2-2 split against a 1st-place team was a nice accomplishment. The Nats are now tied with the Miami Marlins for 2nd place in the NL East, 3 games behind the Atlanta Braves.

Tonight the Nationals welcome the San Francisco Giants to Washington, with one of the new Nats' pitchers Zach Littell facing Logan Webb. And thanks to the recent broadcast rights deal between the Nationals and Gray Media, I'll be watching on our local WHSV TV station!

Minor league (AAA) affiliates

One of my long-standing projects has been to tabulate the minor league teams and stadiums at the next level below the majors, i.e., the AAA teams. There are 20 AAA teams in the International League and 10 AAA teams in the Pacific Coast League. Some of them seem questionable in my mind, however. Eventually I will create a brand new web page with a more elaborate (and accurate) version of the table below. As I took a preliminary look at the stadiums that the 30 minor league teams currently call home, it occurred to me that I have actually visited a few of them. In particular, I have seen (and photographed) Sahlen Field in Buffalo, Victory Field in Indianapolis, Goodmon Field in Durham, NC, and Louisville Slugger Field -- the latter this past January, in fact. In addition, while passing by (in car or train) I also caught brief glimpses of Harbor Park in Norfolk, VA and Southwest University Park in El Paso, TX.

RED borders indicates minor league affiliates that are "too far" from their major league counterparts, and BLUE borders indicate those that are "too close."
"IL" = International League; "PCL" = Pacific Coast League
SOURCE: The above information was derived from www.mlb.com, and the respective AAA pages linked therein.

To summarize, the Rochester Red Wings (WSH), Nashville Sounds (MIL), Indianapolis Indians (PIT), Oklahoma City Comets (LAD), El Paso Chihuahuas (SD), Durham Bulls (TB), Charlotte Knights (CWS), and Salt Lake Bees (LAA) are "too far" from their major league counterparts, in my humble opinion. Meanwhile, the Gwinnett, GA Stripers (ATL), Tacoma Rainiers (SEA), and Sugar Land Space Cowboys (HOU) are "too close" to their MLB counterparts. In the former case ("too far") the situation is sometimes almost unavoidable, given the lack of suitable alternatives. But there are some cases where a mutually-beneficial "trade" could be made:

• The Washington Nationals should adopt Richmond, whose team ("Flying Squirrels") would be upgraded to AAA status, leaving another team for possible "demotion."
• In that case, the Pittsburgh Pirates would get the Rochester Red Wings.
• In that case, the Milwaukee Brewers would get the Indianapolis Indians.
• In that case, the Atlanta Braves would get the Nashville Sounds, relegating the Gwinnett Stripers to AA status.
• Also, the Houston Astros should adopt the El Paso Chihuahuas, relegating the Sugar Land Space Cowboys to AA status.
• In that case, the San Diego Padres could adopt either Oakland (a dicey political situation) or Portland, Oregon as a new AAA franchise.
• In the former case (Oakland), the Seattle Mariners should adopt Portland, Oregon as another new AAA franchise, relegating the Tacoma Rainiers to AA status.

Those changes would substantially rectify the problem of AAA affiliates being either too far or too close from their MLB counterparts. It would be a complicated game of "musical chairs," for sure. As I strive to reach out with baseball fans after a rather pathetic lapse in communication spanning the last two or three years, I invite responses, either via email or comments on this blog post. (Let me know if the registration process isn't working.)

For the record, here is a complete list of all the Washington Nationals's minor league franchises:

• Triple-A: Rochester Red Wings
• Double-A: Harrisburg Senators
• High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks
• Single-A: Fredericksburg Nationals

And now, live and in living color, PLAY BALL!

[UPDATE: Well, this locally-televised game isn't much fun to watch, so far at least. The Giants scored 6 runs in the 2nd inning, and are ahead 8-3 in the middle of the 6th inning. I had meant to draw attention to an interesting factoid: As of yesterday, the Nationals led the major leagues both in total runs scored (107) as well as in total runs scored by the opposing team (117). Lots of excitement! Also, I made some corrections in the minor league "musical chairs" scenarios above.]

April 20, 2026 [LINK / comment]

Nats eke out a win back home

The Washington Nationals seem to have improved this year, at least as far as batting goes, but so far they just aren't winning as many games at home. After an uplifting 5-2 road trip through Milwaukee and Pittsburgh, they lost the first two games against the Giants in Nationals Park. On Friday night, Zach Littell gave up 6 runs in the 2nd inning, but he was allowed to pitch through the 4th inning, when he gave up 2 more. James Wood homered in the 7th inning, but it didn't affect the outcome. Giants 10, Nats 5. On Saturday, Wood hit hit his 6th of the year, and the Nats tacked on 4 more in the 2nd, but the Giants clawed their way back, and were on the verge of a win in the bottom of the 9th when Brady House hit an RBI single. Curtis Mead was thrown out at 3rd on that play because he didn't slide, for some reason. In the 10th inning the Nats loaded the bases with nobody out, and somehow failed to score. Two unforgivable miscues combined to allow the Giants to prevail 7-6 in 12 innings.

On Sunday, Miles Mikolas did not actually start the game in which he was supposedly the "starting" pitcher, for the third time this season. P.J. Poulin got through two outs in the first inning, and then Mikolas took the mound. Does he have some kind of jitters peculiar to starting pitchers? Be that as it may, he actually had a solid outing for the first time, getting through four full innings before Andrew Alvarez came in to relieve him. The Nats scored on a clutch RBI single by Keibert Ruiz in the 5th inning, followed immediately by a home run by Curtis Mead to make the score 3-0. (He thereby atoned for his "sin" of the previous day, some said.) Alvarez finished the final four innings, getting the win but not the save, which he would have if he had not been the winning pitcher. Overall, the Nats are now 8-5 on the road and 2-7 at home.

Tonight the Nationals welcome the first-place Atlanta Braves to town. The Nats are currently 5 games behind first place, so even if they somehow sweep the Braves in the four-game series, they will still be in second place.

Fenway Park, etc. page fixups

I did some "spring cleaning" with two of my baseball web pages: first, the Stadium statistics, which has updated seating capacity information, indicating the various cases where stadiums reduced their capacity in later years. (That is a growing trend these day, evident in Coors Field, Progressive Field, and elsewhere.) Second, Fenway Park has been reformatted and now includes some newer, bigger photos. In general, I am trying to make the overall format more consistent with other pages, and in the case of Fenway Park I added some larger-size photos. (I did likewise with Progressive Field a few days ago, and will keep up a steady pace on such revisions to other stadium pages in the months to come.) Another change worth mentioning: I am getting rid of the columns showing the "Overhang / shade %" because they are of relatively marginal use and based largely on crude "eyeballing" techniques.

Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox, during a tour on September 5, 2016.