April 6, 2008 [LINK / comment]
More Nationals Park tweaks
Anyone who bought today's Washington Post in 7-11s or certain other stores got a free glossy color poster of the first pitch thrown at Nationals Park on March 30. It is just like the poster of RFK Stadium they gave out after the first Nationals home game in April 2005. They will probably have more copies of the poster to go with next Sunday's paper as well. Based on it, and further scrutiny of other photos, I've made a few more corrections to the Nationals Park diagram. I just realized for the first time that the "bend" in the fence near the foul line is bigger and closer to the infield on the first base side than on the third base side. That is an element of asymmetry I had not appreciated before. Also, the huge baseball that was on top of the Red Porch restaurant just left of center field is no longer there. Weird.
Cards sweep Nats
The Nationals were shut out for the first time this year, losing the third and final game of their series in St. Louis. They got several hits, but just couldn't capitalize on any of them with a rally. After allowing a run in the [bottom] of the first, John Lannan settled down and pitched 6 2/3 superb innings, giving up only one more run. Even though the Nationals have fallen below .500 after an impressive three straight wins to start the season, let's keep things in perspective: Of their first seven games they played in the past three years, they had won three, two, and one game, in that order. They have every reason to expect to do much better this year than in 2006 or 2007, and should strive to beat their 81-81 record of their inaugural year in Washington, 2005.
Angry hawk in Boston
UDPATE: A Red-tailed hawk that had built its nest on the roof at Fenway Park attacked a girl who was taking a tour of the old ballpark, necessitating a trip to the hospital. The nest and the egg were later moved elsewhere. The incident reminds one of the Alfred Hitchcock horror movie The Birds. What could have prompted such bizarre aggressive behavior? Well, the girl's name is Alexa Rodriguez. See boston.com; hat tip to David Pinto. Believe it ... or not!!! Could this mean an alliance between Red-tailed hawks and the Red Sox?