August 7, 2005 [LINK]
Nationals get swept at home
When I saw the second-stringers in the starting lineup today, I knew that Frank Robinson was mad at his erstwhile star players. It's time to regroup -- again. The Nationals' lineup has been shuffled like a deck of cards this year, but Robinson normally leaves that decision up to his bench coach. No matter, the Padres shut out their hapless hosts at RFK Stadiium today, thereby going above .500 for the first time in at least two weeks. (And they're the division leader in the NL West!) According to MLB.com, "the Nationals are the first team in Major League history to win as many as 12 straight one-run games and lose as many as 12 [now 13!] consecutive one-run games." 
Thanks to David Eckstein's grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning, St. Louis beat Atlanta 5-3, so the Nationals didn't fall any further behind first place, though they now share second place with Florida.
New stadium progress
Last week Mayor Williams gave his consent to the tentative $246 million deal under which Deutschbank will finance construction of the new stadium in Southeast Washington. A special "ballpark zone" has been created in that area for planning and building permit purposes. Groundbreaking? We haven't even seen a solid design proposal yet. This project will take years and years to complete...