Just our luck, they’d WIN the next three and the CUBS would look hapless…

so I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on what you see in that area once you get the full “Nats” ballpark experience…

How’s the Nats right fielder look?!

I went to the game as part of a friend’s company party, replacing her husband, who’s had family health issues. (Her company is Lou and Kosuke’s representation…hence why they picked the evening.) We sat far higher than we ever have in the stadium before.

Her comment of the night to me, when gazing across at all the empty seats: ’Where are all of your people?"

I’ll be to the yard in time for BP this evening, however.

Just finished watching the highlights of Harden’s outing . . . wow did his stuff look nasty last night. His fastball seemed to have a lot more zip on it than it has in his last few starts. I supposed that is what a few extra days off will do for you.

glad to see there’s still some life left . (Now I’ve gone and used up my cliche quota for the day!)

Makes me wonder what they aren’t telling us

Harden had allowed 11 runs in his last two starts, causing concern about his lack of consistency. But pitching on the road and at night seemed to help.

“There are reasons for it,” Piniella said. "I’m not going to specifically talk about it, but if we can get him as much as we can on the road, you’ll see good performances.

Al, perhaps you know this, but the park was designed by shopping mall developers. The Lerners own several malls in the DC region and that his how they see this facility. A entertainment experience for their upscale mall clientele.

It does make for a strange ballpark experience.

We already know he doesn’t fare well in those situations and it seems like he’s logging un-needed innings. I agree with Al, He had more than enough time to get someone else ready to pitch the 9th. Other than that nice start to the 2nd half!

and he will possibly carry this team for a good while. He’s getting very little help from this lineup now. I hope that Aram regains his stroke soon. The Cubs have a lot of winnable games coming up and they could salvage the season in the next couple of weeks.

I just got an e-mail saying it’s isolated to Safari and that they are “working on it.” So if you’re suffering through this, you’re not alone.

Actually his first off the bench. Can he please F(&^%%ing get ANOTHER start in place of
any of our subpar outfielders ? Yes I know small sample size so far but impressive so how bout letting him start two game in a row ? Johnson was OK last night but not good for leadoff. I think he saw two pitches in the first inning.

…is still in the Majors?? My God!!

it’s great to hear Dempster is healing quicker than thought. Sounds like he’ll be back sooner, rather than later.

1. Pirates Approach Jack Wilson and Freddy Sanchez About Contract Extensions

2. Did Selig Dictate All-Star Pitching Schedule?

of course it is fitting that the one time the cubs are in town i am in chicago to see DMB…. Al i know where the SBN headquareters are as a recccomendation you should try the retaurant next to it Indebleu on 707 G st. NW also try Bobby Vans Grill on 1201 NY ave… That goes for anyone who is in town..

go cubs

Cubs ‘W’ flag set on fire outside Naperville home
Tribune staff report
    July 17, 2009
A white flag with a blue “W,” normally flown when the Cubs win, was set on fire last week outside a home in the 700 block of West Bauer Road, Naperville police said.
The owner reported the incident at 8:30 a.m. July 7, but believes it may have happened around 9 p.m. July 6 because a neighbor told him he smelled smoke then, police said.
The owner told police some teenagers driving by earlier in the day made a derogatory comment about the Cubs. There are no suspects.

was my first Cub game (in person I mean) in about 3 years. Had a great time. It was also my first trip to Nationals Park which, as Al mentioned, seemed nice enough but very generic. While the giant video screen is nice, I actually found all the information up there a bit difficult to decipher at times, though maybe that was just me. The area surrounding the stadium is a bit bizarre as well. It strikes me that they’re really trying to develop a stadium environment from the ground up. So it was essentially a large construction zone with new, empty buildings and not much else.

Inside the park, the crowd (at least where I was sitting—second deck behind Milton—seemed like lots of young people more devoted to their beers than to understanding what was happening on the field. Of course, if I were a nationals fan, I might hide in my beer as well). People were pleasant enough, aside from my friends who came with me and were cheering against the Cubs to spite me. :)

On my trip to/from the park I really got a kick of being on the metro, surrounded by Cubs jerseys. Coming from Oregon, it’s not an experience I’ve ever really had. My only regret was that I didn’t have the chance to don my own Cubs gear and instead had to suffer through the heat in a stifling business suit.

Perhaps the only real downside to my night was that because my two friends aren’t Cub fans or particularly baseball aficionados, we ended up arriving late and (I’m ashamed to say) leaving early. I plan on rectifying that however by going to game tomorrow or Sunday and buying a more expensive ticket so I can watch a baseball game up close for the first time. I’ll probably end up having to go by myself, but I’m excited nonetheless.

Anyway, I’m still thrilled that I got to see the boys in blue in person again. Looking forward to the rest of the series!

:)

…does anyone know when he’s due for a new contract?

I’d personally like it if the Cubs signed him to a 2 or 3 year deal when his current contract is up.

due a new contract after this season?

TwitterMeyer says his finger is still bothering him from his “baserunning gaffe”. What a silly thing for him to do. Now he went and injured himself.