April 22, 2005 [LINK]
E-6: Gro-o-an!
What's the worst way to lose a ball game? Nats shortstop Cristian Guzman found out the hard way on Thursday when Washington was one out from a "mini-sweep" (2-game) of the Braves, but then committed a throwing error that ended up losing the game, 2-1. I was angry at Guzman as I followed the game on MLB's Game Day (once again, the TBS-televised game was blacked out)* in our area, but I later saw that the field was so muddy that players could hardly keep their footing. That was why Marcus Giles didn't score from second on Johnny Estrada's single, which instead loaded the bases. Well, let's take heart. Starting pitcher John Patterson has been extremely impressive so far, having pitched at least 13 straight shutout innings. With an ERA of 0.86, he is currently fifth in the National League rankings (20 innings or more). Can we have some run support? The Nationals seem to have taken the disappointing loss well, at least. Reliever Chad Cordero took the blame for loading the bases in the ninth, and Guzman didn't use the mud to make excuses. But you know what? When it comes to baseball in Washington, even a gut-wrenching loss like this one is better than no game at all! I would hate to be in the Braves' shoes and win a game with zero RBIs: shame! Besides, the Nats are still tied for first place!
* Orioles get sued!
Comcast SportsNet has sued the Baltimore Orioles and their "Mid-Atlantic Sports Network" over what a Comcast executive called the [Peter] "Angelos tax," which was the price for getting broadcast rights to Washington Nationals games. As a result, there will be virtually no Nats games on cable TV in Virginia for the foreseeable future. See Washington Post. I could just S-C-R-E-A-M! Are the rest of the MLB owners aware of how much money they are losing by letting this issue drag on?