Blog post

August 11, 2006 [LINK]

Nats bullpen crumbles again

When the Nats got four runs in the seventh inning last night, I thought it was a sign they were determined to prevail and at least take two of three games from the Marlins. Well, it didn't turn out that way. Once again, the bullpen fell apart under the stress, giving up five runs in the last three innings, and Florida won, 9-6. I know the Washington team is "rebuilding for the long term," but can't they afford at least a few reliable relief pitchers in the mean time? What a contrast from the first half of last year, when the bullpen was the Nationals' strongest spot! Who wold have thought the one game the Nats did win in that series was the one in which Dontrelle Willis was pitching? The Nats welcome the high-flying New York Mets to RFK Stadium this weekend, and the best they can probably hope for is to avoid a sweep.

Twins lose Liriano

For any team in a division with two teams over .600 winning percentage, any hopes of making it to the postseason would seem far fetched. That was the situation the Twins were in as of a month ago, but it didn't stop them from fighting hard and pulling to within one game of the slumping White Sox in the AL Central. The Twins earned a reputation as true-grit underdogs in the last few years, proving they deserved a new stadium. That is why the loss of their rookie All Star pitcher Francisco Liriano for the rest of the season is so tragic. See MLB.com.

Seals Stadium update

For want of time (as always), I decided to redo the easiest one of the stadium diagrams on my "to-do" list, and that was Seals Stadium, temporary home of the Giants in 1958-1959. Aside from the reorientation to conform to the new standard, there are a few minor corrections.

The mail bag

Chris Kassulke informed me that the minor league Atlanta Crackers played their games at Atlanta Stadium in 1965, one year before the Braves and Falcons moved in. Duly noted!