Below The Beltway

The Washington Nationals have become the 134th team to chalk up back-to-back 100+ loss seasons:
Two years in a row now, the Nationals have lost at least 100 games, redefining the old maxim regarding Washington’s place in war, peace and the baseball standings.
With their latest loss, a 7-6 defeat against the Dodgers Thursday night, the Nationals [...]

General Manager Jim Bowden steps down under a cloud:
VIERA, Fla., March 1 — Washington Nationals General Manager Jim Bowden resigned this morning, saying he felt he had become a distraction to the club.
The Nationals did not immediately name a successor or an interim GM.
“It is an emotional decision that saddens me, but one that I [...]

I’ve noted this summer that the Washington Nationals have the lowest television and radio ratings of any team in Major League Baseball, and some have attributed that to the Nationals’ admittedly abysmal record this season.
But, apparently, there’s more to it than just a teams record, because the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, this season’s surprise story [...]

In July, I noted that the Washington Nationals had the distinction of both the worst record in baseball and the lowest television ratings of any team in Major League Baseball.
Now, it appears that they’re dying on radio too:
The Washington Nationals, last in the National League East and closing fast on a 100-loss season, have attracted [...]

Much is being made of a report in yesterday’s Washington Post about the abysmally low ratings for Washington Nationals games on television:
 The Washington Nationals are drawing the smallest U.S. regional television audience in baseball this season, attracting less than one-third the average number of households of any other team, according to an analysis of Nielsen [...]

The Washington Nationals couldn’t have asked for a better way to open the new stadium:
No grass was ever greener than the Kentucky blue that spread out across the field at dazzling new Nationals Park last night. No popcorn ever smelled so delicious. No beer ever tasted so refreshing, no hot dog so juicy. The senses [...]

The Post’s Thomas Boswell has a great article today about the new Nationals’ ballpark:
Manager Manny Acta already has his favorite seat picked out. Not a fancy box seat or suite, but a lower-deck outfield perch just above the Nationals’ bullpen in right field with the game spread out before him like a panorama and the [...]

Last night, Kellie and I, along with friends attended the Nationals game against the Phillies, the last night game at RFK before the Nationals move to their new stadium next season.
It was fun to be there, but, to be honest, the game wasn’t that great at all. The teams were tied 1-1 when the bottom [...]