Washington-Nationals

There’s such a thing as being too into a player, I think… Broke the seal on baseball season this week by attending my first game. Marlins at Nats. Of course Miami lost, but it’s the experience that makes it all feel right. Movies Looper - Best line: “I don’t want to talk about time travel shit. Because if we talk about it, then we’re gonna be here all day, drawing diagrams with straws.” What a brilliantly done movie. Just such a tightly constructed plot. Lots of fun. I really dug it. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Unrelated shot of the beautiful Red Rock Canyon”] [/caption] It was a nice, lazy, fun weekend full of baseball, movies, and video games. Who could complain? Movies The Cabin in the Woods - If you think for a second you want to see this movie, you probably shouldn’t read anything about it. Those of you who don’t, well I thought it was an interesting deconstruction of the horror genre that was expertly written by Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon, but perhaps a little too elbow nudge-y, wink wink to be taken completely seriously. Still worth seeing. Lots of fun. ...

I don’t think it’s possible for you all to understand how pumped I am for baseball to come back this year. It’s been a long, hard offseason, but spring training is off the ground and I’m super pumped. Movies Higher Ground - Vera Farmiga (and her sister Taissa) stars in this intelligent movie about a woman constantly seeking religion, but unable to arrive at the faith and two-way relationship she so desperately craves. It’s beautiful and slow and it’s fantastic work by Farmiga. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Not the same at bat as last night, but you get the idea (Picture courtesy DJOtaku)”] [/caption] What an amazing night! Wow, that was fantastic! I was just on the edge of my seat all last night… My evening began with the final Marlins game of the year against the Nats. It was the end of an era, really. The Florida Marlins are technically no more (they’re officially no more on 11 November) and I wish they closed out Joe Robbie Stadium with a bang, but instead they went out with a whimper. That happens when you face Stephen Strasburg, I guess. Still, listening to Mike Lowell reminisce about the old team and ballpark and just seeing it all finally come to an end is kind of heartbreaking. I hope that the new name reinvigorates Miami like it did for Tampa. I also really hope the “leaked logos” are not the official logos. We’ll see come November. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“Time to check out my prediction score”] [/caption] Another season is now behind us and the playoffs begin this afternoon at 1330 EST in Tampa Bay. How did I do in my projections? Who do I predict for the World Series? Let’s check it out! ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“This is actually dangerous. Pies to the face are not.”] [/caption] So last night I went to Nationals Park explicitly to see Strasburg face off against Heyward and the Braves. Mere minutes before his start, they announce that Miguel Batista will make the start instead. This is as thousands of fans were still flowing into the park being duped into thinking the tickets they were buying were still for Strasburg. In this case, it wasn’t a injury whose genesis was stupid, just shoulder inflammation that Strasburg also battled when he pitched for San Diego State, but it was still a huge bummer. ...

We’ve hit the point of the season where teams are starting to know whether or not they’re gonna make it. Teams like the Marlins, Nationals, and Mariners have to realize by now that the playoffs aren’t in their futures, but other teams, like the Rangers and Padres are realizing that they’re in this thing. ...

It’s All-Star game time again! This year the game is being played in sunny Southern California, down in Anaheim. Thanks to the peculiarities of baseball scheduling and the east coast focus of television, the game is actually being started in daylight hours, 1700 PST. The liveblogging experience of the year is about to begin yet again! Expect updates throughout the evening and night. Time: 1944 My cable woes are keeping me from watching the MLB Network this year (I hate you Comcast!), so instead I’m watching ESPN’s coverage, which has been somewhat interrupted with news about George Steinbrenner’s death by massive heart attack. It’s an odd thing to not have him around the Yankees anymore, even if he hasn’t really running things for two or three years. Despite my dislike for the Yankees, he will be missed as a figure in baseball. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“It’s from the Baltimore series, but there was no way I could make it to Puerto Rico for this one. “] [/caption] Leo Nuñez likes giving everyone near heart attacks. He blew the save last night, but Florida still managed a win thanks to Dan Uggla. 29 June (David’s Birthday!) NPB Yomiuri Giants (12) at Hiroshima Carp (9). Six Giants homered (Ramirez homered three times) to put the Giants way ahead of Hiroshima who managed quite an offense themselves. An ugly game that puts them at 27-40-2. At this rate Yakult might pass them. ...

[caption id="" align=“aligncenter” width=“500” caption=“He’s kind of a big kid.”] [/caption] The Marlins went down to Puerto Rico to play a series against the Mets and build baseball interest in the Caribbean. Almost everyone else took the day off. 28 June NPB No games ...