Another Loss

The pain just keeps coming. Day after day the Nationals continue to botch their chances. Yesterday seemed different. In the bottom of the eighth inning, somehow the Nationals managed to load up the bases with two outs. Felipe Lopez up. He's been in a slump lately; isn't this the perfect time for him to break out of it? A hard hit to right center - this should score someone! But the right fielder was shading towards center and made the easy out. The rally was done and the Nationals, hoping for a curly W, instead managed to get "curly L" number 40. Another new pitcher, this time another one who was immediately sent down to the minors. The future is bright though and with a bit of refining I feel confident that one day these new pitchers can take over. When Perez and Redding are finished, maybe Mock and Clippard can take over and do a good job. 

Lastings Milledge continues to swing a hot bat, and so does Elijah Dukes. In fact, Milledge hit a home run the other day. The rest of the offense is struggling. But, we've heard good news in the past week or so. Chad Cordero is throwing again. Ronnie Belliard was called up from the minors - hopefully to sit Lopez down on the bench. Zimmerman was evaluated yesterday and Kearns says he has never felt better. Lo Duca was throwing the other day, but with Flores playing so well, who knows where he will end up? When you have eight players on the DL, it is tough to win. Maybe Belliard will provide that spark in the dugout that this team needs to get on track.

Another thing I want to bring up is my earlier prediction of 85 wins for the Nats this season. I originally thought that these guys would come out with a strong offense. But again, I must say, EIGHT players (FIVE of which were starters) on the disabled list is a tough thing to swallow. I do believe this team will get better when these players return from the DL. When they return is another question. Tonight maybe we can turn over a new leaf for this team. It enters a nine-game road trip, with series against the Pirates, Mariners, and Twins. If the Nationals can scrape a winning record on this trip, that would be huge momentum for the return home.

One last comment I have is about attendance at the ballpark, which has been really good. The average attendance at Nationals Park has OUTPACED THE FIRST PLACE DIAMONDBACKS. The team enjoyed an attendance of over 30,000 fans again yesterday even with the triple digit heat overwhelming the area. So, Mr. Peter Angelos, what was that about no Nationals fans? Have you gotten your ass on the Green Line by the ballpark before game time? Because believe me, those people on the Metro aren't just riding to work. They're going to see the best baseball team Washington has to offer.

Back on the Running Trail

First day back running. Started at 9 am or shortly after and got in 2.4 miles. Tomorrow at 8 am I run again and we'll see how day two goes. Quick post I know but I have to get to bed.

The Notorious Nats

Something is wrong with the Nationals. Something has been wrong from day one, and it continues until today. It's called a lack of run support, and it's been turning regular average everyday pitchers on opposing teams into all stars. Something's gotta change, and I know what. Let's see if the organization decides to do it. You'll see what I mean if or when it happens.

Another Excellent Story... Again!

Time and time again, swimmers on this swim team continue to step up and perform past their level. A young five year old swimmer, known for holding onto walls and sometimes not listening, completed his first full lap of freestyle yesterday. After that, he never touched the wall except for at the end of the pool until the end of practice. A huge step that he made yesterday that he may not have known was so huge. High fives all around and yet another sign that the next generation of swimmers is READY AND WILLING to accept the torch. They are ready to go ahead when a huge class of swimmers graduates at the end of this summer. More new rookie swimmers continue to come to the team too in the middle age group which is an even better sign. A huge shout-out from the younger group that they too are competent swimmers. If this great progress continues - could this be the sign of things to come in the future?

Also, a very exciting yet unnerving note about the weather the other day. They are investigating the possible tornado in Huntington (which is not far from me at all). More tornadoes have been mentioned in the investigation of this recent June 4th outbreak. An outbreak that does not surprise me after recent readings. Especially that Mike Tidwell book. It was very scary experiencing something like that. Seeing the VERY LOW dark clouds rushing overhead with a green backdrop. Then noticing that the sky was indeed spinning. Running into the back room with the power flickering after the storm hit. A very disturbing couple of minutes that I hope are not repeated, but I will not be surprised if they are. Excessive heat watch for the weekend and Monday. Heat wave #1, here we come! Will we scrape the 100 degree mark?

TORNADO WATCH (447, 454)

AS OF 8:00 PM, the Tornado Watch has been extended until 1 AM. Stay tuned.

BREAKING NEWS (5:00 PM): There has been a storm report of a possible tornado in the Huntington neighborhood of Fairfax County and also in Falls Church City. Stay tuned.

Tornado Watch until 8:00 this evening. Follow along with some of the maps below. Each image can be clicked to make it larger. Refresh for latest update.

Alert Map Key
RED	Tornado WARNING
ORANGE	Severe T'str WARNING
YELLOW	Tornado Watch
LIME	Flood Warning

^ Radar map of DC area.

Another Swim Team Story that the Nationals Could Use

I can't stop raving about the swim team I help coach and how certain individuals continue to take the time to step up even when they don't have to. Time and time again, these people continue to impress me. At the oldest age group practice today, we had one swimmer show up. Just one. In the face of the bad weather, she took the time to drive to the pool and get in the water. Selflessly caring for her performance and the performance of the team. So when she showed up and fifteen minutes into the practice, I knew that this would be a sign of dedication. Pushing through knee pain and practicing breastroke and constantly coming into the wall out of breath. Showing that she wants to improve herself and that she wants to help the team. Something maybe Our Washington Nationals can take back to the ballyard. Someone step up and show that dedication. Work for yourself and work for your team.

Coming Out of Your Shell

Today, at swim practice, we had a great moment. Great moments like these and great performances like these help define who we are as humans. I am talking about the brilliant phenomenon that happened at practice with a 6 year old girl who had never swam backstroke before. Didn't know very much about how to float on her back AT ALL. However, I worked with her through practice, using a handy tip from the head coach, and she was swimming FULL STROKE backstroke by the end of practice. It is performances like these that feature young athletes COMING INTO THEIR OWN that really make us happy about ourselves.

This story could be used to inspire some backup Washington Nationals players that are getting their chances to shine. Eight players now on the DL. Nick Johnson. Ronnie Belliard. Ryan Zimmerman. Paul Lo Duca. Johnny Estrada. Austin Kearns. Chad Cordero. Ryan Wagner. Maybe their backups should hear about a young 6 year old who never knew how to float on her back but learned backstroke in about FORTY minutes. These young Nationals also need to learn how to float. Maybe they can also inspire others to do phenomenal feats.