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2017 Washington Nationals: Wash, Rinse, Repeat

@DCGoldPants

By @DCGoldPants
in The Tailgate

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Mr. Sinister

Mr. Sinister

Posted
Posted
20 hours ago, Warhead36 said:

Taylor always crushes spring training, but there is a chance the lightbulb has finally turned on for him. He's always had the pure physical talent.

 

Wonder if getting sent back down to Syracuse calmed him down a bit and got him back to basics.

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Dan T.

Dan T.

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So I just got back from West Palm Beach (actually we stayed in Lake Worth) and wanted to share a couple of thoughts on the new facility.

 

The practice fields offer pretty much the same level of access as at Viera.  There are six fields, and you can walk right up to the fences of any of them to watch what's going on, close enough to hear the chatter.  One morning we came upon all the starting pitchers (and a few relievers) taking batting practice.  Or more specifically, bunting practice, and fake bunting/slap hit practice, followed by full swing.  We learned that Max Sherzer is always competitive - though he sat out the drill, presumably because of the knuckle, he talked the coach into splitting the group into teams and making it a competition.  Then he declared himself umpire, positioned himself behind the cage, and announced whether batted balls would have been hits or outs.  We also learned that Gio Gonzales is a funny, chatty guy.  Rounding third for home, he declared "Jeez I shouldn't have eaten that whole omelet this morning." Lots of back and forth banter between the two "teams."  Koda Glover game up, swung like he wanted to hit the ball to Cocoa Beach, and whiffed.  Lots of hooting and catcalls.  Max said "Hey Koda, we don't need your power.  Hit for contact." 

 

Players were very accommodating with fans. Max and others signed stuff for a good 10 minutes before scooting off to the locker rooms.

 

The team does share the facility with the Houston Astros, but the place is so vast you could enter and park on the Nats side and barely know the Astros are there.

 

The stadium itself... the name -The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches - sounds a bit pretentious to me, but it's a wonderful place to see a baseball game. An open, wide concourse circles the whole field.  You can take a lap around the stadium concourse and never take your eyes off the game.  Sight lines are good anywhere you sit.  We saw three games, and sat down the first base line, down the third base line, and behind home plate.  Down the third base line you can step down off the concourse onto a small plaza with picnic tables and a grassy play area.  All along the outfield are nicely manicured grassy berms to spread out and watch the game. A good section of the seats are shielded from the sun in the late innings.

 

Both bullpens are in the outfield - Nats' in right - and you can look straight down into them from the concourse above.  I was directly above Gio watching him warm up before his start.

 

Concessions were a bit disappointing.  There was little variety beyond dogs, brats, burgers, and chicken tenders, regardless of what stand you went to. They promise more variety in the future, the basic menu was a function of the rush to be operational in time for the spring schedule.  (The brat was NOT good.)

 

Beer selection holds promise* but when we were there it was just okay.  Beyond the usual Buds/Coors/etc., Shiner Bock was available on tap in honor of the Astros.  Also, local craft brewery Due South Brewing (Boyton Beach) had two beers on tap, both excellent... "Caramel Cream Ale," brewed with vanilla beans, "Category 3 India Pale Ale." 

 

*Down the left field line is a bar directly on the concourse, with good sight lines, that is supposed to have 20 some taps.  Alas, it was not yet open.  (One problem I foresee that they might need to adjust - they used a black granite for the actual bartop - and that **** gets nuclear hot in the midday sun.  I walked up to the bar to see what's what, put both hands on the bar to lean over for a look, and just about baked off my palm prints.)

 

Access in and out was pretty easy.  If you want to walk through/visit Nats practice area, enter from Military Trail for parking.  If you don't care about practice, the Haverhill Road entrance takes you closer to the stadium's main entrance.

 

 

 

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RemoveSnyder

RemoveSnyder

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Interesting quote from Buck Martinez doing the play by play for the Japan games:

Quote

Former MLB manager Buck Martinez compared Tsutsugoh to former MLB power hitter Jim Thome. "They are both left handed hitters, with similar batting stances and can hit for power to all fields."

 

 

The fan chants in Japan are awesomely inspiring. 

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Riggo#44

Riggo#44

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Couple of Nats Notes from Dave Cameron in his chat at FanGraphs today:

 

Tracy: Which will happen first: Giolito fixes his fastball or Giolito starts throwing his curve for strikes?

Dave Cameron: I’ll take Door #3: people realize the Nationals weren’t crazy for trading him for Adam Eaton.

 

JKD: Koda Glover keeps getting talked up as having future-closer stuff, and has been lights-out so far this spring, just as he was last year before getting hurt. What’s the smart play here developmentally – just give him the job and let him work through bumps in the road, or give it to one of the several 8th-inning-capable guys on the roster (Kelley, Blanton, Treinen) and make him *take* it?

Dave Cameron: I’d give it to Kelley. If Glover is crushing everyone in May or June and you’re still concerned about Kelley’s workload, you can make the switch then.

 

A Mets one he got wrong. The correct answer in Max and Stras:

 

Matt: With Jake DeGrom back into the mid-90s, is there a better 1-2 punch than him and Syndergaard?

Dave Cameron: Kershaw/Hill. Kershaw is just so much better than everyone else.

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Riggo#44

Riggo#44

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5 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

I'd be okay with Kelley closing and Glover taking the 8th inning spot. Then if Kelley struggles and Glover is killing it in the 8th, we can do a switcharoo.

 

I'll tell ya, maybe I'm getting overly excited by pre-season baseball, but Enny Romero is exciting.

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Dan T.

Dan T.

Posted
Posted
18 hours ago, skinfan2k said:

any other suggestions for Nats spring training??  I'm headed there next week

 

Do go early and hang out at the practice fields to see the players up close and personal.  I talked a little bit with Clint Robinson and Jose Lobaton, and watched Max Sherzer up close interact with a scrum looking for autographs.  Watching the drills is kind of cool too.  You hear the coaches coach, the players chatter and they all joke around.  Bathrooms on the practice field weren't yet open but you could go at the stadium just up the hill.

 

If you haven't bought tickets yet, general admission tickets are 15 bucks and get you onto the grassy berms in the outfield, and honestly you get a great view from there.   You could probably move into seats later in the game - all three games we went to had some empty seats in the last sections down the outfield lines. Also, if you get there real early, a local patio supply store has set up a little section on the concourse under the shade of the scoreboard with lounge chairs that literally are the best seats in the house.  First come first served.

 

There were also lots of tickets for sale outside the gates.

 

The two main concession stands are H-Town (named for the Houston Astros) behind the plate on the third base line, serving Shiner Beer, and Capital Grille (for the Nats) behind the plate on third base line.  They serve the previously mention Due South brews.  As I said, not much variety in the concessions.  They do have a funnel cake stand. Don't get the brats.

 

After the game we went to Clematis Street in West Palm.  We ate at a place called GREASE Burger Bar on Clematis Street at the suggestion of Nats Insider Mark Zuckerman.  He was right.  Excellent burgers (not greasy despite the name) and a really good beer selection. Duffy's Sports Bar just up the street from GREASE Burger was a good place for NCAA viewing - lots of TVs, and the manager was real good about switching channels for us. Limited beer selection though. Across from Duffy's was another place Zuckerman recommended called Rocco's Tacos and Tequila Bar. Looked good but we didn't get there. At the end of Clematis there's a park on the water with a stage that had a free concert going on. Just behind the stage they were setting up a huge - I mean gigantic - tent for a boat show that might still be going on when you're there.

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Warhead36

Warhead36

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53 minutes ago, Riggo#44 said:

Interesting conundrum, what's the best lineup construction: https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nationals/nationals-are-loaded-with-offense-but-every-bat-needs-to-find-its-right-place/2017/03/15/93f26394-09a8-11e7-a15f-a58d4a988474_story.html?utm_term=.fd9df7c530b2#comments

I don't know if the offense is "loaded." Zimm has been cold this spring, Werth is a year older, and we're not gonna get anywhere near as much production from the C spot as we did last year. 1-5 is quite good but those bottom of the inning ABs could be painful...

 

This is the lineup I like...

 

1. Turner

2. Eaton

3. Rendon

4. Harper

5. Murphy

6. Werth

7. Zimmerman

8. Wieters

 

If Werth hits really well we could swap him with Murph for really good lefty righty balance, although Murph hits lefties well so its not a huge issue.

 

You could have Murphy hit 2nd but Eaton is a little more of a base stealing threat and I like speed at the top. Actually the really funky lineup would be Harper hitting 2nd but you want that power in the middle to drive in runs.

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