Shortly after 1:00pm on Monday, Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, emerged from the Nationals' firstbase-side dugout and walked into resplendent April sunshine. Sporting a red Nationals Jacket (one wonders how much kevlar was underneath) and the cap of his beloved Chicago White Sox, President Obama acknowledged cheers on his way to the mound. Mounting the mini-hill he waved some more, then kicked and threw...
The pitch flew high and wide left of the strike zone. Not great. But definitely not bad for a presidential first pitch. (A pregame montage of Presidential First Pitches revealed an unfortunate penchant among our nation's Chief Executive's to throw like 4- year-old girls. I'm looking at you Harry Truman!)
Unfortunately for the Nationals' fans in attendence, Mr Obama's wildness was an unfortunate sign of things to come for the home town team. By the time an 11-1 beating at the hands of the visiting Phillies was complete, Nats hurlers had walked nine Philadelphia hitters. To borrow from Edward Rooney, Dean of Students, "NINE Times!"
Why We Liked the First Inning
There is just something about throwing a runner out at home plate that makes fans happy. Especially when its for the 3rd out of the inning. I think it has something to do with turning a near tragedy (a run) into a great triumph (the end of the inning). With Jimmy Rollins on second, Ian Desmond muffed his first groundball of the season, throwing late to first base as Ryan Howard chugged from the batter's box. Rollins, sensing a chance to score, attempted to dash home. Alertly, Adam Dunn threw home, Ivan Rodriguez blocked the plate and neatly applied the tag. OUT. Inning Over.
Nyjer Morgan led off the bottom of the inning with an infield single. (I'll put the over/under on infield hits for him this year at 50) On the first pitch, he stole second. Then after Willie Harris whiffed, Ryan Zimmerman launched a line drive rocket into the right outfield. A double and an RBI. Thats why he got the Silver Slugger Award for last season.
Is There a Doc in the House?
The Nats never scored again. Even when they got men on base, somehow, Halladay's persona on the mound made it seem that scoring more runs was outside the realm of possibility. After The Nats imploded in the 4th inning, draining the 25,000 home team partisans of most of their energy, Halladay was unhittable. He still surrendered a few base runners. But Doc was in command. The Phillies have chosen wisely in adding him to their rotation.
The Nats never had a chance once the Phillies went up 5-1. Halladay saw to that.
A Stern Warning
Phillies Fans. Consider this your warning. The behavior of visiting Philly fans today was, well, what one expects to get when one attends a game IN PHILADELPHIA. These are the people who booed the Easter Bunny and cheered a broken neck. And yesterday, they took Nats Park by force. In the security lines outside the park, they were loud, drunk, and profane. Inside the park, they were loud, drunk, and profane. There seemed to be an unusually large number of them who sported Eminem-style facial hair, wore plenty of visible bling, and had enough poorly chosen ink on their bodies to make most tattoo artists cringe.
Basically, they made themselves at home. Thats just not ok. when you are a guest in another park, be my guest, cheer your lungs out for your team. Thats excellent fan behavior. But, as a guest, you don't get to shout "SUCKS" after every home team player's name is announced, you don't get to boo player introductions, and certainly, absolutely, you do not get to boo the home team's star during pre-game award ceremonies.
This is your Yellow Card Philadelphia. Another serious infraction, and, you'll get worse than a Red Card. You'll get classified as the same species as Red Sox Fans.
I mean it. You'll be Pink Hats.
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