Bang, zoom go the fireworks!

Saw my second Nats victory of the season last night, a game in which ¡Livan! pitched brilliantly and the offense took every opportunity to score. I am now 2 for 10 in games I have attended. Soriano hit another dinger, making this my third straight game for seeing him hit one out.

They released us from the captivity of the office yesterday at 3pm instead of the normal grueling 5pm, so I had a few hours to kill until game time. Choosing to have a couple of pints at Biddy Mulligan's on Dupont Circle, I witnessed a massive downpour at 4pm that left the seats at the stadium soaked. However, as quickly as the rain came, it stopped, and there was never any doubt that the game would be played. It ended up being a beautiful night, the first night you could go without a jacket the whole game. I bought the $7 cheap seats and moved to the $25 third base side, easy since I was one of only 22K+ who attended the game. Granted, it is Memorial Day weekend and a lot of the Suburbia who attend the games took off for Ocean City or Rehobeth (I wish I were at the beach, too), but you would think on a Friday night with the team on a hot streak there would have been more people. (Judging from the amount of time it took me to drive from my house to the cafe where I spend time on the weekends, there are plenty of people left in DC.)

The empty seats we chose to sit in were good ones, but we should have picked them two rows in front of us, for that is where a Nick Johnson foul ball ended its brief journey. Such a thrill it is to have a ball coming your way! First, there is the initial disbelief that it is actually heading towards you, then you get a rush of adrenaline. Your heart pounds, your muscles become tense, and you begin to prepare yourself to grab the ball. The beauty of the sphere sailing through the night towards you is apparent as the stitches become visible and you can see the words on the ball. You're not going to drop it. You're not going to drop it. You're not going to drop it! All but one of these moments in my life have ended in the same manner: disappointment. However, more than a decade ago, victory was mine as I snared a Joe Girardi ball while sitting in the green seats at Riverfront Stadium. Alas, such an outcome was not to be repeated last night, as the ball ended up in the glove of a ten year old kid.

The game's completion brought with it a four game win streak, which was snapped today on account of the Nationals having scored too many runs last night. They should have saved a couple for today.

I heart Ryan "Brooks" Zimmerman.

Oh yeah, one other thing. When your team is winning in the ninth inning and has two outs, you STAND UP AND CHEER until that final out is recorded. You don't just sit there.