The First Sports Bar, Or: How I Learned To Stop Caring And Love Baseball Cards

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I’m 33 years old and I should be retired by now. As an impressionable and extremely lazy 11 year old, The Guy Behind The Case (official title) at the baseball card shop assured me this would be the case.

If everything had gone according to plan, I would have paid this months cable bill with a handful of Donruss ’89’s from that one factory set I still had laying around.

Instead? I’m pecking at keys, with boxes of Bobby Bonilla rookie cards in the darkest corner of my most unfrequented closet.

Looking Back: The Orioles Playoff Run To The ALCS

 

The Baltimore Orioles fantastic 2014 campaign catapulted them into the playoffs with the look of a team that could not be beat. Two sweeps later and the O’s are heading home, four wins short of their first AL Pennant since 1983. The loaded Tigers proved no match for The Birds, as Baltimore swept Detroit out of the ALDS by besting the past three AL Cy Young winners: Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander and David Price. However, the script would get flipped in the ALCS, as they were swept tonight by the unlikeliest of teams, the Kansas City Royals. This is the same Royals team that trailed 7-3 in the 8th inning of a win or go home Wild Card game versus the Oakland A’s (and playoff goliath Jon Lester). 

Looking Back: The Washington Nationals And The 2014 NLDS

96 wins and a 2nd NL East title in three seasons became a major after thought for Nats fans early Wednesday morning on the east coast, as a routine Wilson Ramos grounder resulted in the final out of the 2014 season. It was a grinding series that saw all four games won by the underdog (including the Nats stealing a momentum shifting win against San Francisco Giants ace Madison Bumgarner), the longest game in MLB playoff history clocking in at 6 hours and 23 minutes and a grand total of 18 runs scored over the equivalent of five games.

FSB In The Stands: NLDS Game 1, Giants vs Nationals

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Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images

 

SOUTHEAST DC —

Stand up.

Sit down.

Clap your hands madly.

Sit down with crossed arms.

Lose your mind with happiness.

Lose your mind with frustration.

 

The MLB playoffs are back in DC, and the Nationals delivered the home crowd every emotion they could have expected in October baseball, except the chesty satisfaction of a hard fought win. Instead, it was a long trudge for Nats fans down the concourses and out onto Half Street as the Giants grinded out a 3-2 win today. 

The Washington Nationals Went Streaking, Now What?

Last night, the Washington Nationals had an impressive 10 game win streak finally halted by the San Francisco Giants. What looked like another game destined for a dramatic finish became a lifeless rout, as the Giants lineup chased Doug Fister and feasted on lefty relievers Jerry Blevins and Ross Detwiler. San Francisco landed at Dulles Airport at 4am after a long and bizarre day at Wrigley Field, in which they finished a suspended game after winning a protest with MLB, and then played their regularly scheduled game with the Cubs later that night. On very little sleep, they coasted to a 10-3 win in Southeast DC.

First Place in Birdland: The Baltimore Orioles Hunt for a World Series

As this past February was drawing to a close, the Baltimore Orioles were in Sarasota preparing for Spring Training, their fan base was bickering over a disappointing off season, GM Dan Duquette was searching the leftovers of the free agent market and Nelson Cruz was sitting in the Dominican Republic, weighing his future.

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A cold, empty Camden Yards eagerly awaited what the 2014 season would bring.

Things sure have changed in Birdland, as the Orioles have the biggest division lead in baseball (7 games at this moment) and Nelson Cruz, the man without a home in February, is tied with Giancarlo Stanton and Jose Abreu for the league lead in home runs.

FSB Stadium Review: Marlins Park

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The grounds crew puts the finishing touches on the field before another night of baseball at Marlins Park. Photo: Matt Pluznick

The baseball diamond has long been a symbol of Americana. They are revered cathedrals of sport, each one different from the next. Turn of the century gems like The Polo Grounds in New York and Forbes Field in Pittsburgh are symbols of a different time in American sports. Men wore suits and fedoras to the ball park, while pitchers named Babe and Red threw eephus pitches to batters who would then slug them over fences that featured advertisements for Brylcreem.

MLB Trade Deadline: A Flurry of Activity

As the transactions mounted today, with the MLB trade deadline looming at 4pm, it was tough to tell if this was fantasy or reality. With a transaction page that reads like your average week in your work rotisserie league, big names were traded for major league ballplayers. This is a departure, for the typical swap of big names on losing teams for prospects out of a contenders farm system.

The Zimmerman Situation

Ryan Zimmerman has the bat that makes the Nats offense kick into high gear and the arm that can single-handedly sabotage a game.

He’s won two Silver Sluggers, a Gold Glove and been named an All Star. He’s missed 158 games since the start of the 2010 season, including 45 this year.

He’s a selfless teammate, who transitioned to LF for 26 games this season after never playing the position professionally. He’s also the reluctant 3rd baseman who may be trusted upon in crucial October moments at a position he seems ready to leave permanently

Bart Man and The Dice Man

Dice-K warms up in the Mets bullpen on May 18, 2014 at Nats Park. I observe and work on my tan/sunburn.
Dice-K warms up in the Mets bullpen on May 18, 2014 at Nats Park. I observe and work on my tan/sunburn. Photo: Taylor Adkins

Bartolo Colon retired the first 20 Mariners he faced yesterday at Safeco Field in Seattle. A no hitter or perfect game isn’t quite as noteworthy in the post steroid era as it used to be, with 22 no hitters between all of 2000-2009 and 15 from 2010-present. However, Bartolo Colon is a 41 year old man. He’s also probably not on a Gluten Free diet and probably does polish off two Presidente’s before he takes the hill. He also has a nearly 5 to 1 strikeout ration over 126.2 innings pitched and has only been knocked out of a game once before the 5th this season for the Mets.