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Monday March 8, 2010 I got here at about 8:30 this morning for a 1:05 pm start, mostly to claim a seat in the press box. It turns out I'm sitting next to Craig Heist - the in-game reporter for Washington's all-news radio station, WTOP and a four-year mentor and friend.
It is good to see the real writers and reporters many of whom are down here for the full six-weeks of spring training. I am only here for a week so I get partial credit, unlike a bunch of writers who are coming in to Viera tonight to watch Stephen Strasburg pitch tomorrow.
He will probably not go more than two innings, if he has a good outing that means he will throw maybe two dozen pitches, but that's what happens when you have the most talked-about rookie on your roster.
When I checked into the Hampton Inn in Melbourne on Sunday, I asked if an upgrade was available as befits my exalted status with Hilton Hotels. The upgrade is on an "as available" basis, but I've learned that if you don't ask for it, it's never available. The woman said that they were sold out for Monday night, so all she had was a standard room. I asked what was going on Monday night in Melbourne, Florida that would cause the Hampton Inn to sell out. She said she had been wondering that herself.
I realized it was not Monday night but Tuesday afternoon - Strasburg is pitching - that sold out the Hampton Inn.
George Will is here today and we walked in to the stadium together this morning. I told him that story and he said "No wonder there are no rooms nearby. I'm staying in Orlando."
When I got here this morning, I wound my way toward (and talked my way into) the press parking area, then to the press check-in, then to Bill Gluvna's office. Bill is the coordinator of baseball media relations, so he's the go-to guy for me. I asked where he wanted me to sit. He told me, and I set up shop with my laptop, cell phone, sunglasses, and coffee.
About three weeks ago the Nationals signed pitcher Chien-Ming Wang who had been with the Yankees for the previous five seasons. Wang is from Taiwan (can I type that without drawing a protest from the Chinese?) and has 40 - count 'em - 40 credentialed media following his every move.
I asked, as a rhetorical question in the press box, whether that meant we would see fried wontons, egg rolls, and kung pao chicken on the buffet bar at Nationals Stadium but I think that sounded funnier in my head than it did when it came out of my mouth as no one responded. Not even the Chinese media.
Wang has been injured and has been re-habbing in Arizona so today was his first appearance in Florida. When he came out of the dugout this morning just to walk onto the field, it looked like the scrum waiting for Sandra Bullock on the red carpet at the Oscars last night.
She had a better dress.
Shortly before the game started a woman came up to the press box and asked if the game were going to be on radio locally. Heist told her it was on the radio in Washington, but not here in Florida. I asked her why she wanted to listen to the game on radio when she appeared to be at the game in person.
She said she liked to listen.
It's the media age. It's only real if it's on radio, TV, or the Internet.
Actually being there doesn't count.
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The Nationals have not gotten off to a blazing start this spring. In fact they had lost their first five games. They lost again, this time to the Florida Marlins by a score of 11-2. They got their two runs on solo homers by Josh Willingham and Ryan Zimmerman. The Marlins got their 11 runs all sorts of ways, but got the first three in the top of 1st inning on a three run homerun off starter Scott Olson.
Nationals pitchers have now given up 67 runs in six games. In the highly technical language of Major League Baseball this is known as really, really, bad.
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More tomorrow.
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