It's not over until it's over...or is it?

June 23, 2011: Attended the last game of the Mariners vs. Nationals series, a game that the Nats came into with a cool .500 record. Here was their chance to break into a winning record, something they have not done since 2005.

The game went into the 9th tied at 0. Laynce Nix pinched hit for Pitcher Tyler Clippard and hit a sacrifice fly to left field scoring Jerry Hairston, Jr. The Nats won 1-0, swept the Mariners, won their 11th game out of their last 12, and moved into 1 game above .500.

But today's celebration was cut extremely short when Nationals’ Manager, Jim Riggleman, announced he was resigning immediately. It is always sad to see a successful manager resign, especially after a big win, but this may be a blessing in disguise.

The Nationals have regained their ability to play hard for an entire game and this fighting spirit will continue to serve them well. And with Riggleman's poisonous displeasure with his contract situation removed from the clubhouse, I predict they will make it into the 2011 playoffs. The Nationals have solid coaching and although bench coach John McLaren has been named the interim manager, a solid leader like their 3rd Base Coach, Bo Porter, who has been recently mentioned as a skipper for the Marlins, would clearly be a top choice to step into the Nationals’ Manager position.

At the end, hopefully neither Porter nor Riggleman end up with the Marlins at the start of the 2012 season when they debut their new ballpark.

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Sofia dials up two wins for the Nationals

March 28, 2010 - The Nationals have had a tough time getting wins during this 2010 Spring Training; prior to March 20, 2010 their record was 3-13. We went to the Nationals play two games, and I don’t know what it was, maybe Sofia’s call, but they won both games.

On Sunday, March 21, 2010, we went to Jupiter, Florida to visit the Roger Dean Stadium, home of the Florida Marlins who hosted the Washington Nationals. We were torn on whom to root for since we are originally from South Florida but now the Nationals are our home team.

The Nationals came into this game ready to win! One of our favorite former Marlins and now Nationals, Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez, was in the line-up. First Baseman, Chris Duncan, who since this game has been cut, started the game with a solid double that put the Nats on the board first. The 6^th inning was hot, and both the Nats and the Marlins went on a tear scoring four (4) runs each. Although the Nationals escaped the inning still in the lead, 7-6, the old Nats started to appear, as they seemed to lose focus on the game. Luckily, at the end, the Nationals, with their solid hitting, beat the Marlins, 9-7, adding another win to their poor Spring Training record. Check out Facebook for pictures of the Nationals vs. Marlins, March 21, 2010

The next day, March 22, 2010, we drove north to the Space Coast Stadium in Veira Beach to see the Nationals take on the Mets. The Nationals picked up where they left off the day before. In the first inning Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo homer and then in the second inning Josh Willingham homered. Zimmerman was not done; he homered again in the 5^th inning giving the Nationals a solid lead that they would hold to beat the Mets 7-5. Check out Facebook for pictures of the Mets vs. Nationals, March 22, 2010

This weekend the Nationals picked up two wins to improve their record to 5-13. The one positive thing for the Nationals and their poor Spring Training is that they have had the opportunity to get a good look at their players. Remember last years Spring Training; the Nationals had a much better record 15-17, although still under .500, they ended up losing over 100 games. Hopefully this year, with such a poor Spring Training record they will be able to improve their regular season play, win some more games and prevent having the league’s worst record

Good Luck Nats and we look forward to seeing you play this season.

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