BARNBURNER!

After a morning spent tending a garage sale (more on that another time), Erica and I had no plans in particular for Saturday night. After returning from Vienna and opening up SharpReader, I saw saw this post on Just a Nats Fan.

I'm opening up my On The Barn Baseball games to fellow Nats fans. Come join the party! We usually invite the neighborhood, but don't get a huge turnout due to everyone's busy summers. We've set up four scheduled night away games to be projected onto our 'barn' with grilling of burgers and dogs beforehand (and beer!).

I was intrigued, but skeptical about convincing Erica after an already long and tiring day. Nevertheles, I brought it to her attention and came around on the idea. I also let Fritz know, but he was busy down on Fun Street, or something.

So, we got moving over the MissChatter's house at about a quarter to seven. As we were leaving Pentagon City, I noticed a Penn State license plate on the car in front of us, and a lightbulb went off. Fritz! Before he could get onto I-395 SOUTH, I got his attention and said "you want to go to this thing?" to which he replied in the affirmative. He followed us out to Rancho de Chatter, several u-turns thrown in for good measure.

Game notes:

We arrived just in time for the game. We met the hostess and found our way to the back of the "barn" with food in hand and cold refreshments waiting. Simon Oliver Lockwood (sadly not his real name) was there with his wife, too, along with some neighbors. The crowd was snarky, which I may have contributed to. Then again, with all the nonsense that Nats fans have had to put up with the last two years, I have to wonder how you cannot be snarky.

The first few innings were difficult to watch, because the sun was too high in the sky. It sounds like the shadows at Miller Park were being pitcher-riendly at the same time. By coincidence, as the sun went down here, the shadows in Milwaukee subsided. Several innings into the game, we were finally able to see the picture aganist the barn. If you are wondering how they do this, check out this post.

The game itself was an odd one, perhaps the closest I have ever seen to a baseball Gonzo Bowl. Here is how I described it in February 2005:

The lede of his Super Bowl VII write-up (in the Epitaph of "'72") , which became the inspiration for the term "gonzo bowl," to describe a intense football game (usually playoffs) with wild swings of momentum, bizarre plays, controversial officiating, and stupefying mental errors. Think Steelers vs. Titans in 2002 or Giants vs. 49ers that same weekend.

There were several bad throws, some poor fielding, and a few changes in momentum.

In the 7th inning, crew chief Joe West interrupted the game, seemingly inexplicably. He went to the home dugout and made a telephone call. Speculation ran rampant. Meanwhile, pitcher Saul Rivera who had just replaced starter Mike O'Connor during an at-bat when he was throwing wild pitches, was trying to keep busy. After play resumed, Rivera promptly gave up a two-run single.

Apparently, the problem West was having was that the Pepsi advertisement behind home plate was too bright.

There was a very loud fan yelling behind home plate "SWING!" when the Nats were up. It worked on Jose Vidro, who struck out.

MissChatter missed backup catcher Matt LeCroy's appearance as a pinch hitter.

Alfonso Soriano got caught in a rundown, but was running hard enough to knock the ball out of the glove of the 2nd baseman in the eighth. The Brewers dodged a bullet, there.

C Brian Schneider had an throwing error in the eighth, but thankfully Gary Majewski was able to pitch out of the inning.

In the eighth, Bill Bray made his MLB debut to face Prince Fielder. He threw one pitch for a ball, which Schneider threw to second to catch Corey Koskie stealing, retiring the side. If the Nats could pull ahead in the ninth and hold on, Bray would win his first appearance on a single pitch, outside of the strike zone.

Dutch! led off the ninth inning with a single and stole second, jamming his finger in the process. Marlon Anderson advanced Dutch!, setting the table for Schneider to knock him in. He did that and more, taking doofy-looking Dan Turnbow deep to right to pull ahead by one. Turnbow then got Mike Vento and Daryle Ward (on awful pitches in the dirt) to strike out to end the inning.

In the middle of the ninth, we speculated what kind of jam Chad Cordero would get into. Sure enough, he did, though not entirely of his doing. After retiring the first batter, he allowed a hit to Gabe Gross. After Richie Weeks popped up a bunt, SS Royce Clayton nearly blew the game and Bray's unusual first win with a throwing error on a fielder's choice. Cordero got Geoff Jenkins to strike out on pitches high of the strikezone for the crucial second out. Finally, Carlos Lee, fouled out along the first base side to end the game. A fan must have taunted Schneider, who pointed to the stands immediately after catching the ball.

We had a great time at Château Chatter, this is fantastic way to watch a ball game. Thanks go to the Chatters for inviting the Natmosphere out for this unique experience. I think the genie's out of the bottle.

In the End, Nats Have A Blast in Milwaukee - The Post

More from The Wash. Times: Schneider powers Nats

Boxscore - ESPN

Starting pitching sparks turnaround - The Wash. Times

Nats Show Brewers No Mercy - The Post
They won Friday night too, while wearing Grays uniforms.

UPDATE: MissChatter's recap is here, complete with a photo of the group. She remembers some of the stuff I did not, like Soriano's drop.

Labels: Nats/MLB 2006

posted by WFY @ 11:40 AM | |

Thanks for coming out! That was a riot!

# posted by MissChatter : Sunday, June 04, 2006 1:04:00 PM

Nice story, William. Sounds like a great way to spend a nice summer evening, and very generous of your hosts to invite all and sundry to view the game.

One correction, though. Bill Bray's pitch was for a strike, not a ball. And he got the win, how about THAT for a "Welcome to the majors, Mr. Bray!"

# posted by CrashRiley : Sunday, June 04, 2006 6:51:00 PM