William World News William F. Yurasko's blog v.14 – Nats, Redskins, Capitals, D.C. life, transportation, not so much Penn State anymore,

We’re almost ⅓ through the season and just now getting to the first Washington Nationals vs. Philadelphia Phillies series. As always, I’ve invited Kevin McGuire of Macho Row (and several other sites) to talk baseball. PREVIOUSLY: 2011 | 2012

WFY: Only a game separates the Washington Nationals and the Philadelphia Phillies in the standings – just like we expected right? While there is some angst over being in second place a mere game over .500 in D.C., how is the Delaware Valley handing the Phils situation?

KMc: The people, they are not happy. This Phillies team is going to keep their heads slightly above water long enough to keep some of the most optimist of fans waiting for something to spark, but if you take a good hard and honest look at the team you can see the flaws in the roster. More importantly you can see the flaws in the management of the team, with a keen eye on the general manager. The problem with this Phillies team is they are consistently inconsistent. They can win two of three in San Francisco and make you think things have finally changed, and the next night they can putrid on offense and/or defense against the Marlins. This is why they enter the weekend just under .500. Even if they happen to leave D.C. this weekend with two or three wins, it will take more to convince anyone they have truly turned any corner.

WFY: What in the name of Tommy Greene is going on with the Phillies starting pitching? Roy Halladay is out, Cole Hamels has a mere win. Somebody must be picking up the slack if they are a game under .500.

KMc: Roy Halladay was hurt when he arrived in the spring, and probably when he was pitching last season. It was disappointing and painful to watch while he was on the mound this season, but at least there was a reason for his struggles. Cole Hamels is a totally different story. Hamels has not had command of his pitches this season and has shown how frustrated he can get when things are not going well. There does not seem to be any injury concern here so hopefully it is just something Hamels can change mentally with his approach. I would like to believe he will be able to do that if he can come out on the winning end of two or three games in a row. That said, he gets no run support either. If the Phillies could just be .500 in starts by Hamels, we would be talking about a second place team chasing the Atlanta Braves instead of a team struggling to reach the .500 mark.

So while Hamels struggles and Halladay’s season is placed in jeopardy, we have seen Kyle Kendrick put together a solid season and prospects Jonathan Pettibone and Tyler Cloyd do enough to give the team a chance to win some games. Kendrick has adapted well in pressure situations but I’m not totally on board with believing it will be sustained for the entire season. Pettibone has been impressive with his approach on the mound as well, but I wonder how long it will be until opposing bats figure him out a little more, and how he responds to that. The Phillies have lost just once with him on the mound so he has certainly been a pleasant surprise since being called up to fill in. The jury is still out on Cloyd after two starts. I have a feeling he could be sent down for some other pitcher at some point but he has done his job admirably as well.

WFY: How weird was it seeing John Lannan in a Phillies uniform? When is he due back? Is his place in the rotation secure?

KMc: Very strange considering the history between he and the Phillies, notably Chase Utley. But once a player puts on your uniform all is forgotten or forgiven it seems. He was actually pretty solid in his Phillies debut but his season was quickly put on pause with an early injury. From what I have read it appears Lannan is beginning to get back to throwing but there is no real timeline for his return just yet. It’s not going to be any time too soon though, so right now it is anyone’s guess. I’ll have to wait and see how the rest of this rotation is playing before really assessing if his spot in the rotation is secure or not. Right now I would think his spot is secure, as he would replace one of the two extra spots currently filled by minor league pitchers Pettibone or (more likely) Cloyd. But if this rotation sees solid production out of their minor league arms and the Carlos Zambrano experiment pays off, Lannan could become a bullpen option. But that is a lot of ifs.

WFY: Is it safe to assume that Ryan Howard and Chase Utley are battling injuries right now?

KMc: Yes. Utley underwent an MRI, which we are still waiting for the results a sI type this up, after being scratched from the lineup following batting practice the other day. Howard also underwent an MRI recently but he quickly returned to the lineup. You can tell Howard does not move as he once did, so there may still be some concerns there that he is battling back from.

WFY: Dominic Brown was supposed to be a big deal, but when I last checked in he had not put it together yet, has he? How about the rest of the outfielders?

KMc: He’s not there yet, but he has his moments. Brown’s at-bats will sometimes leave fans frustrated with early swings leading to easy outs and 32 strikeouts to just nine walks. His defense has led to some miscues in the field as well, but he also has his positive moments on offense and defense that show what he may be capable of. On a team that lacks power, Brown leads the team with eight home runs and he is just one RBI behind the team lead with 24 (Howard and Utley have 25 each), so he has some value on the club right now. The problem is we were led to expect so much more from Brown after the team traded away so many prospects the past few years but refused to move Brown. I do believe that giving him a full-time job this season though will pay off and show us whether or not he can be considered the real deal. I think it is too early to call him a bust, but he is certainly a long way from being compared to Bryce Harper or Mike Trout.

WFY: Around 2011 it looked like we might be headed for a great, two-sided Nats-Phillies rivalry, but then the Phillies seemed to get old quickly and the Nats ascending earlier than expected, so the two teams didn’t battle for divisional positioning like we expected. They wound up splitting the series though with the Phillies getting hot in the second half. Has the perspective changed up there? Where do the Nats rate as Phillies rivals these days?

KMc: It is a shame we couldn’t see these teams be good at the same time, but I think the games have still become more fun to watch now that the Nationals have gotten better. You’ll still find plenty of Phillies fan who will shrug aside the idea of Nattitude and feel that everything the Nats do is gimmicky or forced, but they are generally the Phillies fans who started acting like the Phillies are the best thing since sliced bread in 2007. I think right now, overall, the Nationals have earned a new level of respect. The Phillies saw their NL East streak ended at the expense of the Nationals, and that deserves a tip of the hat. In terms of rivalry, I think it would be fair to say the Nationals are currently second behind the Mets, if only because it’s always fun to beat up on the Mets. I would place the Nationals above the BRaves though, because there just aren’t enough Braves fans to fuel the rivalry.

WFY: Bryce Harper appeared to earn the respect of the Phillies (especially Hamels) last season, but what do the fans think of him?

KMc: Bryce Harper is the guy we love to watch, and love to hate. I think in Philadelphia we can respect any player who goes all out every time they take the field, and that is exactly what Harper does. Sure, he’s a punk and maybe feels a little entitled form time to time, but he brings it on the field and at the plate and for that he has our respect, or at least my respect. He also speaks his mind and has a good respect for the game. What is there not to like about that?

He’s the guy we hate now, but would take on our team in an instant. You guys don’t really deserve him. He’s a Philly kinda guy. Can we have him? We’ll give you John Lannan back…

WFY: Has there been much Jayson Werth talk up there this week? He’s on the DL now.

KMc: You don’t hear people talk about Jayson Werth much any more. I think that fun has died down a little bit. Now that we are in the third year post-Werth, the animosity has passed and now he is treated more like any other player from an opposing team. Yeah, he’ll get a few more boos and insults thrown his way when he does play against the Phillies, but that doesn’t mean he is considered public enemy number one or anything.

WFY: How has Phillies fandom changed in the last decade? When I went to the first Nats game in 2005, there seemed to be a lot of nostalgia for the 1980s teams (lots of powder blue jerseys) and not too much else. When I visit the Jersey Shore, I’d see a lot more Eagles stuff than any of the other teams. That shifted late in the last decade with the Phillies winning it all, but as of last year it had receded a bit. How are things now?

KMc: Ten years the Phillies were largely an afterthought, but there was some optimism for the future. Moving in to a new stadium after decades in cavernous Veterans Stadium and a team that looked to be trying to win some baseball games started changing that fan attitude regarding the baseball team. While the last year has been a rough stretch, the Phillies have built a larger fan base, or at least a larger and more vocal fan base. Fortunately for the Phillies they have been the most successful team over the last few years in this city, which has now gone a full calendar year without a single playoff game in any of the top four sports, and that has helped keep them near the top of the sports headlines.

This is an interesting time in Philadelphia’s sports though. With the Phillies have clearly taken a step back in progress in their sport, and the Eagles are once again the franchise generating the most buzz. With Chip Kelly in town doing things new and exciting in terms of running the team, he is a breath of fresh air for the fans and he is quickly becoming one of the most popular sports figures in town. The Eagles have always been the most popular team in the city overall, with the Phillies taking a brief lead in 2008 and 2009, and it appears they once again will be the clear winners in town in terms of popularity. Now, if they can just win some games…

WFY: Has Citizen’s Bank Park changed much since I was there? I was impressed by it, that’s a pretty good ballyard, especially since it is surrounded by parking. Do they still have that stupid sign blocking the skyline?

KMc: Not too much has changed at the ballpark over the years but if it has been a few years there are some changes you may want to take note of. There is a statue of our beloved and legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas in the open area of the concourse in left field that makes for a nice photo opportunity. As far as food is concerned, Chickie’s & Pete’s has expanded from a small concession stand on the edge of Ashburn Alley to a larger standalone concession area right across from where the stand was once occupied. This allows for longer but faster-paced lines for the top concession snack in the ballpark, crab fries. The old Chickie’s & Pete’s stand has been converted to a beer garden operated by The Alley Brewing Company with a variety of domestic, export and micro brews to choose from. They also have an exclusive lager available only in Citizens Bank Park. Also, Federal Donuts has arrived for a good, cost-effective snack.

Yes, that stupid and pointless sign is still there, blocking the view of the city skyline.

WFY: Who takes this series and the season series?

KMc: While I spoke highly of Kendrick, Pettibone and Cloyd and their performance on the mound this season, I just have a weird feeling about them this weekend against the Nationals. I know Washington has been struggling this season as well, but I would find it hard to believe Washington’s offense can out-underperform the Phillies this weekend. My guess is Washington takes two of three before shipping up to Boston for some inter-league play on Monday. As for the season series, I’ll take the Nationals by a small margin. I have more faith right now the Nationals will be able to get things fixed before the Phillies do as long as the roster in Philadelphia looks like this for the entire season.

The Washington Nationals finally won again, beating the San Francisco Giants 2-1 in 10 innings. I missed out on the last two innings because I went for a bike ride.

@doubleuefwhy you blew it

— Dave Jageler (@DaveJageler) May 23, 2013

The Washington Nationals just completed a miserable road trip out west with a 2-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. It was their first win since last Friday and only fourth of a 10 game trip. The offense struggled, scoring two or less runs five times and getting shut out twice. They were blown out three times, by each of the teams the visited. The Natmosphere, upside-down avatars and all, wasn’t too happy either. Ryan Matteus broke his pitching hand punching a wall. Yunesky Maya got called up. The Nats just seemed to find ways to blow every close game, so I didn’t feel bad about “leaving early” for a bike ride last night. I’m glad to have blown it, because I was tired of the Nats blowing it. The broadcasters deserve hazard pay for that California trip.

Let us never speak of this road trip again.

Generally speaking, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority has its own way of doing things. Much of “Looking for America on the New Jersey Turnpike” covers that subject. In short, historically the Turnpike has answered only to God (if even that) and even He would have to pay the toll.

© I.C. Ligget

Perhaps the most benign examples example of that is the Turnpike’s highway signs. At least in my life time, the Turnpike has avoided the typical signing convention of having an EXIT tab, The mileage to the exit is at the top of the sign, instead of the bottom too.

It is a minor quirk, possibly not even noticed by most motorists. Now, that quirk is finally being phased out and via Northeast Roads Facebook group, Lou Corsaro has a photograph to show it:

© Lou Corsaro

Of greater disappointment than the introduction of exit tabs is the sunseting of the neon advisory signs.

© I.C. Ligget

I believe these have been in use for most of the Turnpike’s lifetime, but they are going away. I hope several are saved for posterity.

Lastly, the Turnpike is starting to use control cities, but really, Wilmington? Baltimore and/or Washington would be better for the long-haul travelers.

That was a weird weekend for the Washington Nationals. After taking the first two of a four game series at the San Diego Padres, the Nats lost a tight one on Saturday evening. They didn’t hit (recurring theme) and when they did they ran the bases poorly. Jordan Zimmerman got a hard luck loss — 8 inning complete game (85 pitches) with the winning run coming after he threw a pick-off away. Sunday, Dan Haren put them in a 3-0 hole early and it just got worse, a 13-4 loss and series split.

Now, the Nats are finishing up their California trip with a 3-game series in San Francisco. Mercifully, the last two 10:00 or later starts are over after tomorrow. They face the defending World Champion Giants and as always, I’ve invited my friend David to talk about them like he did in 2011 and 2012. I’ve included some notes he shared with me late last week before asking some questions:

The Giants are a baffling team at the moment. The pitchers keep getting rocked with long balls that always seem to come in clusters. Cain gave up two bombs in one inning last night and then another one inning later. I think much of baseball is randomness and deviation or reversion to the mean. Cain for many years had a spectacular ratio of fly balls to home runs. It appears that is working its way to the league average in a terrible hurry.

What has been so fun about this team is they are actually starting to hit consistently. They are putting up over 5 runs on the board with regularity. That never happened in the 2010 season and happened in 2012 only from the All-Star Break onward. It has allowed for many exciting comebacks and a few terrific walk offs. Last night was no exception: down 6-0 after two or three innings and they managed to win the game.

I had a nice moment on (last) Wednesday. I went to this delightful diner/shack on the Embarcadero for a burger and a coffee for lunch. When I left I started to walk down the Embarcadero back to my office. Brian Sabean, the Giants GM, was walking the other way to the ball park. I gave him a thumbs up and he responded with a head nod. It was a pleasant little exchange. Then a few hours later the Giants gave up 11 runs to the Blue Jays.

Now, on with the questions:

WFY: Looking at the standings, I see the Giants are in the third place with a 24-20 record (better than the Nats) and a 4-6 skid (just like the Nats). The whole team wore high-cuffed pants as a slump-buster yesterday and it didn’t work. Is there a bit of concern about the overall team?

WFY: I know there is concern about Tim Lincecum — what’s going on with him? Bad mechanics, too skinny, other issues (Editor’s note: not an endorsement, just a link)? How long is he signed for?

DFS: I believe this is the second of Lincecum’s two arbitration years. After this season he will be a free agent. Lincecum has no command. Batters know to take pitches and draw walks. Then he pitches out of the stretch and his 89 mph fastball gets killed. The loss of velocity has hurt him badly. His reliable out pitch used to be the changeup, but that’s not terribly deceiving when there is little difference between the changeup and the fastball. An interesting stat on Lincecum is looking at balls in play. He gets batters out exclusively with strike outs. If the ball is in play, it is a hit. I felt for a while that that was just randomness and would self correct. Now I’m not so sure. I’ve stopped wondering or caring about what Lincecum’s problem is. The most creative excuse is that he has stopped smoking dope during the winters, due to more regular drug testing, with the result of him putting less weight on during the offseason. In any event, he is not the pitcher he once was nor do I have any notion that he will be again. The fans love him for nostalgic reasons, but he is a liability on the staff.

WFY: How is Barry Zito doing this year? Does anybody still care that he has a big contract that he hasn’t lived up to?

DFS: Zito started out very strong. After the first few rotations, he and Bumgarner were the only two starters that seemed to have a chance to go 6 innings. He has reverted to the mean and had a few poor outings recently. There is next to no ill will towards Zito from the fan base over his contract. Of course, he has been grossly overpaid, but over the past few seasons the Giants haven’t been in a situation where they lost bidding wars to keep other great players. For instance, they recently shelled out ton of money to Cain and Posey. Also, Zito was electric in the playoffs last year. The win in Cincinnati and Game 1 against the Tigers had Giants fans chanting “Barry!” His RBI in the World Series had to one of the great moments of collective joy that I experienced during the Series. He also handled being left off the 2010 playoff roster with dignity. As crazy as it sounds, the Giants could very well sign him again at the end of the contract.

WFY: I haven’t kept up, but what’s the situation with closer (former closer?) Brian Wilson?

DFS: Wilson is not on the team. He pitched in one game in 2012. He had a second Tommy John surgery and evidently there hasn’t been much interest in him league-wide. The team clearly committed to sticking with Sergio Romo as its closer during the off season and hasn’t looked back. During the Wilson Era, Romo played the role as set up man and/or right-hander specialist. I enjoyed Wilson’s flamboyant personality and his antics, but he was a Mitch Williams-style, take you to the brink and walk the bases loaded, strike out the side type. My aging heart can’t take much more of that. I would have thought he would be popping up locally in lots of ads, radio spots, TV bits a la a recently departed Theismann or Riggins, but he hasn’t.

WFY: What’s the best way to get to whatever phone company the ballpark is named after this week? How is the beer and food at the ballpark? Are craft brews hard to find like they are a lot of parks? What’s the signature foodstuff? Are the hot dogs any good?

DFS: I like to walk to the park. I work in the Financial District. It is a pleasant walk to the ball park from the office. Public transportation options are good as designed on maps, but the practical reality is the ride to the ballpark is sweaty nuts-to-sweaty butts. On the 100 level, craft brews are probably easier to find than macrobrews. In the view reserve, there are fewer beer options, but there’s no problem finding the San Francisco standbys like Sierra Nevada.

The signature food is probably garlic fries. I tend to limit eating at the ball park to hot dogs. The food generally is decent. I tend to just stick with beverage. I think I’ve written to you about this before, but AT&T Park could be a little jarring at first for an East Coast sports fan back in 2003, accustomed to the Spartan offerings of RFK, Veterans or Shea Stadium. Bread bowls and sushi at the ball park felt hopelessly out of place and indicative of a stadium experience for non-fan sports fans. But, in fact, the offerings merely reflect what Californians and San Franciscans like to eat and, more importantly, people’s willingness to not restrict themselves to the limited choice that traditionalists allow.

WFY: Is San Francisco a Giants town or a 49ers town? With both teams playing for the title last year, either way it has to be a good time to be a San Francisco sports fan.

DFS: Tough question. Particularly tough for a transplant who has been here for only 10 years. Before Jim Harbaugh took over, I would have said that San Francisco is a Giants town. You see more Giants hats, sweatshirts, colors every day than you do Niners gear. I think a big part of that has to do with the fact that the Giants play every day. Living and working in the city you see people going to the games. In the morning, you’ll see people with their gear because they are going to the game that night. The Niners play 8 home games a year and they play in a place that everyone drives to.

WFY: Are you enjoying Bay Lights (LED display on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge)? Have you seen them from the ballpark while attending a game?

DFS: I can see the Bay Bridge from where I live. So, it has already become wallpaper for me. I loved the white lights on the Bay Bridge. The dancing lights seem like a logical, natural extension of that. I’ve been to three games this season thus far. But from where I was sitting I didn’t see the Bridge. AT&T Park has a nice democratizing dynamic in that that the cheapest seats have the best view of the Bay.

WFY: Is there any excitement for the Nats coming to town? I mean Zach Duke, yes, ZACH DUKE, is starting for the Nats tonight…

DFS: I don’t think so. The Giants just finished a road trip in which they went 1 and 5. I think people would be excited if they had a three game set against a cream puff. This team really needs to win a series. The Nationals are a good team and my recollection is that the Nationals have gotten the better of the Giants in the past few seasons.

WFY: Your prediction for this series and the season series?

DFS: Nats win this series and the season series.

Wilson Bridge trail encourages bike commuting between Pr. George’s and Northern Virginia – The Post
Years ago, not long after it opened, I raved about the Woodrow Wilson Bridge trail – The Wilson Bridge trail is wonderful. At the time, I thought it was mostly a “great to have” recreational facility, but it is becoming a viable commuter option as well, despite not being in a particularly dense employment area on either side of the river.

Prince George’s officials said use of the 3.5-mile Wilson Bridge trail has increased dramatically since it opened in 2009. In March, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission recorded 26,827 crossings, up from 13,998 in March 2012. (In both cases, a trip back and forth was counted as two crossings.)

Biking across that sounds a lot better than my commute.

I’ll have several more bicycling posts over the next week or so.

Yesterday, Thomas Boswell wrote a Post column about how awful the Washington Nationals offense has been:

The Washington Nationals may have found their weak spot. It’s called the offense

So, the Nats hit four homers in a 6-5 10th inning win over the San Diego Padres. Chad Tracy hit the game-winner (if it had been Bryce Harper, the video would be embeddable, CHADITUDE isn’t enough apparently) in the top of the 10th for the first RBI of the season by a pinch hitter. Good thing you brought in the fences at Petco Park, Papas!

Good work Bos, good work Nats.

Today’s game is even at a kind of reasonable time – 8:40 p.m.

The Washington Capitals made their seemingly traditional first round exit on Monday and while that is still being discussed (remember, D.C. isn’t a hockey town at all) I’m post, for posterity, recent coverage of rink side broadcaster, Smokin’ Al Koken. Dan Steinberg has been profiling Koken, who was “present at the creation” of the Caps, on DC Sports Bog but all in a long feature.

‘Smokin’ ’ Al Koken has ties to Capitals and Washington, D.C., sports going back to 1970s – The Post

Koken’s Caps responsibilities allowed enough free time to serve as the third sports anchor at WUSA along with Ken Mease and Brenner. Among Koken’s duties was doing live interviews from RFK Stadium during Redskins postgame shows, and out of nowhere one weekend, Brenner threw it back to “Smokin’ Al Koken” at the stadium.

The WUSA sports desk kept the nickname going over the objections of the station’s news director, who worried that it sounded unprofessional.

“Whenever Glenn threw to him, he’d say Smokin’ Al Koken,” said Larry Duvall, then a sports producer at WUSA and now with Comcast SportsNet. “I would type in ‘Smokin’ Al Koken,’ like it was his official name. The news director would say, ‘No, no, no, we shouldn’t do that.’ But Glenn said, ‘Aw, c’mon, keep doing it,’ so we just kept going.”

Being nicknamed by Glenn Brenner equals all-time cred in DC sports.

Today, DC Sports Bog has Al Koken, from the archives which features a pre-Smokin’ prior to the first Caps game.

The Town of Vienna, Va.’s preeminent historian Mayo Sturdevant Stuntz, aged 97 years, has died. Stuntz was a lifelong resident and co-author of the book “This Was Vienna, Virginia” that was published in the late 1980s. He visited my social studies class and shared with us his memories of the town.

My brother Christopher, who provided a photograph of the book included here added “the town of Vienna will owe him a debt of gratitude for generations to come.”

FROM VIENNA PATCH
Remembering Vienna’s ‘Unofficial Historian’

Obituaries: Mayo Sturdevant Stuntz, Sr., 97

Lost in all the coverage of Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper running into a wall (still a bad route from an inexperience outfielder everybody!) and getting his beard knocked off to remind you that Stephen Strasburg makes his hometown San Diego MLB debut. The Union-Tribune has a story about how he evolved from a lazy, fat kid into a disciplined gym rat: He wasn’t always THIS Stephen Strasburg.

2013 is supposed to be the first full season of Strasburg in the majors after his rookie year, Tommy John surgery and last year’s much discussed shutdown. It hasn’t gone well for him at all – he’s 1-5, despite a respectable 3.10 and averaging over a strike out an inning. He’s had trouble getting out of the first inning cleanly and has collapsed under the weight of defensive errors behind him, last Saturday evening’s 5th inning as the prime example. Eight of his 25 runs allowed have been unearned. Strasburg has looked dominate at times (like the first four innings on Saturday) but the root problem is that he’s regressed emotionally. It seemed last year whenever some misfortune would come the Nats way, he’d get extremely focused and strike hitters out in bunches. He hasn’t been able to flip the switch this year.

Tonight’s game against the Padres presents an interesting challenge for Strasburg. It will be his first start in his hometown since entering the majors. Given his tendency to have rough first innings, how he handles all of this will be quite interesting and I’m surprised there is not much attention out of DC media. Maybe it is just because they are on West Coast time, but perhaps it works out for the best for Strarsburg. While Harper enjoys being the center of attention, Strasburg resents it, perhaps so much that the shutdown and being a #1 pick has hurt his game.

I don’t know if it will be tonight or later in the season, but I think Strasburg figures it out and returns to dominance. It is better for him and the Nats that he get this out of his way in the first half of the season and gets ready for the stretch run. Even with all the misfortune the Nats are dealing with — injuries, some bad series and bad luck, the Nats are still a mere game out of first place. The schedule eases up soon too, so without the emotion tied to all of this, the Nats are doing fine. It may not always feel like it though.

By the way, the Nats lost last night, the second in a row, costing them the series with Los Angeles Dodgers: Zack Greinke latest Dodgers pitcher to quiet Nationals bats in 3-1 loss at Los Angeles (The Post). Wilson Ramos is hurt again too. Remember when the Nats had a surplus of catchers? Ross Dewiler may miss a start or two as well. Remember when the Nats had a surplus of pitchers?

More good local beer news — DC Brau and DC United are teaming up for a new beer. Here’s the DCU release – D.C. United and DC Brau collaborate to create DC’s only team-specific beer:

D.C. United, in collaboration with DC Brau Brewing Company, LLC, today announced that DC Brau will brew a limited edition D.C. United specific beer – the only one of its kind in the DC sports world. While the beer is currently without a name, the two have partnered to launch a contest giving D.C. United fans the opportunity to name the new brew. Fans can submit their suggestions online.

Here are the prizes:

• Two (2) field-side seats and field level gameday experience (includes food in the D.C. United Hospitality tent and parking)
• Your submission will be the official name of the beer
• D.C. United/DC Brau prize pack

That’s a pretty sweet prize pack, even for a casual soccer fan like myself. I have some United on the tube this season which isn’t going well at all. Perhaps this can be a rally beer that gets them playing respectable soccer again. I hope so, Dan Steinberg of DC Sports Bog, The Post has pointed out over the years that his favorite fan base is DC United. Oh and of course, there is a worthwhile Bog post on the subject: DC United getting a team beer from DC Brau.

I’d love it if other area pro teams could do this, but I suspect national beer contracts with their respective leagues and official team beer sponsors will keep it from happening. Those deals bring in a lot of money for the big 4 teams and are also the same reason why getting local beer into the venues occurs slowly — the macro brewers are losing market share to the craft brewers, so they are just going to go harder on sports sponsorships and pouring rights.