Baseball on the road

I had the chance to be a fan on the road this weekend. I ended up with some interesting insight into perception of the Nats, and particularly Frank.

Friday night, I was having dinner until about 9, so ended up on the Long Island RailRoad between 9:16 and 10:30. Thus, I "watched" the game on the ESPN GameCast on the web. While slightly time delayed, it is a good way to 'watch' a game if you only have the web and don't want to shell out money for MLB.TV.

Saturday, box scores only for me -- and reading the box score on your cell phone really looses any impact of a pitching battle. The folks I was on Long Island with were delighted to watch the Yankees play in the bar, however.

Sunday, however, was old-time baseball for me. The joy of XM Radio in the car meant that I listened to the Nats / Phillies matchup on channel 184... and it was the Phillies feed. This was some interesting insight into the way the Nats are viewed outside of DC. Plus, baseball on the radio can be a lot of fun.

What was most interesting was some commentary on two particularly "Frank" moves. In the bottom of the eighth, Frank put in Eischen just to walk Perez, and then pulled him to put in Cordero. The Phillies commentators were completely baffled by this move. They just didn't know what to make of it. Admittedly, neither did I. Then, in the bottom of the 12th, the Phillies commentators were discussing the fact that the Nats outfield plays deep -- all the time, and had the entire series. They actually commented on the fact that the in-field and out-field positioning was strange to them, and seemed like there was a great deal of confusion on the Nats side. All interesting insights -- no wonder people don't know what to make of the Nats.

And remember, since divisional play begain in 1969, 103 of 155 teams that have held sole possession of first place at the All-Start break went on to win their division. So we're well placed, despite the bummer road series. (So I choose not to think about the Phillies, who led the NL East at the break last year and then finished 10 games behind Atlanta.)