My flight into Ronald Reagan Airport in Washington, DC whetted my appetite for that evening's activities. On my plane's descent, I had a lovely bird's eye view of RFK Stadium in east DC. My friend and I quickly revamped our plans to attend the Washington Nationals' game that evening against the visiting Florida Marlins. The reason? D-Train.
The Washington area Metro system is outstanding, allowing my friend and I to take the train to RFK, only a few minutes' walk from the Stadium-Armory stop on the Orange Line. The ticket scalpers were out early and some sidewalk vendors offered cheaper souvenirs to early bird fans. There was a buzz of excitement around RFK. The reason? D-Train???
All right, let's get to D-Train. I really wanted to see Dontrelle Willis pitch. He is one of the top young talented pitchers in baseball today. His appearance is almost comical, with his hat cocked a little to his left and with his arms flailing in recoil after the delivery of his pitch. His high leg kick during his windup is reminiscent of some of the old flame throwers like Gibson and Marichal. And D-Train has remained a star since his exciting debut with the Marlins four seasons ago.
He did not disappoint me in this game. He threw heat. He pitched himself into and out of jams. He flailed the air with those long arms as he threw his body off the mound, giving it every effort he had. I was also impressed with Willis' at-bats. With a .235 season average, he is not an easy out at the plate. Each time he batted, he made good contact and showed great speed running to first. He left the game in the mid-eighth with the lead, after throwing over 100 pitches.
Alas for D-Train, the Nats stole the show and the ballgame from Florida in the bottom of the ninth. A timely double that bounced around the left field corner by young Jesus somebody brought in two runs for a walk off win. I had been cheering for D-Train. I had been cheering for Miguel Cabrera of the Marlins when he batted. And I had been cheering for several of the Nationals at various times during the game, especially for first baseman Dmitri Young, who once led the major leagues in home runs (it was only once, for a day or two, when he hit three on opening day, then was passed and never led again).
But this game ended so suddenly and with such excitement, I just cheered and cheered. Our tickets were only 5 bucks. But the experience of seeing D-Train in action, Dmitri at the plate and witnessing a walk off finish made for a very entertaining evening at RFK.
PS: What's with those racing and dancing Presidents?
My friend and I got some notion of the "Friday Night Lights" experience. We attended a local high school football game between Rockville High Rams and the Northwood Gladiators, in Rockville, Maryland. The final score, 21 to zero, appeared lopsided, but the game was actually closer than that, and hard fought.
