"See. You. Tater!"

There are certain moments that really resonate in a baseball fan’s life – those “Someday I’m going to tell my grandchildren about this” type of moments.  We don’t just remember being there or seeing it on TV; we remember these moments so vividly that they felt like they were a part of our own lives.

One of the things that makes these moments so vivid in our minds is the call that was made by the broadcaster at the time.  The play-by-play, the color commentary, and the analysis of broadcasters and former players alike.  Ask any die-hard baseball fan who won the 1951 World Series, and we won’t just say it was the Giants – we will yell “The Giants win the pennant!  The Giants win the pennant!”  We are quoting Russ Hodges, who called Bobby Thomson’s “shot heard ‘round the world.”  More than seventy years later, Hodges' call is still one of the most memorable moments in baseball history and certainly one of the most recognizable moments in sports broadcast history.

Whether it was Bobby Thomson’s home run, Roberto Clemente’s 3000^th hit, or Cal Ripken’s 2131^st consecutive game record in 1995, baseball fans have the video and audio of the event ingrained in our minds forever.  So many historic moments – Hank Aaron passing Babe Ruth on the all-time home run list in 1974; Kirk Gibson’s improbable “limp-off” home run; Kirby Puckett’s World Series homer – these are all moments made unforgettable by the people who called the games and gave us our own front-row seat to the action.  Phil Rizzuto (“Holy cow!”), Vin Scully (“Losing feels worse than winning feels good”), Harry Caray (“It could be, it might be… it is!  A home run!”), and Al Michaels (“I tell you what – we’re having an earthquake!”) – their voices are as familiar to us as those of close friends and relatives.

Locally, I couldn’t ask for better radio and TV commentators.  Dave Jageler and Charlie Slowes, who do the Nationals’ games on the radio, are very entertaining.  They love giving us the spelling of uncommon last names, and every time they spell one, someone in the broadcast booth dings a bell.  Corny, but entertaining (plus how else will you know how to spell Adeiny Hechavarría?).  On TV, Bob Carpernter and his man-child sidekick, F.P. Santangelo, love to comment not only on the game, but on which fan at the ballpark is eating what, which fan is having trouble putting on a rain poncho, and who made a major-league catch for a foul ball in the stands.  Bob’s “See…you…LATER!” home run call and F.P.’s “There goes the no-hitter!” calls are daily occurrences that Nationals fans are used to and expect.  In fact, the most recent concession stand to open at Nationals Park, a tater tot and chicken wing bar, is called “See. You. Tater!” inspired by Carpenter’s home run call and Santangelo always referring to home runs as “taters.”   

Then there are the times when you don’t realize how good your local broadcast crew is until you’re watching or listening to another game and that team’s crew is terrible.  My least favorite broadcast crew has to be the Gary Thorne/Jim Palmer combination (sorry, Orioles fans!).  Thorne’s voice makes me want to vomit – it always sounds like he has something stuck in his throat and it just won’t come out or go down.  And Palmer, despite being an excellent pitcher (so good that he’s in the Hall of Fame), is just boring and way too anecdotal.  Jim, we know you pitched in the 1966 World Series; you don’t have to bring it up during every game.  He’s one of those classic “Back when I was pitching…” kind of guys.  Super-nice, but should not be behind a microphone.  Just because you looked good in underwear back in the day doesn’t mean you can do good color commentary. 

So whether it’s Jack Buck (not his son Joe – I don’t like him), Chris Berman (“Backbackbackbackback!”) or “Mister Baseball” himself, Bob Uecker (wait – I don’t like him either!), it is the men and women behind the microphones (ESPN’s Jessica Mendoza is pretty cool and really knows her baseball, though I secretly hate her because she has a job I would love) who bring us memorable moments that become indelible and unforgettable in our baseball-loving minds.

Oh, Those Darn Yankees!

So, what can I as a Nationals fan say about this past weekend's series between the New York Yankees and the Washington Nationals? In one word: Frustrating.

As a baseball fan, I loved going to the game at Nationals Park last Saturday. The weather was perfect, parking was a breeze, the sellout crowd was pumped up, and despite some issues at the Ben's Chili Bowl stand, we ate well and had fun (and we stayed for all 14 innings!).  Oh, and my wonderful husband arranged for us to meet Bob Carpenter and F.P. Santangelo (the MASN Sports broadcasters), which was a great experience!  But as a Nationals fan, the series was not fun to watch - neither in person nor on TV.

The Yankees did what they normally do - the batters worked their counts and made Nationals pitchers throw a lot of pitches, they played a solid defense, and they had clutch hits when they mattered most. Even when A-Rod and Jeter didn't produce, you had Granderson, Teixeira and Canó contributing (Teixeira got the 2RBIs in the top of the 14th at Saturday's game). The Yankees undoubtedly have the best lineup in Major League baseball, and they sure proved it this past weekend.

Despite losing all 3 games though, the Nationals hung in there and did not allow themselves to be completely humiliated. In Friday's game, Gio Gonzalez had a decent outing, Saturday's game went 14 innings, and on Sunday the Nationals lost 4-1. No 10-2 games, no major embarrassments (other than Bryce Harper striking out five times in Saturday's game - Andy Pettite, old enough to be his father, completely dominated Bryce), and no loss in the standings (the Nationals are still 4 games above the Braves in first place, thanks to the Orioles taking their series with the Braves this past weekend).

So what was the major problem in the Yankees series? I would like to place the blame on 3 guys - the ones who bat 3-5 in the batting order. In the 3-game series against the Yankees, the 3, 4, and 5 hitters went 7/39, which is completely unacceptable. Former All-Star, Gold-Glover and Silver Slugger third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (the #3 batter) is batting a lousy .229 with only 3 home runs. Outfielder Michael Morse, who has only played in the last 14 games after spending the beginning of the season on the Disabled List, has gone 12 for 57 with no home runs, despite having hit 31 homers for the Nationals last year. And Adam LaRoche, who was hot at the beginning of the season, has been sliding down the leader boards, currently batting .264. If these guys in the middle of the order don't start producing soon, the other teams in the NL East may catch up pretty quickly.

What will hopefully save the Nationals from continuing to lose is the upcoming series against the very injured Tampa Bay Rays. While this is normally a very solid baseball team, they are currently being Band-Aided together and have 9 players on the Disabled List (including Evan Longoria and Luke Scott). The Nationals need to take at least 2 of 3 from the Rays before going to visit the red-hot Orioles, which means that Zimmerman, Morse, and LaRoche need to step up their game.

So I believe our next trip to Nationals Park will be in early August to watch the Nationals host the Miami Marlins.  I'm looking forward to seeing Ozzie Guillen for the first time (hopefully he won't get ejected from the game!) and hopefully the Nationals will still be in first place.