Washington Nationals success translates into big local and national interest

By Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post

For most of the past decade, baseball fans averted their eyes from Washington in July. Even the team’s natural fan base sometimes found it difficult to pay attention to a losing team and its half-empty ballpark.

Wilson High assistant baseball coach Shellie Bowers Jr. couldn’t interest his players in free tickets. Jordan Mercer, a high school freshman from Luray, Va., didn’t bother staying up for the team’s late-night West Coast trips. David Sheinfeld, a 25-year-old from Rockville, would watch ESPN for highlights, only to find the announcers focused on the opposing team.

But for the first time since moving to the District, the Nats have three National League all-stars, and could yet add a fourth. They will wake up on July 4 with the best record in the National League; no Washington baseball team has led its league on Independence Day since the 1933 Senators, the last Washington team to play in a World Series.

You can read the rest of the story here: Washington Nationals success translates into big local and national interest

Harper = Triple AAA

Bryce Harper was sent down to triple AAA this week and this is best thing for him right now in his career and here is why. Harper has struggled when he has entered a new level and with the season being in April when it colder and in recent years every ones number are down in April this would cause for a big hit to his confidence should this happen. I think he needs to work on his swing as well as learning to play center field. His swing leaves him open to the inside pitch,it is so loopy that he can't hit that pitch. This kid will be great one day but think everyone but the National are getting ahead of themselves. They have him in the Hall of Fame and he not played one game in the majors yet. There are a lot of questions and not a lot answers right now. He could come up and struggle and never be right again or take his time and do it right only time will tell how good he can or will be.

Bryce Harper apparently "hates" the Redskins

Bryce Harper seems to keep popping into the news for non baseball related items.

Today, he tweeted that he "hates the Redskins" after he confessed his love for the Cowboys.  Now I understand he grew up a Cowboys fan and he is not from the DC area, but alienating the fan base he is going to be playing for might not help with jersey sales.

Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post has fun with this (and also has a link to the tweet as well.)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/post/bryce-harper-still-doesnt-like-washingtons-teams/2012/01/31/gIQAFCbRfQ_blog.html