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QuestGAV · 01-26-2005, 01:37 AM

Week 2 of the regular season started with the Nationals taking advantage of the Phillies need for warm bodies to throw in the rotation after the injuries to Wolf and Padilla. Brad Thomas was sent to the Phillies for pitching prospects Gavin Floyd and Francisco Butto. Nationals owner Campbell opined, "With that name, Floyd is destined to be a superstar."

GM David Forst rolled his eyes and added, "His talent and minor league stats were exceptional too. He'll be a guy whose development we'll watch closely. Brad wasn't likely to get many innings here, I'm glad he'll get a chance to make things happen in Philadelphia."

A home series against the Giants was the next order of business for week 2. Six solid innings from Brett Tomko triumphed over 6 weak innings from Tomo Ohka as the Giants won 6-3. The game's most exciting moment was marked by Termel Sledge's ejection for arguing a called 3rd strike in the 8th inning.

Five runs in the first inning of game 2 off Tyler Walker spurred the Nationals to a 9-8 win. Joe Horgan tried hard to cough up the lead but couldn't quite get a third run across the plate to tie the game. Brad Wilkerson went 3-3 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI to lead the charge.

The Nationals finished the 3 game homestand with a second win, 8-3 over Kirk Rueter whose ERA actually dropped to 14.21 in the loss. Another 3 RBI for Wilkerson keyed the Nationals as they improved to 4-5.

Though the Nationals won the series 2-1, a disturbing trend was noted and seized upon by local media. In just their second series here in Washington the team's average attendance hovered around 25,500. With nearly 20,000 empty seats per game RFK was an echo chamber. Attendance not matching projections would not threaten this year's bottom line given the massive payroll guttting done completed during spring training by Forst. It would however greatly restrict the team's ability to compete down the line. The team's executives began to hope that the DC area would be willing to bond with a scrappy but middle-of-the-road team, because it obviously wasn't love at first sight.

A trip to 2-7 Philadelphia seemed to be in order. Esteban Loiaza stepped up for game one of the series vs... Brad Thomas. Neither would figure into the decision as a 3-run Nationals rally in the 9th sent the game to extra innings. Chad Cordero gave up the winning run in the 12th to give the Phillies a 5-4 win.

Jimmy Gobble dropped to 0-2 in game 2 as Philadelphia won 5-4 again. Jim "Rube" Thome was ejected in the 8th arguing a called third strike as the Phillies evened the team's records at 4-7 heading into the series' rubber match.

The Nationals scored 6 runs off Cory Lidle in the course of an 8-4 victory in game 3. Ryan Church and Jose Vidro had 3 RBI apiece as Church hit his first home run of the season. The offday on Sunday brought the Nationals to the end of week 2.

In other news, Carlos Delgado was signed by the Athletics as they try to cope without Barry Zito. Magglio Ordonez decided to go ring-chasing with the Cardinals on the same day. Hank Blalock was lost for a month by the Rangers with a ruptured tricep tendon. The White Sox were able to extract three strong young players from Pittsburgh for Paul Konerko in the form of Jason Bay, Brad Stiles, and Matt Guillory. Bay will bat cleanup against righties and leadoff against lefties for the White Sox while Stiles and Guillory both have major league talent.

01-26-2005, 01:37 AM	#15
QuestGAV Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 2,010	regular season - week 2 Week 2 of the regular season started with the Nationals taking advantage of the Phillies need for warm bodies to throw in the rotation after the injuries to Wolf and Padilla. Brad Thomas was sent to the Phillies for pitching prospects Gavin Floyd and Francisco Butto. Nationals owner Campbell opined, "With that name, Floyd is destined to be a superstar." GM David Forst rolled his eyes and added, "His talent and minor league stats were exceptional too. He'll be a guy whose development we'll watch closely. Brad wasn't likely to get many innings here, I'm glad he'll get a chance to make things happen in Philadelphia." A home series against the Giants was the next order of business for week 2. Six solid innings from Brett Tomko triumphed over 6 weak innings from Tomo Ohka as the Giants won 6-3. The game's most exciting moment was marked by Termel Sledge's ejection for arguing a called 3rd strike in the 8th inning. Five runs in the first inning of game 2 off Tyler Walker spurred the Nationals to a 9-8 win. Joe Horgan tried hard to cough up the lead but couldn't quite get a third run across the plate to tie the game. Brad Wilkerson went 3-3 with a walk, 2 runs, and 2 RBI to lead the charge. The Nationals finished the 3 game homestand with a second win, 8-3 over Kirk Rueter whose ERA actually dropped to 14.21 in the loss. Another 3 RBI for Wilkerson keyed the Nationals as they improved to 4-5. Though the Nationals won the series 2-1, a disturbing trend was noted and seized upon by local media. In just their second series here in Washington the team's average attendance hovered around 25,500. With nearly 20,000 empty seats per game RFK was an echo chamber. Attendance not matching projections would not threaten this year's bottom line given the massive payroll guttting done completed during spring training by Forst. It would however greatly restrict the team's ability to compete down the line. The team's executives began to hope that the DC area would be willing to bond with a scrappy but middle-of-the-road team, because it obviously wasn't love at first sight. A trip to 2-7 Philadelphia seemed to be in order. Esteban Loiaza stepped up for game one of the series vs... Brad Thomas. Neither would figure into the decision as a 3-run Nationals rally in the 9th sent the game to extra innings. Chad Cordero gave up the winning run in the 12th to give the Phillies a 5-4 win. Jimmy Gobble dropped to 0-2 in game 2 as Philadelphia won 5-4 again. Jim "Rube" Thome was ejected in the 8th arguing a called third strike as the Phillies evened the team's records at 4-7 heading into the series' rubber match. The Nationals scored 6 runs off Cory Lidle in the course of an 8-4 victory in game 3. Ryan Church and Jose Vidro had 3 RBI apiece as Church hit his first home run of the season. The offday on Sunday brought the Nationals to the end of week 2. In other news, Carlos Delgado was signed by the Athletics as they try to cope without Barry Zito. Magglio Ordonez decided to go ring-chasing with the Cardinals on the same day. Hank Blalock was lost for a month by the Rangers with a ruptured tricep tendon. The White Sox were able to extract three strong young players from Pittsburgh for Paul Konerko in the form of Jason Bay, Brad Stiles, and Matt Guillory. Bay will bat cleanup against righties and leadoff against lefties for the White Sox while Stiles and Guillory both have major league talent.