The timeless start of baseball

It really is amazing what the sense of smell can do to you. Thanks to the recent episode of 30 Rock, Tracy Morgan has taught me that the sense of smell is actually the most important sense for memory. For me, and millions of others across the home of the brave, the smell of spring means only one thing: It’s baseball season.

Opening day is the only day every year I can count on getting the chills. There is something about being at a baseball game again, the ballpark atmosphere, the smell of hotdogs, that lets my entire body know that it is the beginning of something great. Opening day doesn’t only signify the start of our national pastime tea, but it also means the beginning of a long summer. In my previous 7 years of being a Nationals fan, the chills of opening day only lasted so long, because inevitably the Nationals would find a way to slip up out of the gate and go back to being the Natinals we know them to be. This year is different though, ten games into the season the Nats are 7-3 and on top of the NL East and are showing genuine signs of being a good team.

              

By far the best thing that has come out of the first ten games has been the vastly improved play of Ian Desmond. Desmond is hitting .354 and starting to prove that he can be a legitimate leadoff man for this team. Clearly Ian won’t be able to keep his average that high, but if he can maintain an average above .280, the Davey Johnson will be pleased. Other surprises are Jayson Werth and Adam Laroche’s hot starts, although I don’t know if they should really be considered surprises. Laroche is the definition of a pro and despite a rough start to the season in 2011, he’s proven he is a good middle of the lineup big league hitter. Werth’s  2011 season lived up to expectations about as much as the Phantom Menace did. But for a guy who is making 134 million dollars, hitting .350 through ten games should not be a shocker.             

Get a hit brotha

Danny Espinosa is hitting under .200 right now and has taken criticism unfairly in my opinion. Despite his rough start hitting the ball, he is still fourth on the team in on base percentage because he has drawn eight walks. His primary job as the number two hitter is to get on base for Zimmerman, LaRoche, and Werth, and that is exactly what he is doing. Zimmerman is also slow out of the gate, but I don’t think there is any concern  that he won’t turn it around.

The Nationals have one of the best rotations in baseball, but with Morse being a question mark for the rest of the season, they are going to need to get another bat in order to contend. Having their 6-8 hitters be a hodgepodge of Roger Bernadina, Rick Ankiel, Xavier Nady, and Mark Derosa is not a recipe for success. That being said, with the rotation the way it is, they will still be able to win plenty of games with their bottom of the lineup.

The beginning of baseball season also means me playing MLB: The Show far more than any human being should. MLB: The Show is the greatest video game on the market right now. It encompasses everything that is great about baseball. In no other game, do you actually feel like you have accomplished something after you win a game. In The Show, if you chase a pitch out of the zone and strike out, that’s on you. If you leave a slider out over the plate early in the count and someone hammers it, that is on you. It also has the greatest career mode of any game. Because baseball is such an individual sport, the Road to the Show mode is amazing. I don’t even care that I am stuck in double A Harrisburg because it is so much fun. I was wondering last night when I will need to stop naming my character after myself. Whatever, I can still dream that I will be an up and coming prospect with the Nationals.

Yes, so that was pretty much me so giddy about the start of baseball season I had to write something. Enjoy the weather and the ballgames. Ignite your Natitude.