Baseball season is coming

Went to the mailbox this afternoon and found this. It's always a highlight of year.

Professional Tailgating: Nats show some fighting spirit

On Friday night, I head to Philly to see my beloved Washington Nationals take on the Phillies and for once the Nats showed some toughness. Below are some of the imagines of the night.

Professional Tailgating: One Down One To Go

Last night, I headed to Citizens Bank Park to see my Nationals drop a heart breaker to the Phillies. But on the bright side it was dollar dog night and I saw a big running around the outfield. 

Two days of baseball fun

Nationals at Phillies tonight. South Atlantic League All Star Game in Lakewood tomorrow night. Not a bad two days of baseball.

Prospects Plus: Did the Nationals get first round value in Ward

The Nationals theory of drafting high upside players was shown again in the third round of this years draft. In the third round, the Nationals drafted Oklahoma high school third baseman Drew Ward. So what, you say.

Up until a month ago, many thought that Ward would be a member of the 2014 draft. But that all changed after Drew, who is committed to Oklahoma, graduated early from high school and petitioned to be part of this years draft. After MLB ruled in favor of the Drew, many scouts scurried to see what he was about. 

According to Baseball America,  Ward has a big, strong frame and has a sweet swing from the left side. He plays shortstop for his high school, but fits best at a corner position because of his below-average speed.

Many in the scouting community, had Ward pegged as a 2014 first rounder. The Bleacher Report pegged him as the 13th overall pick to the Padres in a really early mock 2014 draft. 

While the season may not be going as planned, Nationals GM Mike Rizzo always takes the player with the best upside and it looks like he may have gotten a future first rounder for the prices of the third rounder. Now that is good business.

Prospects Plus: Going Retro Bryce Harper

Hey who is this former College of Southern Nevada star.Bryce Harper looks so young in this photo.

Prospects Plus: A Failed Experiment

The book has finally been closed on one of the worst experiments in the history of the Washington Nationals. After five years in the farm system, Jack McGeary is gone from the system. The Boston Red Sox selected the Massachusetts native in the Rule 5 draft during the recently completed Winter Meeting in Nashville.

When McGeary was selected in the 2007 draft he was supposed to be the face of the franchise for years to come. When the Nationals drafted McGeary in 2007, they gave him a $1.7 million signing bonus to buy him out of commitment to Stanford. Little did we know that McGeary would be a huge flop.

I remember seeing him pitch when he was in the SAL and thought what A Waste of Money, So Far. His stuff was not overpowering, his command was not that good and he just seemed disinterested on the mount. During his time in the Nationals system, McGeary put together an 8-18 record with a 4.97 ERA. McGeary never made it pass A-Ball.

At first I was in total favor of the drafting him and paying him, little did I know that he would turn into an example of how much of a crap shoot the baseball draft really is.

Professional Tailgating: The monsters first game

Last night we took in the first place Nationals game against the Phillies. It was a special day for the OTWT Tailgating Family, it was the little monsters first major league baseball game. 

Father and son walk into the ball park. 

Harry K Statue.

Today's lineups 

I was not alone in supporting the Nationals. More Nats fans there last night than I have ever seen

Seriously, Nats: It’s time for Teddy to win

With all that is going on in the world, the Washington Post  has decided to voice their opinion on the most important issue, should Teddy finally win the Presidents Race during Nationals' home games. Seriously, Nats: It’s time for Teddy to win ,  , I'm all for taking a stand on something. I can't believe they wasted their space on this issue.  

Prospect Plus: Hagerstown Sun's Matt Skole

Name: Matt Skole
Organization: Washington Nationals
Position: Third Base
Stats Tuesday against the BlueClaws: 0 for 4 with 2 strikeouts

Strengths: His power is his biggest plus.  Skole, the former Georgia Tech product,  currently leads the Hagerstown Sun with 18 home runs. Hitting is his plus tool and he is considered to be a future every day regular by Baseball America. Skole has a plus arm and nice feel at third base. 

Weakness: During the game on Tuesday he looked bad on a couple of swings and looked like his power swing will lead him to striking out at the next level. Also with Ryan Zimmerman holding down third base and his bat not translating to first base, his future in the organization might be in question. He could be used as trade bait as the Nationals continue to push for the playoffs.

Prospects Plus: Hagerstown Sun's Brian Goodwin

Name: Brian Goodwin 

Organization: Washington Nationals 

Position: Outfield 

Tuesday Stats: against Lakewood BlueClaws:  2 for 4 with 2 runs scored and a double 

Strengths: According to Baseball America, he could be a top of the order type bat. His speed is out of this world and that showed during his first at-bat when he made Lakewood outfielder Kelly Dugan pay for an error by stretching a double into a triple. So far this season, Goodwin is hitting .327 with 6 hrs, 31 RBI and slugging .530. Goodwin is the fifth ranked player in the Nationals system. He projects to be a .275 and 20 home runs type of player. 

Weakness: Time. Its going to take time. Goodwin has the potential to be the center fielder of the future in Washington put its going to take time. Goodwin is raw and needs time to develop properly. If the Nationals are going to make any type of deal, Goodwin would be one of the first players that teams ask for. 

Maybe Phillies fans are threatened by the Nats

For the last couple of years, I have split a 16 game plan with a bunch of people to Citizens Bank Park. As a Nats fan I always took the Nationals game.

When I used to go I would wear my Nationals hat and shirt and no one would say a world. Phillies fans thought very little of the Nats and why should they we were a terrible team. Usually people would ask I became a Nationals fan and why I would put myself through it.

Now it's a different story. On Monday I went to the Phillies/Nationals game with my father in law. I was wearing my Bryce Harper Harrisburg Senators shirt and the whole game people were giving me crap. Boy have times changed.

I guess the fact that Phillies fans are giving me crap about it means that they are scared of us. The next couple of years are going to be interesting.

Professional Tailgating: Bryce Harper meet Philly

The rivalry between the Nats and Phillies might be ready to kick off. On Monday night, the OTWT Tailgating crew headed to the Nats Phillies game to cheer on the Nationals. Here are some of the sights and sounds from the game.

Pregame meal, a Tony Luke's Pulled Pork sandwich 

Bryce Harper is introduced for his first at bat in Philly 

Harper gets a hit in his first at bat in Philly

Man of the hour, Bryce Harper standing in right field.

Nats/Phillies is set to become a blood bath

Last night, we saw what  Nationals-Phillies rivalry could turn into. Cole Hamels and Bryce Harper might prove to the people that set it off. Over the next two years, this rivalry figures to heat up and it could get nasty.

Professional Tailgating: A return to the ballpark

Nothing beats your first baseball game of the year and on Saturday the crew headed to the Mets and Phillies game. Here are some of the sights and sounds from the game. The Mets beat the Phillies 5-0.

Buffalo Style Sunflower seeds what could be better

Everyone gathering before the game

After being a jerk, this Mets fan is escorted from his seat

Top of the division

I know it's nine games in but look who is leading the NL East, yes the Nats. Come on boys lets keep this up.

College Baseball would have a different look if MLB followed the NFL Draft rules

So what would happen if baseball required players to go to college for at least three years, it would look very different then it does now. BaseballAmerica.com's Jim Callis takes a look at it and breaks it down. This is all you need to know Bryce Harper would be at South Carolina, now that would be scary.

The Bible has arrived

On Thursday, I got home to a nice surprise the 2012 Baseball American Prospects Handbook had arrived. For prospects geeks like myself, this is the bible. My book shelf in my office has them dating back to 2002 and its sometimes fun to take a look through them. 

A year in Tailgating: Video Edition

Its been a long year for the OTWT Tailgating crew. There have been trips to Buffalo to see the Eagles, to Harrisburg for a minor league baseball game and to Washington DC to see Manchester United. Here are some of my favorite videos from our 25 events that we attended.


Nats super prospect Bryce Harper comes to Lakewood
 Manchester United take the field in Washington DC vs Barcelona

 Rutgers Eric LeGrand leads his team out before the West Virginia game
 Philly fans turn on Andy Reid during the Eagles Patriots game

StrasMas Part 2

Its the second coming. Stephen Strasburg of Washington Nationals set to return to majors on Sept. 6. This is the best news Nationals fans have had since they signed their four top picks in this years draft.