Today, the first day I went back to the classroom after the great Washington Ice of 2007, I almost busted my butt taking out the garbage in the morning. A relatively warm rain had fallen through the night, landing on the solid ice in which our neighborhood is encrusted. It, of course, refroze instantly, causing a slick glaze onto which my shoes could not hold.But on this Ash Wednesday (and yes, I went and sang in church this evening!), I notice from the top thread at the Ballpark Guys that there are not only 40 days of Lent to go until Easter, but also 40 days until opening day of the 2007 baseball season. (Well, the opening game is on Easter Monday.)
When I got home this evening and tried parking my car on the street, the tires spun and spun in the snowy/icy mess. But when I came inside and got online, I read in Just a Nats Fan and in District of Baseball that the Nationals manager Manny Acta has asked a four-man core of Nationals players to be clubhouse leaders: Austin Kearns, Felipe Lopez, Ryan Zimmerman, and Brian Schneider.
All of these guys except Zim are signed for a couple years at least; Zimmerman is still the Nats’ sole property, since he’s in his second year of major league service.
The new Nationals stadium is going up as quickly as you could imagine, and true stadium geeks check the online webcams a couple times a day. JDLand is a good place to keep up with stadium progress.
The Nats’ spring training is giddy with happy anticipation, in contrast to last year’s spring preview. According to Tom Boswell in the Washington Post, the clouds have gone away.
Having had, basically, a whole week off from school, I’m done with winter now. Bring on the spring!
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