Early Game 1 Thoughts

My dad called me right before the game started and I rushed him off the phone so I could watch the opening ceremonies. We'll talk later in the game though.

Stadium looks great, but it's difficult to tell much of anything about it from the TV. I watched games from Jacobs Field for a decade before I ever set foot in the stadium and I was amazed when I finally went to a game there. The stadium is practically quaint. The typical camera view, however, makes it look much bigger and does the park no justice.

Nick Johnson: Interesting to note that Johnson is the only position player on the 40-man roster who played for the Montreal Expos (Luis Avaya, Chad Cordero and Jon Rauch all donned the Los Expos uniform as well). Nick looked great running the bases and you can tell he shed some weight. Loved the aggressiveness on the paths. Dmitri Young may end up being a $10 million insurance policy and little else. I was at the game where Nick broke his leg, so it's a real pleasure to see him back in action.

Christian Guzman: Picking up where he left off last season. Christian was devastated last year when he was injured again and it increasingly appears that 2005 was simply an aberration.

Ryan Zimmerman: Zim needs to cut down on his Ks, especially now that he's beginning his third full season. He doesn't hit for enough power to have such a long stroke. Btw, I noticed that Ryan was wearing Under Armour batting gloves. So we had a player who went to college in Virginia, playing baseball in D.C., wearing equipment made by a Maryland-based company. Metroplex in da house.

Paul Lo Duca: I swear he played on my softball team last year. Hands down my least favorite player on the Nats. Prove me wrong.

Odalis Perez: Chipper Jones should have crushed that batting practice fastball. I have a feeling he'll be gone by July 1st. Nice pick-off.

Austin Kearns: He's never lived up to expectations, so maybe the prospect of having to compete with Milledge, Dukes and Pena has lit a fire under his ***. I like Kearns because he hustles all the time and plays smart. Great play off the Brian McCann ball off the wall and a nice relay from Ronnie Belliard.

Lastings Milledge: He looked pretty woeful at the beginning of his first at-bat. Bat speed looked horrible. I did like the fact that he flashed a smile on the way back to the dugout (an acknowledgment that he screwed up by not putting the ball in play) and was up on the dugout steps watching the rest of the inning.

Manny Acta: Is it my imagination or is he beginning to look like Terry Francona? If he has the same success as Francona has had in Boston you won't hear any complaints.

Denyce Graves: A big thank you to the Lerners for bringing out some real hometown talent to due the National Anthem honors. I'm tired of seeing American Idol cast offs whom I've never heard of singing the toughest song out there.

President George W. Bush: The nicest thing I could ever saw about Dubya is that he has the best arm of any President, ever. Maybe he should take a **** test.