Reactions to story from The Washington Post
Acta to Catch Bush's First Pitch
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ wp-dyn/ content/ article/ 2008/ 03/ 27/ AR2008032703151....
President George W. Bush iwill throw out the first pitch for the Nationals' opener but instead of tossing to catcher Paul Lo Duca, Manager Manny Acta behind the plate.
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Lo Duca Not Chilling with the Prez
http://www.hotfootblog.com/2008/03/28/lo-duca-not-chilling-w...Paul Lo Duca will not catch President Bush, who is throwing at the first pitch at the Nationals new stadium. According to the Washington Post, formet Met coach Manny Acta will take Lo Duca's spot. The Post reported that this decision had nothing to do
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The Presidential Pentathlon
http://thisgoesto11.blogspot.com/2008/03/presidential-pentat...Is it just me, or has anyone noticed how pathetically uncoordinated and unathletic your typical liberal is? : Obama got a 37? He can't roll the ball 20 times down a lane and average at least FOUR pins? Our current prez can still throw a baseball at 70mph and mountain bikes like a maniac. Here's what I'd really like to see...a presidential pentathlon. Screw foreign policy or the economy...I want to be sure our country is not being led by some limp-wristed pussy. McCain vs. Obama in 5 events: Boxing (Do this one first...McCain would kick Obama's ass and that might be the end of the entire competition) 50 Yard Dash...you know, for that sprint from the White House press crew to Marine One. (McCain would win that one too...did you see Obama prancing around in that video?) Shooting... since our military also uses guns, Obama would probably just surrender this event to McCain One on One Basketball...here's an event Obama might actually win. Because he's...uh...you know...taller than McCain. Border Marathon...each candidate runs the distance between the gaps in our US/Mexico border fence. Something tells me this is an evenly matched event.
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Nationals Decline Opportunity To Mock President Bush
http://mvn.com/outsider/2008/03/30/nationals-decline-opportu...When it was announced that President Bush would toss the ceremonial first pitch at Sunday night’s grand opening game of the Washington Nationals’ new stadium, an interesting question was raised: Who would he throw this pitch to? At first glance, you’d probably expect that the Washington catcher would be on the receiving end of this pitch. But there’s one minor problem with that: The Nationals catcher, Paul Lo Duca, was mentioned in the Mitchell Report a whopping 37 times. And then consider that Bush strongly denounced steroid usage in his 2004 State of the Union address, and called for performance enhancing drugs to be eliminated from sports. So, those of us who enjoy poking fun at the President were pretty excited about this ceremonial first pitch: The possibility of Bush throwing the pitch to someone who had considerable involvement in the Steroids Era of baseball seemed almost too good to be true. However, although this situation had “PR disaster” written all over it for Bush, the general manager of the Nats, Jim Bowden, recently informed Lo Duca that Washington manager Manny Acta will instead be catching the President’s pitch. Remember the date, folks: March 30, 2008 — a day when President Bush actually avoided a poor PR move. A White House spokesman claimed that the administration had nothing to do with the decision to make Acta the recipient of the pitch — supposedly, the Nationals had full control over the matter. Gimme a break…this decision has the White House’s fingerprints all over it. Bud Selig might have also played a role in the move. But either way, the right decision was made…the President avoided looking worse than he already does, and I suppose that’s a pretty damn good accomplishment for him. Hat tip: FanIQ
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Opening Day
http://notionscapital.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/opening-day/The Washington Nationals play their home opener in newly-erected Viagra Park - just follow the traffic jam; you can’t miss it. Actually, the team — or the city, or MLB, or WTF knows - gets to decide on the “naming rights,” which morally-bankrupt corporation will pay millions to be linked forever to the municipally-financed ballpark. Rumor says Bear-Stearns has the inside track, with Preparation-H and HeadOn tied for second. The new high-rise condos in the stadium neighborhood reflect opening-day excitement, and scores of windows are decorated with bright red “Foreclosed” and “Price Reduced” signs. Baseball mavens say the new park will be a “hitter’s stadium.” Now that Congress has stopped those baseball-drug hearings, maybe the Nationals would be interested in Franklin Stein (below) the new pitcher I’ve developed with Synth-Sport Labs. He’s a rookie, but parts of him have been recycled. Top and bottom images by Mike Licht; Middle image by Washington Nationals, MLB. Download bottom image here. Creative Commons license. Credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com
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Oh, To Be A Pop Fly On The Wall
http://www.NerdsOnSports.com/2008/03/28/oh-to-be-a-pop-fly-o...From the Washington Post: The team will host an exhibition game Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles before opening the season with a nationally televised game Sunday night against the Atlanta Braves — one in which (President) Bush is scheduled to both throw out the first pitch and appear in the ESPN broadcast booth. I’m sure we’ll see the hard-hitting journalism Jon Miller is noted for, as well as the factual accuracy of a Joe Morgan to back us up. I think we see where this is going… “I remember playing with Pete Rose on that ‘76 team, he told me, ‘Curveball, fastball, all it is is baseball, and that’s what you need to win.’” “Slider down and away.” “You know Joe, it’s, it’s a crime that Pete Rose idn’t in the Hall of Fame. He knew what he was doing, and the punishment, you know, the punishment…” “Fit?” “Fit, and he’s served his time. He served his time and did his shame and now it should be time for him to get that Hall of Fame ticket.” “The pitch, swung on and looped up over second, a base hit for Lo Duca puts a man on with one out in the third.” “Speaking of Pete, I remember late 1983 I knew we were going different ways from the Phillies, and I told him, ‘I’m gonna know when you get to 4,000 hits, and I’m gonna be there when you get past Cobb. And I went to Oakland and he went to Montreal…” “Ball high to Ryan Church, and the count is 1-0.” “He got his 4,000th hit!” “Absolutely did, Mr. President!” “Hahahahaha…” “Heh heh heh heh heh heh…” “Heh, yes, there’s a strike…” “Heh…I remember that game too. You know, you never forget a number like 4,000.” “………” “………” “………” “………” “………” “So, Laura played softball in high school, is that right?” Washington Nationals manager Manny Acta will catch the first pitch, not catcher Paul Lo Duca, almost certainly because of his presence in the Mitchell Report. The pitch will be a strike, as the President has demonstrated time and again his effective leadership through . This will also be the highlight of the Nationals’ season.
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The curveball in W.'s Opening Day pitch
http://thestatecom.typepad.com/guesspert/2008/03/the-curveba...President Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Sunday at the Washington Nationals' new ballpark. W. will throw it to manager Manny Acta ... not Nats starting catcher Paul Lo Duca. Thus the president will avoid being in a photo op alongside a baseball player who was one of the major names named in the Mitchell Report. Ta-da! If you'd like more details/commentary on this development, I'll even give you your choice of news outlet: The Washington Post ... your Washington Nationals/presidential politics paper of record: "Acta to Catch Bush's First Pitch" or a cheeky blog on FanIQ.com: "The Washington Nationals Decide Not to Totally Embarrass President Bush" Thanks to Cementhead for bringing this to our attention.
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Slap on the wrist to Lo Duca?
http://www.strike3forums.com/forums/washington-nationals/266...washingtonpost.com It appears that Lo Duca will not be the guy to catch President Bush's ceremonial first pitch on opening day. He's not too upset about it, and all sides seem to claim that it has nothing to do with the Mitchell Report. Opinions?
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Karl Rove Never Would’ve Let This Happen : Paulie Go Nuts Dissed By White House
http://www.cantstopthebleeding.com/?p=12826Days after one columnist raised the point that the battery of George W. Bush and Nationals backstop Paul Lo Duca might make for an awkward photo opportunity Sunday evening, the Washington Post’s Barry Svrluga reports that DC skipper Manny Acta will instead, catch the ceremonial first ball from our beloved Commander In Chief. The choice has symbolic implications. Lo Duca was one of the primary figures in the report by former Senate majority leader George J. Mitchell on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Bush, in turn, is an avid baseball fan and former owner of the Texas Rangers who has publicly denounced the use of steroids, both in professional sports and by America’s youth. The White House said it played no role in determining who would catch the pitch. “Whatever the decision the Nationals make is up to them,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said by telephone Thursday. “In no way did we, or would we, raise any issues.” Lo Duca said after Thursday’s final Grapefruit League game that he had no animosity about the situation. “I’m not upset,” Lo Duca said. “I’m just not catching it. They just told me that was the decision, that they’d go with Manny.” I applaud Captain Red Ass for taking the high road in this instance. Rather than moaning about how his reputation might’ve taken a hit were he seen fraternizing with a known cocaine abuser, Boogie Shoes knows he had little to gain from such an encounter. Even if Lo Duca emerged from Sunday’s ceremonies with Jenna Bush’s phone number, she’s a little long in the tooth for the former Mets catcher.
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