Emil Brown!  What the F!  You are telling me that you would rather have EMIL BROWN hitting second and playing RF rather than give at bats to F-Mart.  Manuel is really not going to start F-Mart because there is a lefty pitching?  Are you kidding me?  Also, Murphy isn't playing first base?  All because a lefty is on the mound?  Both of these kids are the future of the ball club and are up here to get at bats and battle.  Manuel is babying these guys way too much. Emil Brown!  One more time, Emil Brown is your starting RF on this night and is hitting second, protecting Carlos Beltran.  Why not Jeremy Reed?  I would much rather battle the Nationals lefty Lannan with people not named Emil Brown.  Well, as it turns out the Mets paltry line-up made Lannan look like friggin' Cy Young as he tossed a complete game, 1 run, 4 hit ballgame.  He had the Mets off all night long.  On the flip side, John Maine looked off and as we would later find out he was battling after being sick last week.  He didn't pitch all that bad after the first inning.  He lacked zip on his fastball and couldn't command his off speed stuff. 

Here are some notes from Saturday:
- Our flight on Friday night was delayed from 8:00 to 11:00, so James and I decied to take the train, we ended up getting to DC around 10:00 and we would later find out that the flight didn't get in until 1:05 am.
- I ran the Komen Global Race for a Cure on Saturday, way, way too early in the morning.  I did well finishing 114th overall. 
- We rented bikes and rode the entire city, must have covered 12 miles from the National Mall, to Georgetown, to Arlington Cemetary.  All along the way we saw hundreds of people decked out in Mets gear. Hats, t shirts, jerseys, you name it, all over DC.  I find it very strange that in 2008 the Mets didn't have a weekend series in DC. It is such an easy and enjoyable trip and it looks like many Mets fans made the haul.
- The stadium was packed with about 75% Mets fans, it should have been a home game from them.
- We paid $60 a ticket for 25 rows off the field, lower section.  Great bang for the buck. 
- Beautiful stadium, not as nice as CitiField, but way nicer than Yankee Stadium.  Sightlines, vending options, fan friendly. 
- Fastest game I have ever been to, 2 hours!  Let me say that again, 2 hours!  We were at the Bullpen bar just outside the stadium at 9:05.  All games should be played this quickly.
- The area around Nationals Park reminds me of CitiField and the chop shops.  This was once an area of DC that had nothing.  They are building it up with condos, restaurants and bars.  It was a small look into the future of what CitiField and its surrouding are would be like and I must say I like it. 

Bad, bad Mets loss, 7-1, however it was great being back in DC and the five of us had a hell of a time on Saturday night.