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FBb On MASNSports.com's Nationals Buzz: An Expos Fan At Home In D.C. On Opening Day

Every Friday this season, hopefully, if they'll continue to have me, I'll be writing a post over at MASNSports.com, "as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest," writers to their site. All opinions expressed are my own... Here's a sample, you can read the rest over there.

By Patrick Reddington
Win McNamee

Every Friday this season, hopefully, if they'll continue to have me, I'll be writing a post over on MASN, "as part of MASNsports.com's season-long initiative of welcoming guest [writers]," to their site. All opinions expressed are my own... I'd like to thank them for having me and I look forward to participating in the program throughout the 2013 campaign. After driving home from D.C. to NJ last night I sat down and wrote some about Opening Day in the nation's capital. Here's a sample, you can read the rest over there through this LINK or the one included below:

"Davey Johnson said he liked what he saw from the Nats' switch-hitting second baseman [Danny Espinosa] this spring. "He started being more selective," Johnson said, "He was more direct to the ball, from both sides, and you'll see his on base percentage go up." The 70-year-old manager sees improvements similar to those he saw Ian Desmond make before his breakout 2012 campaign. I've learned not to doubt the veteran baseball man's opinions.

"I would travel from my home in Johnson, Vt., where I lived after attending college in town, across the border in Richford, Vt., through Canadian farmland and small farming communities to Autoroute des Cantons de L'Est across the Jacques-Cartier Bridge to Rue Notre Dame East, down the Boulevard Pie IX to the Stade Olympique on Rue Pierre de Coubertin. -From story over at MASNSports.com

"I'm clearly not the only one who appreciates the attitude Johnson brought with him to Washington. The Nats manager got one of the loudest ovations during the introductions on opening day. Johnson claims this will be his last season, though there has been some chatter recently from some people who don't believe this will be the last we see of him. Just in case he does go, the fans let him know how important a part he's played in the rebirth of baseball in Nationals Park.

"The excitement on opening day in D.C. didn't quite reach the heights the nation's capital experienced as a community last October when Johnson's Nationals brought postseason baseball back to Washington.

"There wasn't an empty seat in the house on opening day, with 45,274 people in the stands, so the fans chose a more traditional means of expressing their appreciation than the one we used to settle for in Montreal."

• LINK: Read the entire article over at MASNSports.com and feel free to comment over there.

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