Shaken Nationals get back to work
By JOSEPH WHITE Associated Press on Sep 18, 2013, at 2:28 AM Updated on 9/18/13 at 5:22 AM
Pro Baseball (MLB)
It took only one pitch Tuesday night for the Texas Rangers to take the lead in a game for the first time in more than a week.
The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff greeted players in the Washington Nationals clubhouse before the game, handing out blue and gold Navy caps.
WASHINGTON - The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff greeted players in the Washington Nationals clubhouse before the game, handing out blue and gold Navy caps. Manager Davey Johnson and his players held those caps from Adm. James Winnefeld over their hearts during a pregame moment of silence, disturbed only by the sound of a helicopter hovering nearby.
Baseball was played in the nation's capital Tuesday, just a short walk from the site where a gunman killed 12 people at the nearby Navy Yard military instillation. It was another attempt from the world of sports to restore normalcy when things really aren't normal.
"There's nothing we can do to replace the lives that were lost yesterday," Nationals outfielder Denard Span said.
Fans arrived via the Navy Yard subway station, although they were sparse in number because Monday's game was rescheduled without much notice. The USS Barry, anchored in the Anacostia River and the Navy Yard's top tourist attraction, was easily visible from the players' parking lot. The U.S. and team flags were at half-staff on the center field concourse.
Then, at 1:07 p.m. on a cool, late-summer day, the first pitch was thrown. The Nationals were back in their regular "curly W" caps, and soon fans were cheering an inning-ending double play by the home team. It was back to work, playing the first game of a day-night doubleheader hastily arranged after the previous night's game was postponed.
"It hit me hard," Span said, "because this is right across the street from our stadium. Just to know that we come here every day for work, and you drive by the Navy Yard all the time."
Much of the chaos that engulfed the ballpark 24 hours earlier was gone. The stadium's parking lot had been used as a staging area for relatives on Monday, when even Johnson was asked for extra ID to get past an armed guard.
By contrast, fans saw no overt signs of extra security at the ballpark on Tuesday.
Pro Baseball (MLB)
It took only one pitch Tuesday night for the Texas Rangers to take the lead in a game for the first time in more than a week.
The vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff greeted players in the Washington Nationals clubhouse before the game, handing out blue and gold Navy caps.
