Fouled-Off Bunts: Mr. Comcast Goes To Washington Edition

Tom Davis and Jim Moran might be meddling jerks, but they're our meddling jerks!

The House Gov't Reform Committee, which Davis Chairs, will haul Comcast and MASN into a public hearing next friday.

Also:

Moran yesterday met with Orioles owner Peter Angelos, who said he would not be willing to change the financial structure of MASN to appease Comcast, according to one source with knowledge of the meeting.

Rep. Frank Wolf, Virginia Republican, Senator Gordon Smith, Oregon Republican, and Senator Conrad Burns, Montana Republican, have pressed the FCC to force Comcast to carry the network, according to a report Wednesday in Roll Call magazine.

It's basically a bullying session, but one that will hopefully result in a benefit to us Comcastians. It's Comfarkingtastic indeed.

Tom Boswell chips in another column that proves that not only is he a dishonest debater, but an ignorant observer:

If you try to find a Nats fan with a genuine visceral dislike for the Orioles, you may have an all-day job. Every rendition of the national anthem at a major Washington sports event still gets a burst from the crowd at, "Ohhhhhh, say does that star-spangled banner . . ." That happens nowhere else in America. And the "O" is for "Orioles."

He's serious? He can't find one Nat fan with a genuine dislike for the Orioles? Hello? I can scrounge up a couple hundred with one mouse click. And perhaps he wasn't paying attention by the end of the season when there couldn't have been more than a few hundred people left doing the godawful (not to mention disrespectful) OOOOOOO in the National Anthem. By September, these idiots were sick of getting booed and yelled at for their provincial stupidity.

And THIS is supposed to be DC's primary observer in baseball? Put down the brie. Step out of the towncar. Grab the Purell and shake some hands, Boz!

I'm not the only one that feels this way, apparently. Sample comments from the BPG thread: "What alternate universe is Mr. Boswell living in?"; "What a load of garbage."; "Holy crap! What is Boz smoking?"; "Boswell is a good baseball writer, but he is a complete tool." And it's early yet!

Want to yell obscenities at him? He's chatting at 11.

Deadspin shows what a Godawfully boring franchise we really are. I hope that Jimbo doesn't see the picture there and get any ideas.

The President apparently has a scheduling conflict that will prevent him from throwing out the first pitch at our Home Opener. It's a great tradition, but I'm pretty sure that I can't be the only one glad to hear this considering the security nightmare from last year.

In their baseball preview section, the Times had an interesting look at RFK's park factor, and how it affects the bats. The most interesting tidbit to me was that RFK was second in foul-outs per game with 2.3. I figured it was high, but didn't think it was that high. Of course, now that Vinny Castilla is gone, look for that total to halve.

Federal Baseball reviews Baseball Prospectus.

Nats Blogs reviews "The Book", and talks about an unconventional strategy that could add 6-7 cheap wins to the Nats total, but would likely result in Frank having a stroke.