(the best buddy a blogger ever had!)

Following in the footsteps of Ted Leonsis’ infamous desert-cart-for-bloggers, the Washington Nationals picked yesterday’s game vs. the Brewers to open their Blogger’s Suite for the second time this season.  “The first of its kind,” boasted Nats President Stan Kastsen (above), who somehow resisted the urge to invite anyone from The 700 Level or Beerleaguer.  From The Washington Times’ Bob Cohn :

“They’re clearly a presence on the Web, which is clearly a presence in our lives,” said Kasten, who pays close attention to things written and said about his team. “They are out there doing things. I think we’re all better served when they have as much good information as they can have.

“I don’t know if we’ve gone too far or we haven’t gone far enough,” Kasten said. “All of us in sports are learning, feeling our way through these developments. A year ago we didn’t do things like this. A year from now we’ll probably have a better fix on what’s appropriate or what’s not appropriate. We’re trying to figure it out.”

Almost all of the 16 bloggers who showed up Sunday brought notebooks and used them. One of the deeper-thinkers and a big numbers guy, Steven Biel of FJB (Fire Jim Bowden – a shout-out to the departed Nationals general manager) toted a laptop. Many had recording devices and cameras. Blogging has become a sophisticated mixed-media enterprise that runs counter to the popular stereotype. Although that didn’t stop Brian Oliver, another brainy guy, from cracking that “all the mothers’ basements in the area are empty right now.”