I came home today and decided to turn on the Nationals game.  As you can see from the title of this post, I was not happy. 

Was it because the Nationals were down 12-6 to the Marlins?  No. 

Was it because I can easily envision a 100 loss season for both the Nationals and my second favorite team, the Orioles? No. 

I have Dish Network and I get both MASN and MASN2, so i was able to watch both games simultaneously.  Sounds great right?  Wrong.  Neither game was in HD.  I have a beautiful 50 inch DLP from Samsung and it was all wasted on [sub-]standard definition. 

There was talk last year that Washington was not a very good baseball town.  Washington fans are not stupid...they understand when they are getting a substandard product and that is what the Nationals are giving us.  Great stadium, horrible team.  I admit to attending only one game last year.  That doesn't make me a bad fan.  I went to a game on Memorial Day.  Loved the stadium, loved Ben's Chili Bowl, and loved how easy it was to get in and out of the stadium on the metro.  What I hated was that Christian Guzman was the Nationals #3 hitter.  I decided at that point to not return until the Nationals put a decent product on the field.  It is now April and I can't wait for them any longer.  I like baseball too much to stay away.  

Not only are they a bad team on the field.  Their TV numbers were low last year as well.  Most fans can't get an HD broadcast of their games.  Maybe I am a snob, but I don't watch sports that aren't on HD anymore.  Hell!  I may skip the Super Bowl if it isn't in HD.  There is no way that this does not have an effect on their numbers.  I know they lost me even on Opening Day.

It is time that Washington fans hold the Lerners accountable.  It is bad when I don't even want to watch them on Opening Day.  Take a page out of Ted Leonsis's book.  The Capitals have sold out both playoff tickets this year and season tickets next year.  A great arena that is easy to get to (PASS), fabulous HD on Comcast (FAIL), and an exciting team (FAIL) is all you need to succeed in the Washington market.