To me, our annual winter caravan and Natsfest is the official kickoff to the upcoming season.  That's why I can't be more excited for this season to start.  This past week I headed out on our team bus with some of our coaches and players to meet some very special people and loyal Nats fans. 

We kicked off our 2010 caravan on Wednesday morning at the SW Health Center just a couple of blocks away from Nationals Park.  I was joined by Jim Riggleman, Drew Storen, Danny Espinosa, Ryan Speier and Rob Dibble as we checked out the newly renovated building which was restored by our front office staff a couple of weeks before.  We all delivered some children's books, handed out some Nats gear, and spread plenty of smiles and laughs throughout.

 Next up we all went to lunch at Hard Times Cafe in Clarendon where an autograph signing followed.  I did a little guest bartending and made some kind of cranberry and pinapple juice concoction that only the bravest of the brave would ever try.  Next up, the bus brought us to Tysons mall where we all made our own Build-A-Bear.  Each player made their own plush doll, however Drew Storen's Batman-clad owl, was my personal favorite!

The next day, the bus, with the same group of guys, headed to Ben's Chili Bowl for lunch and a quick photo op.  There wasn't much elbow room while inside because the place was hoppin' at lunch time, but we were able to pass out autographs and meet plenty of excited Nats fans.  From there, we were off to Fort Belvoir where we joined military personnel in packing care packages for our soldiers over-seas.  Over the span of almost two hours, we were able to bundle up over 2,000 care packages to send to our soldiers.  It felt great to make a difference to our great men and women overseas.  At our final stop of the day, we headed to good ole' Pfizner Stadium, the home of our single A affiliate, the Potomac Nationals.  There, all the players, including myself, signed autographs for all those who attended.

After sleeping like a baby that night, we were at it again on Friday.  The Hotstove Lunch was a huge success and I mingled with the attendees seeking autographs.  Later, we were all off to the Washington Capitals game.  I spent most of my time goofing around with my cousin Slapshot, and I even got to guest referee the first intermission's mites on ice game.  Even though I was skating for the whole game, I surprised myself and didn't fall on my butt.. not once!

Saturday was our biggest day of the caravan where we were joined by the likes of Ryan Zimmerman, Adam Dunn, Nyjer Morgan, John Lannan, Tyler Clippard, Brian Bruney, Craig Stammen, Matt Capps, Jason Marquis, and of course the Hammer, Josh Willingham.  We started our day at the Children's Hospital in NW DC.  I always love visiting this place because it really brightens up the day of children who really need encouragement in their lives.  To put smiles on the faces of each of these children is a special feeling indeed.  From here, it was off to PG County Sports Complex where a press conference announcing our $5,000 donation as well as an autograph signing ensued.  The last stop of the caravan was at the White Flint Mall, where hundreds of fans braved the snow and cold to come meet their favorite Nats players..... and mascot! 

  The caravan was a huge success and it led to one of my favorite days of the year, Natsfest.  This Sunday was Natsfest and as usual, I had a great time meeting our season ticket holders.  There were clubhouse tours, photograph stations, prize drawings, bounce houses, face painting and of course autograph signings!  It was fitting for such a special day like Natsfest to end our winter caravan. 

Now being that the caravan and Natsfest is over, the next thing we have to look forward to is Spring Training and of course Opening Day!!!!  See you all soon Natstown!!!

 SCREECH

It's been quite some time since I've last updated my blog, but it's been a very long August and my wings are tired!  I have lots to update you with since my last post, so prepare to be in for a long one! 

Last month I visited my cousin Slapshot from the Capitals at Kettler Ice Rink.  He and I competed in a shoot out that I ended up losing 2-3.  After all, I'm supposed to lose; he's the professional hockey mascot!  I told him he's invited to Nationals Park for some baseball action in which I'm sure I'll return the favor and kick his butt!  He has yet to accept my invitation!

In early August I flew to Cleveland to celebrate my buddy Slider from the Cleveland Indians' birthday.  Slider turned 19 that day!  I celebrated his big day along with a whole bunch of other mascot friends from the Cleveland area.  We sang him Happy Birthday on top of the dugout, helped in their racing sausages race (yes, the presidents race is far superior), and played musical chairs.  There was plenty of cake, laughs and silly string throughout the day.  Those guys in Cleveland sure know how to party!

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Blood Drive at Nationals Park.  The turnout was truly amazing and it was great to see so many people eager to donate blood!  I tried to donate, but the nurse said eagles don't have large enough veins.  I was pretty disappointed but was glad to meet so many generous Nats fans.

I also attended the Jr. Broadcasters event at ESPN Zone the other day.  I was a special guest judge!  In the competition there were about 30 different young Nationals fans competing for the chance to join Charlie Slowes and Dave Jageler in the broadcast booth this upcoming Sunday game!  Everybody did a tremendous job commentating clips taken from Nationals games.  Two individuals were lucky enough to win, and I am looking forward to hearing them commentate this weekend!

I was also fortunate enough to make my way down to Pfitzner Stadium, where the Potomac Nationals play, to meet season ticket holders and their annual batting practice dinner.  I was able to meet a lot of die-hard P-Nats fans and even pitched batting practice to a couple of lucky fans!

On August 20th I attended a ceremony in NW in which a brand new park was opened in the center of town.  The park was named after Marvin Gaye and looks like it will be the center of lots of good times for the lucky children in the area.  It was an exciting day for everybody involved.  And especially exciting for me, because I got to play on the monkey bars!

It's hard to believe, but I know summer is winding down because I had a school appearance the other week.  I greeted hundreds of children entering school for the first time of the 2009-2010 school year.  It was great to see everybody in their "back to school" clothes and eager (and some not eager) to start the new year.  Good luck to everybody back in school, and make sure you earn those good grades!  Your future starts today and it starts with taking school seriously and trying your hardest to earn good grades!

In baseball news, we were able to sign Stephen Strasburg and made Mike Rizzo our permanent general manager.  Your favorite furry friend cannot be happier with the recent acquisitions and is totally optimistic about the future of baseball in Washington DC!

Thanks for reading today, and I'll be looking for all of you at the Park for the last month of the season.  GO NATIONALS!

-ScReEcH

It's been an incredibly busy and super fun week for me. I was able to fly west to St. Louis to hang out with all my mascot buddies from around the league and to support Ryan Zimmerman, our very own all star! The week started off great as I joined Fredbird, Rangers Captain, Pirate Parrot and Stomper at the opening ceremonies of FanFest. Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith cut the ribbon to the entrance of the convention center, and the all star festivities were officially underway!

Soon after the opening ceremony, I participated in the mascot home run derby. I ended up hitting 11 home runs, but I didn't end up advancing because the Pirate Parrot apparantly eats A LOT of wheaties! My 11 home runs ended up being the second highest home run total by any mascot the whole week. I was dissapointed to not advance, but I was pretty proud of my accomplishments.

The next day I was able to visit a lot of patients at a Childrens Hospital in St. Louis. Visiting hospitals has always been one of my favorite activities. I made a lot of sick childrens' days by spending my time in their room watching tv, playing with their toys, and stealing their food!

The following day, right after the MLB Futures game, I joined all my fellow mascots in a relay race on the field. I teamed up with Rangers Captain, Mr. Redlegs, Slider, and Slugger. The first leg of the race was the dizzy bat portion, followed by a hoola hoop contest, followed by a sack race. It was a dizzying experience but I finished with a great time. The team however let me down, and Fredbird's team ended up winning.

The next morning I helped kick off the MLB's 5K and Fun Run. I thought about running in the race.....but only for a split second. I much preferred mingling and high fiving participants at the race start than running for a really really long time!

The week was great fun and it was amazing to see all my buddies again at our yearly reunion. I'm already looking forward to the All Star game in Anaheim next year!

Summer is in full swing and with it has finally come some dry weather!  I've been extremely busy around the DC area the past couple of weeks and simply haven't found the time to update my blog!  With that, I need to catch you all up on my latest adventures.  On June 6th I attended the Global Race for the Cure which is an event to raise awareness of Breast Cancer that took place on the National Mall.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I arrived at the mall; there were over 55,000 people there!  I was able to meet so many courageous cancer survivors and was happy to help out for such a great cause. 

Recently I attended a "Buzz-A-Thon" in Gaithersburg, Maryland where all proceeds of buzzed hair cuts were donated to the National Children's Hospital's Brain Tumor Institute.  This Buzz-A-Thon was set up in the honor of Johnny Holliday's grandson Jack.  Being at this event, it was wonderful to see the community outreach for people needing of support. 

NatsTown was rocking this weekend as the Red Sox were in town.  Throughout the three game series, we set a Nationals Park attendance record all three nights!  It was great to see Nats fans at the park in full force.  What made the series even better was being on top of "Nats Fans 10" waiving my Curly W flag signaling a hard fought victory!

This past weekend I flew south to the great state of Texas where I helped Rangers' Captain celebrate his birthday!  Once in Texas, I got to meet up with a lot of my friends who came to party as well.  Fredbird, TC Bear, Mariner Moose and Junction Jack were there as well!  The six of us partied hard with plenty of dance-offs, high-fives and hugs to all the fans at the park.  It was great seeing a lot of my buddies again and can't wait until we all meet up again in St. Louis for All-Star Game!

The other day I visited the Children's Nationals Medical Center, where I and the umpires from the game that night handed out teddy bears to children at the hospital.  We all know that being in the hospital is never fun, especially as a kid.  Therefore, it felt so great to make all of these children so happy, even for the small amount of time we spent with each child. 

On Saturday I spent my morning at the National Mall where the Global Race for the Cure was taking place.  This event drew 55,000 people from across the world all who gathered to spread awareness and raise funds to battle breast cancer.  I was able to meet some extremely resilient breast cancer survivors and was moved by the amount of people who took part. 

That was my past week, keep checking in as I update you on my future endeavors.  Until next time, GO NATIONALS!!!

The weather has been clearing up lately and that means more play time outside!  I've been very busy as of late visiting friends from all over the District.  Since my last post I visited St. Ambrose Catholic school as their "Fun Day" was taking place.  Then I visited my friends from Challenger Baseball at Georgetown Prep where I got to pitch and play the field a bit.  Recently I attended "Bike to Work" day in which I was sure to ride my bike to Nationals Park.  Manny Acta and I stopped by Kimbal Elementary School to stress the importance of reading to elementary school students the other day.  I love to read and I had to share with the school my love of reading.  Recently, when we played Baltimore, the Orioles Bird was in town for a friendly competition at ESPN Zone called "Battle of the Birds."  At the battle, I was able to defeat the bird in a basketball, football and arm wrestling competition.  And for my great accomplishment, I won the "Golden Birdhouse!"  It's been a busy few weeks, and I will only get busier.  Next weekend I'll be in Texas to visit my friend Captain of the Texas Rangers for his birthday party!

Until next time,

SCREECH

This Sunday was my 4th Birthday!  I had Slapshot, G-Wiz, Glory, Lucky, George, Jack, YoUDee, Doc, Testudo and Talon here at Nationals Park to help me celebrate the occasion.  Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with my plans, but we were able to have a great time regardless.  My buddies and I hung out on the concourse of the Park and were able to greet a bunch of Nationals fans that were hoping for the game to begins.  Later, all my friends presented me with my very own birthday cake!  The cake didn't last long as we all ate it seconds after it was presented to me.  I think my current tummy ache is still a result of so much cake being eaten!  I hope to have all my friends back to Nationals Park again soon so they can actually witness a game! 

Until next time, Go Nationals!!!

The rain couldn't dampen the spirits of the die-hard Nationals fans at Nationals Park Monday night, as the Nationals were able to record another Curly W!  After a two hour rain delay, Jordan Zimmerman started his first career game and boy am I glad to have him pitching for us.  His control was incredible and he even reached 95 mph on his fast ball!  Jordan's pitches earned him his first career win in a game that ended shortly after midnight!  The game was wet, and ended early the next morning, but the results were well worth the wait!  I already can't wait for Jordan's second career start.

Until next time,

Screech!