When we hit the road...
Hey NatsTown,
I hope all is well. Today, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of traveling day routines for a Washington Nationals player or staff member.
We have three different ways of traveling when leaving Nationals Park: flying, taking the train to NY, and riding buses to Philly.
Usually, we head out to our next destination right after the last game of a homestand, unless we have a day off the following day. In that case, we leave the next day in the afternoon.
When traveling by air, we always fly in and out of Dulles and our dress code is suit or sports coat with no jeans or tennis shoes allowed.
The day starts by bringing your luggage in when you arrive at the ballpark. Our clubhouse staff places the luggage in a separate big truck that takes our bags directly to our plane.
After the game, we get about an hour to get ready and board the buses that take us to the airport. But before that, since we have a charter plane (Miami Air) and don't go through security at the airport, we go through a security screening at the ballpark or by the side of the plane before we board. Security is still a serious matter, and we get checked pretty well.
The whole process is a very efficient one, as our two buses take us all the way to our plane. We save a lot of time that way, even when the trip to and from Dulles can sometimes feel a little long. But that efficiency is huge for us, especially when we get back late at night from road trips and you can't wait to get to your own bed.
While on board the plane, our players get to eat a variety of snacks and dinner, nothing super fancy, but good food--well, at least I think so.
When we arrive at our destination, two buses are waiting for us inside the terminal, and they take us directly to our road hotel. Our bags arrive later than we do, as two different trucks pick up the baseball bags and the personal bags and deliver them to the ballpark and the hotel respectively.
The next day is back to business. We take separate cabs to the stadium to arrive there early and go to work.
When traveling by train, our dress code is slacks and collared shirts. The train ride is great and we all love it.
Our buses take us to the train station, and when we board the train, we have our own private section, so the players get together and play cards or dominoes and sometimes chase their babies around, as on this type of trip, families are allowed to travel with us.
When we get to NY, two or three buses (depending on the number of family members traveling with us) are waiting on us outside the train station to take us to the hotel.
While we are traveling by train, Mike Wallace, our Clubhouse Manager, makes sure all our bags are in the trucks and delivered to our rooms.
The next day, some guys take cabs, while some of us take the subway (train 7) to the stadium. I personally love the subway train ride and some of my coaches take it with me.
I used to take it all the time when I worked with the Mets, because I honestly don't think I could make it three blocks driving in NY--it looks scary to me between all the taxis and different bridges...No way!
When we travel by bus, our dress code is jeans and collared shirts. We only travel by bus when traveling between Philly and Nationals Park. The guys typically watch movies. Some of them are good, and some are terrible, mainly depending on what you like; but if you don't like the movie, you better pull out a book and some serious headphones, because that TV is pretty loud. And although it's a decent ride, it is nothing like the train.
I hope this gives you an idea of how your Nats travel to and from Nationals Park when we're not in DC for a homestand...Take care and have a nice week.
-MA
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Categories (click for archive)MASNblogs | Manny Acta |
Very interesting, Manny, thanks. I wish it was that easy and well-organized when I travel.
Manny,
Who is responsible for playing Kearns and Bard? When have you seen enough? If the answer is never then why do we need a manager at all? You can blame, Jimbo and Rizzo but honestly who makes out the line up card? Who says Bard gives us the best chance to win tonight? Who places unearned trust in that Kearns is going to help the team on any given nignt?
Manny please, please put winning above your stubborness. We need to win a few games here and your not helping with these line ups.
Manny,
"regardless of who is catching"......Bard cost us the game and two runs. Not the first time.......Does not matter who is catching? Manny just go back to sleep....you have done enough damage to this team in less than 3 years to last a lifetime.
Manny and Mike:
The experiments with Hanrahan, Bergman and Colome
should be over, by now. They are not major league.
Send them on their way, like Cabrera.
Hello Manny,
Tough time in Tampa Bay, especially Josh's losing his brother. To support Manny and the team, I'm sending a contribution to the ImpActa Kids Foundation. Good luck in NYC.
Our Nats organization seems to be snakebit. I thank you for keep your composure throughout the year. The team has dealt with adversity that is atypical for a mlb team. You, despite having less qualified players, have stood by them and, as the FOX reports suggest, have been willing to put yourself in harm's way on their behalf. I'm confident that no other person could handle a player who has suddenly suffered the incredible loss of a blood brother and, at the same time, motivated a group of players to continue the fight towards victory, in the same way that you could. Maybe the those in the front office make a decision to remove you from the organization but no true baseball person will ever believe that you were the cause of this team's suffering. Thank you for your committment as it serves as a learning opportunity for all of us.
Jayb, take it easy guy. Did you ever play baseball? If so, what was your highest level? If you have a day job, what do you do? Is there stuff that you go through at your job that is out of your control? Is your company functioning at it's best capacity? If not, are you 100% to blame for everything? If not 100% responsible for your company's failure, are you willing to call each local reporter to tell them how bad they are? I would imagine not, if so, then I would say you're just a bad person. Manny, keep on plugging. We know that this is hard and that the team continues to struggle. Now those players that were keeping the team afloat are the ones that are struggling and that makes it tough. Your community supports you and the way you go about your job.
I second the last two postings. Thanks for all of your work for the team and for the community.
I have played the game at the major college level. I have played with and against MLB talent. I have played against Hall of Fame Talent. I know bad baseball and Manny's teams for 3 years straight have been the worst fundamental baseball players I have ever seen. The defense is inexcusable and very fixable. The problem is players are not focused and they are not held accountable for poor play. Bard makes a little league error costing 2 runs and the game....he is playing the next day and guess what.....he does it again. This is not just a short term problem with Acta teams......it is consistent over several years. They can not bunt, they can not throw to the right base, they can not score a runner from third, they run into outs at 3rd base, it goes on and on.....Who is responsible for this lack of progress and poor focus on the field. Manny will tell you his players are sooooo young...well they are not and young they are regressing in every facet of the game under his leadership.
natsfan1a,
And I third those last two postings. I get too emotional and take it too personally when I try to defend Manny, so I'm glad to see others can step up and do it so eloquently. Manny, hang in there, you have a lot of support despite what the news "reports" would like everyone to believe.
Manny, should this be the final three games of your Nationals managing career, I just want to say thanks for being you. If it isn't the final three games and the front office makes the decision to keep you, then cudos to them for withstanding the outside pressures and the sense to realize that the problems of this team go far deeper than your managing. A lot of things need changing I'll agree, but pulling the plug on you isn't the answer. My only complaint with you is, well, once in a while I'd just like to see you go out on the field to back the guys when a call is questionable, thats all.