Times for Games 1 and 2 of NLDS are set (with ump assignments)

Major League Baseball has announced the start times for the first two games of each Division Series. And the schedule they've gone with might leave some D.C. sports fans a little frustrated. The Nationals will start their first postseason game in team history (and the first playoff game in D.C. baseball history in 79 years) at 3:07 p.m. on Sunday. Monday's Game 2 will start at 4:37 p.m. Both games will air on TBS. This means that Game 1 will start sometime just after halftime of the Redskins-Falcons game, leaving some fans with a decision to make or a need to have a quick remote trigger finger. Major League Baseball usually tries to avoid overlapping its postseason games with NFL contests involving a shared city, but this time, it apparently was unable to do so. I'll bet those in the Nationals' marketing department aren't too thrilled with MLB's decision on this schedule, but this is what they'll have to work with. Of course, the Nats don't yet know who or where they'll play. They will take on the winner of tonight's Braves-Cardinals wild card game and will ship out tomorrow morning to the road city. If the Braves win tonight, that means that not only will the Nats and Redskins be playing at the same time, but both teams will be facing Atlanta-based teams. The Nats would be playing the Braves in Atlanta, while the Falcons will be back here taking on the Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover. MASN will air a one-hour pregame show before all postseason games and will also have a one hour postgame show. Doing the math here, that means that you should tune in at 2 p.m. to catch the pregame show before Sunday's Game 1. Update: MLB has announced the umpires who will work in Division Series. And the Nats will see a couple familiar faces. "Cowboy" Joe West will be the crew chief for the Nationals' series. His crew includes Paul Emmel, Ed Hickox, Marvin Hudson, Jim Joyce and Alfonso Marquez. Hudson, you might remember, is the umpire who ejected Nats manager Davey Johnson after blowing a call at first base in Atlanta.