A Little Noise Says Something

Only about half of the eventual crowd of 30,320 at RFK Stadium arrived in time for the national anthem last night. But every fan in the park seemed determined to vote on the Battle of the Beltways before the music had even stopped. At the words "Oh, say can you see" almost every Orioles fan chanted "O," just as they have since the late '70s at Memorial Stadium. But a split second later, unscripted and as loud as a baseball sonic boom, almost every Nationals fan answered with a "Boo."

Thus, without prompting, the fans of teams at the opposite ends of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway established a ritual form of verbal territoriality that -- just guessing -- may continue at games here between the clubs for many years.

Just as Opening Day of the '05 season produced the unexpected sight of the bouncing third base stands above the Nats dugout, so the first regular season game with Baltimore at RFK since '71 may have established a kind of antiphonal hazing.

The whole night underlined that prickly but energizing theme. The game's first batter, the Orioles' Ed Rogers, arrived with only nine at-bats in the big leagues. Yet he was booed so loudly and long, his name might as well have been "Peter."

When a Baltimore rally was greeted with "Let's Go O's," the motion was quickly suppressed by filibustering from Nats hecklers. And when the Orioles scored the first run on a triple by Corey Patterson, the ovation for the Birds was squelched by boos, either for the abhorred concept of a Baltimore run or the sight of right fielder Daryle Ward freezing on a liner directly over his head.

However, when this first meeting of a new era ended, Baltimore had produced exactly the kind of 5-1 win that was all too familiar to Senators fans when Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar came to town long ago. Except that last night , Kris Benson did the five-hit complete game pitching. Orioles to Nats fans: Was your TV reception clear enough on that one?

In the bad old days of Senators miseries when a 5-1 loss to mighty Baltimore was almost a moral victory, the local papers had what was called a "standing headline" that could be used on short notice for Washington games: "Orioles Beat Senators, Howard Homers." Now we apparently have an updated version: "Orioles Beat Nats, Soriano Homers."

They say you can't go home again. But sometimes you wish you hadn't. Except for a distant video board atop the right field roof, almost nothing has changed at RFK from the last time these two teams met in '71. A long, lanky Orioles right-hander -- this time Benson, not Palmer -- allowed the Nats little hope. Then, when it was too late, a Washington slugger bashed a four-bagger to boost himself in the home run title chase while his team puts itself on track for 108 defeats.

For such circularity, who needs to wait 35 years?

Told that Alfonso Soriano was now on pace for 54 homers after an eighth-inning blast into the left field mezzanine to avert a shutout, Manager Frank Robinson replied tartly, "He's on pace for 54 homers and I'm on pace for 154 losses. I bet he won't hit 54."

Testy, testy. As atrocious as 14-28 may be, it only feels like a pace for 154 loses to Robinson, who admits he's run out of remedies. "When things get desperate, you take desperate measures," said Robinson, after the Nats sent Ryan Church to Class AA after the game. "Nothing is set in stone around here. Don't believe a word I say."

At any rate, you can believe that losing sloppily to a team about 33 miles away from your home park makes anybody irritable.

Some will note, quite properly, that a crowd of 30,320 is no great shakes. However, the fans that came to this symbolic game were, apparently, the ones who really care. No one can measure buzz in a crowd. The very notion may be silly. But this night had a hum as the game stayed scoreless into the sixth inning.

Then, as the Orioles dominated the late innings and took a 5-0 lead, a novel element was introduced to RFK. Washington fans have generally been patient with their new team even though it has often played without proper big league focus since last August. However, faced with the indignity of a victory from the Angelos-owned visitors, the grumbling became palpable. By the eighth, some Nats fans discovered the joys of the parking lot while others booed the departure of reliever Felix Rodriguez (6.85 ERA) and the arrival of Joey Eischen (9.00).

The only late-game cheers were reserved for a Rodriguez fastball that hit Miguel Tejada in the ribs. In retaliation for a Benson fastball that barely missed the top of Ryan Zimmerman's batting helmet? Probably not. Don't bet on any bad blood brewing. The players and managers of these two teams have little idea of the cordial but deeply imbedded competition that has grown up between the fans of these two teams in recent years.

True, some local fans root for both teams and feel themselves the richer for it. But, as this night showed, plenty don't.

The rivalry when these teams meet is not between the players but, rather, between the neglected and abused Washington fans and the owner of the Orioles, who fought the return of the sport to the nation's capital for years and who continues to squabble with Comcast, producing a cable TV brawl that prevents many Washington fans from seeing the Nats on TV.

As soon as the Nationals learn that a significant number of their fans, who ultimately pay their salaries, give extra weight to the outcome of these games, then an unusual phenomenon could occur. Baseball rivalries are usually born on the field between the teams with the enthusiasm, and occasional rancor, spreading to the stands. This time, with two losing teams on the field, the extra charge of emotion in the ballpark may come from the fans themselves. In turn, that spark might actually help wake up the teams.

Which would be a good thing. The Nats and Orioles have spent much of the season sleepwalking -- making mental mistakes, finding ways to lose winnable games and driving the adults in charge of their behavior to distraction. If the Orioles and Nationals fans at RFK use the rest of this weekend to inspire their respective heroes to greater effort, it would be a welcome improvement.