With apologies to Mr. Desenberg, whose column is at the forefront of the "gonzo drinking" school of journalism, I'd like to address a serious problem that has gone widely unremarked upon: the lack of beer in the immediate area around Nationals Park.  To those Nats fans who are worried about convenient inebriation options, I feel your pain and I am here to help you us.

With few if any bars available in the Navy Yard area, many people have taken to drinking on either Pennsylvania Ave. between 3rd and 6th Sts. or hitting the 8th St. strip north of Eastern Market.  Both are venerable options, as this longtime Capitol Hill lush resident will tell you.

But you should be aware of convenient transportation options, especially since those neighborhoods are on Metrorail's Blue and Orange lines while the stadium is on Green.  The old N22 bus route, which traveled from Union Station to the ballyard, has been officially discontinued.  It has been replaced by a Circulator route which meanders its way through the neighborhood and eventually winds up at Nationals Park.

The good news is, the bus will run every 10 minutes from 6 am to 6 pm with extended hours on game nights.  Also, the Circulator is an enclosed vehicle that eliminates unnecessary decapitations, a feature many regard as a benefit.  (My sincere apologies to those affected by that accident, but it really does highlight the importance of the Circulator's contained structure when tailgating is involved.)

The bad news is, this route only occurs on weekdays.  On weekends, the Metro website provided a convoluted path that involved a transfer (!) when I queried the first Saturday night game on April 18.  Even then, the drop off point was not near Nationals Park.  So as far as I know, the weekend issue is still up in the air, although the RFK-based Nats Express stopped periodically on 8th St. on Friday and Saturday nights last year.

As a Senate side resident, I have my own approach.  Start out at Union Pub, with its friendly staff and sports-oriented atmosphere, move on to Capitol Lounge, and then continue down 3rd St. to the ballpark.  If I skip work begin early enough, I can get a nice buzz working for an hour or so before the game.

So remember, kids: the Navy Yard is really just an extension of Capitol Hill.  You can drink, walk, take the bus, and avoid bridge-induced fatalities...and then watch the Nats win 77 games this year.

(Well, that's my prediction for Mr. Hornbaker's purposes, anyway.)

      

All ballparks have unique elements to their seating arrangements.  Some stadiums cleverly sneak in seats wherever they can (or, ahem, wherever they can’t…although that’s no match for this).  Some had outfield seats that are seemingly closer than those behind the plate.  Heck, some even have seats that aren’t technically in the stadium at all.

While Nationals Park may not have anything quite that original, it does have one area that offers a really cool perspective: The Red Loft.  First of all, there’s lots of fun stuff to do.   Uh, responsible fun, natch.  Secondly, the Loft offers kind of a cool perspective on the game.  And thirdly, the seats are a semi-reasonable value at $35 per single game.

A few words of caution.  As much as I enjoy the Loft, beware the Red Porch.  Look in the lower left hand corner of this shot: railing and glass prison!  (I can understand the glass and the top railing, but must all those bars be present in addition to the glass?)  The Loft has almost no such concerns.  Also, check out this close up.  The first row has relatively low and unobstructive plexiglass, whereas the second and third rows have needlessly high railings.  While it’s tough to find tickets for Row A through the team, someone offered them on StubHub at face value for a game I’ll be attending against Toronto.  A random glance through other games suggested similar availability.

Looking for interesting views, minimal competition for a well-staffed bar, and a miniscule chance to catch a truly prodigious home run?  Give the loft a shot.  Granted, not many guys have hit the ball that far in Washington.  But hey…you never know.  Tell ‘em Walk Off Balk sent ya!  (Even though I’m pretty sure they will have no idea what the hell you’re talking about.)