Nationals To Officially Debut Ballpark Against Braves On ESPN

The Nationals yesterday released their '08 schedule, which officially confirms the team will open Nationals Park on March 30 against the Braves in a nationally-televised primetime game on ESPN, according to Mark Zuckerman of the WASHINGTON TIMES. The club has invited President Bush to throw out the first pitch, as he did at the franchise's debut game at RFK Stadium in '05. Meanwhile, the starting time for "most weeknight games" has move from 7:05pm ET to 7:10pm "to allow for a longer pregame show," and Friday night games will begin at 7:35pm "in an attempt to keep fans from dealing with rush-hour traffic." Zuckerman notes despite "a push for more weekday afternoon games, only three have been scheduled." Nationals President Stan Kasten indicated that the team "wants to schedule more weekday afternoon games in the future but wants to study traffic and parking issues first this season before deciding what works best" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 12/19).