The umpteenth article on Nationals’ games being televised ran today in the Washington Post. What it means to me, here in Annapolis, 30 minutes away from the stadium? That 185,000 television households – other than mine – get to watch Nats games on TV. I can watch reality shows where people switch moms and wives, but I can’t catch an inning of D.C. baseball? Please.

What are the odds, seriously, that baseball comes back to D.C. and the Wizards are in the playoffs? While the rest of Washington seemed to be tuned into the MCI Center, the Nationals have been cruising on a three-game win streak and improved their record to 21-17.

Attention is finally back on baseball in this city, and it’s perfect timing.

After claiming the series against the Cubs, Marlon Byrd made his Nationals debut by going 3-for-4 with three RBI in a 5-2 win over the Brewers’ Monday night. Byrd was acquired from the Phillies in a trade for Endy Chavez last Saturday.

They’ve got one job – just one. Make the right calls. The umpires didn’t do that in all 13 innings Sunday night, and the Giants stole a 4-3 win from the Nats on two bogus calls – one that both the Washington Post and MLB.com said went the other way on instant replay.

In the bottom of the fifth, it looked like shortstop Cristian Guzman threw out Omar Vizquel, but first-base umpire Greg Gibson called Vizquel safe. The replay appeared to show that Vizquel was out. It cost the Nationals a run.

The Giants scored another controversial run in the bottom of the eighth inning. With Vizquel at first, Edgardo Alfonzo hit the ball down the left-field line. A young Giants fan leaned over and touched the ball with his glove, but home-plate umpire Lance Barksdale allowed Vizquel to score.

"You go out there on the field and you compete and if you get beat, you get beat. … But you don’t like it when they take it away from you," manager Frank Robinson said.

Sure, there’s a little room for human error in all officiating, but two costly runs?

Ok, I did it. I admit it. I went North Friday night. Headed up I-695. I went to that other ballpark 30 miles away from Annapolis. And I saw a first-place team as the O’s easily cruised past the Devil Rays.

First, lemme tell you about these seats, since for the first time, in say, at least five years, they weren’t in the press box. We had a front-row view of first base. Rick Dempsey was so close I could see the spit fly out of his mouth. Not that I haven’t seen these guys spit before. When you’re a beat writer, you pretty much have all-access. You’re on the field for BP before the game, even hanging out in the dugout. You’re in the locker room where you can see more than you want to. But you’re working. You’re focused. You’re in the zone and you don’t give a hoot about Sammy Sosa being Sammy Sosa.

All you care about is getting it right, writing it tight, and writing it tonight.

I was sitting there watching this game with a newfound awe, and a rekindled love for it. We got some beers. Some burgers. Some fries. And yeah, a couple more beers. We sang "Take me out to the ball game." We almost got drilled by a foul ball. I forgot what it was like to be a fan. All it takes is one trip to the ball park to remember, and it doesn’t matter which direction you go.