Another night of bad baseball at RFK: The Nats lost to the Cubs 4-2 (actually the baseball wasn’t bad; it was just a loss). And again, the guy with whom I’m sharing a partial season ticket plan couldn’t make the game…but this time I got a clue and did things a little differently.

I walked out to the RFK subway stop, sold my field box seats to a scalper, bought a nosebleed seat behind home plate, and used the $45 difference to pay for the rest of the night (a pastrami from the excellent deli on the lower level, two beers and parking cost $38). I’ve never sat this high up at RFK and although I really liked the seats, I was surprised to find they were made out of wood (most RFK seats are plastic). I haven’t sat in a wood seat at a baseball game since I watched the Arkansas Travelers at Ray Winder Field in the 1980s.

I left after the eighth inning, found that the I-295 exit from the parking lot was inexplicably closed, did a little detouring and headed to Old Town to see my friend Joe’s band. Overall, it was a fine night of baseball and music (and free pastrami and beer).

Side note: I had a very odd experience at the game and I think I just figured out why. Two police officers showed up at my ballpark gate after the first inning and stayed there for several innings; at the same time, I also could see two officers on the roof of RFK. Occasionally, one would peer through binoculars in my direction while the other held a rifle that appeared capable of downing elephants. I thought that was odd, but now I realize it: I was sitting in a row all by myself, and the president of the United States was in attendance (which I did not know until this morning). In that scenario, guys sitting alone in ballparks apparently attract attention from The Man.