Over the years, I've seen a lot of strange things at baseball games. And this weekend, I managed to see something I've never seen before.

Through serendipity I managed to stumble into front row seats right by the visitors dugout, so that I could look right in and observe the Cleveland Indians. We were about five feet from the on deck circle, which led to an immediate, obvious observation: baseball players are very set in their ways. Every Indian enaged in the same routine each time he came to the on deck circle, right down to standing in the exact same spot.

One player in particular, Jason Michaels, always stood so that my wife was unable to see the batter's box. She began to complain to me each time, saying "he's doing it again" each time he was in the circle. Over time, I began to realize that part of the problem was that Michaels was preventing my wife from ogling Grady Sizemore when he was batting.

I suggested that she yell "down in front," but she wouldn't step up.

I was also a little amused to hear an announcer this week make reference to Travis Hafner "pacing like a caged tiger" in the on deck circle. While he certainly appears menacing while doing this on television, we noticed something that detracted from the effect at the game: Hafner has squeeky shoes. That's funny, no matter how big you are.

But none of that is what was odd in this game. In the top of the second inning, Josh Barfield hit a bouncing ball straight at third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. The ball kicked up on Zimmerman, and he immediately struck the familiar poses of a player who isn't sure quite what happened to the ball once it got to him. He looked in his glove, no ball. Then he began to survey the ground around him. Again, no ball. Finally, you could see a comical expression of understanding when he realized that the ball had disappeared into his shirt.

Interestingly, the umpires called time before he had gotten the ball out. It would have been entertaining to see Barfield try for second while Zimmerman fumbled with his jersey.

The play was so comical that Fausto Carmona, coming up for his third major league at bat, couldn't stop laughing. He was laughing as he stepped into the box, and he was still laughing as he took a one-handed swing at a big, slow curve from Micah Bowie. It wasn't until the third pitch that Carmona seemed to have himself under control.

A couple of fantasy observations to end. Despite the 4-1 Nationals victory, in this game it was pretty clear that Carmona is the real deal, while Bowie is not. Carmona's sinker was working all game, inducing double plays and weakly hit choppers. Enough of those balls found holes for him to get nickle and dimed and lose. Bowie, on the other hand, somehow managed to throw 105 pitches while allowing only one run -- yet lasting less than five innings. The Indians were patient with him, and he struggled, but ultimately nothing fell.