Posted by Cheryl Nichols

Photos of the 2011 Nationals Uniforms and Fashion Show can be found here.

Tyler Clippard, Ian Desmond, Drew Storen and Jordan Zimmermann are signing autographs at the Nationals Park Team Store today, Thursday, November 11. Autograph session will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and doors open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

o Ian Desmond 11:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
o Tyler Clippard 12:10 p.m. to 12:40 p.m.
o Drew Storen 12:50 p.m. to 1:20 p.m.
o Jordan Zimmermann 1:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m

Find out how to get the new jerseys here.

New Nationals Primary Logo

Posted by Cheryl Nichols, Contributor and Photographer for Nats News Network

There are several fun events scheduled for this weekend for the four game series showdown with the Chicago Cubs. If you cannot make it to the park, take advantage of the free activities in town to meet some of the Nationals players.

"Get Your Red On" this weekend - During this series the Nats will be wearing the alternate red uniforms to help celebrate the renewed spirit of the Get Your Red On campaign. The club is also encouraging fans to wear red for these games in order to show continued support and allegiance to the team.

The Washington Nationals will host the Fourth Annual Christmas in July Toy Drive Friday, July 17 through Sunday, July 19, benefiting the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program. Volunteers from the U.S. Marines and the Nationals will be present at the Nationals Park Center Field Gates to accept donations of new, unwrapped toys from gate opening through the end of the fourth inning. The toys collected will be distributed to needy families in the Washington, DC Metropolitan Region. Nationals fans donated more than 2,000 toys and $19,000 in 2008.

Washington Nationals Pitcher John Lannan will visit with fans and pet-lovers at the Alexandria Petco on Saturday, July 18 from 10:00am – noon. John will sign autographs and pose for photos with fans and their pets during the appearance. Drafted by the Nationals in 2005, John is in his second full season in the team’s Starting Rotation and holds a 6-6 record at the halfway point of 2009 with an ERA of 3.70. John grew up surrounded by rescued animals and is currently the owner of a French bulldog-beagle mix named Bailey. The Washington Humane Society will also be in attendance with their mobile adoption unit for those looking for a new pet in their life. Petco is located at 6612 Richmond Highway in Alexandria, VA.

The Washington Nationals will participate in Baseball Family Day at the National Portrait Gallery for the third consecutive year on Saturday, July 18. Nationals Catcher Josh Bard and Outfielder Josh Willingham will answer questions and pose for pictures with the children in attendance from 11:30am – 1:00pm. The event will feature baseball-themed games, arts and crafts, and music. Guests may also enter to win autographed baseballs from Bard and Willingham. Also meet author Fred Bowen and have him sign a copy of one of his books about baseball. The National Portrait Gallery is located at 9th and G Streets, NW, Washington, DC.

Are you a fan of cooking shows? The Nats and Levy Restaurants team up with Food Network to bring the first-ever Grill-Off to Nationals Park on Sunday, July 19. Phil Bucco, Levy Restaurant's chef at Nationals Park, will compete with Teddy Folkman, Executive Chef and co-owner of Granville Moore's Gastropub. Folkman was a Next Food Network Star finalist this season. He will be joined by fellow finalist Eddie Gilbert, who will emcee the event. You can catch the Grill Off at the Nats Family Fun Area prior to Sunday's game against the Cubs. Get there early and you may be selected to be a guest judge! The competition begins at noon with plates to be judged at 1:00 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. Click here for more information.

The Washington Nationals will continue their monthly health initiatives campaign with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis/Lou Gehrig's Disease) and MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Month. The team has partnered with the ALS Association and MS Society for the month of July to raise awareness and funds for research, and ultimately a cure. Click here for more information.

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Cheryl and I made our way to the Safeway on Alabama Avenue, SE, Saturday morning for the Dmitri Young autograph session. The event was scheduled for 11 am - noon, and we arrived around 10:30 am, the first to get there for the event. We made our way to customer service, and asked about where the signing was going to be set up, etc. I was on my cell phone talking to a fellow owner in one of my fantasy leagues, so i wasn't paying attention to the conversation. Apparently, the store manager started asking Cheryl about she thought it would be best to set up, what kind of supplies were needed, etc. The the manager asked if Cheryl had brought a tablecloth or something for the signing table. It was at that point Cheryl realized the woman thought I was Dmitri Young and Cheryl was from the Nats! You can tell from the photo that me and Dmitri are practically twins. Pretty funny stuff.

The real Dmitri showed up right at 11 am, and since we were first in line we got a couple minutes to chat with him before he signed out pictures we took at spring training. I gave him a Hank Aaron card from Hank's last season as he's a real big collector and thought he'd appreciate it, and he did. He personalized the picture of the two of us, saying "To Dave, Keep Battling the Diabetes Like Me, Peace, Dmitri Young". Very solid individual. I hope he makes the All-Star team and then gets traded to a team that makes the playoffs, cause he really deserves it after being discarded by Detroit last year. I just can't see how he could have been THAT big a distraction to the club, but i know the clubhouse is a different place.

Pre-game on Saturday, Cheryl was able to get Brandon Watson, newly recalled, to stop over and sing the pic she had of him from last year's opening day. He obliged, inscribing it "43 game minor league hit streak '07". Good stuff. She's a big fan of the slap hitting center fielders. I was able to get Saul Rivera over towards the Nats bullpen. Cheryl had a great pic ofwhat we call the "cingular man" pose, like a big X. He say me holding it up and after ridding his jacket and bucket of balls in the bullpen, came back out and signed for me. He said "Great picture, did you take?" and i said "no, my wife", to which he replied, "She does nice work". Nice work indeed.

After Saturday night's game, we stuck around afterwards to get a couple more autographs before joining friends at the Irish Times. Maybe I'm getting old (no maybes), but it was REALLY LOUD in there. I wonder if it was always that loud. Anyway, we met the girls from the 3 Girls With Heart blog. Really nice girls, and they really know their stuff, so their blog gets added to the list to the right. We got Austin Kearns, Jesus Colome, Nook Logan and Ryan Langerhans from the Nats, and Injuns starter Paul Byrd and OF Trot Nixon, who had a posse of easily 20 people. Cheryl told Nook he needed to get more steals for her fantasy team and he replied "I gotta play to steal". She felt bad cause she didn't mean anything by it. It's true though, you can't steal from the bench. Unless you're Ruben Rivera, but that's another story.