Teddy in the Mud! Bet the House on it.

EVERY PRESIDENT HAS HIS DAY! Teddy will win! He is probably a mudder. Look for the 26th President to wait until there is a major rain storm to break from the field, and triumph in a pouring rainstorm. Much like the breeding lines that produced the "Gulch" thoroughbreds (Gulch, Thunder Gulch), Teddy will win in A Driving Rain and A Sloppy Mud Track!

Kearns thinks he's fat. When you hit .280 & 100 rbis Kearns, remind me to listen!

Ian Koski writes:

He has tripped and fallen more times than we can count. He has wandered aimlessly and mingled with fans along the right field wall. He has pursued food into the stands. He has proposed marriage to a Nat Pack girl. He has gotten stuck in the bathroom. He has even been taunted and roughed up by his opponents.

One way or another, Teddy has lost each and every one of the 107 live-action Presidents' Races since their debut at the "grand re-opening" at RFK Stadium in July 2006.

"It tends to not make him look very good," Nationals closer Chad Cordero recently lamented.

It didn't take long for fans to notice that Teddy hadn't yet won a race and to begin chanting "Let Teddy Win... Let Teddy Win."

"We root for Teddy precisely because he’s never won," says Scott Abelman of Northern Virginia. "He’s like our beloved Nationals these first few years – young and full of promise, always the underdog, teasing us with flashes of brilliance, yet falling short by the end of each season."

Abelman registered "Let Teddy Win" as a trademark and launched "letteddywin.com," where he now blogs and sells an array of apparel and paraphernalia meant to exude that of a political campaign. "My hope is that the shirts and the blog will help cement this tradition and engage more young kids as lifelong Nationals fans," he said.

At times desperate, Teddy has been known to resort to trickery that resulted in disqualification. Like the time in 2007 when he zip-lined down from the lighting grid, and the time he maneuvered a golf cart around his opponents. He once emerged from the visitors' dugout on the 1st baseline and tried to sneak ahead of the pack.

"He's got the talent and he's got the athleticism," Nationals' Mascot Coordinator Steve Roche said last month. "He's just kind of getting caught up in the hoopla of the race. Whether it's the fans or something on the field, whether there's an attractive lady, or whether it's the fact that he can zipline in or drive a motorbike. He kind of gets caught up in the hoopla of the race."

More than once a Teddy victory seemed certain.

With the Nationals widely expected to perform miserably in 2007, it was reasonable to predict Teddy might win the home opener - a metaphor for the victorious underdog and something positive to smile about on Opening Day. Teddy lost.

After each of the other Racing Presidents won the race on the day his bobblehead was given out to fans, Sept. 1, 2007 appeared to be Teddy's day. Carried on a throne and escorted by "Secret Service" agents who kept the others at bay, fans cheered wildly expecting a win. But when Teddy fell off the throne and his aides attempted to help him up, the others made a dash for the finish line. Teddy lost.

Teddy was again widely expected to win during the Nationals' final game at RFK Stadium. With George, Tom and Abe detained in the bullpen, Teddy appeared poised to win... until the video screen revealed Teddy was at the new ballpark. Teddy lost.

"I really thought they were going to let him win the last game of the season," Nationals Manager Manny Acta said. "Then start him again at the new stadium and let him go 0-for-life."

"Teddy needs to go on a diet before he wins," Nationals rightfielder Austin Kearns said. "He's too fat."

With the first game at Nationals Park just days away, the question returns to the forefront: Will Teddy ever win?

"If Teddy does win and when he does win, I think it'll be a monumental day for Nationals history and the Presidents' Race," Roche said.

From a purely marketing perspective, as each logical opportunity for victory passes, it seems to become harder and harder to envision a circumstance in which Teddy wins. If the last game at RFK Stadium wasn't a perfect-enough moment, what's it going to take? Do it on opening day at Nationals Park and it gets drowned out by the stadium fanfare. Do it on a weeknight and fewer youngsters will be able to see it. There's a lot to consider.

"It could be a big day, it could be a big giveaway day, it could be a historical day, or it could be a run-of-the-mill Wednesday," Roche said. "He could win at any point - we're just hoping it'll be sometime soon."

First baseman Nick Johnson sees things entirely differently. "I hope he doesn't [win]," Johnson deadpanned earlier this month. "Keep the fans getting p***off. It's a good time."