The curveball in W.'s Opening Day pitch

President Bush will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Sunday at the Washington Nationals' new ballpark.

W. will throw it to manager Manny Acta ... not Nats starting catcher Paul Lo Duca.

Thus the president will avoid being in a photo op alongside a baseball player who was one of the major names named in the Mitchell Report. Ta-da!

If you'd like more details/commentary on this development, I'll even give you your choice of news outlet:

The Washington Post ... your Washington Nationals/presidential politics paper of record: "Acta to Catch Bush's First Pitch"

or a  cheeky blog on FanIQ.com: "The Washington Nationals Decide Not to Totally Embarrass President Bush"

Thanks to Cementhead for bringing this to our attention.