Fans showing up to Nationals Park two hours before first pitch Tuesday night will get a little extra for their money.
Hugh Kaufman, aka the Nationals’ “Rubber Chicken Man,” will be leading a group of fans through the Kaporos ritual outside the centerfield gate, sacrificing a rubber chicken to “ward off the bad juju” that has fallen on the team as they’ve lost four straight to fall out of first place in the National League East.
Longtime readers are familiar with the ritual, most recently performed at the ball park after the Nationals lost the first two games of the 2014 divisional playoffs. Remarkably, it seems to usually work. The team went on to win game three. Kaufman’s sacrifices have preceded winning streaks almost annually since 2005, and have been called on by previous manager Davey Johnson, and by pitcher Gio Gonzalez, who has been known to wear a “Chicken Mode” t-shirt in honor of Kaufman.
LET TEDDY WIN 