A guide to first week of spring games in West Palm Beach with the Nationals

The excitement of another baseball season arriving for the Nationals is ramped up with the new spring training facility - The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches - and the ease it will have on travel plans for fans.

With the move to West Palm Beach, the Nationals have moved 126 miles south down Interstate 95 and closer to the Miami/Ft. Lauderdale area.

The Nationals' first Grapefruit League game on the schedule is Feb. 25 at Port St. Lucie (45 miles northwest) against the Mets. Viera was 83 miles from the Mets' facility.

The Nats play their first three spring training games on the road.

The second game will be Feb. 26 at Fort Myers against the Twins. This is the longest trip of this spring for the Nats at 124 miles (two hours, 30 minutes) west across the state. But that is still way better than the jaunt from Viera last year to Fort Myers, about 200 miles.

On Feb. 27, the Nats travel to Jupiter to face the Cardinals. The Cards' training spot at Roger Dean Stadium is only 15 miles north of the West Palm Beach facility. Last year, it would have been a two-hour, 115-mile trip south from Viera.

On Feb. 28, the Nats' first official home game in their new facility will be against their camp mates, the Astros, at 1:05 p.m.

On March 1, the Nats travel to face the Tigers in Lakeland, which is 165 miles northwest of West Palm Beach. That is the only spring training spot that was actually closer to Viera but just barely, at 100 miles west of the old facility.

On March 2, the Nats take on the Astros again in West Palm Beach. On March 3-4, the Nationals play the Cardinals in a home-and-home series, with the first game at West Palm Beach on Friday and then Saturday in Jupiter. The Nats will also have a split-squad game Friday in Jupiter against the Marlins.

That weekend of March 3-5 is a good one to see the Nats play a lot as they wrap up Sunday at home against the Twins. With Jupiter just 20 minutes to the north, fans can see the Nats play three times in three days and not drive far from West Palm Beach to see them.

As a matter of fact, during three of the four March weekends in Florida, the Nationals are home in West Palm Beach two out of the three days, so there are a lot of opportunities to see them play in the new facility on Fridays and Sundays. The only exception is the Saturday, March 18 game against the Astros.

Here is a cool website that breaks down the Nats spring training schedule and ticket availability. It also has directions from all points to the new spring training stadium.

Also, here is the Yelp list of the top-rated sports bars in the West Palm Beach area, so you can keep up with the World Baseball Classic and March Madness (because that's what I would be doing).