Official Nationals at Giants series thread - starts 5/20/13

Monday, May 20 - Nationals - 7:15 pm - Vogelsong vs Duke
Tuesday, May 21 - Nationals - 7:15 pm - Cain vs Strasburg
Wednesday, May 22 - Nationals - 12:45 pm - Bumgarner vs Gonzalez

Ok. Lost 5 of the last 6. Time to turn things around.

17 hits and 8 runs last night!

Any word on Vogelsong's injury?

Vogelsong suffered a broken pinky knuckle on his hand as well as another break elsewhere. He will have surgery tomorrow and will miss 4 to 6 weeks.

Wow, was at the game tonight, best one I've been to this year! Much needed after going all the way to Toronto to watch them get spanked. GO GIANTS!! Down to our last strike and pull off another walk-off!!!!

How was the atmosphere in Toronto?

Originally posted by madbuster:
How was the atmosphere in Toronto?

The stereotype about Canadians seems true. In the short time I was there almost everyone was very laid back and kind. After the Jays killed us for the second time there were a couple of young people who felt the need to talk sh## to me because I was in Giants gear, but that's to be expected. I gather they are disappointed with their bad start and really enjoyed having their way with the world champs. Not a ton of other Giants fans but for being on the east coast and in another country we were pretty well represented IMO.

The park was interesting (I'm trying to see every ballpark) from what the locals told me it was built around '89, and I'm thinking it was the last built for the era of big cement monstrosity type ball parks. Felt big and kind of ugly but was also kind of cool knowing there was a time when many teams in MLB once played in venues like these (Candlestick). They play on turf and sitting in the first row in left field it looked like short fuzzy carpet. It's a retractable roof which they had open and the locals were telling me it's a REALLY ugly venue when it's closed. There's a hotel built into the park and the scoreboard in center field is surrounded by hotel room windows. It's pretty cool, but again kind of ugly IMO. I asked why they had numbers by each window and the couple next to me said that when the park first opened they had some trouble with hotel guests having sex in front of everyone and they wanted an easy way of knowing which room it was.

I really liked the downtown area surrounding the ballpark, theaters, live music, bars, restaurants. Felt very very safe. There's some club called the horseshoe and I was told that the Rolling Stones will sometimes show up there unannounced and play (usually when they're getting ready to tour). I was able to get to and from the airport and the ballpark using an express bus and their subway system. Took longer than a cab but it was $3 each way vs. $50. Leaving the airport the driver let me ride for free because I only had a Canadian $5 and since the bus doesn't make change he told me to just remember exact change when I rode again. My god Canadians are nice.

That is hilarious about the hotel windows. The only part of Canada that I have been is Vancouver, which I know is nowhere near there. It sounds like you had a fun time, despite the loss. If I am ever out there, I think I might want to check it out.

We're you there just for the game or was it a family or business trip? I know you said that you were trying to visit as many parks as you can. Was it a trip specifically for that?

That sounds fantastic. I want to hit up a few games in other states. Which ballpark have you enjoyed the most?

I'm only about 1/3 of the way there on the ballparks (12). I can think of something really cool about every park I've been to so far. I'd have to say that so far Rogers Center (Toronto) has been the weakest, but still cool. Hands down the best park I've seen is Wrigley. Everything about that place from the history, to the fans, to the beer guys, and the neighborhood, made me thankful for the game of baseball.

I went to Canada just for the game. I'm not rich, I have a friend who works for an airline and I'm her "buddy" and get to fly on standby. This was one of my crazier trips. I landed in Canada about four hours before first pitch. Since I fly standby I purchased my ticket on stubhub after I got my seat assignment in Chicago (I didn't want to buy a ticket before I knew I could make the game). Once I cleared immigration who thought what I was doing was a bit strange and seemed suspicious, I needed to find a place to print out my ticket. There was a Sheraton right there at the airport and most decent hotels have a business center where you can jump online and print something out. Then I used Toronto's public transit system to get to the park (met a cool fellow Giants fan on the train) and made it to my seat a good 20 min before first pitch. After the game I wondered around, had a few beers, met some cool folks, and took some friendly (for the most part) ribbing from the locals. Around 1am I made my way back to the airport, dozed for a little bit and then got on a 6am flight back to the states. NO HOTEL. That kind of trip was a bit easier 10 years ago. I don't know if I have too many of those in me.

Since I've had this standby thing I've just been chipping away at the ballparks one at a time following the Giants when they're playing somewhere I haven't been to and I have the free time. A few years ago I went to Chicago for a FF draft, rented a car and saw five parks in 7 days. That was a lot of fun. If you guys ever do that there are web sites like this one that make plotting and planning pretty easy. Sorry to ramble on .

The parks that allow electronic tickets should make trips like that easier huh? Just show your phone. I went to a few college basketball games like that and it was so simple. I know there are a few baseball ballparks that are doing that now.

I used to travel a lot for work. I don't know why I never thought of hitting up some ballparks. Back then, I guess it felt strange going alone. Now, I think I would go. I just don't really travel for work anymore. I may start with some of the stadiums in and near California. I've only been to 4 stadiums I think.

Oh, back to the series -- 2 of 3 -- yay.