Once again it was a hot sticky day for the annual Baseball trip. This year's edition featured a trip to Washington DC and their brand new ballpark. The Phils completed a 3 game sweep of the lowly Nats. Kyle Kendrick pitched well and got the win. Jayson Werth and Jimmy Rollins both had home runs.
Plus - As Expected Nationals Stadium is another great new ballpark - With all the amenities, a beautifil field, and great views. The subway drops you off a short block from the Nationals park and gives you a dramatic view of the Stadium entering from beyond center field. The concourses were quite large, but this may have been an illusion due to the less than capacity crowd. The concourses were also nice and bright. For some reason Citizen's Bank seems pretty dim behind the plate area and up the baselines.
Minus - The neighborhood is yet to be developed, so all the excitement was in the park - it appears that there is a lot of construction going on currently and the ballpark area will be significantly different in the coming years. National Stadium really does not cater to the SRO crowd. This is a nice benefit of CBB, that I instantly notice when it is lacking in other ballparks. Regular Joe's like me have no behind the plate access as this is restricted to the Big Spenders. Also there are no ledges for the SRO crowd to set drinks or food on. perhaps they would prefer fans not to linger.
Shenanigans - It appears that part of the original design was to have a view of the Capitol over the left field skyline - but of course that is now obscured a brand new office building near the park.
Meh - I am not sure if there is a signature food in DC. perhaps it was the "Ben's Chili Bowl" - but in late July it is just to hot for chili. Ballpark food and drink prices are always steep - and in DC is right up there with domestic beers at $7.50 and Hot dogs $4.50.
Off the Diamond - DC was a lot of fun. The Phungo Crew gives a thumbs up to the Newseum and a fine Tapas restaraunt in Georgetown called Bodega. As expected driving in DC is a bit of a mess - all those circles and triangles - but Team Phungo survived.
Useless Info - Mark Texiera getting traded out of the league, unfortunately ends his season for my rotisserie squad - which also most likely ends my run at a pennant.
On Deck - Weather permitting I would like to squeeze in a game during the big Marlins @ Phils Series this week.
The obligatory picture of the scoreboard displaying baseball card.
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Thanks for the write up. The Phils are hot right now. I got to see the ESPN coverage of the Phillies-Cardinals game last night. It's the first time I've seen the Phils down here in Texas since they last played the Astros. It was a great game but the ESPN announcers (Joe Morgan and what is name?) were terrible. They talked every second of the game and I'll bet less than 50% of what they were saying had anything to do with what was actually happening on the field.
ReplyDeleteYep Phils got a real good Win on Sunday night. They need to keep getting contributions from everyone to continue winning. Keep an eye out for ESPN weeknight games, The Phils seem to be getting more of them lately.
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