11/05/24
August 02, 2007
Expos fans on the run!: Three of my friends and I will be driving around the Great Lakes for a week, and going to at least one baseball game per day. We still love baseball, even though we got screwed over by Loria and Selig. If any local Spofites would like to join us either at the games or after, we'd certainly welcome them with open arms and some French love words. More inside.
posted by qbert72 to navel gazing at 09:19 AM - 20 comments
Looks like you have to drive right through South Bend, Indiana. Stop for the night, and I'll get you free tickets to the South Bend Silverhawks (Class A affiliate of the D'backs), and might even be able to help you with a cheap hotel room, if I can convince my boss to let me use our trade agreement with the local Jameson Inn. Unfortunately, the 'Hawks are on the road until Saturday and Sunday, Aug 18 & 19, but with just the right scheduling, it could work. Bonus: The SilverHawks' mascot, Swoop, is a mangy, mottled, dirty gray bird who does a lot of pelvic thrusts. He may be the greasiest mascot in all of the minor leagues.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 10:06 AM on August 02, 2007
Dude, that looks like an awesome trip. There's like a 1% chance I could meet up in Syracuse, but it's not looking good for me right now. we'd certainly welcome them with open arms and some French love words Ugh. I have that damn "Lady Marmalade" song stuck in my head now. The best that can be said is that it's the original version and not the Christina Aguilera debacle.
posted by The Crafty Sousepaw at 10:20 AM on August 02, 2007
Minor league games are attractive, but we wanted to: * see the Giants at Pittsburgh in case Bonds had not broken the record yet. (Opposite field, Barry!) * see the Wrigley field * use our anti-Bud signs in Milwaukee And we have a limited number of days when we can all travel together. I guess we could replace the Cleveland game by a Silverhawks one, if there was one on the 14th. What's more likely to happen is a redux of the idea, but with only minor league baseball. Maybe more around the East Coast, though. The New York/Penn league is a mighty tempting proposition. We could meet terrapin at a Lake Monsters game. I have that damn "Lady Marmalade" song stuck in my head now. Ha ha! You're such a romantic. Keep me posted if you can make it to Syracuse.
posted by qbert72 at 10:23 AM on August 02, 2007
Care to share about the anti-Bud sentiment? Did they ruin Molsons or Labatts or something? Also, I'm sure you're aware of it, but the Cardinals are the team with the Bud affiliation, not the Brewers (Milwaukee is a Miller town and there are mostly only Miller brews available in the park -- with the exception of some beers from Capital Brewery, which is a pretty good Madison-based microbrew, and perhaps some internationals?) -- so you should have a fair amount of support both in terms of anti-Bud and anti-Cardinals action.
posted by holden at 11:13 AM on August 02, 2007
(holden, I'm pretty sure he meant Selig, not Lite.) That sounds awesome, q. Best of luck. If you decide to come back via the 401, give me a shout.
posted by DrJohnEvans at 11:20 AM on August 02, 2007
(holden, I'm pretty sure he meant Selig, not Lite.) That is too funny. I guess Bud has been gone long enough in my memory that I hadn't even thought of that angle, which makes more sense. But I also like the idea of a group of Canadians pissed off at a major beer conglomerate.
posted by holden at 11:30 AM on August 02, 2007
holden: Meant Selig, yes. I've got nothing against Bud the beer, except that it tastes like piss, which is not worth angry signage. DJE: There's a very good chance we'll drive through Toronto early on Friday the 17th. I'll keep you posted.
posted by qbert72 at 11:43 AM on August 02, 2007
Cool cool. That's in the middle of a nice, long, homestand for the Jays. You know, if you guys are into baseball at all. (The 17th in particular is a Flashback Friday, with Jesse Barfield as the feature guest. Woohoo, before my time!)
posted by DrJohnEvans at 12:54 PM on August 02, 2007
Well the end of the trip is still fuzzy, because one of us has to be back in Montréal Friday afternoon. We have to either find a cheap, quick way to send him back to Montréal from Chicago and be able to continue, or those who want to continue will have to hop out of the car somewhere along the way, and continue by bus/train/whatever. I may very well do that in Toronto if push comes to shove.
posted by qbert72 at 01:04 PM on August 02, 2007
Wow. That sounds like a dream trip! Can I quit my job and tag along?
posted by hawkguy at 04:16 PM on August 02, 2007
Well, the offer still stands. After the game, we can go over to Charlie Weis' house and throw rocks through his windows.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:46 PM on August 02, 2007
If you stopped to see the Vermont Lake Monsters (a former Expo's farm) I *might* be able to meet up, but my schedule sucks right now, so who knows. Have a blast!
posted by scully at 08:16 AM on August 03, 2007
hawkguy: You don't have to quit your job, just take a week off. It will feel good. T_B_H: I have not declined your offer yet. We'll see how everything shapes up after the 16. We could do Toronto 17 -> South Bend 18 -> Montreal. terrapin: The Lake Monsters will have to wait until another trip. I'm hoping you'll be less busy by then.
posted by qbert72 at 07:41 PM on August 03, 2007
I'd take a week off, but I just got back from two in Maui. If you've never been, I'd highly recommend it.
posted by hawkguy at 09:16 AM on August 04, 2007
I am currently touring minor league ballparks. I took a summer job that has me doing promotions for Big League Chew. I'm in Harrisburg, PA right now and will hit Syracuse and Brooklyn, (Chico!), next week. Stop by and say hello if you make it to a game I'm at.
posted by geekyguy at 10:23 AM on August 04, 2007
Damn, geekyguy, that's one killer schedule. Your closest to me is in Brockton, MA, on August 12. Problem is that I'll be out in the New Mexico desert watching missiles fly. Have fun with the Can-Am league. They put on some good promotions.
posted by Howard_T at 12:16 PM on August 04, 2007
I've been out all week, but I wanted to update you. We're leaving in a couple of hours. We spent most of yesterday working on our homemade shirts, because we're too cheap to buy real jerseys. We all ponied for replica three-colour caps, though. At this time the itinerary is unchanged, but a stop in Toronto has garnered interest. It would be on Saturday. Then the bravest among us may head back to South Bend, Indiana. DJE, TBH, I'll be in touch with you if these additional stops become reality. I'll try to add pictures regularly in the Flickr photoset linked above. geekyguy, I love your schedule too, but it doesn't look like we'll be meeting. You hit Syracuse too early for us. Some other time!
posted by qbert72 at 07:58 AM on August 12, 2007
So I'm back. We had an awesome time. You can see it for yourselves. Lots of great ballparks, ball games and walkabout drinking. I even stopped by Toronto and went to see the Jays with our very own DrJohnEvans. I'm totally exhausted, my stomach is upset because of all the junk food we ate, but I'd go back in a minute. It was just too much fun. Thanks to all the strangers we met along the way who showed us around their town, bought us drinks and were just so nice to us at all times.
posted by qbert72 at 01:18 PM on August 20, 2007
Thanks qbert72, you made me smile and think about Nos Amours at the same time. Thank you.
posted by tommybiden at 06:41 PM on August 21, 2007
Here are our confirmed stops, as of now: ======= Sun Aug 12 18:00 :: Syracuse, NY :: Pawtucket Red Sox @ Syracuse Chiefs (Blue Jays) (AAA) Mon Aug 13 17:00 :: Pittsburgh :: Giants @ Pirates (x2!) Tue Aug 14 19:00 :: Cleveland :: Tigers @ Indians Wed Aug 15 20:00 :: Milwaukee (Fuck you Bud!) :: Cards @ Brewers Thurs Aug 16 14:00 :: Chicago :: Reds @ Cubs ==================== This is what it looks like on a map. We may continue a bit longer, but one of us would have to head back to Montréal from Chicago, and we'd need to pony up for a plane ticket for him, which is not likely at this point, especially since the Cubs tickets cost us a small fortune. We're bleacher people. We drink and we're loud, and we'll be all dressed up as desperate Expos fans and carrying obnoxious signs. You have been warned. Even if you can't or don't want to meet us, any advice from local people will be most welcome. In particular, we're looking for cheap places to sleep, and good places to party. Thanks in advance, SpoFites!