THE BOX SCORE

Total Games: 30
Extra Inning Games: 1
Results of intra-league contests: NL 4 wins, AL 3 wins
Total Rain-outs: 0
Total Rain Delays: 4
Total Games with Rain but without a delay: 2
Total Runs: 326
Total Hits: 600
Total Errors: 37
Total Left-on-base: 380

Average Away Team Line: 5.4 runs, 9.7 hits, 0.7 errors, 6.1 left
Average Home Team Line: 5.4 runs, 10.3 hits, 0.5 errors, 6.5 left

Average Winning Team Line: 7.6 runs, 11.7 hits, 0.5 errors, 6.6 left
Average Losing Team Line: 3.3 runs, 8.3 hits, 0.7 errors, 6.1 left


THE ALL-BALLPARKS2004 LINEUP:
Catcher – Toby Hall of Tampa Bay, 3 for 4 with 2 rbi vs the Yankees on July 11

First Base – Tony Clark of the Yankees, 2 for 3 with 2 homers, 3 rbi and 2 runs vs Tampa Bay on July 11

Second Base – Mark Loretta of San Diego, 3 for 4 with 2 doubles and a run vs Tampa Bay on June 16; also 3 for 5 with a triple and a run vs Colorado on September 10

Shortstop – Michael Young of Texas, 2 for 4 with 3 rbi, 2 runs and a triple vs Seattle on June 22

Third Base – Corey Koskie of Minnesota, 3 for 5 with the game winning home run, a double, 2 rbi and 2 runs vs Cleveland on August 15th

Left Field – Carl Crawford of Tampa Bay, 4 for 5 with 2 triples, 2 rbi, 3 runs and a stolen base. Also successfully tagged from first to second in the first inning vs Brian Giles and the San Diego Padres, June 16

Center Field – Willie Mo Pena of Cincinnati, 2 for 5 with 2 homers, 4 rbi, 2 runs, and a circus catch to rob Khalil Greene in the 2nd against San Diego on August 14.

Right Field – Bobby Higginson of Detroit, 3 for 3 with 2 homers, 5 rbi, 2 runs and a stolen base vs the White Sox on August 17

Starting Pitcher (3-way tie – 3 different pitchers with complete game shut outs):
Mike Maroth of Detroit, 1 hit, 2 walks, and 7 strike outs vs the Yankees on July 16
Brian Anderson of Kansas City, 2 hits, 1 walk, and 7 strike outs vs the White Sox on August 4
C. C. Sabathia of Cleveland, 5 hits, 1 walk and 8 strike outs vs Seattle on September 6

Relief Pitcher – Eric Gagne of Los Angeles, 2/3 of an inning, 1 strike out, and save #76 in his consecutive game save streak vs Baltimore on June 15

Special Mention/DH – Barry Bonds on San Francisco, 1 for 3 with 1 homer (the 700th in his career), 2 runs and an rbi


THE ROAD TRIP FINAL STATISTICS:
Approximately 27,000 miles with total gasoline costs of $1,508.38 over 98 days
Tickets cost for 30 games: $1,355.80
Passed through 48 U.S. States and 3 Canadian Provinces
Number of International border crossings: 4
Number of State/Provincial crossings: 69
Number of Time Zone changes: 14
Number of Mississippi River crossings: 8 (4 of which were in the Twin Cities area)
Number of animals hit on the road: 0
Closest call to animal vs auto contact – prong-horned antelope in South Dakota
Other wildlife sightings -- Buffalo in Minnesota, Coyotes, wild turkeys, etc.
Number of Oil Changes: 9
Number of other car repairs: 0
Lodging costs: that’s classified, but next time I’ll take a camper instead of a tent
Number of Speeding Tickets: 0
Number of Parking Tickets: 0
Number of Times “flipped-off” by obnoxious motorists: 0
Number of times robbed: 0
Number of times I encountered foul trouble of any sort whatsoever: 0
Best road trip side-effect: not being able to tell a weekday from a weekend
Best hotel stay: Wyndham Resort in Key West Florida
Worst hotel stay: Super 8 in “downtown” Memphis
Biggest disappointment: The Rendezvous barbeque restaurant in Memphis closed on Mondays!
Best ballpark food: Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Houston, Boston
Worst ballpark food: Pro Player Stadium in Miami
Best non-ballpark food: Corky’s barbeque in Memphis
Weight gained: about 20 pounds
Biggest actual cause of weight gain: mid-trip addiction to Pearson’s Nut Roll candy bars
Best parks for after-game entertainment: San Diego, Colorado, Baltimore
Most beer bars around a park: Wrigley Field
Worst place to be after the game is over: Detroit, Yankee Stadium
Most over-rated parks: Boston and Wrigley
Best park: PNC in Pittsburgh and it’s not even close

THE FINAL STANDINGS

NL EAST
Philadelphia
New York Mets 1 Game Behind
Atlanta 3 GB
Florida 12 GB
Montreal 14 GB


NL CENTRAL
Pittsburgh
Milwaukee 3 Games Behind
Chicago Cubs 9 GB
St. Louis 14 GB
Houston 18 GB
Cincinnati 19 GB


NL WEST
Colorado
San Diego 3 Games Behind
Arizona 4 GB
San Francisco 6 GB
Los Angeles 7 GB


AL EAST
Baltimore
Boston 4 Games Behind
Toronto 5 GB
New York Yankees 12 GB
Tampa Bay 14 GB


AL CENTRAL
Cleveland
Detroit 8 Games Behind
Minnesota 12 GB
Chicago White Sox 15 GB
Kansas City 15 GB


AL WEST
Seattle
Anaheim 6 Games Behind
Texas 8 GB
Oakland 12 GB


NL PLAYOFFS:
Pittsburgh defeats Colorado 4 games to 2
Milwaukee (wild card) defeats Philadelphia 4 games to 1

Pittsburgh defeats Milwaukee 4-1 to win the NL Pennant


AL PLAYOFFS:
Baltimore defeats Seattle 4 games to 2
Cleveland defeats Boston (wild card) 4 games to 2

Baltimore defeats Cleveland 4-3 to win the AL Pennant

PITTSBURGH DEFEATS BALTIMORE 4-2 TO WIN THE WORLD SERIES!

(winners determined by set of 7 criteria: Food, View from Seats, Fans, Area around the Park, Price, Traffic/Hassle to get there, and "Other")

Game #30 – San Diego Padres @ San Francisco Giants: The Grand Finale – Bonds Hits Number 700

Friday September 17th, SBC Park, San Francisco California

Barry Bonds waited until Friday night September 17th to hit his 700th home run so that I could be in the crowd to see it. That’s the way I’ll be telling this story a few years hence. Why not? It seems that way to me. I had first noticed that Barry stood at 699 back on Monday while I was driving across the Nevada desert en route to Oakland. I figured if he could hold off during 3 mid-week games in Milwaukee’s Miller Park then he would hit it on Friday night in front of the hometown fans.
The San Francisco crowd was crazy that night, to be sure. I walked by scalpers several blocks from the ballpark begging for tickets to buy, and I could have doubled the investment on my ticket if I had chosen to. Once inside SBC, ushers restricted movement across the porch overlooking McCovey Cove so that Standing Room Only ticket holders could claim their spots. Meanwhile a fleet of yachts and kayaks waited in the water below, hoping that that special ball would come splashing their way. I think everyone was expecting it to come tonight.
Only two others, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth, had ever hit 700 homers, thus the occasion would require a little drama. So in his first at bat, in the first inning, with the whole crowd on its feet, Barry may have just purposely extended his right arm a bit into the path of Jake Peavy’s third pitch, allowing the ball to hit his heavily padded arm and taking first base on the hit batsman call. The Giants scored 3 runs in that first inning on 3 hits, 2 hit batsman, and a sacrifice fly.
Bonds’ next at bat came in the third as he led off the inning. On an 0-1 pitch, Bonds turned an outside fastball from Jack Peavy into a deep opposite field fly ball which somehow carried over the outstretched glove of left fielder Ryan Klesko and into the first row of fans behind the wall. It reminded me of Mark McGwire’s famous 62nd homer a few years ago since it was so atypical of the hitter’s trademark – instead of a towering shot that splashed down in McCovey Cove this milestone went the opposite way and just barely carried into history.
I’m not a Giants fan, nor especially a Barry Bonds fan, but a baseball fan. As a baseball fan, there is no better echo of my sentiments than the SBC advertisement shown on the right side scoreboard which read, “Can you imagine any place you would rather be right now?” You can see that phrase in the picture below where I caught Bonds’ swing and the ball’s path in blurred white streaks.
After all was said and done, Barry’s 700th held up as the Giants beat the Padres by a final score of 4 to 1.
The San Francisco Gearhard Line was one colossal dog, one order of Gilroy Garlic Fries, an Anchor Steam and a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. The garlic fries are the specialty of the house, and I can recommend them even though I sometimes try to do the low-carb thing. But really, I’ve had at least one carb-laden brewski at every single game, so how ridiculous is it to avoid potatoes? For what it’s worth, Anchor Steam and Sierra Nevada are two of my favorites.
I paid $15 for parking next to a Bank of America branch a few blocks away from the park and consider myself lucky. You have to get there early or you can easily pay $25 for parking at SBC – formerly known as “Pac Bell Park”. A decent box seat cost me $37.
The San Francisco fans are also Oakland A’s fans and I overheard them inquiring about the A’s score during the game. You would never hear such talk among Cubs/White Sox fans or Yankees/Mets fans, but in California it’s OK to be ambi-fan-drous. Also, it seemed a little weird for them to call for giving Peavy a warning after his second hit batsman in the first inning with the bases loaded drove in a run. Sharper fans would know that he was just a little wild.
No foul balls came anywhere near me. The only time I’ve ever caught a foul ball was in the last inning of the last spring training game I attended in 2003. But Spring Training doesn’t officially “count” so I guess I’ll have to keep attending ball games in the quest for my own white whale.
No one was ejected as far as I can tell, but a bunch of people left right after Barry hit his homer. A group of guys behind me kept talking about going back to “The Antler” which is a tavern I guess. See how the Bay Area fans are?

Next up: The Box Score and The Final Standings

Tim

Game #30 -- The scoreboard at SBC Park, now featuring (at left) a banner of Barry Bonds' 700 home runs and (at right) a banner for Aaron's 755 and Ruth's 714.

Game #30 -- Fan bedlam after Bonds' 700th homer is hit

Game #30 -- Barry Bonds in left field the inning after his 700th homer. The painting on the wall says 'A Giant among Legends'

Game #30 -- Barry Bonds swings and hits his 700th career homer. You can see the ball and bat as white streaks. Note the ad in the background says 'Can you imagine anywhere else you would rather be right now?' (e-mail me at ballparks2004@yahoo.com if you want a copy of the jpg)

Game #30 -- A fleet of yachts and kayaks await Bonds' homer in "McCovey Cove"

Game #30 -- SBC Park, San Francisco California

Game #30 -- The view from my seat at SBC Park

Game #29 – Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics: Playing Baseball in the Raiders Dog House

Tuesday September 14th, Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland California

There are only 4 major league ballparks that are really multi-purpose stadiums – the Skydome in Toronto, the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Pro Player Stadium in Miami, and the Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland. Of course it goes without saying that the baseball experience is diminished in these circumstances.
Oakland, however, sinks below the other three. This facility reminds me of an oversized little league park because it’s so plain. The interior walls are plain cinder blocks and some unused concession stalls have been bricked over with grey cinder blocks. All the steps and pillars are plain poured concrete. Even the men’s rooms are little league – no urinals, instead you just pee into a wall-length tub.
I figure that the reason for the Spartan accommodations is that the A’s must share the Coliseum with the Oakland Raiders, whose fans are renowned as the rowdiest of all NFL fan rabble. Having Raiders fans in your “house” is like having unruly dogs that must be relegated to an unfurnished basement lest they destroy the carpeting upstairs!
So, as you can tell, I don’t like the Coliseum. The final straw, however, can only be blamed on A’s management. It’s this: No one sung the National Anthem, instead they played a recording of the Anthem performed by a local Marine Band. How tacky -- Old Glory got better treatment in Montreal.
Early on in this trip I saw both the Anaheim Angels and the Texas Rangers and remarked that the Angels excellent outfield and the Rangers fantastic infield would carry them both down to the wire in September. But now that September has come, Oakland’s superior pitching staff (Hudson, Mulder and Zito) has put the A’s 2 games ahead of Anaheim and 5 games ahead of Texas.
Speaking of that pitching staff, I was hoping to see one of the big three tonight against the Rangers, Blalock, (Michael) Young, Soriano, and Teixeira. Instead, former Florida Marlin Mark Redman started for the A’s and the result was a wild 12-9 Texas victory. In fact neither starter pitched well – each lasted only 3 and 1/3 innings. Redman allowed 7 runs on 6 hits, 4 walks, and a hit batsman; Ranger starter John Wasdin allowed 5 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks and a hit batsman. The hit batsman was in fact retaliation for Redman’s hitting Mark Teixeira in the third. Both benches were warned, blah, blah, blah. As a curiosity, Ranger designated hitter Eric Young was hit in the 6th by Oakland pitcher Chris Hammond, but the pitch actually hit his ankles and no one believed it to be retaliation.
On the offensive side of the plate, my fantasy team hero Michael Young went 2 for 5 with a homer. Each Ranger batter scored at least one run and second baseman Alfonso Soriano had three hits.
There was an interesting scoring situation that came up in the top of the fourth. (WARNING – if you find baseball scoring tedious and boring then skip to the next paragraph!). The Rangers were up 4-3 with one out and the bases loaded (Barajas on 3rd, E. Young on 2nd, M. Young on 1st). The infield was playing “mid-way” to try to get the double play. Mark Teixeira hit a one-hop shot to first baseman Scott Hatteberg. The ball kicked off Hatteberg’s glove in the direction of second baseman Mark McLemore, who grabbed the ball and tossed it toward pitcher Mark Redman covering first. But McLemore’s throw sailed over Redman’s head. Barajas and E. Young scored on the play. M. Young wound up at third and Teixeira was safe at first. The official scorer gave 2 errors – one to first baseman Hatteberg for botching the grounder and one to McLemore for the overthrow at first. Apparently he ruled that McLemore had no chance of getting Teixeira at first after Hatteberg had botched the original grounder, but was at fault for allowing E. Young to score and M. Young to advance to third. The rest of the inning continued with a solid single from Alfonso Soriano to score M. Young and then the next 2 hitters hit fly outs. Now I’m going to try to reconstruct the inning for purposes of determining Mark Redman’s earned run responsibilities. Having ruled that Hatteberg should have gotten an out from the grounder (we can never assume a double play even though he was playing for one!), the scorer should assume that he throws to second to get M. Young, rather than going home or to first, since he was positioned for the double play. Barajas scores on the play so that run is earned. E. Young stops at third and Teixeira reaches first. There are now two outs. When Soriano singled E. Young would have scored and Teixeira would have reached second, so E. Young’s run is earned. The next batter would have made the last out. The final tally for the inning then is 3 runs, only 2 of which are earned. The assumption of what Hatteberg would do is key. If you assume he comes home then you end up with 2 earned runs, but if you assume he takes the easy out at first you end up with 3 earned runs. Of course, if one is able to assume the double play on a hard hit grounder you could calculate 0 earned runs.
The Oakland Gearhard Line was one lousy polish sausage, one mirror pond pale ale, and two bottles of water.
I paid $13 for parking at the stadium lot. A field box seat cost me $32.
No foul balls came anywhere near me. Again.
No one was ejected as far as I can tell. However, there was one nice looking lady in my section who was very drunk for the whole game. Wearing a tiny denim mini-skirt and pink high heels she approached most of the people sitting near her, and really wanted me to tell her everything about scoring a baseball game. I felt sorry for the guy who was with her and who really had no choice but to let her burn herself out.

Next up: San Diego Padres @ San Francisco Giants, Friday September 17th

Tim

Game #29 -- Network Associates Coliseum and the Oakland A's are comparing Hudson, Mulder, and Zito to Babe Ruth

Game #29 -- Network Associates Coliseum, Oakland California

Game #29 -- The view from my seat at Network Associates

Game #28 – San Diego Padres @ Colorado Rockies: There Can’t Be Anything Bad About a Ballpark Named After Beer

Friday September 10th, Coors Field, Denver Colorado

By the time September comes around the contenders play for serious and the pretenders play for next year. The San Diego Padres are just a few games out of the National League Wild Card spot. They’re a young team and I think at least a year away from having a playoff year, but they’re playing with all the intensity of a playoff team. On the other hand, the Colorado Rockies are 20 games behind the division leading Los Angeles Dodgers. They’re taking full advantage of the expanded 40-man rosters, playing the youngsters, and hoping that not too many opposing longballs fly through the thin air at Coors.
So it was to be expected that the eventual outcome would be a Padres win by the score of 10-4, or something like it. Ryan Klesko, Khalil Greene, and Xavier Nady homered for the Padres. (Note that K. Greene hails from Butler P A.) Starter Brian Lawrence got the win even though he allowed 4 runs on 8 hits and a walk through 6+ innings of work.
Rockies starter Shawn Estes, a veteran, pitched 6 innings allowing 4 runs but didn’t incur the loss. He did, however, set my unofficial record for most 55 foot curveballs thrown in a single game – I counted 5. One of them hit Jay Payton on a bounce for the easiest hit-batsman I’ve ever witnessed.
After Estes left after 6 and a third, Colorado brought in a series of three youngsters to test their mettle:
1) Tim Harikkala, first full year in the majors. The line: 0 innings pitched, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk. Suffered the loss.
2) Allen Simpson, rookie. The line: 1.2 innings pitched, 0 runs, 0 hits, 2 walks, 4 strikeouts. Has a mean fastball when he can master it.
3) Chris Gissell, 3rd appearance in the majors. The line: 1 inning, 4 runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Not ready for prime time.
As I said, there can’t be anything bad about a ballpark named after a beer. But, before you go inside Coors Field spend some time in the “Lower Downtown” (or “LoDo”) area next to the park. This is the best after-game entertainment area for any of the major league parks, with San Diego’s “Gas Light” district coming in second. Of special interest is the Wynkoop Brewery (18th & Wynkoop). It’s one of the oldest microbreweries I know of, and has a darn fine pool hall on the second floor. It’s good for dinner before or after the game as well. There’s now at least a dozen other bars and restaurants in the area, many using some or all of the following words in their names: steakhouse, brewery, chop house, etc.
Once inside Coors, you can’t help but notice that they have their own “brewpub” on the main concourse near the right field corner. It features brews of the Sandlot Brewing Company, which I think is really just a specialty subdivision of Coors Beer Company, but it have some fine ales anyway.
Perhaps my only complaint about Coors is that they have too many seats. They built a huge outfield seating area behind right field, including upper deck seats. Tickets for these seats were easily sold in the early days of the Rockies existence but now they just sit empty and block the view of the city behind it.
Of special note, I encountered a deaf lady working the cashier’s spot at the hot dog stand inside Coors. Her colleagues had a series of hand signals to help her in case she needed it. You wouldn’t even realize she was deaf unless you were paying attention.
Tonight’s Gearhard Line consisted of one large Chicago Dog and a pint of Sandlot ESB from aforementioned on-premises pub. Ever notice that a food named after a place is “over-done” whenever you buy that food far away from that place? I have anyway, and I found the Coors Field Chicago Dog spicier than any dog I’ve had in Illinois.
I paid $10 for parking at the first lot I could find near Coors. Then I saw $8 parking advertised around the corner from the Wynkoop. Oh well. A field box seat cost me $36, which is about league average.
No foul balls came anywhere near me.
No one was ejected as far as I can tell. In fact, few people even left their seat for cover while it was raining in the late innings.

Next up: Texas Rangers @ Oakland Athletics, Tuesday September 14th

Tim

Game #28 -- Outfield fountain and main scoreboard at Coors Field

Game #28 -- Coors Field, Denver Colorado

Game #28 -- The view from my seat at Coors Field

Game #27 – Cleveland Indians @ Seattle Mariners: Ichiro’s House

Monday September 6th, Safeco Field, Seattle Washington

Believe it or not, Safeco Field reminds me of Yankee Stadium. The reason is that Yankee Stadium is “the House that Ruth Built” while Safeco should be called “the House that Ichiro Built.” Well, he didn’t build it, but he is responsible for filling it every night and he’s the very soul of the crowd at the game.
Safeco is the most unique ballpark I’ve seen so far. At Safeco, you commonly see families of Japanese tourists who have crossed the ocean to see him. For their benefit, many of the scoreboard announcements are in English and Japanese. Also unique to Safeco is the “Sushi and Sake” stand where you can choose from the “Ichiro Roll” or the “Ichiro Combo”. Japanese waiting staff are available to help with your selections. (I did partake in some Sake, see the Gearhard Line section below.)
The night started with an award presented to Ichiro for having reached 200 hits in the 2004 season. Reaching 200 hits in each of his first four years in the bigs ties a major league record. Currently, Mariners fans are watching Ichiro closing in on George Sisler’s old record of 257 hits in a single season.
Ichiro had 224 hits to start the night and added two more during the game against the Indians C.C. Sabathia. Unfortunately for the M’s, Sabathia allowed only 3 other hits to the entire Seattle line-up (2 to Edgar Martinez) and the Tribe won 5-0. Despite the Ichiro hoopla, C.C. was the real star, pitching a complete game shutout while striking out eight and walking only one.
Sabathia throws in the upper 90’s, but he seems to be most effective when throwing his curves and off-speed pitches and using his heater only when he needs a 3rd strike.
On the other side, Mariner starter Gil Meche also struck out eight but allowed even fewer hits – 4 – than Sabathia’s 5. Unfortunately 3 of those 4 hits were home runs by Omar Vizquel, Travis Hafner, and Casey Blake. Indian left fielder Matt Lawton hit another homer in the 9th against M’s reliever George Sherrill to make the final tally for both teams 5 hits.
There were no errors or other weird plays.
Game time temperature was a mere 65 degrees Farenheit. Fall is here.
The ballpark is in an old industrial area just south of downtown Seattle. The bad news is that there’s no tailgating. The good news is that there’s a decent brewpub right across from the entrance called the Pyramid Ale House. Try the Apricot Ale – it’s widely marketed throughout the Northwest.
Safeco has a sliding “running roof” rather than a “retractable” roof. The roof was open tonight, but I’m told that when it’s closed the ballpark gets that warehouse feeling that others have complained about at MinuteMaid and the Bob.
My Gearhard Line before the game included a Rain City Stout and an Unfiltered Amber Ale from the Alehouse across the street. Inside the park I had one polish sausage, a 5-inch Papa John’s pizza, a chili bread bowl and a small Starbucks coffee ($2.75!!). I had missed breakfast and was also trying to keep warm. Rounding out the Gearhard Line was a glass of warm Sake from the Sushi and Sake stand. Count me as someone who calls sushi “bait”. They poured my sake from a cooled plastic jug – no brand names whatsoever. I wonder if they sell moonshine this way in Tennessee? Anyway it was good, and kept me warm all night.
I paid a mere $5 for parking in some warehouse lot a few blocks away. The ticket, however, set me back a whopping $50.
One foul ball whizzed directly over my head and hit a guy right in the hands 10 rows behind me. The guy next to him got the rebound. Foiled again!
No one was ejected as far as I can tell.

Next up: San Diego Padres @ Colorado Rockies, Friday September 10th

Tim

Game #27 -- Ichiro is honored before the game for yet another 200-hit season, tieing the record for most consecutive 200-hit seasons to begin a career.

Game #27 -- Safeco Field, Seattle Washington

Game #27 -- The view from my seat at Safeco Field

Game #26 – Milwaukee Brewers @ Chicago Cubs: How I Came to Hate Wrigley Field

Wednesday August 25th, Wrigley Field, Chicago Illinois

When it came time to schedule Wrigley Field on this tour, I was determined that it be a mid-week day game. Day game – that’s the first thought that enters my mind when I think of Wrigley.
There are fewer day games at Wrigley these days, and I’m not sure why since the place will sell out regardless of time or opponent. Luckily, I went ticket shopping for this game back in May. Today’s date, August 25th, was the only date I could find that was a day game and wasn’t sold out. That was back in May!
The seat they gave me, aisle 204 Reserved, didn’t look bad from the seating chart. It was far down the left field line and in the middle of the second level. However, as you can see from the pictures below, my seat formed a straight line with the pitcher’s mound, 3rd base, and a steel support I-bar, with the girder in the middle of that line. I could only see Greg Maddux by leaning far to the left; I couldn’t see 3rd base at all.
I can’t forgive Wrigley Field for the sin of support girders. After all, I paid the see the game and I can’t even see the pitcher – all the “ambiance” and so forth comes extra.
As the sightlines were aggravating me, I came up with a list of other things I didn’t like:
-- The scoreboard is too small to list all the games in the major leagues (it can only show 12 at a time).
-- There’s no scoreboard to display the lineups.
-- They didn’t even announce the starting lineups!
-- The big promotion of the day was an Andy Pafko card giveaway. Who is Andy Pafko? He hit .298 with 110 RBI in 1945 – the last year the Cubs won the pennant. The Cubs have to reach back 60 years to get heroes.
Now I’m an official Wrigley Field hater. Coincidentally, it’s been in the news this week that a small piece of concrete fell from the stands onto a fan below and that Wrigley’s foundation may be crumbling!
To fix Wrigley the need to remove the upper deck entirely and replace it so that the girders don’t obstruct fans views. They also should add some more scoreboard space somewhere. It’s 2004 and the newer parks just make Wrigley look like crap.
After waiting an hour and a half for the rain to clear, I saw Greg Maddux duel Milwaukee’s Doug Davis to a 1-1 tie through 7 innings. (I wish I could have seen more of it!) The relievers took over in the 8th – Luis Vizcaino for the Brewers and LaTroy Hawkins for the Cubs. Hawkins allowed a run in the 9th but Vizcaino surrendered 3 runs (2 homers) in the 8th and 9th and the Cubs won 4-2.
My Gearhard Line during the rain delay was a Chicago-style dog (yum), an Italian sausage (avoid!), 1 Old Style beer, 1 peanut and chocolate covered ice cream bar.
I paid $1.75 each way on the Red Line from downtown. I stayed at Hotel 71 on East Wacker Drive across from the Chicago Sun-Times building for actually a reasonable rate considering it was mid-week. My view of the steel girder from the 2nd level cost me $20.
No foul balls nearby and the steel girder gave me an extra sense of security. Not!
No one was ejected as far as I can tell.
Andy Pafko sung “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.”
There’s one last note that I’d like to mention. I left my obstructed view seat in the 8th and moved one row down and seven seats over so that I could see the pitcher again. My new neighbors commiserated with me about the views and also told me that they get to go to PNC occasionally and think its great.
I sat with these guys as LaTroy Hawkins gave up the tying run in the top of the 9th, blowing Maddux’s chances for the win (“We need Borowski back,” they complained). Then in the bottom of the 9th, Mark Grudzielanek doubled and reached third on right fielder Brady Clark’s throwing error. Man on third and no out. Perfect opportunity for a Cubs choke! Catcher Paul Bako popped out for the first out. I’ll never forget what the guy next to me said about that. As many were booing, he said, “That’s OK, That’s OK Bako, you hit a home run earlier today and we can’t expect you to do everything.” After a pop out from Todd Walker Corey Patterson hit a 2-2 pitch over the right field wall to win the game. And there was much rejoicing!
It’s rare to see such positive thinking among Pirate fans. Maybe the Cubs aren’t so bad after all.

Next up: Cleveland Indians @ Seattle Mariners, Monday September 6th

Tim

Game #26 -- The crummy view from my seat at Wrigley Field. The steel girder is actually 10 rows in front of me; I had to lean to the left to get Greg Maddux in the picture on the mount; there are thousands of seats in Wrigley with similar "girder" issues

Game #26 -- Near rainout this afternoon at Wrigley

Game #26 -- Wrigley Field, Chicago Illinois

Game #26 -- Statue of broadcaster Harry Caray in front of Wrigley Field