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| Yes, the game's still on - almost everybody's gone though! |
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| Farewell to Yankee Stadium, from the subway staircase |
Saturday, September 24, 2011
A couple of pictures from my final game at Yankee Stadium
Round up
I collected various notes of interesting/funny/weird things that I forgot to mention as I went along but didn't merit a new post all of their own.
The name of the Pittsburgh Pirates is a gift for in-stadium scoreboard graphics. All sorts of pirate-related options are available, including the mascot: the Pirate Parrot. However, the laugh of the pirates is wrong! It's far too friendly and not piratey enough! Now obviously they don't necessarily want to be promoting drinking rum to the younger children, but come on! Another cool thing about the club area is that they have pool tables for people to play on. The final note on Pittsburgh is that they do occasionally launch hotdogs into the stands - some are thrown by hand, others are launched by an air-propelled rocket launcher so that they can get them up into the upper deck of the stands. However, the Parrot managed to overdo the pressure a little in the last game I saw - and managed to shoot the hotdog right over the upper deck and out of the stadium onto the street outside!
The culture appears so different to the UK when it comes to people with any sort of physical disability. It appears to be rather polarised. On the one hand, the ones that could not afford the medical expenses or the insurance have no chance - these are the ones left to begging and cardboard signs although cannot tell whether they are genuine or frauds, except for the one whose cardboard sign read "Why lie? I need a beer"; on the other, you'll find people in wheelchairs, just vending stuff like the others. In Denver, there's a guy who vends on Wynkoop Street who sits in his scooter/buggy vehicle, which is holding the three large canisters of oxygen for his assisted breathing, but apart from that, he's selling bottles of water, peanuts and stuff like everbody else. I saw several wheelchair-using help staff at Yankee Stadium this week - moving around, with their "How may I help you?" paddles like all the walking help staff. Now obviously, they're not going to be going up and down the seating rows on a stairlift (although having said that, Wrigley Field does have giant stairlifts so that the wheelchair club level can be near to the front - obviously this is more of a problem for Wrigley because they cannot make too many major structural changes to it - the newer stadia just provide direct access to virtually everywhere anyway), but they can around the concourses up and down the lifts.it landed
I still meet British people who believe that Americans don't do irony. The quality varies from place to place, but in most big cities, it's right there with anybody else. The huge cheer that went up when the 5th inning of Thursday 22nd's game (TB@NYY - 3) when somebody got somebody got out of an inning giving up only 1 run was raucous. Another of the biggest cheers was reserved for the simplest of groundouts to second that was executed by recording an out - indicative of a night that saw the Yankees commit 4 errors. But in general, any pitcher anywhere who manages two 4-pitch walks back-to-back will tend to get a huge ironic cheer for the next strike.
New York is so full of people from all over the world. The voice in the lifts at Yankee Stadium: a British lady. I heard announcements on the subway that were from an Englishman and an Australasian. There's even Americans here! And on the whole, the people I met are very friendly. Anybody here will ask anybody else questions about the locality - you just can't tell who lives here and who does not - and they're not at all bothered where you're from if you have an answer.
The name of the Pittsburgh Pirates is a gift for in-stadium scoreboard graphics. All sorts of pirate-related options are available, including the mascot: the Pirate Parrot. However, the laugh of the pirates is wrong! It's far too friendly and not piratey enough! Now obviously they don't necessarily want to be promoting drinking rum to the younger children, but come on! Another cool thing about the club area is that they have pool tables for people to play on. The final note on Pittsburgh is that they do occasionally launch hotdogs into the stands - some are thrown by hand, others are launched by an air-propelled rocket launcher so that they can get them up into the upper deck of the stands. However, the Parrot managed to overdo the pressure a little in the last game I saw - and managed to shoot the hotdog right over the upper deck and out of the stadium onto the street outside!
The culture appears so different to the UK when it comes to people with any sort of physical disability. It appears to be rather polarised. On the one hand, the ones that could not afford the medical expenses or the insurance have no chance - these are the ones left to begging and cardboard signs although cannot tell whether they are genuine or frauds, except for the one whose cardboard sign read "Why lie? I need a beer"; on the other, you'll find people in wheelchairs, just vending stuff like the others. In Denver, there's a guy who vends on Wynkoop Street who sits in his scooter/buggy vehicle, which is holding the three large canisters of oxygen for his assisted breathing, but apart from that, he's selling bottles of water, peanuts and stuff like everbody else. I saw several wheelchair-using help staff at Yankee Stadium this week - moving around, with their "How may I help you?" paddles like all the walking help staff. Now obviously, they're not going to be going up and down the seating rows on a stairlift (although having said that, Wrigley Field does have giant stairlifts so that the wheelchair club level can be near to the front - obviously this is more of a problem for Wrigley because they cannot make too many major structural changes to it - the newer stadia just provide direct access to virtually everywhere anyway), but they can around the concourses up and down the lifts.it landed
I still meet British people who believe that Americans don't do irony. The quality varies from place to place, but in most big cities, it's right there with anybody else. The huge cheer that went up when the 5th inning of Thursday 22nd's game (TB@NYY - 3) when somebody got somebody got out of an inning giving up only 1 run was raucous. Another of the biggest cheers was reserved for the simplest of groundouts to second that was executed by recording an out - indicative of a night that saw the Yankees commit 4 errors. But in general, any pitcher anywhere who manages two 4-pitch walks back-to-back will tend to get a huge ironic cheer for the next strike.
New York is so full of people from all over the world. The voice in the lifts at Yankee Stadium: a British lady. I heard announcements on the subway that were from an Englishman and an Australasian. There's even Americans here! And on the whole, the people I met are very friendly. Anybody here will ask anybody else questions about the locality - you just can't tell who lives here and who does not - and they're not at all bothered where you're from if you have an answer.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees (3)
The final game of my road trip was the final game of the originally 3-, but ended up 4-, game series between the Rays and Yankees. It was quite entertaining, but not in a fun way for the local fans ...
Bartolo Colon was pitching for the Yankees. The crowd were not impressed by the 3 runs given up in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, so were quite pleased when Joe Girardi took him out and put Proctor in instead. He gave up 5 in the 4th. A long procession of pitchers who weren't with the team a month ago followed, some making their major league debuts. Laffey got a big cheer for only giving up 1 in the 5th!
In the meanwhile, Tampa Bay's starter Matt Moore give up 4 hits in 5 scoreless innings for the win. The final score was 15-8, but wasn't nearly as close as that, although the Yankees did load the bases late, but failed to get any more runs in.
This is an important homestand for the Yankees - it's their final regular season homestand, with just the three game series against Boston the next three days. I am fortunate in that I attended three games of this series against the Rays (unfortunate to miss CC, though). I feel sorry for people/families who wanted to come to see their heroes for one final time this year as they had no chance at postseason tickets and chose today's game, because so many regulars did not play (and it's not like they played both games of the double-header the previous day either - most sat out one of other of those games too). And at 13-0, more were taken out, including Jeter. Jorge Posada played the whole game at 1B though, and got a huge welcome every time he was announced. I wonder if I shall see him playing again (didn't I say that last year, too?)
The official attendance was 47500-ish. By the 9th inning, I'd estimate it was about 4750-ish. The subway ride home was very easy.
No more games for me this year. I shall, however, if the wind is right, be performing a fly-over of tomorrow night's game between the Red Sox and the Yankees, probably sometime in the 2nd inning - my flight takes off from LaGuardia about 20-25 minutes after first pitch.
Bartolo Colon was pitching for the Yankees. The crowd were not impressed by the 3 runs given up in the 1st, 2 in the 2nd, 2 in the 3rd, so were quite pleased when Joe Girardi took him out and put Proctor in instead. He gave up 5 in the 4th. A long procession of pitchers who weren't with the team a month ago followed, some making their major league debuts. Laffey got a big cheer for only giving up 1 in the 5th!
In the meanwhile, Tampa Bay's starter Matt Moore give up 4 hits in 5 scoreless innings for the win. The final score was 15-8, but wasn't nearly as close as that, although the Yankees did load the bases late, but failed to get any more runs in.
This is an important homestand for the Yankees - it's their final regular season homestand, with just the three game series against Boston the next three days. I am fortunate in that I attended three games of this series against the Rays (unfortunate to miss CC, though). I feel sorry for people/families who wanted to come to see their heroes for one final time this year as they had no chance at postseason tickets and chose today's game, because so many regulars did not play (and it's not like they played both games of the double-header the previous day either - most sat out one of other of those games too). And at 13-0, more were taken out, including Jeter. Jorge Posada played the whole game at 1B though, and got a huge welcome every time he was announced. I wonder if I shall see him playing again (didn't I say that last year, too?)
The official attendance was 47500-ish. By the 9th inning, I'd estimate it was about 4750-ish. The subway ride home was very easy.
No more games for me this year. I shall, however, if the wind is right, be performing a fly-over of tomorrow night's game between the Red Sox and the Yankees, probably sometime in the 2nd inning - my flight takes off from LaGuardia about 20-25 minutes after first pitch.
9/11 Memorial
The 9/11 Memorial at the site of the World Trade Center buildings has been opened to the public for the past few days, since the day after the 10th anniversary of the fall of the towers. The whole area is still a construction site really, but the memorial pools and immediate vicinity are complete. Right now, the noise of that construction on all sides does rather overwhelm the serenity of the memorial at times, but that can't be helped.
I had worried about the type of place that it would be, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It is simple, classy, not at all US-biased, no pictures, no quotes, just all the names. In fact, it's actually in really good taste.
I'd not seen TV pictures of it (you'll remember I avoided the TV a lot the first week of my trip!) The pictures that I'd seen had been stills on the web and primarily without people in them, or they were expected outcomes or something. The first thing that struck me was just how large the two pools were. From ground level you cannot see the bottom of the central level of each pool, which makes it seem as if it's dropping away infinitely. The names of the people have been placed around the two pools, each pool is an identical design, just with different names on each one. Each pool is square with 18 slabs full of names on each side of the square and four corner pieces. The names are engraved, cut right through to a void underneath to permit underlighting so the names light up at night (there's a small cheat for dots though - they each have a tiny LED in their holes!) The names are grouped in various ways, with the groupings annotated by embossed lettering. This, plus the level of the name tablets makes the memorial extremely friendly to wheelchair users and the blind. They will allow you to take rubbings of names that interest you - the numerous memorial staff have rolls of paper to give people bits of and rubbing pencils to lend people so they can take away their copy of what's there.
The oak trees that are being planted and about 8-10m tall at the moment and quite well spread, as the intention is that they will grow rapidly and form quite a lot of shade, but that's just going to have to come with time. However, some of them are just starting now to drop their acorns on top of people!
The only thing that is open right now is the pools and the garden around them. The small original visitor centre about the building of the memorial is still there, but the new ones should be finished in a year or so.
I fully support the time-controlled access that they are using whilst access is so limited by all the building work going on - it would be chaos otherwise, and it is quite well organised too. It probably took 5-10 minutes from the moment of entering to walking past the final check and into the memorial itself - some of this is on uneven streets as you're actually walking around the outside to get around to the far side from the entrance, so that the security stuff can be done inside.
Visitor tip: if you have some kind of plastic name badge holder capable to holding your ticket (or for print-at-home passes, it'll need to be the third of a height of A4), with an attached lanyard, you might need fewer hands to carry everything!) Don't take any bags at all - you'll get through quicker!
Pictures later.
I had worried about the type of place that it would be, but I was very pleasantly surprised. It is simple, classy, not at all US-biased, no pictures, no quotes, just all the names. In fact, it's actually in really good taste.
I'd not seen TV pictures of it (you'll remember I avoided the TV a lot the first week of my trip!) The pictures that I'd seen had been stills on the web and primarily without people in them, or they were expected outcomes or something. The first thing that struck me was just how large the two pools were. From ground level you cannot see the bottom of the central level of each pool, which makes it seem as if it's dropping away infinitely. The names of the people have been placed around the two pools, each pool is an identical design, just with different names on each one. Each pool is square with 18 slabs full of names on each side of the square and four corner pieces. The names are engraved, cut right through to a void underneath to permit underlighting so the names light up at night (there's a small cheat for dots though - they each have a tiny LED in their holes!) The names are grouped in various ways, with the groupings annotated by embossed lettering. This, plus the level of the name tablets makes the memorial extremely friendly to wheelchair users and the blind. They will allow you to take rubbings of names that interest you - the numerous memorial staff have rolls of paper to give people bits of and rubbing pencils to lend people so they can take away their copy of what's there.
The oak trees that are being planted and about 8-10m tall at the moment and quite well spread, as the intention is that they will grow rapidly and form quite a lot of shade, but that's just going to have to come with time. However, some of them are just starting now to drop their acorns on top of people!
The only thing that is open right now is the pools and the garden around them. The small original visitor centre about the building of the memorial is still there, but the new ones should be finished in a year or so.
I fully support the time-controlled access that they are using whilst access is so limited by all the building work going on - it would be chaos otherwise, and it is quite well organised too. It probably took 5-10 minutes from the moment of entering to walking past the final check and into the memorial itself - some of this is on uneven streets as you're actually walking around the outside to get around to the far side from the entrance, so that the security stuff can be done inside.
Visitor tip: if you have some kind of plastic name badge holder capable to holding your ticket (or for print-at-home passes, it'll need to be the third of a height of A4), with an attached lanyard, you might need fewer hands to carry everything!) Don't take any bags at all - you'll get through quicker!
Pictures later.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees (2)
The middle game of my three in New York was a day game, with a start just after 1pm. I arrived a little late, because the numerous signs I'd seen at the 39 Av subway stop saying "No Manhattan-bound trains between 10am-3pm Wed 21-Fri 23" hadn't registered. I had to travel about 15 minutes the wrong way, plus waiting at the start and the turn around point. Afterwards, I realised I could probably have walked 5 minutes to the M,R station two blocks further and saved a lot of time.
Today was my first game in the premium seats, although I didn't actually use the club room to which I am entitled, as I wanted to actually watch the game. I was almost directly behind the plate and quite high up, which gives you an excellent view of the field and what everybody's doing. It makes it much easier to spot the fielding team adjusting their positions for each batter, too. Sometimes just subtly, but always to a plan.
The game was quite tight, although I did miss all of the early runs and nothing else was scored until New York finally got to the Tampa Bay starter in the bottom of the 8th inning. The upside to them taking a 2-run lead was we all got to see Mariano Rivera pitch the 9th inning. He duly completed a 1-2-3 inning to record his 603rd career save, extending the record that he broke on Monday. Winning this game also clinched a playoff berth for New York.
Due to an earlier postponement, the Rays and Yankees were playing a doubleheader, but it was a separate-admission DH, so they played "New York, New York" just the once and a huge army of cleaners who'd been positioned around the concourses during the 9th inning, got to work almost immediately - there seemed to be about 1 cleaner per row per section, which is a lot! They had around half an hour to clean the entire stadium, although I suspect that they could have delayed the entry to the second game for a little bit to give them a little more time, if necessary.
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| View from section 320b, row 9 |
The game was quite tight, although I did miss all of the early runs and nothing else was scored until New York finally got to the Tampa Bay starter in the bottom of the 8th inning. The upside to them taking a 2-run lead was we all got to see Mariano Rivera pitch the 9th inning. He duly completed a 1-2-3 inning to record his 603rd career save, extending the record that he broke on Monday. Winning this game also clinched a playoff berth for New York.
Due to an earlier postponement, the Rays and Yankees were playing a doubleheader, but it was a separate-admission DH, so they played "New York, New York" just the once and a huge army of cleaners who'd been positioned around the concourses during the 9th inning, got to work almost immediately - there seemed to be about 1 cleaner per row per section, which is a lot! They had around half an hour to clean the entire stadium, although I suspect that they could have delayed the entry to the second game for a little bit to give them a little more time, if necessary.
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Tampa Bay Rays @ New York Yankees (1)
I left the hotel at 6 for the 7.05 game, but I needn't have left quite so soon, because although the first subway from the hotel's stop down to 59th/Roosevelt was OK, the 4 train was jam-packed, as were the next two, so in the end I waited about 20 minutes for a train to arrive that I could actually get on. Fortunately, the 4 is an express train, so although it's quite a way (over 100 streets worth!) it doesn't take very long to get there.
My credit card did not yield the tickets from the ticket man's computer. Fortunately, I had taken all the receipts with me - I always do, just in case of this sort of thing. When the man typed in the reference numbers from my receipts, the tickets did come out successfully. I had chosen a cheaper seat for this game - it was only $95, which is 50% more than the most expensive generally-available Rockies ticket - so I was in the outfield.
The play is certainly quite distant, but I was next to the Rays' bullpen, although we weren't allowed to take photos during an inning. We also had an armed police officer at the front of the section, presumably to protect the players, rather than the crowd!
The weather forecast is not that great all week, but there was no problem with this evening's game. In fact, Nova, pitching for New York was extremely economical, throwing very few pitches. Conversely, the Yankees loaded the bases several times during the course of the game, including the 2nd inning when Curtis Granderson hit a bases-clearing double to put the game out of reach.
The game after that wasn't boring exactly, but it lost any tension with New York having a 4 run lead. It finished 5-0, but still took over 3 hours, despite the pitch economy.
I found the PA announcements very hard to hear in the stadium. The only one I could understand was the late Bob Sheppard's anouncement of Derek Jeter's at-bats. Maybe that's because everybody knows exactly what he's saying, but it just seemed clearer, perhaps Bob's decades of announcing experience are relevant here!
I think I've noted in the past how New Yorkers appear to believe that the jam-packed train currently at the platform is the last ever train going their way and they must add to the crush and somehow get on the train rather than wait for the next one. I only had to wait about a minute for an empty 4 train to arrive - we could see it stopped just outside the station waiting for the packed one to leave - and thus travel back in comfort on a mostly empty train.
My credit card did not yield the tickets from the ticket man's computer. Fortunately, I had taken all the receipts with me - I always do, just in case of this sort of thing. When the man typed in the reference numbers from my receipts, the tickets did come out successfully. I had chosen a cheaper seat for this game - it was only $95, which is 50% more than the most expensive generally-available Rockies ticket - so I was in the outfield.
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| Most players have trouble hitting a ball 400ft, let alone a bat! |
The play is certainly quite distant, but I was next to the Rays' bullpen, although we weren't allowed to take photos during an inning. We also had an armed police officer at the front of the section, presumably to protect the players, rather than the crowd!
The weather forecast is not that great all week, but there was no problem with this evening's game. In fact, Nova, pitching for New York was extremely economical, throwing very few pitches. Conversely, the Yankees loaded the bases several times during the course of the game, including the 2nd inning when Curtis Granderson hit a bases-clearing double to put the game out of reach.
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| Now batting, number 2, Derek. Jeter. Number 2. |
I found the PA announcements very hard to hear in the stadium. The only one I could understand was the late Bob Sheppard's anouncement of Derek Jeter's at-bats. Maybe that's because everybody knows exactly what he's saying, but it just seemed clearer, perhaps Bob's decades of announcing experience are relevant here!
I think I've noted in the past how New Yorkers appear to believe that the jam-packed train currently at the platform is the last ever train going their way and they must add to the crush and somehow get on the train rather than wait for the next one. I only had to wait about a minute for an empty 4 train to arrive - we could see it stopped just outside the station waiting for the packed one to leave - and thus travel back in comfort on a mostly empty train.
Newark, New York
The journey to New York started out OK, but it wasn't as simple as it could have been, not least because I had very little sleep last night and I have a bit of a headache. The problems start at Penn Station in New York. It is appallingly signposted internally. At various points, there are conflicting signs - giving different directions to particular subways lines. It has you walking around in circles, then along long passageways at the end of which are long flights of stairs and no sign of a lift or even an escalator. Sometimes you go down 12 stairs, forward a few metres and then up 12 stairs again! I couldn't see any sign of accessible routes. Eventually, I think I must have gone several blocks going by the map I looked at later. To cap it all, there's no elevator at 39th Avenue on the N,Q lines either so that was about 25 steps down to street level too, so I was exhausted by the time I reached the hotel.
It has very few rooms per floor, but 17 floors. I do just about have a view over upper Manhattan from my window and if I go to the lifts, I can see lower Manhattan. The first priority was to try to get some sleep though before going to the game, otherwise, I'd just be asleep at the game, which would be pointless. Fortunately, I was able to get an hour or two to keep me going, and left dinner until the stadium.
It has very few rooms per floor, but 17 floors. I do just about have a view over upper Manhattan from my window and if I go to the lifts, I can see lower Manhattan. The first priority was to try to get some sleep though before going to the game, otherwise, I'd just be asleep at the game, which would be pointless. Fortunately, I was able to get an hour or two to keep me going, and left dinner until the stadium.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Big East travel day
Today is my first off day, as I have a longer than usual flight back to New York. I was picked up by the Supershuttle which got me to the airport in time for it all. This was the flight for which I had requested a first class upgrade (I'm wondering whether the existence of this waitlisted segment was the reason I'd been getting away with no baggage fees on the previous internal flights - indeed, United would have allowed me to have two bags in the hold for free) When I left for the airport I was in first place on the upgrade list, by the time I arrived at the airport I was down to third (it's sorted by your reward level - mine's the lowest) - and two spare seats became available in first, so I didn't get it.
It also meant no food on the flight. I should have bought something at Denver airport, even if it was just a bar of chocolate to keep me going. After that, I should have bought something at Newark airport, as I was really hungry by that point, but decided to go straight to the hotel, which I chose because it has an onsite restaurant. I ordered a burger as I thought it would be simple - it took 35 minutes to come, by which point I was almost eating the table. They managed to mess up my order. They were very apologetic and said I could have a free dessert and drinks.
The hotel was very plush - deep pile carpets through the lobby. I guess that's an example of how the Hilton spends the $200 per night. However, at least they don't charge you for breathing - it feels like with the Marriotts, there's a charge for everything (and seriously, £10 for a breakfast consisting of a small bowl of oatmeal and a coffee?) Anyway, the primary job is to transfer to Long Island City in Queens during day in advance of the game at Yankee Stadium in the evening.
It also meant no food on the flight. I should have bought something at Denver airport, even if it was just a bar of chocolate to keep me going. After that, I should have bought something at Newark airport, as I was really hungry by that point, but decided to go straight to the hotel, which I chose because it has an onsite restaurant. I ordered a burger as I thought it would be simple - it took 35 minutes to come, by which point I was almost eating the table. They managed to mess up my order. They were very apologetic and said I could have a free dessert and drinks.
The hotel was very plush - deep pile carpets through the lobby. I guess that's an example of how the Hilton spends the $200 per night. However, at least they don't charge you for breathing - it feels like with the Marriotts, there's a charge for everything (and seriously, £10 for a breakfast consisting of a small bowl of oatmeal and a coffee?) Anyway, the primary job is to transfer to Long Island City in Queens during day in advance of the game at Yankee Stadium in the evening.
Sunday, September 18, 2011
San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies (4)
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| Did somebody say 'sweep' |
The Giants have trouble scoring runs. Apparently. Torres got on to start the game and Fontenot promptly hit a 2-run home run. Pablo Sandoval hit a triple. In the 4th inning, Sandoval led off with a home run. Later in the same inning, following homers from Belt and the pitcher Cain (2-run shot), Sandoval hit another one to cap an 8-run explosion that sealed the game. The Giants added a couple more on to complete a 12-5 victory.
One of the differences between the teams was getting the clutch hits. Both teams sent 6 batters to the plate in the first inning - the Giants scored 2, the Rockies left the bases loaded and scored nothing. Odd things happened in today's game too. With Huff on first base and JC Romero pitching for Colorado, he span around to try to pick him off, except Huff was standing on the bag and the Rockies' first baseman was on the outfield grass waiting for a normal pitch, and the pitch just hit Huff in the backside, much to the amusement of everybody. During the singing of Take me out to The Ballgame during the middle of the 7th inning, it is traditional here for the broadcasters to throw peanuts to the crowd below - except tonight, they managed to hit one of the wires holding the net behind the plate, which tore the packet open and rained peanuts down on a section of the crowd below. The T-shirt launchers have also managed to hit these wires!
After an absence of a month, San Francisco's opponents can Fear The Beard once again, as Brian Wilson was activated today and pitched the 8th inning.
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| Fear the Beard! Brian Wilson pitches the 8th inning |
From my seat, which is just on the 1st base side of the club area, right next to the press box, there's a view of the Rockies in the distance which I've not been able to see until now because of the game times:
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| The Rockies form a backdrop to the view |
So that's it for my Giants this year. They have a faint chance, but realistically need to win out and get some help from the Pirates to beat up the Diamondbacks. Only three more games left now, and those are in New York starting on Tuesday. Tomorrow is a travel day, with no game.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies (3)
The in-stadium radio announcers are broadcast inside the stadium on the concourses and in the club level so that people can keep track of what is going on when they're not actually in their seats. In the pre-game discussions, they were talking about how the Giants seem to have given up on the season given that they chose to rest many of the run-producing stars for this evening's game.
New run-producers stepped up.
The third game of the four game series featured Eric Surkamp pitching for the Giants against Drew Pomeranz for the Rockies. This game stayed tight until late with neither side building more than a 1 run lead at any time. Yet again, a Giants pitcher helped himself with an RBI single in the second. Yet again, it was the fielding that let the Rockies down at the crucial moments, with mistakes and errors costing them outs in the 8th inning in which the Giants scored 4 runs to take a 6-3 lead which they would never surrender (despite Casilla's cardiac-closer moment letting the tying run into scoring position!)
Apart from that, the highlights were the two triples by Brett Pill. Of course, this is a terrific name for puns that the Giants will no doubt be hoping to exploit next year. He drove in one run in the 6th and two more in the 8th to blow the game open.
Huston Street, the former closer of the Athletics, is now just a setup man for the Rockies - and he was the one that gave up all the runs in the 8th inning, which did not please the home crowd at all. Lots of booing as he was removed from the game. And then in the inter-inning Hi-Lo game (basically, Play Your Cards Right, but with baseball cards going on the players' jersey numbers) he was one of the cards that came up in that and that started the booing off again! Being in Denver, I did wonder about trying to start a cheer for Tim Tebow to pitch ... but thought better of it.
Tonight we saw Fear The Beard junior, as Sergio Romo came in to pitch in the 8th. The main beard still hasn't made an appearance in the series, but there are rumours that he'll be available for tomorrow's game should he be required.
The San Diego Padres helped out by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier, so with 10 games to go, the division lead for Arizona is now just 5 and their magic number remains at 6. Will the Giants catch them by the end of the season? I don't know. Can they catch them? Definitely - but the Giants will need to sweep them in Arizona next week and probably cannot afford to drop more than 1 more game and hope that the Dodgers and Pirates can do them a favour too.
I also noticed Jon Miller in the broadcast booths just along from me, doing the Giants radio commentary I presume.
P.S. Royals hammered the White Sox again tonight.
New run-producers stepped up.
The third game of the four game series featured Eric Surkamp pitching for the Giants against Drew Pomeranz for the Rockies. This game stayed tight until late with neither side building more than a 1 run lead at any time. Yet again, a Giants pitcher helped himself with an RBI single in the second. Yet again, it was the fielding that let the Rockies down at the crucial moments, with mistakes and errors costing them outs in the 8th inning in which the Giants scored 4 runs to take a 6-3 lead which they would never surrender (despite Casilla's cardiac-closer moment letting the tying run into scoring position!)
Apart from that, the highlights were the two triples by Brett Pill. Of course, this is a terrific name for puns that the Giants will no doubt be hoping to exploit next year. He drove in one run in the 6th and two more in the 8th to blow the game open.
Huston Street, the former closer of the Athletics, is now just a setup man for the Rockies - and he was the one that gave up all the runs in the 8th inning, which did not please the home crowd at all. Lots of booing as he was removed from the game. And then in the inter-inning Hi-Lo game (basically, Play Your Cards Right, but with baseball cards going on the players' jersey numbers) he was one of the cards that came up in that and that started the booing off again! Being in Denver, I did wonder about trying to start a cheer for Tim Tebow to pitch ... but thought better of it.
Tonight we saw Fear The Beard junior, as Sergio Romo came in to pitch in the 8th. The main beard still hasn't made an appearance in the series, but there are rumours that he'll be available for tomorrow's game should he be required.
The San Diego Padres helped out by beating the Arizona Diamondbacks earlier, so with 10 games to go, the division lead for Arizona is now just 5 and their magic number remains at 6. Will the Giants catch them by the end of the season? I don't know. Can they catch them? Definitely - but the Giants will need to sweep them in Arizona next week and probably cannot afford to drop more than 1 more game and hope that the Dodgers and Pirates can do them a favour too.
I also noticed Jon Miller in the broadcast booths just along from me, doing the Giants radio commentary I presume.
P.S. Royals hammered the White Sox again tonight.
How long does it take ...?
As there is seating all around Coors Field, in order to allow everybody to view the fireworks properly, people in the rockpile and bleacher seats are allowed onto the outfield grass to watch the display. However, this procedure took over 30 minutes! People were required to walk all the way around the warning track to first base and then to cross the outfield (no idea why they had to go all that way around!) At the other displays I've been too, the fireworks have been only 5 minutes or so after the game ended.
Teams are usually extremely protective of the grass. When you go on a stadium tour, you are usually only ever allowed on the warning track, if anywhere, so if you want to go on a major league field, go to a Rockies game, on a fireworks night, and have a seat in the pavilion sections or rockpile!
To keep the rest of us entertained during this half hour wait, a large number of T-shirts were distributed into the stands by throwing, or by catapult. They must have given away several hundred of them!
Teams are usually extremely protective of the grass. When you go on a stadium tour, you are usually only ever allowed on the warning track, if anywhere, so if you want to go on a major league field, go to a Rockies game, on a fireworks night, and have a seat in the pavilion sections or rockpile!
To keep the rest of us entertained during this half hour wait, a large number of T-shirts were distributed into the stands by throwing, or by catapult. They must have given away several hundred of them!
Friday, September 16, 2011
San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies (2)
Tonight, I arrived at the ballpark 20 minutes before first pitch so I had time to walk around the concourse before going to my seat, which was on the end of the club area on the 3rd base side, next to the press box. Next to the rockpile in centerfield, you find the bullpens where you can watch the pitchers warming up. You can get good photographs from close range there.
It's quite funny watching the performance of the US National Anthem in some places, because the organisers make helpful additions to the anthem from time to time, such as the red fireworks that are set off at Coors Field to accompany "the rockets' red glare" line. You can see who wasn't expecting it, as people crouch down and/or scream.
It took longer for the Giants to get going tonight, but eventually they did so, putting up 2, then 1 and then 3 in the 6th, highlighted by Madison Bumgarner (the pitcher!) hitting a 2-RBI double to the wall to help himself. The Rockies scored a run in the bottom of the 5th and nothing else. Wth a 3 added on in the 7th with some poor fielding by the Rockies, the final score was 9-1. Sadly, it looks like Cody Ross will be out for the season with a muscle problem as he pulled up quickly whilst trying to reach second base.
P.S. the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-6 this evening.
It's quite funny watching the performance of the US National Anthem in some places, because the organisers make helpful additions to the anthem from time to time, such as the red fireworks that are set off at Coors Field to accompany "the rockets' red glare" line. You can see who wasn't expecting it, as people crouch down and/or scream.
It took longer for the Giants to get going tonight, but eventually they did so, putting up 2, then 1 and then 3 in the 6th, highlighted by Madison Bumgarner (the pitcher!) hitting a 2-RBI double to the wall to help himself. The Rockies scored a run in the bottom of the 5th and nothing else. Wth a 3 added on in the 7th with some poor fielding by the Rockies, the final score was 9-1. Sadly, it looks like Cody Ross will be out for the season with a muscle problem as he pulled up quickly whilst trying to reach second base.
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| Stating the obvious? No warning about bright, flashing lights though! |
P.S. the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 7-6 this evening.
Some photographs uploaded
I've finally got around to uploading some of my photos. I've gone back and edited them into the posts before this one, but you can see the whole album more easily in one go, with captions and location information (when the camera's GPS detection was enabled)
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| Stewart's 2011 Baseball Trip |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
San Francisco Giants @ Colorado Rockies (1)
My flight arrived on time in Denver and I had lunch at the airport, as it was still quite early (before midday) and I didn't want to arrive too soon at the hotel. The Supershuttle here only cost $40 for a return trip, and yet it takes longer than the Kansas City ride did that cost $138! From looking at the prices, I suspect now that it might have been cheaper to have SuperShuttle take me to a downtown KC hotel and then had a taxi for the remaining few miles out to my real hotel.
This year, I'm just on a normal floor of the hotel rather than the concierge level. It's got everything I've come to expect: large HD TV, large bed, quite a nice view, expensive Internet access and expensive breakfast! After a quick dinner, I made my way up to Coors Field for the first of the 4-game series between the Giants & the Rockies. I had a "paperless ticket". This means you go to one specific entrance gate and the attendant swipes your credit card through the reader, which then issues you a (paper!) receipt confirming your seat number. It tooks several swipes to read my card, but the lady said that was normal. Just in case of difficulties, I'm going to continue to take the receipts that I printed out at home as proof of purchase to the other games.
It had rained whilst I was at dinner, so the seats were a little wet and I couldn't see the usher around so wiped it off myself. Since I had just had dinner, I didn't order any food. It was a good view from the club level and lots of foul balls came close to my section, but none to me.
The Giants started quickly in this one. You know you're doing well when you're the number 6 batter (Brandon Belt) and you make 2 of the first 6 outs of the game. 2 runs in the first, 3 in the second and whenever Colorado inched back into it, San Francisco added on some more runs. Even our pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong got a hit and scored a run. It was only the 6th inning when Pablo Sandoval hit a triple to complete his cycle (single, double, triple, home run) - the first one I've ever seen, and not the likeliest of candidates to get one given his "athleticism" - it was only his second triple of the season.
There has been a bout of unseasonably cool weather stretching from the Rockies across the mid-West recently, and I was quite cold by the end of the game at around 9.30pm. However, tonight's forecast is for it to be much warmer, although with a risk of brief showers again.
P.S. The Royals clobbered the White Sox tonight - so that's three big wins in a row!
This year, I'm just on a normal floor of the hotel rather than the concierge level. It's got everything I've come to expect: large HD TV, large bed, quite a nice view, expensive Internet access and expensive breakfast! After a quick dinner, I made my way up to Coors Field for the first of the 4-game series between the Giants & the Rockies. I had a "paperless ticket". This means you go to one specific entrance gate and the attendant swipes your credit card through the reader, which then issues you a (paper!) receipt confirming your seat number. It tooks several swipes to read my card, but the lady said that was normal. Just in case of difficulties, I'm going to continue to take the receipts that I printed out at home as proof of purchase to the other games.
It had rained whilst I was at dinner, so the seats were a little wet and I couldn't see the usher around so wiped it off myself. Since I had just had dinner, I didn't order any food. It was a good view from the club level and lots of foul balls came close to my section, but none to me.
The Giants started quickly in this one. You know you're doing well when you're the number 6 batter (Brandon Belt) and you make 2 of the first 6 outs of the game. 2 runs in the first, 3 in the second and whenever Colorado inched back into it, San Francisco added on some more runs. Even our pitcher, Ryan Vogelsong got a hit and scored a run. It was only the 6th inning when Pablo Sandoval hit a triple to complete his cycle (single, double, triple, home run) - the first one I've ever seen, and not the likeliest of candidates to get one given his "athleticism" - it was only his second triple of the season.
There has been a bout of unseasonably cool weather stretching from the Rockies across the mid-West recently, and I was quite cold by the end of the game at around 9.30pm. However, tonight's forecast is for it to be much warmer, although with a risk of brief showers again.
P.S. The Royals clobbered the White Sox tonight - so that's three big wins in a row!
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals (2)
The second and final game of the short 2-game series was won by the Royals. A sweep. Lots more hitting from both sides today, with one of the up and coming stars of the Royals, Luke Hochevar, pitching. Between the two sides, there were 6 stolen bases, He went 6 innings, giving up a couple of runs and left with a handy 7-2 lead. Whilst the Twins got one in the 7th to make it 7-3, they managed to make it interesting by loading the bases in the top of the 9th. However, Holland game on to get the final out and seal the victory for the Royals.
The only reason for the Royals' poor record can be inconsistency. On their day, they can beat anybody - it's just that there's not enough days like that yet. Alex Gordon looks a bright prospect, and Hosmer also hit a home run. On the other hand, the Twins aren't having their strongest year, but then again, Pavano's a good pitcher (he pitched game 1) and they beat him fairly easily.
I liked some of the inter-inning features. In addition to the hotdog race (video screen only, unfortunately, unlike the Pierogi race in Pittsburgh which is "real") which was won by Relish on Tuesday, Ketchup on Wednesday, and the oft-found Kiss Cam, Kansas City also have an "Oblivious Cam", which is where somebody in the crowd who is not paying attention is shown on the video board, together with a clock which keeps running until the person notices that they're on the screen and waves. The chap tonight failed to notice for 28.6 seconds!
The stadium is lovely and is built to shade the premium seats from the heat of the sun in day games. Even for the 3.10pm start, the Diamond Club box seats were in shadow from before the start. In fact, as the game went on, I was beginning to feel a little chilly, as the wind picked up - outside in the sun, it was pleasantly warm. According to the locals, it is unseasonably cool for the time of year - high 60s, low 70s. They would expect it to be warmer. On the other hand, there's a frost warning for areas not far North of KC tonight!
I liked all the fountains around the outfield. They run in a waterfall mode most of the time except during breaks and on KC home runs when they turn into a nice show of water jets. In the night time, they illuminate the fountains in different colours too.
There's something special about these stadia that leave one side open to give a view of a city skyline (or of fields and I-70 in KC's case!) In a late afternoon game, there's a short period of maybe 15 minutes or so when the sun is almost down, the skies are clear, the stadium lights are starting to take effect, and the heat of the day is fading. The light is clear and perfect, the constant low murmuring of thousands of conversations in the crowd, and you feel that there's nowhere else that you'd rather be.
The only reason for the Royals' poor record can be inconsistency. On their day, they can beat anybody - it's just that there's not enough days like that yet. Alex Gordon looks a bright prospect, and Hosmer also hit a home run. On the other hand, the Twins aren't having their strongest year, but then again, Pavano's a good pitcher (he pitched game 1) and they beat him fairly easily.
I liked some of the inter-inning features. In addition to the hotdog race (video screen only, unfortunately, unlike the Pierogi race in Pittsburgh which is "real") which was won by Relish on Tuesday, Ketchup on Wednesday, and the oft-found Kiss Cam, Kansas City also have an "Oblivious Cam", which is where somebody in the crowd who is not paying attention is shown on the video board, together with a clock which keeps running until the person notices that they're on the screen and waves. The chap tonight failed to notice for 28.6 seconds!
The stadium is lovely and is built to shade the premium seats from the heat of the sun in day games. Even for the 3.10pm start, the Diamond Club box seats were in shadow from before the start. In fact, as the game went on, I was beginning to feel a little chilly, as the wind picked up - outside in the sun, it was pleasantly warm. According to the locals, it is unseasonably cool for the time of year - high 60s, low 70s. They would expect it to be warmer. On the other hand, there's a frost warning for areas not far North of KC tonight!
I liked all the fountains around the outfield. They run in a waterfall mode most of the time except during breaks and on KC home runs when they turn into a nice show of water jets. In the night time, they illuminate the fountains in different colours too.
There's something special about these stadia that leave one side open to give a view of a city skyline (or of fields and I-70 in KC's case!) In a late afternoon game, there's a short period of maybe 15 minutes or so when the sun is almost down, the skies are clear, the stadium lights are starting to take effect, and the heat of the day is fading. The light is clear and perfect, the constant low murmuring of thousands of conversations in the crowd, and you feel that there's nowhere else that you'd rather be.
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| Kauffman Stadium fountains |
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| Sluggerrr watches his Royals play |
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| Arrowhead Stadium - home of the Kansas City Chiefs |
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| Sign on just one of a large number of Portaloos in the shared car park - a little petty? |
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Minnesota Twins @ Kansas City Royals (1)
Readers from the baseballfan forum will know that I always fancy the Kansas City Royals to have a good season and that I am always disappointed by them at the end of season. But not today. The Royals hammered the Twins today, with Bruce Chen thowing 8 shutout innings and Coleman the 9th, with Moustakis & Gordon hitting a solo home run each. After Moustakis hit his, the scoreboard showed a video of a moose in a forest in the snow and the crowd all calling out "Moose!" - I was half expecting when Gordon hit his that we were going to get Brian Blessed announcing (loudly, in his Prince Voltan outfit) "Gordon's alive!"
The game was amazingly quick for an AL game - only 2 hours 20 minutes - but that will be down to the lack of hitting by the Twins, who got a grand total of 3 singles in the whole game.
The game was amazingly quick for an AL game - only 2 hours 20 minutes - but that will be down to the lack of hitting by the Twins, who got a grand total of 3 singles in the whole game.
Kauffman Stadium
There are pedestrian crossings on the bridge so you can get across safely from the Holiday Inn side of the I-70 to the sports complex side, although once across the road, the quickest way to the stadium down the steep grassy hills rather than along the winding road. The ground is very uneven, but fortunately no rabbit holes!
Kauffman Stadium itself seems quite small. In fact, in many ways, it's similar to PNC Park in Pittsburgh, although it does feel smaller. There aren't high grandstands all the way around, which seems to be the modern style - although Kauffman Stadium was built in the early 1970s! Inside, it's quite open and airy, but more exposed concrete.
When I entered the club area in Pittsburgh, I got a red or blue stamp on the back of my hand to show that my ticket had been checked. When I entered the club area in Kansas City, the inside of my wrist was stamped with something that obviously only shows up under ultraviolet light.
My tickets for these two games were both on a special offer and had "$20 loaded value" on them. In other words, I paid $20 more for them and then I could spend that $20 by handing the ticket to vendors. As long as you spend at least $20, there's no real point to it though. The seats were in the Diamond Club box seat area. This is like a garden deck, with wooden chairs with comfy cushions, lined up behind a long narrow table so you can sit and watch the game in comfort, with your food and drink on a table in front of view. This is an ideal way to watch a game of baseball. You pick things off a menu and every so often, the lady comes around and asks if you want anything and if you do, she notes it down and goes off to order it for you and an inning or two later, it arrives! Then you close the tab just before the end of the game and pay, including adding a tip (it was the same lady both days)
Kauffman Stadium itself seems quite small. In fact, in many ways, it's similar to PNC Park in Pittsburgh, although it does feel smaller. There aren't high grandstands all the way around, which seems to be the modern style - although Kauffman Stadium was built in the early 1970s! Inside, it's quite open and airy, but more exposed concrete.
When I entered the club area in Pittsburgh, I got a red or blue stamp on the back of my hand to show that my ticket had been checked. When I entered the club area in Kansas City, the inside of my wrist was stamped with something that obviously only shows up under ultraviolet light.
My tickets for these two games were both on a special offer and had "$20 loaded value" on them. In other words, I paid $20 more for them and then I could spend that $20 by handing the ticket to vendors. As long as you spend at least $20, there's no real point to it though. The seats were in the Diamond Club box seat area. This is like a garden deck, with wooden chairs with comfy cushions, lined up behind a long narrow table so you can sit and watch the game in comfort, with your food and drink on a table in front of view. This is an ideal way to watch a game of baseball. You pick things off a menu and every so often, the lady comes around and asks if you want anything and if you do, she notes it down and goes off to order it for you and an inning or two later, it arrives! Then you close the tab just before the end of the game and pay, including adding a tip (it was the same lady both days)
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| View from the Diamond Club box seats |
Touchdown, Kansas City!
I was just getting up to go down for breakfast at 6.35 when the phone rang. It was the Supershuttle driver wanting to pick me up 15 minutes earlier than scheduled! So I was off a little earlier than planned for the two flights of the day. I think they only wanted to send one van for an airport trip, and other people had earlier flights than mine. After passing through the Mount Washington tunnel, we passed a huge queue of traffic waiting to go the other way - which is probably why they decided not to send another van. I had quite a long wait at the airport - nearly 3 hours.
For both flights today, I upgraded to Economy Plus to get more space. I was also invited through the fast lane for security rather than waiting in the normal queue, because there weren't any more important people to be screened at the time I walked up! The flight to Chicago was full, but the flight to Kansas City was no more than half full, which was good because the very large man who was supposed to sit next to me in the 2-seat exit row was able to move to another seat so we could both travel in comfort.
The terminal in Kansas City is quite small and seems quaint and small town - the baggage carousels are right next to the gates and come out fairly quickly given how little distance the baggage has to be hauled. I had a private Supershuttle booked, and it took half an hour to travel to the hotel. I'm up on the 14th floor, with a view over the sports complex on the other side of the road. I can see Kauffman Stadium (where the KC Royals play baseball) and Arrowhead Stadium (where the KC Chiefs play in the NFL) right next door to it.
For both flights today, I upgraded to Economy Plus to get more space. I was also invited through the fast lane for security rather than waiting in the normal queue, because there weren't any more important people to be screened at the time I walked up! The flight to Chicago was full, but the flight to Kansas City was no more than half full, which was good because the very large man who was supposed to sit next to me in the 2-seat exit row was able to move to another seat so we could both travel in comfort.
The terminal in Kansas City is quite small and seems quaint and small town - the baggage carousels are right next to the gates and come out fairly quickly given how little distance the baggage has to be hauled. I had a private Supershuttle booked, and it took half an hour to travel to the hotel. I'm up on the 14th floor, with a view over the sports complex on the other side of the road. I can see Kauffman Stadium (where the KC Royals play baseball) and Arrowhead Stadium (where the KC Chiefs play in the NFL) right next door to it.
Monday, September 12, 2011
St Louis Cardinals @ Pittsburgh Pirates
My final game in Pittsburgh was this evening's opening game of the series against St Louis. For this game, by seat was just about on the third base side of the plate, with an excellent view of the city skyline and of the action below. Quite a few of the early runs in this game were scored without hits. Albert Pujols' sac-fly in the top of the 1st gave the Cardinals an early lead which was quickly answered by the Pirates in the bottom of the first with two sac-flies of their own. The big blast of the game came when Albert drove a ball over the centerfield wall to give St Louis a 4-3 lead which seemed to deflate the crowd and the Pittsburgh team at the time. However, in the bottom of the 8th, the Pirates managed to come up with a string of men on base, the key hit being a 2-RBI hit by Ciriaco - funnily enough, the regulars in the crowd around me had already given up on the inning when he came to bat, expecting him to just make an easy out. The Pirates' closer, Josh Hanrahan, came in to try to close the game out and kept things interesting by giving up hits to load the bases, then a wild pitch to score one run, leaving men on 2nd and 3rd. Fortunately, he managed to strike out Corey Patterson to finish the game, stranding big Albert on deck. The crowd, all 13200 of them, went wild.
Sometimes, highly rated stadia turn out to be disappointment, but I'm happy to say that this is not the case for PNC Park. The photos of the views are real - no "city skyline added" in small print at the bottom of the picture. One of the nice things about the park is that the walking ramps for accessing the different levels are on a spiral walkway and have a view of the playing field, which gives the whole place a feeling of openness and rather less that of a concrete doughnut or multi-storey car park! It's on a par with AT&T Park in San Francisco, although that's still my favourite perhaps due to hometown club bias. The prices for these seats are remarkably cheap - just $52 for the club level, which is less than I paid for OK-ish seats at both Chicago teams.
This would be a terrific place for a playoff series. I'm sure that the place would be packed and the atmosphere electric. They've got the stadium, all they need is the team. The people here are friendly and probably best described as stoic when it comes to the Pirates - that's what comes of 19 straight losing seasons, although there are bright spots like Alex Pressly and Andrew McCutchen with the veteran Derrek Lee to provide leadership. It is quite cunning that the Pirates, Penguins & Steelers all have the yellow, black and white colours - it allows people to wear the merchandise of any one sport to other events! I saw quite a few Andrew McCutchen jerseys, but a lot more Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward.
Sometimes, highly rated stadia turn out to be disappointment, but I'm happy to say that this is not the case for PNC Park. The photos of the views are real - no "city skyline added" in small print at the bottom of the picture. One of the nice things about the park is that the walking ramps for accessing the different levels are on a spiral walkway and have a view of the playing field, which gives the whole place a feeling of openness and rather less that of a concrete doughnut or multi-storey car park! It's on a par with AT&T Park in San Francisco, although that's still my favourite perhaps due to hometown club bias. The prices for these seats are remarkably cheap - just $52 for the club level, which is less than I paid for OK-ish seats at both Chicago teams.
This would be a terrific place for a playoff series. I'm sure that the place would be packed and the atmosphere electric. They've got the stadium, all they need is the team. The people here are friendly and probably best described as stoic when it comes to the Pirates - that's what comes of 19 straight losing seasons, although there are bright spots like Alex Pressly and Andrew McCutchen with the veteran Derrek Lee to provide leadership. It is quite cunning that the Pirates, Penguins & Steelers all have the yellow, black and white colours - it allows people to wear the merchandise of any one sport to other events! I saw quite a few Andrew McCutchen jerseys, but a lot more Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward.
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| PNC Park view over downtown Pittsburgh |
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| Pirates win! |
Mount Washington
The downtown area of Pittsburgh is flat, as you might imagine with the three rivers running through it. However, on the southern side of the Mon and Ohio rivers, there is Mount Washington, which probably protects the downtown area from the worst of any weather coming up from the south west too - every day that I've been in town, the area forecast has been for thundery showers and yet not a sign of any rain at all. I walked through the culutral district of the centre of town and then crossed one of the bridges to the base of the hill. The hill is so steep, that the road has to wind its way up from side to side rather than going directly up. The major routes have a tunnel to go straight through. I took a ride on the funicular railway up the incline to the top and walked along to the viewing points. There is an excellent view of Pittsburgh from the top and it's the best place for a view of the confluence of the three rivers, of the downtown area, of PNC Park and of course of Heinz Field where the Pittsburgh Steelers play. Although it was warm and sunny, there was a pleasant breeze up on top of the hill. After walking about a bit and taking some photos, I went back down the funicular railway and took the transit back to the centre of town in order to make my dinner reservation at The Capital Grille. I had a sirloin steak with a coffee sauce, which seems odd, but it was extremely nice, although expensive.
Pittsburgh is still being regenerated and there's some way to go yet for it to become a fixture on the tourist trail, but by all reports, it's made great progress - and the Pirates have a fabulous facility which is a pleasure to visit.
Pittsburgh is still being regenerated and there's some way to go yet for it to become a fixture on the tourist trail, but by all reports, it's made great progress - and the Pirates have a fabulous facility which is a pleasure to visit.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Florida Marlins @ Pittsburgh Pirates (2)
In real life, the Pirates managed it nicely - all the remembrance was before the game, and once the game started, it was a normal game. Unfortunately for the Pirates, this meant another loss - although they did at least score one consolation run after having given up 4 runs to Florida in one inning, which proved to be all the offence in the game. My seat was a few sections further around, closer to the plate, so I had a much better view. The attendance at the game appeared rather poor, although wandering around, it seems that a very large number of people were inside in the club level or on the concourses of the other levels, watching the Pittsburgh Steelers' game at the Baltimore Ravens game on the TVs! (The Steelers lost heavily too) Many people were sitting in the various club lounges where they had multiple TVs on the wall, half showing the baseball game going on outside and half showing the Steelers game so people could have both at the same time.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Florida Marlins @ Pittsburgh Pirates (1)
I walked from my hotel to the stadium, as it was only 20 minutes, through the Cultural District and then across the Allegheny River over the Roberto Clemente Bridge (the website has a nice photo of it) The bridge was closed to allow people to walk to the stadium from downtown more easily.
From the moment you start crossing the bridge, the stadium is immediately impressive. You can see the seating bowl as you cross the bridge and get a sense of the atmosphere in there. Many of the new stadia have a skyline view of their home city's downtown, and PNC Park's is beautiful, but this is the first I've come across where people can see in as well. Now I understand why so many people say that this stadium rivals the Giants' AT&T Park as the best MLB stadium. (Aside: IMHO, Fenway & Wrigley are not great places to watch games - they give you something entirely different, an atmosphere steeped in history and tradition that the new stadia do not yet have)
I have club level seating for all three of the games, the sections moving progressively from down the first base side towards the plate. The view from the second deck is excellent - both of the city skyline and the game below. The inside of the club level is air-conditioned, which will be useful for summer games and day games such as tomorrow's game, and the whole experience just seems so much more civilised - there are tables to sit and eat your food at, less noise, lots of Pirates' memorabilia on display, and nice carpets!
The game this evening was an odd one - it seemed somewhat ponderous, perhaps because I'm quite tired, but given that runs were scored only in one half-inning of the entire game (top 3rd) you'd have thought it should have been over sooner. Having got so close to seeing a one-hit shutout a few days ago, Anibal Sanchez actually delivered one. Pittsburgh never really looked like getting going, and the 3 runs that the Marlins put up, highlighted by a John Buck 2-RBI single, were enough.
Happily enough, the Pirates had a firework display after the game, which made it two in two days for me. I didn't think that they would top the display in Chicago, but they did! It was just as long and the explosions were bigger, there were more of them, the sounds of the explosions were echoed off the stadium and the buildings on the other side of the river disappeared at times behind the smoke. Behind all of this a full Moon hung in the sky, occasionally being obscured by smoke and at the end turning a fiery red colour as the smoke blocked it out and then dissipated. They load all the fireworks onto barges and sail them to the middle of the river and fire them from there (having closed the river and the Clemente bridge!)
From the moment you start crossing the bridge, the stadium is immediately impressive. You can see the seating bowl as you cross the bridge and get a sense of the atmosphere in there. Many of the new stadia have a skyline view of their home city's downtown, and PNC Park's is beautiful, but this is the first I've come across where people can see in as well. Now I understand why so many people say that this stadium rivals the Giants' AT&T Park as the best MLB stadium. (Aside: IMHO, Fenway & Wrigley are not great places to watch games - they give you something entirely different, an atmosphere steeped in history and tradition that the new stadia do not yet have)
I have club level seating for all three of the games, the sections moving progressively from down the first base side towards the plate. The view from the second deck is excellent - both of the city skyline and the game below. The inside of the club level is air-conditioned, which will be useful for summer games and day games such as tomorrow's game, and the whole experience just seems so much more civilised - there are tables to sit and eat your food at, less noise, lots of Pirates' memorabilia on display, and nice carpets!
The game this evening was an odd one - it seemed somewhat ponderous, perhaps because I'm quite tired, but given that runs were scored only in one half-inning of the entire game (top 3rd) you'd have thought it should have been over sooner. Having got so close to seeing a one-hit shutout a few days ago, Anibal Sanchez actually delivered one. Pittsburgh never really looked like getting going, and the 3 runs that the Marlins put up, highlighted by a John Buck 2-RBI single, were enough.
Happily enough, the Pirates had a firework display after the game, which made it two in two days for me. I didn't think that they would top the display in Chicago, but they did! It was just as long and the explosions were bigger, there were more of them, the sounds of the explosions were echoed off the stadium and the buildings on the other side of the river disappeared at times behind the smoke. Behind all of this a full Moon hung in the sky, occasionally being obscured by smoke and at the end turning a fiery red colour as the smoke blocked it out and then dissipated. They load all the fireworks onto barges and sail them to the middle of the river and fire them from there (having closed the river and the Clemente bridge!)
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| Pierogis after their race around the warning track |
Flight to Pittsburgh
This morning I had to get up early(ish) for my flight to Pittsburgh. I had worked out that I needed to leave by 8.30am to make sure I got to the airport in time, with a margin for delays, and in the end, that proved to be more than adequate. The incoming plane was late, so we were late leaving and late arriving into Pittsburgh. The ride was a bit bumpy over the edges of the lake, but was uneventful otherwise. I booked a Supershuttle to take me to my hotel, which is very good value really at $23 each way. It's quite a way from the airport to the hotel, and they'll come to pick me up again on Tuesday at 7.30am to return to the airport.
Pittsburgh is nothing like I thought it would be. Perhaps it's because the centre of town has undergone an extensive revitalisation, but there again, I'm staying in the Cultural District where many of the buildings look quite old, and there's bricked pavements most places, rather than just concrete. In some ways, it reminds me of the historic parts of Boston. The whole centre is quite a bit smaller than I had imagined too - the map makes it look like it's quite a hike from my hotel to anywhere, but it's not.
I have a top-floor (9th floor) room in this hotel, bizarrely with a room number almost the same as I had in my Chicago hotel. However, the view is even worse here, as it seems the hotel is a hollow rectangle shape and my room is on the inside side, so all I can see is across a gap into other rooms. However, the room is at least twice as large as the Chicago one. The price is also twice as large.
Pittsburgh is nothing like I thought it would be. Perhaps it's because the centre of town has undergone an extensive revitalisation, but there again, I'm staying in the Cultural District where many of the buildings look quite old, and there's bricked pavements most places, rather than just concrete. In some ways, it reminds me of the historic parts of Boston. The whole centre is quite a bit smaller than I had imagined too - the map makes it look like it's quite a hike from my hotel to anywhere, but it's not.
I have a top-floor (9th floor) room in this hotel, bizarrely with a room number almost the same as I had in my Chicago hotel. However, the view is even worse here, as it seems the hotel is a hollow rectangle shape and my room is on the inside side, so all I can see is across a gap into other rooms. However, the room is at least twice as large as the Chicago one. The price is also twice as large.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Cleveland Indians @ Chicago White Sox (2)
Having got so wet the night before, I took my coat, intending not to sit out in the rain if it came down like it did the night before. However, my seat was in the back row of the lower deck ... and the back 5 rows of the lower deck are sheltered by the middle deck. I had delayed my walk to the subway station for a few minutes because it was pouring with rain. Once I left the hotel, there were occasional spots of rain as I made my way to the subway station, but, typically, it didn't rain at all at the stadium during the game.
Another game, another multi-homer night for somebody, this time it was the Indians' Chisenhall with 2 2-run HRs, the second of which came in a 5-run 6th inning that seemed to have effectively ended the game as a contest. What the box score doesn't really show is that the White Sox made a real fight of it in the bottom of the 9th. Down 8-3, they loaded the bases, scored a run on a wild pitch, and Gordon Beckham had an at-bat that went on for ages before finally striking out to end the game. De Aza made a great catch near the wall on the far side, which I didn't really see well from my seat which was up the first base side, however on TV later, you could see what a great catch it was.
Tonight's game was "Half-way to St Patrick's Day night". Presumably being held a week early because they are out of town on 17th September. I was too late to get a green White Sox cap. However, the post-match fireworks were spectacular. Set to variety of Irish music, the display went on for well over 10 minutes. The biggest explosions echoed off the interior of the stadium, making it all the louder. I always feel sorry for the grounds crew who, immediately after the game is over, have to put the field to bed for the night all by the light of the fireworks. To ensure I could see properly, I moved forward several rows before the display started.
Despite the loss in the game, most of the fans went home cheered up by the wonderful display.
Another game, another multi-homer night for somebody, this time it was the Indians' Chisenhall with 2 2-run HRs, the second of which came in a 5-run 6th inning that seemed to have effectively ended the game as a contest. What the box score doesn't really show is that the White Sox made a real fight of it in the bottom of the 9th. Down 8-3, they loaded the bases, scored a run on a wild pitch, and Gordon Beckham had an at-bat that went on for ages before finally striking out to end the game. De Aza made a great catch near the wall on the far side, which I didn't really see well from my seat which was up the first base side, however on TV later, you could see what a great catch it was.
Tonight's game was "Half-way to St Patrick's Day night". Presumably being held a week early because they are out of town on 17th September. I was too late to get a green White Sox cap. However, the post-match fireworks were spectacular. Set to variety of Irish music, the display went on for well over 10 minutes. The biggest explosions echoed off the interior of the stadium, making it all the louder. I always feel sorry for the grounds crew who, immediately after the game is over, have to put the field to bed for the night all by the light of the fireworks. To ensure I could see properly, I moved forward several rows before the display started.
Despite the loss in the game, most of the fans went home cheered up by the wonderful display.
South side walk
Today, I had several things to do, so I started by collecting some shopping that was waiting for me, and then went to the Borders bookshop in the centre of town. I'd forgotten that Borders had collapsed, and this store only had 6 days left and they were selling off the books, the bookcases, the shelving, in fact anything that was removable. Unfortunately, this meant that the books were rather muddled up and although there was mostly a separation between fiction and non-fiction, the genres were mixed up and the authors no longer in alphabetical order - which makes it very hard when you're trying to find books by a particular person! In the end, I was unsuccessful and went off for lunch at Harry Caray's.
I didn't notice that the Red Line train that I had boarded was an express. I'm sure it wasn't an express when it arrived at Lake where I got on, but it sailed several stops past where I needed to go, so I had to travel back again and I was 15 minutes late for my reservation. Fortunately, it didn't matter. I remembered that when I went up to the north beaches, the driver came on the intercom at one point to indicate that the train was turning into an express and missing out several stops to pick up time. I must have missed it in the bustle of everybody getting on and off.
My steak was perfectly cooked and I made sure that I didn't over order the sides, because I remember that they are large. Apparently, I just missed one of the Cubs players who had dropped in for lunch. The waiter explained that visiting players often visited when they were in town too and they see quite a few Chicago Bears NFL players too, especially during their season.
After lunch, I took the train down to the loop and walked out to the lakeside to walk south. I passed a marina full of expensive looking boats and the harbour, which sounded like wind chimes as all the ropes and anchors chinked together as the boats floated up and down on the water. I passed the large Buckingham Fountain that was very impressive, and nearby there was a many blowing bubbles from a very large bubble making frame. The largest ones were around the size of a young person and they floated through the air until they hit something. By the time I got to the field museum, there were worrying spots of rain starting to fall, so I made my way to the Roosevelt subway station to return back to the North side where my hotel is.
I didn't notice that the Red Line train that I had boarded was an express. I'm sure it wasn't an express when it arrived at Lake where I got on, but it sailed several stops past where I needed to go, so I had to travel back again and I was 15 minutes late for my reservation. Fortunately, it didn't matter. I remembered that when I went up to the north beaches, the driver came on the intercom at one point to indicate that the train was turning into an express and missing out several stops to pick up time. I must have missed it in the bustle of everybody getting on and off.
My steak was perfectly cooked and I made sure that I didn't over order the sides, because I remember that they are large. Apparently, I just missed one of the Cubs players who had dropped in for lunch. The waiter explained that visiting players often visited when they were in town too and they see quite a few Chicago Bears NFL players too, especially during their season.
After lunch, I took the train down to the loop and walked out to the lakeside to walk south. I passed a marina full of expensive looking boats and the harbour, which sounded like wind chimes as all the ropes and anchors chinked together as the boats floated up and down on the water. I passed the large Buckingham Fountain that was very impressive, and nearby there was a many blowing bubbles from a very large bubble making frame. The largest ones were around the size of a young person and they floated through the air until they hit something. By the time I got to the field museum, there were worrying spots of rain starting to fall, so I made my way to the Roosevelt subway station to return back to the North side where my hotel is.
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Cleveland Indians @ Chicago White Sox (1)
Today I went shopping for some more essentials,which took a lot of the day. I walked around the River North area around my hotel looking at things, without buying much though. It was warm through the main part of the day, but it was always threatening to rain, with a few spots every now again.
I went to a restaurant called Wildfire this evening, where I had a reservation for 5pm, which is their opening time. Since I wanted to get down to see the Sox game at 7, I hoped that things would be relatively rapid - sadly, despite me and three or four other bookings having all arrived on or just before opening time, we all had to sit and wait until after 5.05pm when they said they were now ready. My server was good, though. I had a nice petite filet mignon with broccoli and french fries. It came in a reasonable time but by the time I'd been back to the hotel to drop off the shopping and collect the things I needed for the game and got to the station and travelled down to Sox-35th, I missed the very start of the game, but only the top of the 1st inning.
My seat for this game was up the third base line half way between the foul pole and third base. There was a woman sitting in my seat when I arrived, so I sat in the next row forward instead, as with the dodgy weather, it looked as if many people had chosen not to come at all (the crowd was only 22000). It's much harder to follow the game from a distance anyway, but I'm beginning to wonder if there's been a severe outbreak of piles on the South Side, because a large number of people in my vicinity and between my seat and home plate spent a considerable amount of time standing up, blocking the view. There were groups of people who were clearly just meeting up socially and paying very little attention to the game and didn't seem to care that they were blocking the view of lots of others and in the case of the group of men near me, their language was infrequently coarse. Surprisingly, these aren't teenagers or 20-somethings - they're all 40 if they're a day, so should know better. In contrast to Wrigley Field, there were no ushers to be seen anywhere, and as a result people were moving seats all over the place - often in the middle of innings.
There was a very fine mist of rain falling - much like we've been seeing at the US Open tennis in New York. Occasionally it stopped for a couple of minutes, never more than 5, and occasionally it turned into a downpour, but everybody kept playing and I stayed huddled up on my seat to keep it all dry. The White Sox have played many close games recently, and this was another one for a long while as the Indians got a run in the first and the White Sox soon replied in the 3rd with a solo HR by Morel. The big inning was the 7th, where Morel got another HR, this time a 3-run HR and later in the same inning local favourite Paul Konerko hit a grand slam (4-run HR) to put the White Sox out of reach 8-1 ahead. This game also featured Juan Pierre's 2000th career hit, which seems amazing, as I remember him starting out for Florida not long ago (I've just looked it up and it was in 1998!) Jim Thome, a former White Sox but now of the Indians again via the Twins, got some brief applause whenever he was announced, and not just from the Cleveland fans in attendance. There is a general appreciation for one of the best players of the modern eras as his career winds down, possibly even at the end of this season.
I also discovered that my coat isn't waterproof. It seems to have leaked blue all over me and all over my T-shirt. Now back at the hotel, I have all my dollar bills laid out individually on the table to dry off and I've got the aircon up to 72 to keep it warmish overnight to ensure everything's dried out by morning.
I went to a restaurant called Wildfire this evening, where I had a reservation for 5pm, which is their opening time. Since I wanted to get down to see the Sox game at 7, I hoped that things would be relatively rapid - sadly, despite me and three or four other bookings having all arrived on or just before opening time, we all had to sit and wait until after 5.05pm when they said they were now ready. My server was good, though. I had a nice petite filet mignon with broccoli and french fries. It came in a reasonable time but by the time I'd been back to the hotel to drop off the shopping and collect the things I needed for the game and got to the station and travelled down to Sox-35th, I missed the very start of the game, but only the top of the 1st inning.
My seat for this game was up the third base line half way between the foul pole and third base. There was a woman sitting in my seat when I arrived, so I sat in the next row forward instead, as with the dodgy weather, it looked as if many people had chosen not to come at all (the crowd was only 22000). It's much harder to follow the game from a distance anyway, but I'm beginning to wonder if there's been a severe outbreak of piles on the South Side, because a large number of people in my vicinity and between my seat and home plate spent a considerable amount of time standing up, blocking the view. There were groups of people who were clearly just meeting up socially and paying very little attention to the game and didn't seem to care that they were blocking the view of lots of others and in the case of the group of men near me, their language was infrequently coarse. Surprisingly, these aren't teenagers or 20-somethings - they're all 40 if they're a day, so should know better. In contrast to Wrigley Field, there were no ushers to be seen anywhere, and as a result people were moving seats all over the place - often in the middle of innings.
There was a very fine mist of rain falling - much like we've been seeing at the US Open tennis in New York. Occasionally it stopped for a couple of minutes, never more than 5, and occasionally it turned into a downpour, but everybody kept playing and I stayed huddled up on my seat to keep it all dry. The White Sox have played many close games recently, and this was another one for a long while as the Indians got a run in the first and the White Sox soon replied in the 3rd with a solo HR by Morel. The big inning was the 7th, where Morel got another HR, this time a 3-run HR and later in the same inning local favourite Paul Konerko hit a grand slam (4-run HR) to put the White Sox out of reach 8-1 ahead. This game also featured Juan Pierre's 2000th career hit, which seems amazing, as I remember him starting out for Florida not long ago (I've just looked it up and it was in 1998!) Jim Thome, a former White Sox but now of the Indians again via the Twins, got some brief applause whenever he was announced, and not just from the Cleveland fans in attendance. There is a general appreciation for one of the best players of the modern eras as his career winds down, possibly even at the end of this season.
I also discovered that my coat isn't waterproof. It seems to have leaked blue all over me and all over my T-shirt. Now back at the hotel, I have all my dollar bills laid out individually on the table to dry off and I've got the aircon up to 72 to keep it warmish overnight to ensure everything's dried out by morning.
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| Juan Pierre, after collecting this 2000th career hit |
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Cincinnati Reds @ Chicago Cubs (2)
It wasn't quite as chilly for this game as it had been for the previous one. Again, I had an excellent seat behind the plate from which to view all the action. The ushers are extremely watchful at Wrigley Field - they don't allow people to sit in the wrong section, and never allow people to sit closer to the front than the seat location indicated on their ticket.
This game looked as if it was headed for extra innings as well, with the score tied at 3 late on in the game, until Carlos Peña hit a massive 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to seal the game for the Cubs. After the Reds were put away in the top of the 9th, the celebrations started - and everything was noticably more jolly than after the previous night's loss.
There was another play at the plate tonight, this time more exciting as the runner did actually attempt to score the run, unlike Brandon Phillips the night before who got only 75% of the way down the line before just stopping in front of the catcher waiting to tag him out - after which both players hugged each other and went back to their respective dugouts.
This game looked as if it was headed for extra innings as well, with the score tied at 3 late on in the game, until Carlos Peña hit a massive 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th to seal the game for the Cubs. After the Reds were put away in the top of the 9th, the celebrations started - and everything was noticably more jolly than after the previous night's loss.
There was another play at the plate tonight, this time more exciting as the runner did actually attempt to score the run, unlike Brandon Phillips the night before who got only 75% of the way down the line before just stopping in front of the catcher waiting to tag him out - after which both players hugged each other and went back to their respective dugouts.
Lake Michigan beaches
Today, I spent most of the day on the beaches to the north of Chicago. There is quite a long stretch of beach from Loyola up towards Howard and I walked along all of it (some of it twice as started near the northernmost end and went North and then back South as far as I could, before returning to the hotel to get ready for dinner.
The beaches were mostly deserted. They are sandy for the most part, and quite wide. I only passed around a couple of dozen people in all the hours I spent there. It was very windy, though, and the wind was whipping up the sand a lot, which managed to get into the camera lens mechanisms, but I think I've cleared it all out now. I also found I had collected half a pocketful of sand, just from the wind blowing it! It was warm (21C/70F) & sunny all day, which was pleasant.
The beaches were mostly deserted. They are sandy for the most part, and quite wide. I only passed around a couple of dozen people in all the hours I spent there. It was very windy, though, and the wind was whipping up the sand a lot, which managed to get into the camera lens mechanisms, but I think I've cleared it all out now. I also found I had collected half a pocketful of sand, just from the wind blowing it! It was warm (21C/70F) & sunny all day, which was pleasant.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Cincinnati Reds @ Chicago Cubs (1)
Downtown Chicago is surprisingly pleasant. There are flower beds along many of the streets, with automatic watering systems that drench them every night, and they're all in full flower. It seems a very green city and quite a nice place to live - although if I'd been here in February, I'm not so sure I'd like the snow and cold so much. I looked in a few shops today and bought a few essentials.
On the Tuesday afternoon, I went to the Weber Grill restaurant and had a 3-way-combo BBQ. It was a reasonable size, much smaller than it might sound, as it had two sausages, one chicken breast and some pulled pork. It also wasn't all that expensive.
From there, I made the trip on the subway North to the Addison stop, which is next door to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. I have a 7-day pass which covers all the subway system and all the buses - for just $23.
Even though both the Cubs and Reds are out of contention for the playoffs, there were remarkably few people in attendance, I thought. There were about 34,000 in total, but down in section 24 where I was, there were quite a few empty seats. I moved along a couple of spaces so I could have a better view of the action instead of having somebody's head in the way.
This game was played quickly and I nearly witnessed a 1-hitter. The first 53 (of 54) outs had been recorded in about 2 and a quarter hours, as the Reds led 2-0. However, the 54th out proved to be somewhat tougher, as a single was hit followed by McHair hitting a booming 2-run HR to right field to tie the game - those were only the 2nd and 3rd hits of the game for the Cubs! People had started leaving in the 8th and 9th innings, as usually happens. With extra innings though, more people leave at the end of each half inning - those with children, those who have to be up early to go to work the next day or possibly even because they were just cold. It was very windy in the stadium, so as night fell, it became rather chilly, so I was glad I had my coat (I nearly forgot to pack a coat at all!) By the time the Reds pushed another couple of runs across in the top of the 13th, most people just seemed pleased that the game was over! Even with all the bonus baseball, the game didn't take much over 3 hours. One advantage of extra innings is that it tends to lighten the load on the subway service. I was able to board the first inbound train that arrived and travel is relative comfort back to the hotel.
On the Tuesday afternoon, I went to the Weber Grill restaurant and had a 3-way-combo BBQ. It was a reasonable size, much smaller than it might sound, as it had two sausages, one chicken breast and some pulled pork. It also wasn't all that expensive.
From there, I made the trip on the subway North to the Addison stop, which is next door to Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs. I have a 7-day pass which covers all the subway system and all the buses - for just $23.
Even though both the Cubs and Reds are out of contention for the playoffs, there were remarkably few people in attendance, I thought. There were about 34,000 in total, but down in section 24 where I was, there were quite a few empty seats. I moved along a couple of spaces so I could have a better view of the action instead of having somebody's head in the way.
This game was played quickly and I nearly witnessed a 1-hitter. The first 53 (of 54) outs had been recorded in about 2 and a quarter hours, as the Reds led 2-0. However, the 54th out proved to be somewhat tougher, as a single was hit followed by McHair hitting a booming 2-run HR to right field to tie the game - those were only the 2nd and 3rd hits of the game for the Cubs! People had started leaving in the 8th and 9th innings, as usually happens. With extra innings though, more people leave at the end of each half inning - those with children, those who have to be up early to go to work the next day or possibly even because they were just cold. It was very windy in the stadium, so as night fell, it became rather chilly, so I was glad I had my coat (I nearly forgot to pack a coat at all!) By the time the Reds pushed another couple of runs across in the top of the 13th, most people just seemed pleased that the game was over! Even with all the bonus baseball, the game didn't take much over 3 hours. One advantage of extra innings is that it tends to lighten the load on the subway service. I was able to board the first inbound train that arrived and travel is relative comfort back to the hotel.
Chicago arrival
The flight was a little late leaving, I wasn't *quite* the last the board, but very close to it. My seat was actually backwards-facing, but it isn't really noticable except during take-off and landing. The food was nice, with a smoked salmon starters with salad with a caesar dressing. For the main course, I chose braised beef short ribs with caramelized onion, and to finish, I passed on the cheeses but had the chocolate cake. Just before arriving, in fact very close to arrival time as we were already descending before service was started, an afternoon tea was served with scones and strawberry jam and cream. In all of these all the plates were really plates, the knives were metal, the forks were metal, the spoons were ... entirely absent - we had a short plastic straw to stir coffees with.
Immigration at Chicago took rather a long time - about 1 hour and 20 minutes of queueing, although it only took around a minute to be processed by the official. It wasn't just the Visitor queues that were long, even the American queues were long. As it all took such a long time, all the flight's luggage had already come through and been collected up beside the carousel.
The trip to the hotel was simple and I arrived at around 6pm. I'm on the 9th floor with a "street view". I'm not sure what the alternative views are, but I can see the Hancock tower a few blocks away. My room is quite small, by American standards - it'd have to be a small cat if you wanted to swing one in it, but the bed is comfortable and the bathroom facilities are all present & correct, and the TV is quite nice too.
Immigration at Chicago took rather a long time - about 1 hour and 20 minutes of queueing, although it only took around a minute to be processed by the official. It wasn't just the Visitor queues that were long, even the American queues were long. As it all took such a long time, all the flight's luggage had already come through and been collected up beside the carousel.
The trip to the hotel was simple and I arrived at around 6pm. I'm on the 9th floor with a "street view". I'm not sure what the alternative views are, but I can see the Hancock tower a few blocks away. My room is quite small, by American standards - it'd have to be a small cat if you wanted to swing one in it, but the bed is comfortable and the bathroom facilities are all present & correct, and the TV is quite nice too.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Heathrow
I'm pleased I allowed plenty of time to get to Heathrow this morning - it took about 2 and a quarter hours with the Monday morning traffic, but still over 2.5 hours before my flight. Bag drop, fast track security and lounge have made it very easy. There is a meal on the 9 hour flight, as one might expect - I think the website must say this stuff quite often, because it seems the staff here must get asked about this quite a lot! I've just been moved seat - only sideways, unfortunately - to help accommodate a family group, The Star Alliance T1 lounge is quite nice, although not many power points! Now I have to leave for the gate.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Trip itinerary
This year, my trip itinerary is:
- Chicago: Reds @ Cubs (2); Indians @ White Sox (2)
- Pittsburgh: Marlins @ Pirates (2); Cardinals @ Pirates (1)
- Kansas City: Twins @ Royals (2)
- Denver: Giants @ Rockies (4)
- New York: Rays @ Yankees (3)
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