Arizona Diamondbacks at Chicago Cubs 5-10-08

Well, we finally visited the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field. It's a grand old stadium right in the middle of a residential area. Parking was very interesting. I pulled into a personal lot and the guy said $60 for easy out, $50 for regular parking. I said, "too much," and started to back out. He said, "How about $40?" I continued to back out. He said, "$35!". I said, "Make it $30 and we'll park here." and so we did.

At Wrigley. we sat in the first deck, in the second section of seats (under the 2nd deck). We could see the field, but not the scoreboard. Second base was blocked by a post. My seats reminded me of the seats I sat in with my father at old Yankee Stadium for a World Series game in 1964 when Mickey Mantle hit a homerun off Barney Schultz to win the game. Our son, Rob, joined us at the game as did his friends from college Don and Yuki. It was a typical Chicago day ... cold and windy. Thankfully, Nancy brought the blankets we got at the Astros game. They kept us warm.

The game was a pitchers duel until the 7th inning. The Cubs scored 6 runs, highlighted by a Fukudome homerun, to break it open. Alfonso Soriano had 4 hits and scored 2 runs, both on close plays at home. Here's a link to the boxscore:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_10_arimlb_chnmlb_1&mode=wrap

A few other things to note about Wrigley:
1) The 7th inning singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" is an event. I knew it would be, but it was great to experience it. Absolutely everyone in the stadium stands up and sings.
2) The crowd at the stadium comes to experience the game rather than watch it. Everyone knows everyone. There's lots of talking and drinking. It felt like a typical Saturday morning temple service.
3) A Cubs win leads to a rousing rendition of the song "Go, Cubs, Go", again sung by the whole crowd.

My bottom line ... Wrigley was a great experience

Here's a link to the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

The Hot Dogs --- Very Good ... Foot Long Dogs with every possible topping (chili, cheese, kraut, relish, pickles, tomatoes, relish, onions). Hot and very messy. One point off for a soggy bun ... an "8"

Chicago Tour 5-9-08

Last night (Thursday), we went to Lawry's Prime Rib. It's been 20 years since I've been there, but it was just as good as I remembered. One of the best prime rib dinners I've had.

Today, Nancy and I did our own walking tour of Chicago. We went to the Navy Pier, walked the Magnificent Mile, and Millennium Park. It was a typical Chicago day, cold, cloudy and windy. At the Navy Pier, we decided to take a boat tour. We went on the Architecture Tour on the Chicago River. Very worthwhile. Good views of the buildings and a guide with lots of information (for the Long Islanders, he was from East Northport). When I bought the tickets for the tour, the sign said Architecture and Speedboat Tour. I assumed they were different tours. Wrong! After this pleasant boat ride down the Chicago River, they took us for a spin on Lake Michigan, Just what we needed to make a cold day colder.

The walk down the Magnificent Mile was interesting. We got close up views of Chicago's buildings.

The Millennium Park was very interesting. An outdoor theater with a large lawn, gardens, fountains, and my favorite ... the Bean ... a large, kidney shaped, reflective statue. Everyone takes a picture of themselves reflected in the statue (as did we). The interior is curved allowing you to take a picture of someone and their reflection. There's a good one of Nancy in the attached pictures. Here's the link:
http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=98074769

Saturday ... Wrigley Field and the Cubs

Minnesota Twins @ Chicago White Sox 5-8-08

On our way to Chicago (Wed. 5/7), we met Amy Stimpson for lunch. She looks great (see picture in the picture set). She seems to be managing without Bob although she has good and bad days. It was great seeing her.

We went to the game at US Cellular today (Thurs. 5/8). The weather forecast was not good ... cold and cloudy. We wore our down coats. But, we were pleasantly surprised. 52deg and sunny at game time. We actually took our coats off by the 3rd inning (and put them on again in the 8th inning when the sun went behind the stands). I really liked this stadium. Well laid out. Lots of room to walk. Lots of concession stands.

The White Sox won 6 - 2 behind good pitching (Jon Danks), home runs by Jermaine Dye and Juan Uribe, and a great take out slide by Uribe to break up a double play allowing a run to score. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_08_minmlb_chamlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to the pictures from US Cellular:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

Hot Dog Rating: One of the best. We had an Italian Sausage ... hot off the grill. Absolutely loaded with great veggies and sauerkraut. Very high on the messy scale, although the cardboard holder was a plus (we could eat the veggies instead of having them on the floor). A "10".

A Post Script -- I saw something in a baseball game I've never seen before. With runners on 1st and 2nd and no out, Paul Konerko was batting. He had a 3-and-1 count. He took what seemed to ball 4. The runners began jogging to their next base. Konerko dropped his bat, took off his protective shin guard and began jogging to 1st base. Four or five seconds had passed when Joe Mauer (the Twins catcher) decided to appeal to the first base ump believing that Konerko had swung. The ump ruled he did, in fact, swing. By this time, the runners were on 2nd and 3rd. The pitcher figured the baserunners moved up illegally so he ran toward the guy on 2nd, and tagged him assuming the umps would call him out. He, then, ran to 3rd to tag him as well. Of course, they were safe since they had 'stolen' the base. The Twins manager came out to argue because the runners had moved up because the ump had not made the strike call in a timely manner. No surprise ... he was ejected even though he was right!

Chicago Cubs @ Cincinnati Reds 5-6-08

It was a beautiful night in Cincinnati. Temps in the 70s; no clouds; no wind. A great day for baseball! Unfortunately for the Reds, they got good pitching from Aaron Harang, but no hitting. Carlos Zambrano pitched very well for the Cubs. Cubs won 3 - 0.

Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_05_06_chnmlb_cinmlb_1&mode=wrap

Here's a link to the pictures of the Reds Great American Ball Park:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/

As for the hot dogs -- Nancy said it was the best one she's had so far. $5 for a good dog (choice of 5 different ones) and all the veggies and sauerkraut they could pile on top. I guess we'll have to give it a "10"

GABP is a very nice stadium. Roomy promenade, wide aisles, comfortable seats. The scoreboard is not as good as others. I still like Minute Maid park in Houston, but the Reds stadium is right up there.

NY Yankees @ Cleveland Indians 4/26/08 & 4/27/08

We drove to Cleveland this morning to see the Yankees play the Indians today (Saturday) and tomorrow (Sunday). We saw a good game, except for the fact that the Yankees lost 4 - 3 on a Victor Martinez walk-off single in the ninth. The Yankees have issues this year ... not enough clutch hitting and a very shaky middle relief. Oh well, maybe next year (unless something dramatic happens in a trade). Here's a link to the box score: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?id=2008_04_26_nyamlb_clemlb_1&mode=wrap

We saw Sunday's game. Much better (for the Yankees). They won 1 - 0 on Melky Cabrera's homerun and Chien-Ming Wang's pitching. Here's a link to the box score:
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2008_04_27_nyamlb_clemlb_1&mode=wrap


Here's a link to the pictures:
http://flickr.com/photos/14772189@N03/sets/


My general impression of Progressive Field (AKA The Jake) ... it's a very nice stadium. Good aesthetics. Great scoreboard. However, I was unimpressed with their amenities. Not enough bathrooms; long lines at the concession stands.

I was very unimpressed with their Hot Dogs! I gave it a "2". Very ordinary dog. We had one with grilled onions (little flavor) and one with sauerkraut (they charged $1.25 extra for it) and it came pre-packaged (so I had to put it on) and the kraut was cold. I did give them one extra point for having their own stadium mustard which was pretty good, but not great. Follow-up: Day 2 hot dog was better, but not enough to move it up the ranking! Nancy did, however, really enjoy her Leinenkugel Draft (The Pride of Chippewa Falls) ... yummy

April 23rd -- Trip #1 Summary

Well, we've been home for a week. I thought I'd put together a bullet point summary of the Southeastern baseball stadium trip.

-- We live in a beautiful country. There are so many things to see and do. I know I don't think about it often, but our drive thru the southeast was wonderful

-- We put on 4900 miles and spent just over $4000 ($600 on tickets; $160 on museums and gardens; $800 on eating out; $700 on gas -- average price $3.25/gallon; $1200 on hotels; and $550 on groceries and miscellaneous knick-knacks -- we bought a Budweiser mirror at Anheuser-Busch to hang behind our bar)

-- We have made great friends during the course of our lives. We met with many of them on our trip and will meet with many more as we travel the rest of the United States.

-- Minute Maid Park (Houston) was our favorite stadium followed by Busch Stadium (St. Louis), Turner Field (Atlanta), Arlington Stadium (Texas Rangers), Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay) And Dolphin Stadium (Florida Marlins in Miami)

-- The best beer and the best hot dog were both at the Florida Marlins game ... Brahma Beer and the dog from the Kosher Hot Dog guy

-- The strangest thing we saw (there was a tie) -- as we were entering Oklahoma (it was the first time I've ever been there), there wasn't a "Welcome to Oklahoma" sign. We saw a "Come on in to the Choctaw Nation Casino and Hotel". I suppose it's a sign of the times in the US. And, as we were driving north of Dallas towards Oklahoma on Rt 75 , We saw a statue of Sam Houston, the biggest statue I've ever seen on the side of the road (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/TXHUNsam.html)

-- The song of the trip: Sara Bareilles -Love Song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR5xv3pt7KI) We must have heard it 100 times.

April 15th St. Louis Tour

Before we went to the Cardinals game, we took in 2+ attractions in St. Louis ... the City Museum, a tour of the Anheuser-Busch Brewery, and a drive around The Arch Park.

The City Museum is a combination of interesting art, an aquarium, weird memorabilia, and 3 stories of climbing and sliding that kids 8 - 13 can play in/on for hours. Nancy and I tried some climbing and sliding, but we just don't bend like we used to. I highly recommend the City Museum if you have the right aged kids.

The Anheuser-Busch tour is a free 1 hour walk thru their facility. They start with the Clydesdales' barn, lead you on a walk thru beautiful garden areas to see the architectural features of their 1800s buildings, show you their making rooms and bottling lines ( for you P&Gers, 1300 bottles/min. and floors you can eat off!!) and finish with samples in their brew pub. And, yes, I had my first beer in 21 years --- something called "Bare Knuckle Stout". It tasted great. This doesn't mean I'm going to start drinking. It was a one time thing. Nancy had a Michelob Ultra and a Sun Dog Wheat. As you'd expect, the beers were served at the perfect temperature with the perfect amount of foam.

We also drove around the Arch to take some pictures. Quite an impressive structure. However, the near flood stage Mississippi was just as impressive.

Here's a link to pictures:
http://www1.snapfish.com/photolibrary/t_=98074769