Ballpark Tour 2009!!!

We're back, and we're better than ever! We've made tentative plans for Ballpark Tour 2009 (see below).

The trip begins in Chicago with a White Sox game. But before that, we fly from DC to Chicago and then rent a car. After that, it is:

• Starting Saturday May 23 - fly to Chicago - White Sox vs Pittsburgh
  
• Sunday: 4.5 hour trip to St. Louis - Cards vs. KC (1:15 start)
  
• Monday (Memorial Day): 3.5 hour trip to Kansas City - Royals vs. DETROIT
  
• Tuesday: 6 hour trip to Minneapolis - Twins vs. Boston (final year in the MetroDome)
  
• Wednesday: 5.5 hour trip to Milwaukee - Brewers vs St. Louis
  
• Thursday: 2 hour trip back to Chicago - Cubs vs. Los Angeles (Dodgers) - fly home.
  

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Nationals Park (from 7-8)

I didn't have a chance to upload these until just recently. I went, by myself, to game on July 8. My seat was amazing -- section 207, row A, seat 9. I could see everything. It was a much better experience than my last two trips to NP ... but the park still sucks.

Here are the pics:

On to Yankee Stadium (Maybe)

These are the only remaining weekday day games in Yankee Stadium ... for forever. E & I and maybe C and possibly some other people are going to try to make it up to one. Also, J has put out Aug. 15-17 as a possibility to go to say goodbye to the old girl.

Wed, 7/23::Twins::1:05 p.m.
Wed, 7/30::Orioles::1:05 p.m.
Thu, 8/28::Red Sox::1:05 p.m.

Here are the remaining home games, not including the three listed above:

1. Mon, Jul 28::Baltimore::7:05 PM
2. Tue, Jul 29::Baltimore::7:05 PM
3. Thu, Jul 31::LA Angels::7:05 PM
4. Fri, Aug 1::LA Angels::7:05 PM

5. Sat, Aug 2::LA Angels::3:55 PM
6. Sun, Aug 3::LA Angels::1:05 PM
7. Fri, Aug 15::Kansas City::7:05 PM
8. Sat, Aug 16::Kansas City::1:05 PM
9. Sun, Aug 17::Kansas City::1:05 PM
10. Tue, Aug 26::Boston::7:05 PM
11. Wed, Aug 27::Boston::7:05 PM
12. Fri, Aug 29::Toronto::7:05 PM
13. Sat, Aug 30::Toronto::1:05 PM
14. Sun, Aug 31::Toronto::1:05 PM

15. Fri, Sep 12::Tampa Bay::7:05 PM
16. Sat, Sep 13::Tampa Bay::TBA
17. Sun, Sep 14::Tampa Bay::1:05 PM
18. Mon, Sep 15::White Sox::7:05 PM
19. Tue, Sep 16::White Sox::7:05 PM
20. Wed, Sep 17::White Sox::7:05 PM
21. Thu, Sep 18::White Sox::7:05 PM
22. Fri, Sep 19::Baltimore::7:05 PM
23. Sat, Sep 20::Baltimore::TBA
24. Sun, Sep 21::Baltimore::8:05 PM

So, we have 27 more opportunities to say goodbye to Yankee Stadium. One big obstacle is the availability (and, subsequently, cost) of tickets.

Update: J & I got tickets to the Aug. 16 Royals @ Yankees game. Fifty bucks a piece in section Tier 14.

Detroit Tigers @ Baltimore Orioles

Oriole Park at Camden Yards - Baltimore, Md.

The saying goes, "The old gray mare ain't what she used to be." That saying does not apply to Camden Yards. The park opened in 1992, but the designers had the foresight to put so many great things into this park that it still holds up 16 years later. There's a reason this park has been copied so many times.

It was a pretty exciting game, too. It went back-and-forth, with each team taking a lead, but ultimately a coupe home runs from the Tigers was too much for the Birds in a 6-5 Detroit win. The Tigers are now one game over .500. Speaking of mediocrity, Tigers starting pitcher Kenny Rogers is the definition of mediocrity in his old age. He came into the game with a 6-6 record, a 4.8 ERA, 43 strikeouts and 44 walks. He wasn't very good tonight (6.0 IP, 11 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 K, 2 BB, 1 HR, 87 pitches, 55 strikes), but he still picked up the win.

Here's the game recap from Associated Press/ESPN.com.

So, after a few-day delay, on to the review ...

First, getting to the park is ridiculously easy on a weekday night ... if you go one of two ways. The way I went -- the MARC train from Union Station in downtown D.C. -- is $7 one way (no discount for a round trip fare, though) and it drops you off about 100 yards from the stadium entrance. It's comfortable and air conditioned and awesome. I'd suggest it to anyone going to a weeknight game at Camden Yards, but I also suggest getting to the train early. It's a commuter train, so the seats fill up quickly.

The other way is to drive. BAD IDEA. My friends -- including C & E -- tried to drive up to the park from the Centreville, Va., area. They left around 5 p.m. -- expecting a 45 to 60 minute drive -- and got there after the first pitch. In fact, I don't think we got to our seats until the third inning. Typically, they would have had to pay $10 for parking (I think), but we had a parking pass included with our tickets.




It's getting late, so the rest of the review will probably come sometime later. I'll be away for much of this weekend, so I hope to get something up as soon as possible. Stay tuned.

The Best Way to Get to an Orioles Game

This is the way to get to an Orioles game. Seven bucks each way, no traffic, fairly roomy seats and you can sleep. Beats driving! And yes, I'm wearing a Washington Nationals hat to an Orioles game.

Camden Yards

I'm heading to Camden Yards tonight to see the Orioles take on the Detroit Tigers. I know that Orioles Park at Camden Yards is 16 years old, but tonight I'm going to look at it as if it's a new stadium. When it opened, it was a pioneering ballpark, innovate and eclectic. Since then, it's been copied (many times), but I want to see if it stands up to the test of time. I'll take a critical look tonight.

E will be there with me. I scored sweet seats -- section 32, row JJ -- for a cheap price ($100 for four, including a parking pass), so I feel sorta like I did when we were headed to PNC Park.

More to come ...

More Proof ...

... that Red Sox fans are ridiculous:

11 of them have bid on one of these. Who in their right mind would pay $5,000 (plus $500 shipping) for a replica of the Statue of Liberty with their favorite team's logo on it?