Well, I guess the Pirates are pretty good medicine even for the worst teams or at least teams playing their worst ball as the Cubs are far from being the worst team which of course is the problem with what they’ve been doing lately. Unfortunately, the Cards are playing the Padres who are the same type of medicine as the Pirates, just from the other coast. So yes, the Bears, I mean Cubs put up a couple TDs and a field goal to the Steelers, I mean Pirates safety in winning today 17-2. Nice to see the O come to life FINALLY and especially D-Lee with a career high tying 7 RBIs which actually occurred in the first 4 innings before he was pulled with the game completely out of hand already.
So we visited the Metrodome tonight for the Twins vs. Indians game. It was just plain odd to be going to a summertime baseball game inside. The first impression I had was “this is just weird”. Our ears popped as we entered through the revolving doors and looking inside to the field it reminded me of the Shamrox lacrosse game we saw at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates not too far from our home. We walked around a little bit and found our seats which were 12-16 which was in the middle of the row which had like 30 seats in it. I know the Twins have won two World Series in this stadium but it is TOTALLY setup for football viewing. All the seats were square to the field which was a problem for us as we were looking nearly straight right from our seats between 3B and LF. The pitch of the seats was way too shallow as well and with our horrible angle, anytime anyone would walk up the aisle, our view was substantially blocked which was pretty frustrating for someone like me that pretty much never leaves the seat and is there to watch the game. Another annoyance was the extreme volume from the loudspeaker – it was truly overwhelming as they were acting like they were talking over 50,000 screaming fans during a playoff game when there were only 30,000 for a Fri afternoon game against a weak, yet inter-divisional opponent. After visiting all the new stadiums we have seen the last 3 years, the “jumbotrons” were extremely weak although there were two with one in each end-zone (again, better designed for football).
We have been purchasing a couple souvenirs at each stadium during our trips – I get a home team hat and the kids get one of those little souvenir bats. Well, they didn’t have the red hat with the blue brim in any size smaller than 7 7/8 which is even too big for my head and they were out of bats for the season! WHAT?!? It’s mid-August and they’re out of souvenir bats for the season? We were planning a trip to Mall of America tomorrow so we’ll hopefully get a bat; I ended up buying the regular blue hat with the TC logo which is pretty cool, but not quite as cool as the red model.
They have a countdown display showing how many regular season home games remain before they open their new outdoor stadium next year – the countdown is now at 23. GOOD! I really disliked this place although the atmosphere and fans made it palatable so it stays out of the cellar in my rankings, but not by much.
By the way Cardinals fans, hardly any Twins fans left this game early even though the score was 11-0. The first mass exodus I saw was after the bottom of the 8th which was still a bit disappointing as Scott Baker finished off a 2-hit shutout. I don’t know how you could ever leave a Twins game too early when you get to watch Joe Mauer bat – this kid is AMAZING! He went 3-for-3 with 2 RBIs, 2 runs scored and two walks including one in the 8th on a close 3-2 pitch by former Cub Kerry Wood during a 11-pitch AB. I admit it…serious man-crush on Joe Mauer…this guy is a line drive waiting to happen. Enjoy him while you can Minnesotans as he is going to command HUGE dollars when he becomes a FA in a couple years. And enjoy that new outdoor stadium next year too!
With tonight’s win by the Twins, we have extended our hometown winning streak to 8 games and are now 9-4 overall.
OK, so here is my updated ball park ranking to date:
1. Comerica Park (Detroit)
2. PNC Park (Pittsburgh)
3. Jacobs Field (Cleveland)
4. Citizens Bank Park (Philadelphia)
5. Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City, MO)
6. Fenway Park (Boston)
7. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati)
8. Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
9. Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees – pre-2009)
10. Wrigley Field (Chicago)
11. Metrodome (Minneapolis)
12. Shea Stadium (NY Mets)
Next up is Miller Park in Milwaukee on Sunday when the Brewers will host the Houston Astros. I’m not too sure who to cheer for in this one. The Brewers are only 2 ½ games behind the Cubs while the Stros are 4 games behind.
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