White Sox vs. Twins
It got pretty ugly out at The Cell tonight. After the Sox took the lead 3-2 in the 6th, they gave the lead right back in the 7th and the Twins didn't look back. Their D and their bullpen really let them down tonight. The nail-in-the-coffin play tonight was a 3-run double that usually reliable CF Alex Rios dropped a ball with the bases loaded after he initially broke in on the ball that went over his head. But you can't simply point at that play as the reason the Sox lost tonight...there were several reasons. First Sox MVP candidate Paul Konerko struck out in the bottom of the 7th with the bases loaded and only 1 out. The Sox were down just 4-3 so all they needed was a fly ball there to tie it up. That shouldn't have hurt all that much either as RBI-machine Manny Ramirez was up next. Unfortunately Manny wasn't being Manny, at least not the Manny they were hoping to be getting for their near $4 million as he also struck out to end the inning. Manny has now played in 11 games for the Sox and has the same number of RBIs as I do - ZERO. He has matched his RBI total with his extra base hits - ZERO. Getting those two guys in that situation seemed to energize the Twins while deflating the Sox. The bullpen Kenny Williams should have been looking to improve, gave up 5 runs in that fateful 8th inning. So in a must sweep series against their bitter rival Twins, they didn't exactly get off to a very good start. The Sox are now 7 games back with just 18 games to play and appear to be just about done now.
Cubs @ Cardinals
How about those Mike Quady led Cubbies? They are now 13-7 under Quade and are playing the part of spoiler which is all they have left at this point after being officially eliminated yesterday as they have taken two straight from the rival Cardinals who are now in the same position as the Sox - 7 games behind the division leading Reds.
Aramis Ramirez decided today that there's NO WAY in the world he would get a contract that would come close to the $16.6 million he'll get from the Cubs by implementing his player option.
Bob Melvin is the latest managerial candidate to be interviewed by Jim Hendry. Really? Chris Wedge and Bob Melvin...these are the guys we're looking to make the new manager of a team dying to end their 102-year World Series drought? I know Ricketts came out and said we don't need a big name to help fill the seats at Wrigley, but that doesn't mean they should scrape the bottom of the barrel, does it?
Of course, I still just don't get why Jim Hendry gets to make this hire. He's hired the last two managers...what makes Tom Ricketts think the third time will be the charm? Is anyone ever going to ask Ricketts why this guy still has a job or what it might take for him to finally lose it? I mean if finishing in 5th place with the top payroll in the entire NL doesn't finish him off, what finally will? Is he now going to sign someone to a 3- or 4-year deal? And what if it doesn't work out again next year and it certainly doesn't seem like the new manager is going to have a roster able to compete so odds are it won't work? Will Hendry get fired then only to leave behind another bad contract?
Speaking of the Cardinals and GMs not making the right move...they traded a well-liked Ryan Ludwick on July 31st of this year. The Cards were 1/2 game up on the Reds at the time and 12 games above .500. They are now 7 games back and only 6 games over .500...OOOOPS!
As I discussed in an earlier post, the Cardinals got rid of their long-time GM Walt Jocketty just one year after guiding the Cards to a World Series win. Jocketty is now with the Reds guiding them to their first division title and first playoff appearance since the strike-shortened 1995 season. Coincidence that another playoff appearance follows so soon after the Reds brought in Jocketty? Don't think so...
Yankees @ Rays
Two straight extra inning games in an ultra-important late season series. The Rays took game 1 when Carl Crawford's replacement Reid Brignac who was only in there because Crawford had been ejected in the bottom of the 9th hit a walk-off HR to break a 0-0 tie in the bottom of the 11th. That win put the Rays 1/2 game up on the Yankees for the AL East division lead. Well, tonight was a totally different story...not just with the result but also the overall "style" of the game as the Yankees won this time 8-7 but also in extras.
AL
The red-hot Twins are very quietly creeping up behind the Yankees and Rays for best record in the AL. Right now, they stand only 1 1/2 games behind the league-leading Yankees. The Yanks have 17 games left while the Twins have 18 games left...we'll see how it goes.
Rockies vs. Padres
How is it that every single September the Colorado Rockies will themselves back into the pennant race? Well, they're at it again although they've now lost two straight to the NL West leading Padres. The Rockies are 10-4 in September and are now only 3 1/2 games out of first place. As late as August 25th, the Rockies were only 2 games over .500 and 11 games out. They are now 13 games over .500 and it wouldn't surprise anyone if they snuck into the playoffs yet again.
The Padres are another great story. Here's a team the nobody gave a chance with the second lowest payroll in all of baseball. Well, all they've done is led their division pretty much from mid-April to now where they currently hold a 1 1/2 game lead on the Giants.
I'm now officially a Twins fan and after watching the Bears barely squeak by one of the worst teams in the NFL at home, I can't wait for the Hawks and Bulls to start back up.
Showing posts with label yankees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label yankees. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
MLB Ball Park Review - U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago)
This was our fourth ball park review of the year. We did take several days "off" between our third and fourth games as our annual baseball trip took us to the west coast this year - specifically, San Francisco, Oakland and Seattle. This fourth game was "local" for our family as we live in the Chicago area. My dad's company had an outing at "The Cell" this past Friday night against the NY Yankees, a.k.a. The Evil Empire and we decided to take advantage and use this game as our 17th ball park visit.
We knew the trek to get to "The Cell" would be rough on a Friday evening as rush hour definitely peaks right when we had to be on our way AND on a Friday during summer, you can add in all the people heading all over town for the weekend. The fact the Sox were taking on the Yankees which is #1 in road team for attendance made things a little touchy even as we arrived near the ball park. For those that don't know, the south-side White Sox ball park is not in the best neighborhood in the city so you try to park close. Unlike the north-side Cubs, the Sox do have several parking lots and even allow and encourage tail-gating. We were hoping to get to the park early enough to partake in some tail-gating, but that was out the window shortly after we hit the road. We were down there about an hour before the scheduled first pitch and were feeling pretty decent about that...that is until we tried to get to the parking lot. Apparently all the cash lots near the ball park were full already and with very little assistance and really weak signage, we did finally make our way to a lot on the other side of the expressway (NOT desired!) and paid the same price they charge for the lots near the park - $23! You couldn't even see the park from where we were so now, we're off to a bit of a bad start. We were still in our seats well before the first pitch and even got to see the big trophy presentation...for the first time ever, the Lombardi Trophy (Bears '85), NBA Championship Trophy (Bulls '98), World Series Trophy (Sox '05), and the Stanley Cup (Blackhawks '10) were all together...that was pretty cool!
This was our 17th ball park visit in the last 4 years and I've been to 4-5 other parks over the years on top of that...well, I felt like I've never been to a baseball game they way the entrances are setup at The Cell. Instead of walking directly into the park from street level, you go up an escalator and then walk across a bridge to enter the ballpark...weird and awkward. As we didn't arrive very early for the game and due to the size of the crowd (reportedly 38,596 - 8th largest crowd of the year), I didn't get a chance to walk around much. There was the one big thing I've seen in these newer parks...the wider concourses allow you to move around fairly easily. I had the jumbo grilled hot dog with grilled onions and that was quite tasty...most comparable to the Wrigley Field hot dog prepared the same way. I know The Cell is infamous for some of their more unique cuisine, but I didn't partake in any of that so I cannot comment.
Following the initial run the Yanks scored in the top of the 1st, the Sox led the whole game yet I got the feeling that the Sox fans were just sitting around waiting for their team to implode. Sox starter Freddy Garcia had not been pitching too well lately after starting 8-1 as he took his 6.97 ERA in August into Friday night's game. The best description I can say about the crowd was "cautiously optimistic" as they were pretty quiet most of the night until the Sox put a 4-spot up in the 4th to make it a 9-2 game.
As you know, I am a Cubs fan so we were going to be winners either way on this one...if the White Sox won, that would be good because we would extend our baseball trip winning streak to 4 games and if the White Sox lost, well, the White Sox lost and that would be good too. Well, the White Sox put a hurting on Yankees starter AJ Burnett and won the game 9-4 making us 4-0 on this year's trip and 13-5 overall...just a reminder, we started our first season at 1-4, so we are 12-1 since! It was actually a Cubs win at Wrigley at the end of our first trip that started off that run too.
I''m sure it had a lot to do with where we were sitting (LF bleachers), but we couldn't see much of anything beside the field in front of us. It looked like The Cell was equipped with a pretty nice and info-filled scoreboard, but it's location was quite curious...mounted much too low just above and behind the RF bleachers. Don't think because we had lousy seats that we didn't pay a "pretty penny" for the tickets...when the Yankees come to town, the game is understandably considered a "premium game" which allows the Sox to charge much more for the tickets to this game. We paid $48 per ticket for these seats which was face value which is what I pay for my Cubs seats which are upper deck box seats at Wrigley Field at the ballpark with the MLB's highest average ticket prices. Did you know the White Sox have FIVE different prices for these seats - Mon = $17, Regular = $34, Prime = $38, Premier = $48, and Cubs = $59. We also sat 3 rows behind home plate in Oakland for $48 per ticket and we could see everything from there.
This park had two things going for it though...the opening ceremony with the four different championship trophies was very cool as I mentioned before. In addition following the end of the game, the Sox saved the best for last...the post-game fireworks show. Since the Sox didn't hit any HRs during the game, we had to wait until after the game to see the fireworks. Well, they did NOT disappoint with the fireworks show...VERY COOL and pretty long too as they were able to play 5-6 80s songs (felt like I was back in high school again) during a show that rivaled a pretty good one from the 4th of July. It was really that fireworks show that pushed The Cell up as high as I have it on my list.
As you can see, I didn't really like The Cell as I rated it the lowest out of all the newer ball parks; maybe if we sat somewhere else and were able to see the scoreboards, I might have rated it a little higher. But considering how much we paid for these tickets, I had higher expectations. 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. Safeco Field (Seattle)
7. Fenway Park (Boston)
8. Miller Park (Milwaukee)
9. AT&T Park (San Francisco)
10. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati)
11. Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
12. Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees – pre-2009)
13. Wrigley Field (Chicago)
14. U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago)
15. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)
16. Metrodome (Minneapolis)
17. Shea Stadium (NY Mets)
Next up is going to have to wait until 2011 as now we are done for 2010. So that will make 17 parks out of 30 leaving us with "only" 13 left...not sure what we're going to do next year either but we'll start talking about it after the start of 2011.
What were you thinking Kenny?
By the way, good thing they picked up Manny on waivers instead of addressing their bullpen issues because they very clearly have issues scoring runs...NOT. How did Kenny let the Twins pick up Fuentes? Even if you don't think you need the guy, don't you have to at least block your rival from getting stronger? Maybe Kenny was at that comedy club a little longer than Ozzie's son reported and he just missed this one. I mean the Twins lost their closer before the season started and in the last month have added two in Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes so that problem is seemingly solved. Of course, the worst news for the Sox is that Justin Morneau is on the comeback trail and could bring his .345 BA, 18 HRs, and 56 RBIs back to their lineup without having to add to their payroll as the Sox did with the addition of Manny.
We knew the trek to get to "The Cell" would be rough on a Friday evening as rush hour definitely peaks right when we had to be on our way AND on a Friday during summer, you can add in all the people heading all over town for the weekend. The fact the Sox were taking on the Yankees which is #1 in road team for attendance made things a little touchy even as we arrived near the ball park. For those that don't know, the south-side White Sox ball park is not in the best neighborhood in the city so you try to park close. Unlike the north-side Cubs, the Sox do have several parking lots and even allow and encourage tail-gating. We were hoping to get to the park early enough to partake in some tail-gating, but that was out the window shortly after we hit the road. We were down there about an hour before the scheduled first pitch and were feeling pretty decent about that...that is until we tried to get to the parking lot. Apparently all the cash lots near the ball park were full already and with very little assistance and really weak signage, we did finally make our way to a lot on the other side of the expressway (NOT desired!) and paid the same price they charge for the lots near the park - $23! You couldn't even see the park from where we were so now, we're off to a bit of a bad start. We were still in our seats well before the first pitch and even got to see the big trophy presentation...for the first time ever, the Lombardi Trophy (Bears '85), NBA Championship Trophy (Bulls '98), World Series Trophy (Sox '05), and the Stanley Cup (Blackhawks '10) were all together...that was pretty cool!
This was our 17th ball park visit in the last 4 years and I've been to 4-5 other parks over the years on top of that...well, I felt like I've never been to a baseball game they way the entrances are setup at The Cell. Instead of walking directly into the park from street level, you go up an escalator and then walk across a bridge to enter the ballpark...weird and awkward. As we didn't arrive very early for the game and due to the size of the crowd (reportedly 38,596 - 8th largest crowd of the year), I didn't get a chance to walk around much. There was the one big thing I've seen in these newer parks...the wider concourses allow you to move around fairly easily. I had the jumbo grilled hot dog with grilled onions and that was quite tasty...most comparable to the Wrigley Field hot dog prepared the same way. I know The Cell is infamous for some of their more unique cuisine, but I didn't partake in any of that so I cannot comment.
Following the initial run the Yanks scored in the top of the 1st, the Sox led the whole game yet I got the feeling that the Sox fans were just sitting around waiting for their team to implode. Sox starter Freddy Garcia had not been pitching too well lately after starting 8-1 as he took his 6.97 ERA in August into Friday night's game. The best description I can say about the crowd was "cautiously optimistic" as they were pretty quiet most of the night until the Sox put a 4-spot up in the 4th to make it a 9-2 game.
As you know, I am a Cubs fan so we were going to be winners either way on this one...if the White Sox won, that would be good because we would extend our baseball trip winning streak to 4 games and if the White Sox lost, well, the White Sox lost and that would be good too. Well, the White Sox put a hurting on Yankees starter AJ Burnett and won the game 9-4 making us 4-0 on this year's trip and 13-5 overall...just a reminder, we started our first season at 1-4, so we are 12-1 since! It was actually a Cubs win at Wrigley at the end of our first trip that started off that run too.
I''m sure it had a lot to do with where we were sitting (LF bleachers), but we couldn't see much of anything beside the field in front of us. It looked like The Cell was equipped with a pretty nice and info-filled scoreboard, but it's location was quite curious...mounted much too low just above and behind the RF bleachers. Don't think because we had lousy seats that we didn't pay a "pretty penny" for the tickets...when the Yankees come to town, the game is understandably considered a "premium game" which allows the Sox to charge much more for the tickets to this game. We paid $48 per ticket for these seats which was face value which is what I pay for my Cubs seats which are upper deck box seats at Wrigley Field at the ballpark with the MLB's highest average ticket prices. Did you know the White Sox have FIVE different prices for these seats - Mon = $17, Regular = $34, Prime = $38, Premier = $48, and Cubs = $59. We also sat 3 rows behind home plate in Oakland for $48 per ticket and we could see everything from there.
This park had two things going for it though...the opening ceremony with the four different championship trophies was very cool as I mentioned before. In addition following the end of the game, the Sox saved the best for last...the post-game fireworks show. Since the Sox didn't hit any HRs during the game, we had to wait until after the game to see the fireworks. Well, they did NOT disappoint with the fireworks show...VERY COOL and pretty long too as they were able to play 5-6 80s songs (felt like I was back in high school again) during a show that rivaled a pretty good one from the 4th of July. It was really that fireworks show that pushed The Cell up as high as I have it on my list.
As you can see, I didn't really like The Cell as I rated it the lowest out of all the newer ball parks; maybe if we sat somewhere else and were able to see the scoreboards, I might have rated it a little higher. But considering how much we paid for these tickets, I had higher expectations. 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. Safeco Field (Seattle)
7. Fenway Park (Boston)
8. Miller Park (Milwaukee)
9. AT&T Park (San Francisco)
10. Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati)
11. Busch Stadium (St. Louis)
12. Yankee Stadium (NY Yankees – pre-2009)
13. Wrigley Field (Chicago)
14. U.S. Cellular Field (Chicago)
15. Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum (Oakland)
16. Metrodome (Minneapolis)
17. Shea Stadium (NY Mets)
Next up is going to have to wait until 2011 as now we are done for 2010. So that will make 17 parks out of 30 leaving us with "only" 13 left...not sure what we're going to do next year either but we'll start talking about it after the start of 2011.
What were you thinking Kenny?
By the way, good thing they picked up Manny on waivers instead of addressing their bullpen issues because they very clearly have issues scoring runs...NOT. How did Kenny let the Twins pick up Fuentes? Even if you don't think you need the guy, don't you have to at least block your rival from getting stronger? Maybe Kenny was at that comedy club a little longer than Ozzie's son reported and he just missed this one. I mean the Twins lost their closer before the season started and in the last month have added two in Matt Capps and Brian Fuentes so that problem is seemingly solved. Of course, the worst news for the Sox is that Justin Morneau is on the comeback trail and could bring his .345 BA, 18 HRs, and 56 RBIs back to their lineup without having to add to their payroll as the Sox did with the addition of Manny.
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