On Two Out of Three
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| Northeast Delta Dental Stadium, 2014 |
Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees) vs.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Toronto Blue Jays)
Northeast Delta Dental Stadium
Eastern League (AA)
Manchester, NH
7:06 PM
Outside of the Game:
I had a lazy morning in Portland in my super-fancy bed. As I didn't have to check out until noon, and there wasn't anything particularly gripping I was looking forward to in Manchester (in retrospect, the understatement of the year), I made a morning of being in bed. I eventually went downstairs to get a breakfast sandwich, finished packing up, and then wallowed in bed for another hour or so.
I finally motivated myself to get downstairs, make a lame joke about the weather to the staff while checking out, and head out into the New England early afternoon. Only an hour and change from Manchester, I wasn't worried about the drive. And, indeed, once I got into New Hampshire, I was incredibly impressed by their driving. I have never seen a state with better left-lane control than New Hampshire. People went into the left lane to pass, and then moved their asses back to the right as soon as they were done. If someone came up on someone in the left lane, they were over right as soon as it was safe. It was like what I imagine driving in Germany is like.
I got into Manchester a little before 1 PM. Since I wasn't staying at a hotel in town, I didn't have anywhere to check in, so I was just going to amuse myself with what the town had to offer. I first rolled to the park to pick up my tickets. Having nothing big planned for the day, I did a walk around then. It turned out that as with their parent club, the Fisher Cats had a hotel beyond the outfield wall. They also had a deck that looked out into the park. Finally having a use for my Stadium Journey business cards, I went to the front desk and told them I was doing a review of the park and if it would be okay if I could take pictures from The Patio deck. They agreed, I took my pictures, and I was off into the afternoon.
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| Gill Stadium |
The current stadium replaced an older, bandstand park, Gill Stadium, located more in the city proper than the riverfront, so I headed out there. I parked and found a high school game going on, so I made my way in, watched some of the game, and took some pictures. It was a park that looked like the cross between a nineteenth-century ballpark and a modern high-school football stadium. After my fill, I went back to my car.
My desperately low on gas car. I think I was running on fumes at this point, and so I went to nearby gas station to fill up. It turns out that I was close in my assessment, as I apparently had .3 gallons of gas left in my car. So there's that. I stopped for some much-needed lunch at this point. There was a automatic car-wash place next door, and I went over to use the vacuums to give my car a much-needed cleaning and de-stankification.
After that, I had to fill time until the park opened its gates. They had a mill museum on the University of New Hampshire campus in town, so I went to that first. Of course, it was closed for the July 4th weekend, as was the small science museum and activity center run by FIRST that was in the same building. The afternoon just got much longer.
Manchester is the biggest city in New Hampshire, which is as significant as being the tallest mountain in Kansas. I walked around the "New Hampshire Historical Walk" down by the river and the closed museums, and then drove to downtown and parked. I found the (appropriately closed) visitor's center, and just rambled about after that. There was a homemade chocolates place downtown where I stopped to get some dark chocolate-covered raspberries to eat while wandering.
Eventually, I decided to tell the Tom Tom to just find a park. After some driving around, I found one, and took a nap in the park for a bit. It was hot out, I was tired, and I didn't know how late I'd be up driving that night, so it seemed like the thing to do.
Nap complete, it was almost time for the stadium to open, as they opened the sports bar in left field two hours before the game. I drove over and saw the parking lots boasting $10 event parking. Thinking the better of that, I found a place on the street, triple-checked the signs, and then asked the ticket taker if my assessment of the parking situation was correct before I went into the stadium for good.
Leaving the park, my car was still there, which was welcome. Given the early hour, I was likely to get to the hotel at a reasonable time. I set my Tom Tom, pointed myself south, and drove.
And sometimes, it can still hit a sweet spot when you're driving. On the road mostly to yourself, at night, with the window slightly rolled down to let in a roaring breeze, a good classic rock station on the radio... it all ain't bad, especially when you just put it to the floor to see how fast you dare to go.
This lasted, especially with the New Hampshire drivers, for a good while. And then, some jackass decided to pass me on the left when I was doing 80 in the middle lane and the left was free. Without even looking, I thought, "Masshole," and, sure enough, his Red Sox license plate was illuminated in his LED plate lights, and the spell was broken.
I made it to the motel in no time, but I was getting a little tired. After an unnecessarily complicated conversation with the night clerk, I was directed to the most complicated room in the hotel, which was in the back by the pool. A short drive later, I was parked and getting all my stuff out of the car.
Which is when I found the remainder of the chocolate-covered cranberries, which I had chucked under the seat at some point during the day, and now looked like some manner of horrible transporter accident, melted and reformed at least once during the intervening afternoon and evening into something unholy.
All of my stuff was dragged past the pool and onto a small walkway hanging over some body of water. I was greeted at my room by swarming mosquitoes around my outside room light, and I got into my room as quickly as possible to avoid letting in any "friends."
The Stadium & Fans:
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| Home plate to center field, Northeast Delta Dental Stadium |
Northeast Delta Dental Stadium starts with the rather large handicap of the corporate naming hanging over it. That said, it is actually more of the sum of its parts, or at least the sum of its name, whatever that might be.
The park is located on the river, just beyond the Manchester campus of the University of New Hampshire, and--as with their parent club of Toronto--they have a hotel in their outfield (in this case, the Hilton Garden Inn). As mentioned, there is a patio that looks out onto the park, but during game time, it is actually called "The Patio, and hotel guests get a free game out on their balcony.)
The path around the park isn't complete, and it is cut off by the river around right field on one side, and there is a sidewalk that makes it around to about first base on the other side where it terminates in a parking garage. There's not much to see outside, so it isn't that big of a loss either way.
The main entrance plaza is out by left field, next to the ticket office. The gates open two hours before the game, but only for the team store (at the bottom of the stairs) and the Samuel Adams Bar & Grill (at the top of the stairs in left field). Season ticket holders get to sneak into the seating area when the Bar & Grill is opened, but mortals have to make due with the Bar & Grill, which has a full menu of bar food and at least one single malt scotch, which had me contentedly sitting on the picnic tables in front of the establishment and watching batting practice until the gates fully opened. The facility has pennants of former Fisher Cats who made it to the majors, a New Hampshire baseball Hall of Fame, and Fisher Cats championship banners both inside and on the outside of the building.
The seating is just one, steep bowl leading down from the promenade that circles the stadium with no walkways inside the seats themselves. Metal bleachers end the seating in right field. Concessions are all along the main promenade, which runs from right field to left field behind home plate. A second level of press boxes and luxury suites is perched over the lower deck from around first base to third base. The upper decks terminate on the Cross Insurance Deck in right and the Small Dogs Electronics Party Deck in left.
Northeast Delta Dental had a "Smile Center" along the promenade, and the minor-league standard "Best Seats in the House" were provided by some furniture store. There was a bevy of scoreboards: the main one in center, an auxiliary board on the upper deck on first base, another thin auxiliary video board on the left field wall, and--most notably--a manual scoreboard in the corner in left field. Five Guys Burger and Fries has a "Strikeout Counter" on the press box (but sadly no concession in the park), but it wasn't up-to-date much during the game. The seating in the park was okay, but in the last rows of a section, where I was sitting, the corner in left was hard to see, which was annoying, as I always like watching the updates of the manual scoreboards.
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| Fungo sees you. Oh yes, he does. |
Fungo the Fisher Cat (I guess, actually--I don't know what a fisher cat looks like, but I figure it is a safe guess) runs the on-screen activities. Because of the July 4th holiday, the Fisher Cats were in ridiculous stars-and-stripes uniforms, but they didn't hold an embarrassing candle to the patriotic horror-show get-up that the MC had to wear that day. The between-innings entertainment was mostly minor-league standards, though they did have a Frisbee-fetching dog (who also worked as a bat boy one inning) and the Baseball Bingo, to be addressed presently.
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| Dignity |
At the Game with Oogie:
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| Baseball bingo winnings |
There was a bit of ambiguity on the stadium Website as to which was the home dugout. I bought tickets behind a dugout and hoped for the best.
As the sports bar in left opened up an hour before the game, I went there to watch batting practice, and, since it was an actual bar, I bought a dram of Glennfiddich. Scotch and baseball are the confluence of all that is good in the world, even if the scotch was served in a plastic cup.
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| Bar before the game |
After the park opened up, I wasn't particularly hungry, given my snacking, so I ended up with some chicken fingers and fries, as well as a pretzel.
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| Chicken fingers and Gatorade |
It turned out my seats were behind the visiting dugout, which was filled with regional Yankees fans since the Thunder were playing this evening. To my right was a father and son Yankee fans, and to my right was a family of Red Sox fans from Lowell. We eventually all got to talking, especially when they were playing baseball bingo, as suddenly my scorekeeping had a practical application for those other than myself.
On my way out the park, I saw an older couple head-to-toe in Fisher Cats gear, so I thought it a safe bet to ask if they were locals. They confirmed that fact, so I gave them my locals-only prize from baseball bingo (more on that in a bit) since I doubt I would ever be in the area again to use it. They thanked me and I went out to my car.
As I was walking up the street, the couple rolled up next to me in their car to thank me again and ask me if I needed a ride or anything. I explained that my car was literally feet away and that they should just think well of me when they were enjoying their sandwiches.
The Game:
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| First pitch, Thunder vs. Fisher Cats |
This game deep in New England had a bit of energy behind it, as the Yankees, or at least one of their instruments, was making an appearance. While the Fisher Cats are technically a Blue Jays affiliate, the region is clearly Red Sox territory, so you'd be forgiven if a neutral observer decided they were watching a Yankees/Red Sox game based on the fans.
This game was played as though the teams were being penalized for every minute it went on. It flew by, and if not for a particularly long at bat, there was a chance of the game being over in under two hours. For the most part, the batters just weren't up to the pitchers.
Both teams had only a two-out single to their credit in the first. The Thunder repeated the feat in the top of the second, but the Fisher Cats went in order. The Thunder shook things up with a two-out homer to right in the third, but the Fisher Cats had their own one-out wonder, who walked, made it to second on an errant pick-off throw, and moved to third on a ground out. But unlike his Thunder counterpart, he didn't make it home, leaving it 1-0, Thunder, at the end of three.
And it looked like that run might stand. The Thunder went in order in the fourth. New Hampshire had a leadoff single erased on a nifty 3-6-3 double play and then had a two-out single stranded by a pop out. Both teams went in order in the fifth. Trenton only managed a two-out double in the top of the sixth, while the Cats had a one-out single that made it to second on a steal, only to be stranded.
The Thunder went in order again in the eighth, but the Fisher Cats finally found some offense. A leadoff walk moved over to second on a ground-out to second. A short single made it first and third with one out. Another single drove in a run to tie it up, left it first and second with one-out, and chased the Trenton pitcher. The new pitcher immediately uncorked a wild pitch to make it second and third with one out, and the batter lined a single to left that drove in both runs to give New Hampshire the lead, although he was gunned down at second unwisely trying to turn his hit into a double. A grounder to second ended the inning with the Fisher Cats leading, 3-1.
The New Hampshire closer came in, gave up only a one-out single, and that was it, sending the New England fans home happy with a 3-1 Fisher Cat win.
The Scorecard:
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| Thunder vs. Fisher Cats, 07/05/14. Fisher Cats win, 3-1. |
The scorecard was a free giveaway at the entrance to the park. Also given out were "Baseball Bingo" cards, but we'll get to that in a minute. The program was a tiny half-tabloid on magazine paper, which made it hard to write on for regular pencils and near impossible for colored pencils.
Given the fast pace of the game, there wasn't a whole lot of interest, scoring-wise. There was a 3-6-3 double-play, which is, of course, the best play in baseball, and in the big home eighth, there was a 7-5-4 caught stealing as the batter tried to turn his single into a double.
The real story here was Baseball Bingo. I had seen this once before at Binghamton. There, it was not team dependent. Everything that could happen on the field was printed onto a Bingo card, and as the event happened, you were allowed to cross it off your card. A lot of the events were bordering on the ridiculous (I think there was unassisted double-play on my card), and I don't think anyone won.
They handled the game a little differently in Manchester. The cards were only affected by the home team at bats. You got a pre-printed bingo card with fold-down squares, and depending on what each batter did, everyone got the same numbers. It was arranged by players. For example, the catcher striking out was I 17. The catcher walking was G 49, and so on. The designated hitter did not get his own letter/number combo, and special events (like errors, hit batsmen, or reaching on an error) were in their own little box.
So I was keeping record on that game card as I was filling out my scorecard. Around the fifth inning, I was two numbers away from bingo already. In the bottom of the sixth, the right fielder struck out, giving me N 31 and bingo. I was a minor celebrity in my row. At the half-inning break, I chugged up to the bingo counter to collect my prize.
When I got to the old man running the booth, he told me that the left fielder flying out (N 42) wasn't called. I then showed him my scorecard that had him flying out at the end of the last inning. He said he was only going by what they flashed up on the scoreboard, and I told him that I don't care if they flashed it on the scoreboard or not, the left fielder flied out. Two people behind me in line joined in, and we convinced him it happened, so I got my prize: a $10 gift card for a local sub shop. So after scoring yielding no tangible rewards up until this year, it had now gained me a book in Rochester and a $10 gift card for a sub shop I would never visit in Manchester.
Everything's coming up Oogie.
The Accommodations:
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| Super 8 |
As I didn't know exactly when the game was going to end, I picked a hotel that was about an hour and a half on the way back to Jersey, figuring that even if the game went late, I'd still have an hour or so of driving in me, and the closer I was to home on the Sunday at the end of July 4th, the better.
And since I wasn't expecting to be there long, I decided on a relatively cheap Super 8 Motel, especially after the soaking I took in Portland on July 4th, bother figuratively and financially. I wasn't expecting too much, but it was relatively nice place--at first glance.
The room was nice, with a king-sized bed with nightstands on one wall, and a TV and dresser and a small table on the other wall. A small closet was next to the bathroom in the corner of the room. After doing a bit of hunting to kill all the mosquitoes that got into the room when I opened the door, I sat down at the table.
And the chair had some stains on it. And the chair and table were wobbly. As was pretty much everything.
But for the price I paid and the amount of time I was going to be there, it really didn't matter. The bed worked.
On All Good Things, And All That
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| The surprising view in the morning |
Hoboken, NJ
Outside the Game:
I woke up at about 8 AM, but my body was rather insistent about not actually leaving bed. My greatest effort resulted in almost turning on my side. Drifting in and out for a half hour or so, I finally stored up enough energy to get in a sitting position. I then gave up, laid back down for fifteen minutes, and then boredom defeated lethargy, and I was able to tumble out of bed.
I had everything pretty much set up the night before, so I threw on some clothes, handled sanitary needs, and got ready to drag all my stuff out to the car. Upon exiting my room, I discovered that my room actually had a beautiful view of a river and pond at the end. Someone was already making use of the pool overlooking the lake. It was certainly one of the most scenic Super 8's I'd ever been to, if a little threadbare.
I piled my stuff into the car and then continued on to the office, where I partook of the breakfast buffet and then checked out. At around 9:15 AM, I was on the road, listening the staticy tones of the Talking Baseball tribute to Frank Cashen that had begun at 9 AM.
The drive was uneventful. At this early hour, and coming in from the north, there was no traffic to speak of. At most, it was a little congested on the Tappen Zee Bridge. At about a quarter after noon, I was back in Hoboken, parked up and dragging my luggage home. I retrieved several days of mail and went upstairs, and thankfully, I was the only one in the house.
This joy was short lived, as I saw clear signs that someone besides myself had been in the place. After seeing that all the important and valuable stuff was still in place, I recalled a message I left my landlord the previous week about the carpenter ant sighting I had on my window sill. After calling her back, she said she had called her maintenance guy, but he didn't say anything about going in to spray. A few minutes later she called back and confirmed that he had been in with an extermination, and that it was termites and not carpenter ants, and she apologized profusely for them going in without telling me.
With my big mystery solved, I was set for a long Sunday afternoon soaking in the tub, doing laundry, and taking a very serious nap.
The Accommodations:
My presumably termite-free apartment
2014 July 4th
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