On Et Tu, Tappan Zee?
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Sturbridge, MA
Outside the Game:
I used up my last Summer Friday of the year to free myself up to get to New England and see the region's last two teams: the rainy Portland Sea Dogs and the Vermont Lake Monsters. And there was going to be a lot of driving in the next few days, to the point that I was considering flying to either Portland or Burlington. Given the workout I'd been giving my car, I was seriously weighing the flight option, but given my last nightmare getting to Buffalo, I decided that driving was probably the safer option.
I got out of work on time and went home to do some laundry and catch a nap. I was going to try and get at least three hours out that night to leave a shorter drive in the morning. I had some tentative plans still in play to have lunch with an author who had used one of my baseball photos in one of his books. He had just started a new job, however, and it looked as though he was not going to be able to get free for lunch. Even if I didn't meet up with him, I was hoping to get some time in Portland and do a little more exploring.
I was out and driving a little before 9 PM, hoping to get into the hotel around midnight. I decided to take the Tappan Zee route instead of either the Lincoln Tunnel or GWB for obvious reasons, and up until this day, it had always proven to be the wiser option.
But not this night. For whatever reason, they decided to do some construction on the Palisades Parkway that brought traffic to a standstill. My TomTom was actually unable to find an alternate route once committed to the Palisades, so I had no choice but to sit in the traffic until I got past it. And this easily added another twenty minutes to my drive just to start.
Once I got past that blockage, I didn't notice until it was far too late that my TomTom was putting me on 95 instead of 84, and by then, I was trapped. I was subjected to nearly constant (or so it seemed) construction for the rest of my trip that added at least another half hour to the trip. Literally as soon as the last construction ended, the signs went up for the next construction. Most of it was fairly mild shoulder work or lane closures, but in several places, they shut down all but one lane, bringing traffic to an absolute standstill and prompting some re-routing on local roads to get past it. One of these days, someone is going to have to sit down and explain to me in great detail the thoughts behind late-night road work that creates just as much traffic as daytime road work and why that is a good idea.
So my three hour drive rolling in at around midnight quickly became a four-hour drive that got me in barely before 1 AM. Ironically enough, I was staying in Sturbridge, MA again, where I had bailed on my way back from my last New England trip. A very cranky Oogie checked into his nice hotel that he would never see much of at all and then went to bed.
The Accommodations:
I was staying at the Hampton Inn Sturbridge this time instead of the Super 8. I had considered staying at the Super 8 again, but I figured that I'd be getting in early this night and wanted someplace a little nicer to spend my time. Oh, the fun we have with plans.
For what little I saw of it, the room was quite nice. A big bathroom was just off to the right of the entrance, with marble counters and a wonderful tub that I would have liked to try out, and a coffee machine.
The bedroom itself was further in, with a microwave and refrigerator stand, two dressers (one topped with a TV), and a full desk on one wall, a couch and easy chair on the adjoining wall, a giant king-sized bed (with a Levenger lap desk) on the wall adjoining that.
I was in no real mood to appreciate the ambiance, and I was asleep as soon as I could strip down and construct a pillow fort into which to burrow and hibernate.
On Finishing Things
Friday, August 1, 2014
Trenton Thunder (New York Yankees) vs.
Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox)
Haddock Field
Eastern League (AA)
Portland, ME
7:10 PM
Outside the Game:
Not close to fully rested, and somehow still stressed out from all the road construction the night before, I was ripped out of unconsciousness the next morning, not awake, not asleep, but somehow pissed off. I threw on some clothes and went down the hall to the nice breakfast buffet, which I destroyed, not having eaten in quite a long time at that point. I dragged back to my room and contemplated what to do while face down in the bed.
I knew I had to shower, pack up, and book my hotel for the night, and that eventually took me to around 10:30 AM. I flirted with the idea of taking another nap, but I had another two or so hours to get me to Portland, so I packed up my car, checked out, and headed out to the wilderness.
It being an early Friday afternoon, I didn't expect any issues this far north, but I was to be proven wrong, as construction and traffic congestion continued to plague me on 95 until the Maine border. Then, magically, the seas parted in front of me, and I was able to eventually pull in at the ballpark at around 1:30 PM. Having taken pictures previously, I just got my ticket and snapped a few quick shots before heading back downtown. Having missed the last tour at the Longfellow house during my last visit, I was inspired to recreate my steps of what no doubt would be my triumphant return, or something. I was able to get into the downtown parking lot at about 1:55 PM, and then I booked over to the museum, as I know the tours ran on the hour.
I got there just as they were gathering up the next group, and I wasn't even the last one there, as a family from New York joined our group in the front of the house a minute or so later. Having failed to make the 2 PM tour last time, I successfully joined it this time, which indicated something or other about my success for the rest of the day. The late middle-aged woman running the tour was every inch the life-long academic, especially in the way she semi-successfully tried to relate to the children in the group. The older brother was having none of it, but a bookish younger sister was her star pupil. Her tour was thorough and exhaustive, and I can say I definitely learned something from it.
A little under an hour later, the tour was over, and I was starving. I took a quick run through the house's garden with a couple from Canada and then headed across the street to the first place I saw, which turned out to be a crunchy vegan restaurant. Absolutely in immediate need of food and knowing I would be eating nothing but crap later tonight, I said what the hell, and I went in and ordered a veggie burger from the rail-thin dude who seemed to serve as the proprietor and chef.
Out of the heat, I went to the cooler and grabbed two all-natural sodas as he grilled up my "burger." As it was cooking, he came out to ask what popcorn I wanted with my meal, which apparently was included. I picked out the garlic kind, and I soon had my vegiburger and popcorn. And, you know what? It was actually pretty tasty, and that just wasn't the lack of food talking. I finished eating, settled up, and headed back out into Portland.
As the gates were opening at 5:30 PM for a 7:10 PM start, I didn't have a ton of time after eating. I walked down to Old Port and tooled around on the waterfront for a while, watching the sea gulls swarm all the fish markets and the proto-hippies swarm in the parks. Thinking the later had a good idea, especially still being sleep-deprived and having a bit of a drive after the game that night, I found a park bench in the shade and took a nap.
Thusly refreshed, it was about time to head to the park for the game. This was the first time I was pulling up to the park on a day when the game was to be played, so it took me one pass across the stadium to realize where I had to go for parking. On the second try, I got into a lot just past the right field wall, and I was off.
There were... a lot of cheerleaders out in front of the park. This was eventually explained by the appearance of some of the New England Patriots cheerleaders in a pre-game event. However, the ushers kept everything under control, even to the point of over-ruling the police. A cop rolled up onto the pavement and parked his cruiser, and with a confidence not seen since 2000 around these parts, an usher went right up to the officer and told him directly to get his car off the pavement and park in one of the spots nearby. I was even more surprised when the officer didn't say a word and followed the instruction.
So it was no revelation that they got everyone organized and in the correct lines as the gates opened promptly at 5:30 PM to let everyone in.
After the game, most of the people were still in their seats for the post-game fireworks, while I just wanted to get out so I could get to my hotel at a reasonable hour. I was out and in my car as the first explosions rocked above the stadium. I typed in the address for my hotel in Hooksett, MA into the TomTom, but got no results. I then decided to try and call the hotel to see if there was another address that I could use, but upon calling 411, I was told there was no listing. And after a pause he asked if I meant "Hooksett,
New Hampshire" to which I calmly and confidently said, "Yes." A quick state adjustment later, and my TomTom knew what my fool head was talking about, and I was on my way.
To get from Portland to Burlington, there is a huge mountain in the way. You can go north of it on a state road, south of it on interstates, or through it on a national park road. The TomTom suggested that south was the way to go, so that is where I had booked a hotel about two hours out from Portland, right before I would be turning north for the rest of the drive.
As a welcome change from the night before, the drive to my hotel was rather uneventful, and I pulled in around 11:45 PM, with a promise of a better-rested evening.
The Stadium & Fans:
And here we were again. This was the second attempt to get in to see a game at Hadlock Field. The first had started with an unexpected early peak inside the park and ended in rain. This attempt started with traffic and a huge flock of cheerleaders outside the gates, but the gates actually opened this time, and Slugger the Sea Dog was revealed from behind to greet the fans.
As it was when I did my original poking around, Hadlock Field remained an old bandstand park that had been renovated over the years and not torn down, and that's always a good thing. The main seating bowl was a U from left to right field around home plate. A narrow walkway separated the lower box seats from the upper reserved seats all around the park, and two sections of bleacher seats were available, an attached set at the end of the regular stands in left field, and a "US Cellular Pavilion" in right that shared an entrance with the "Coca-Cola Picnic Area" seats located next to it in right field. The press box and luxury suites didn't form an overhang as is found in most of the more modern minor league parks, but it was instead attached directly to the top of the seating bowl behind home plate.
The outfield was a cacophony of activity. The "little Monster" sat out in left field, with a--horrors--digital scoreboard worked in its base. The main video board was in left-center, followed by the batter's eye, and more ad space (crowded with a pitchers scoreboard and out-of-town scoreboard) until the US Cellular Pavilion bleachers in right field. Every conceivable surface is covered in ads, and many comically oversized inflatable or static ads top the stadium, from the LL Bean boot and Prime Auto Group guy in right field to the Delta Dental Tooth and giant Coke bottle in left field. Hey, if that is what it takes to keep an old park open, I'm all for it.
Steep staircases with low head clearance lead from the stands into the "promenade" surrounding the outside of the park from outfield to outfield. In left, it ends in the large "Shipyard Grill" concession, snaking through under the grandstand where all the concessions and stores are, around to right field with a small play area, the Hadlock Brewhouse, and the entrance to the right-field seating areas (tickets only). Much like the Fightin' Phils stadium in Reading, the inside walkway is packed to the gills with memorials and memorabilia, from the expected (dedication, championship, and alumni plaques), to the inevitable (the team store, "Souvenir Shoppe" [sure]), to the historical (the old home plate, Sea Dogs Hall of Fame, Maine Baseball Hall of Fame), to the weird (the baseball bat rocking chair, a stand selling
Yankees merchandise). Similarly, the seating bowl is covered in retired numbers and pennants along the luxury booth exterior.
As might be expected with the guests of honor being three Patriots' cheerleaders, most the between-inning activities were either cheerleader-themed, cheerleader performances, or had any of the dozens of cheerleaders in attendance as participants, most likely because of the Yankees-related opponent. Say what you will of Boston fans, the place was pretty full up, and the fans were into the game. And, of course, there was a giant lighthouse in center field that rose up and shot fireworks any time there was a Sea Dogs home run.
At the Game with Oogie:
The Sea Dogs games are apparently a popular affair in a stadium with a small capacity, so, learning from last time, I had bought my ticket a while ago. While there were no seats available in the section right behind the dugout, the area above the walkway had a single seat, which I scarfed up. Either way, the fans were right on top of the action. For whatever reason, everyone who bought the tickets around me didn't show up, as I had a buffer to each side. Closest to me were two older couples down the row from me, and a group of three New England twenty-something stereotypes way down the other direction in the row. Either way, I was just able to relax and watch the game without much interaction.
The Shipyard Grill in left field was the specialty food, and while a good deal of it was seafood-based, I was able to buy a non-fatal Italian sausage. Still hungry, I got a Fenway Frank and a pretzel to nosh on during the game itself.
On the way in, I bought a program from one of the vending stalls. He asked how I was doing, and I said fine as long as the weather holds out. He stated definitively that there would be no rain that night, and I told him that's what I was told on July 4th when I came last. He retorted that he hadn't worked that night, and since he was here, there would be no rain tonight. It was irrefutable logic, really, and I headed back to my seat with my food fairly reassured about the hopes for a full game that night.
The Game:
This contest between the league-leading Sea Dogs and the middle-dwelling Thunder had the added juice of a minor-league Red Sox-Yankees matchup, especially as the senior squads faced off a couple hours south in Boston.
The game itself started slowly, as both sides went in order in the first. The Thunder had a leadoff single in the second, followed by a walk. The lead runner made it to third on a double-play ball, but a fly-out to left ended the threat. Portland only managed a one-out walk in their half. Trenton went in order in the third, and the Sea Dogs only managed a two-out walk this time.
The anemic offenses got a jolt in the fourth as the Thunder got a two-out, no-doubt homer to right to open the scoring at 1-0, Trenton. Not to be outdone, in the bottom of the inning, Portland hit a homer to center to tie it up. A one-out walk was erased on a double-play, and the fourth ended tied at 1-1. Trenton kept it going in the fifth, however. A one-out single was followed by a walk, which was followed in turn by a giant homer to center to clear the bases. Two more outs followed to end the half at 4-1, Thunder. The Sea Dogs couldn't rise to the task and went in order, as did everyone else through the top of the seventh.
In the bottom of the seventh, Portland had something going quickly. A leadoff double was followed by a walk, and a ground-out to first made it second and third with only one out, and a walk loaded the bases and chased the Thunder pitcher. But the new pitcher got a 5-4-3 double-play to end the inning without damage.
Trenton only had a one-out single in the eighth, and the Sea Dogs went in order. In the ninth, the Thunder got a one-out single who moved to second on a ground-out to first. A single brought him home, and the trailing runner made it to third on an odd passed ball (
see below), before a ground-out ended the half. The Thunder closer got the Sea Dogs in order to cement the 5-1 Thunder win. The crowd was somewhat placated with post-game fireworks and the knowledge that the top-level Red Sox won their game against the Yankees.
The Scorecard:
Thunder vs. Sea Dogs, 08/01/14. Thunder win, 5-1.
The scorecard is part of the full-color, glossy magazine program, which is a problem because they use the glossy paper for the centerfold scorecard as well, which is not very receptive to regular pencil and nearly antithetical to colored pencil. Nearly 40% of the scorecard is taken over by a Budweiser ad, but otherwise is okay, with enough space for comfortable scoring, replacements, and pitchers.
There wasn't much weird going on, scoring-wise. There was a 5-4-3 double-play in the top of the eighth, which is always nice, and as for statistical anomalies, all the runs were scored on home runs until the ninth inning.
The only truly weird scoring was in the same top of the ninth. On what appeared to be third strike on a batter, the ball got away from the catcher, allowing the runner on first to go to second, and then there was a throw to first to complete the strikeout, allowing the runner on base to get to third, but it was all for naught as the pitch was called a ball. The manager came out to say his piece about the unclear ball/strike call that got this started, but as the game was largely sealed at that point, he didn't argue all that much.
The Accommodations:
In what I'm sure had more to do with the timing than metaphysics, I was in a better frame of mind for my room at the Fairfield Inn & Suites. There was a big, fancy tiled bathroom to the left of the entrance and the main bedroom a little further on. On one side was an easy chair and the king-sized bed and night tables, and on the other was a dresser, TV, and desk.
Once again, I didn't spend much time there. After showering, I went to bed and got sleep. And that's all you really need from a room.
2014 Labor Day
