Queens

On a Damp Day in the Junkyards

Not Shea Stadium, 2015

Saturday, August 15, 2015
Pittsburgh Pirates vs. New York Metropolitans
Not Shea Stadium

MLB, National League
Queens, NY
1:10 PM

Outside the Game: 

Given the Metropolitans’ uncharacteristic winning ways, I decided to grab a ticket online and head out to the park in mid-August. This was an early afternoon game, so after getting the ticket the night before, I had to leave bright and early for Harvey Day festivities.

I walked all the way to the Hoboken PATH terminal and got there just in time for the train to 33rd. I similarly lucked out with the orange line and the 7, which let me know that something horrible was going to happen in the game, as I had used up all my luck already. I got to the stadium with Fan Fest in full swing, and I ignored most of it to get my outside pictures and then head in when the gates opened.

The way back was significantly more damp, but it was much less crowded than normal on the subway. I had my scorecard finished before I transferred to the orange line and the PATH, with only short waits at each. The commute was metaphorically trying to make up for the loss.

Either way, I got back to Hoboken in good time and grabbed a cab to the back of town to avoid walking through the hellscape that is Hoboken on the weekend. I successfully made it home and crashed for the rest of the evening to try and avoid thinking of the disappointment.

The Stadium & Fans: 

Home plate to center field, Not Shea Stadium

There wasn’t a ton new at Not Shea since the beginning of the season, but two things did stand out. Firstly, it was a “Fan Fest” weekend, so there were a bunch of activities outside the park, including inflatable fast pitches, bouncy castles, and other skills games.

Star Wars Day

Secondly, it was also Star Wars day, which explained all those dressed up people in line to get in. There was a costume contest in the foyer by the left field entrance, attended by a troop of stormtroopers and judged by someone in a Darth Vader costume. Mr. Met was also dressed like a Jedi for the entire game. Outside of that, the only thing new were the Shea Bridge seats, which were now branded as “Citi Perks Seats,” bathed in a light blue shade usually reserved for infant clothing.

Professor

There was a decent crowd out for the game, and most of them even weathered (HA!) the rainstorm in the middle innings, but most headed for the streets after the bullpen coughed up the lead traumatically. This was nice as it made for smaller crowds on the train home.

At the Game with Oogie: 

Shack and Fries

I got in the front gate as they opened and made my immediate rounds, scooting back to get Shake Shack before the lines formed, and then eating, taking pictures, and watching batting practice before a trip to the museum and the store.

Mr. Jedi Met

I watched the Star Wars festivities for a bit, including the costume contest, before heading out for my normal walk around and viewing of Monsieur Met. My seat was up in the Caesar Club again, this time on the first-base side, just beyond the bag. There was a solid crowd that night, but no one in the immediate area around me.

Rain Rations

During the rain delay, I grabbed a Nathan’s jumbo dog and sat smugly under the overhang, watching the rest of the crowd retreat up to my area as refugees.


The Game: 

First pitch, Pirates vs. Metropolitans

This late-season game between the Pirates and the Metropolitans found both of them mysteriously in the playoff hunt. With a diminished Harvey on the mound, there wasn’t an immediate idea of where the game would end up, but it was nowhere good.

The Pirates got a two-out double and nothing more in the first inning, while New York had a leadoff single make it to third with only one out on a fielder’s choice and a fly out but was stranded by two pop-outs to end the inning. Pittsburgh came out swinging in the second, and a homer to right-center lead off and staked them to a 1-0 lead. Uncharacteristically, the Metropolitans came back with a d'Arnaud one-out homer to left in the bottom of the frame to tie it at one. The Pirates threatened with a two-out triple to right in the third, but an out left him stranded, and New York only had a two-out walk to show for their third inning.

Pittsburgh came up with a single in the fourth inning and nothing else, while d’Arnaud’s two-out double was all the Metropolitans had in their half. Another two-out triple was the story of the Pirates fifth, while New York went in order. Pittsburgh scattered two hits in the top of the sixth, while the Metropolitans had a bit of a rally with a one-out walk and hit batsman, but then a forty-minute rain delay cooled the heat and two outs ended the soggy inning with no one across.

Brief intermission

After the long delay, relief pitching came to the mound and immediately gave the game away, as two walks, three singles, and an error led to three runs for Pirates in the top of the seventh, giving them a 5-1 lead. New York answered by going in order. The eighth was more of the same, as Pittsburgh got three more runs on two doubles, two walks, and a single, extending their lead to 8-1. The Metropolitans again went in order. The Pirates only had a single in the top of the ninth, but punchless New York again went in order to seal the 8-1 Buccos victory.

The Scorecard: 

Pirates vs. Metropolitans, 08/15/15. Pirates win, 8-1.

I was using the BBWA scorebook this damp evening. Beside more triples than normal, there weren’t many weird plays, but there were plays of literal note. In the bottom of the fifth, Cespedes had an infield hit to third that was challenged and overturned on appeal to a 5-3 putout that I noted. The bottom of the sixth features a forty-minute rain delay that was similarly noted. And in the top of the eighth, there was a grounder back to the pitcher that led to a seemingly late throw to first that was challenged and overturned from an E1 to a 1-3 putout.

The rain delay resulted in more-than-average player turnover, and I had to use alphabetic placeholding for both teams’ pitcher slots due to double-switches. There was nothing much else out of the ordinary. The bullpen gave it up, but that was largely expected.

The Accommodations: 

Jersey City, sweet, Jersey City

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Stand-Alone Trip

Fort Myers (Twins)

On Driving Frustrations & Other Impediments

CenturyLink Sports Complex, 2015

Friday, March 20, 2015

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Minnesota Twins
CenturyLink Sports Complex
Grapefruit League (Spring Training)
Fort Myers, FL
1:05 PM


Outside the Game: 

I had a nice enough night of sleep, but my last few days had me waking up unnaturally early even though it wasn't required. I stumbled out to grab some breakfast buffet and ignore the Fox News on the TV set, and then stumbled back to the room and into bed again until I absolutely had to leave for the game.

It was about a ten-minute drive to the park after checking out, though the four-stage traffic lights made it seem like an hour. Not only are they inefficient and traffic multipliers, they are dangerous to boot. If you just miss the light, you know you are not moving for at least a couple minutes. I lost count of how many youngsters were staring at their phones when the light turned green before they even noticed. Not that I excuse their behavior, but if I was an attention-addled member of the younger generation (the “Millennials,” or so I’m told), I'd probably be checking my phone for a suicide app if I had to deal with these monstrosities every day of my life.

I eventually arrived at the park despite the time dilation and pulled into the parking lot. Upon exiting my vehicle, I was surprised to learn that, at 10 AM, the park was open to all comers three hours before the first pitch. This completely threw me off my schedule, and I scampered off to get my outside shots before heading back inside for the main attraction.

On my way out, I was feeling pretty good about the world. I was out of that heat, I was in my car and on the road in no time flat, and I had just under a three-hour drive to my hotel. This enthusiasm was brutally beaten and murdered in front of me, firstly by the four-stage traffic lights, which turned an eight-mile drive into a half-hour experience.

This was merely the appetizer for the drive up route 75 to Interstate 4. After making some nice headway and thinking about what I'd do with the time I was saving, I navigated through one or two patches of congestion, none of which were too severe. I still had hope in my heart.

That hope was ripped from my heart at a long rubberneck for an accident on the other side of the road. While I hate this stupid highway voyeurism more than anything else in the world (you can seriously see all you need to of the accident at speed, trust me), I still had some hope left for my drive.

But that last gasp was ground to bitter dust by a nearly constant state of congestion for the entire run up 75. Unhelpful road signs told me ahead of time that after this bit of congestion, there was another one up the road X miles away, just to make sure I wouldn't think this was the end of it. It was made worse by octogenarians who clogged up every possible breakout between the congestion pockets by never leaving the left lane, as well as by youngsters who weaved in and out of every crevice to try and gain a car length and scaring the old folks into driving even more cautiously, should such a thing be possible.

Finally slogging to the connection to Interstate 4, I was treated to a new stop-and-go gridlock. Already nearly an hour behind schedule, I just about lost my mind at this point and screamed myself hoarse at the world. Eventually, the traffic let up a little, and I began to violate the laws of the universe trying to make up time. There were a fervid pack of us trying to get by old people and families onto open road, and the sense of camaraderie was the only thing keeping me going at this point.

I finally, finally made it to the exit for my hotel and was immediately dropped onto a road with four-stage stoplights for the last five miles. I was not in a good mental state, to put it mildly. Some unclear signage to get to the hotel entrance nearly pushed me over the edge, but I got to the check-in area and waited in line to check in, slowly smoldering the drive from hell from my consciousness. 

Late repast

I checked in, parked the car, and dragged my stuff up to my stately room, or at least my junior stately room. I immediately ordered room service and took a shower. Upon exiting, I found out the WiFi signal was piss-poor in my room and gave up after fifteen minutes on the phone with the unhelpful tech support company. After eating my room service, I pretty much gave up for the day and went to bed in my bed of many pillows. 

The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, CenturyLink Sports Complex

Hammond Stadium is part of the “CenturyLink Sports Complex,” and it is another of the new marquee “destination parks” in the Grapefruit League. The extensive grounds of the park include a giant parking lot for fans with a palm tree-lined walkway to the main stadium, and then walkways leading off to the minor-and major-league practice fields beyond the left-field side of the park, centered around the scout tower in the center. Other buildings further off house the offices and indoor training complexes, and all of them are branded with Twins’ greats in the street, building, or field names, with the training building just proclaiming, “This is Twins Territory.” Say what you want about the franchise, but they are on-point with their Spring Training branding.

The stadium itself is a monument to the overblown. The facade was designed to be reminiscent of the Churchill Downs racetrack, with symmetrical windows and archways, balustraded railings, American flag bunting, and a giant waterfall fountain at the main entrance. A long row of ticket booths runs along the wall between the entrances.

All the entrances dump out into a ground-level entrance plaza, with a play area, customer service desk, and a Scouts Hall of Fame. Stairs lead up to the main promenade that circles the entire park. A smaller walkway runs through the grandstand seating bowl separating the box seats from the regular seats above. The main grandstand runs from first to third base behind home plate, with two large shades covering the area around the bases, but not home plate, which is topped with dual levels of luxury boxes and party areas, along with the press box, and has retired numbers and championship banners tacked to the outside. Picnic hills are in right and left fields, and from right to center field is an overhang area with special seats, while there are table seats in the walkway over left field. There's another special seating area in right under an awning, and the top of the grandstand on the first and third base sides has an upper level with table seating and their own concessions.

Out to the practice fields

The outer promenade hooks up with the seating walkway via ramps and at the end of the grandstand at first and third bases. The promenade holds nearly all the concessions, as well as a two-story team store and most of the dedication and memorial plaques in the park. The main digital scoreboard is in left-center, sitting high above the walkway (erroneously called the "boardwalk" in the outfield), a good twenty feet or so above the single-tier outfield wall covered in local ads. With the high backdrop, all you see beyond the wall is the tops of trees and the Florida sky. A small auxiliary digital video board is located by home plate. One nice feature is a deck built into the left field promenade that overlooks the training fields, so you can also watch the practice and scrimmages from inside the park.

Rapt TC

TC the Bear makes the trip down from Minnesota for Spring Training, and given Minnesota winters, you could hardly blame him. There was a minimum of between-inning entertainment during the game, but the healthy crowd that filled most of the seats in this gigantic park were quite into the game, though the Spring Training standby of trolling for autographs was also in full force.


At the Game with Oogie:

Hot dog and soda

Perhaps the weirdest encounter of the day was the Twins fans I ran into while waiting in line at Port Charlotte the day before. He said “hello” to me, and we had a chat about the relative merits of the two stadiums and then went on our separate ways.

I had purchased a seat right behind the dugout. It was very much not in the shade, and I spent the day baking. There was a group of middle-aged guys behind me, older groups to my left and right, and a guy with his son in front of me. The group behind me bailed after seven innings due to the heat, as did the group to my right in the eighth. After trying all game, the guy in front finally got a player to give his son a ball in the ninth, and everyone in the section was glad for it, not the least of which was the kid. 

Minnesota health food

I had my mandatory hot dog to start off and threw some fried cheese curds on top of that. Considering I was going to be sitting outside in the sun all day, I would seriously come to regret the later decision about dairy.  But I did enjoy the "Killebrew" soda for the same reason.

Inevitable

I continued to not win the 50/50.


The Game:

The game progresses, Pirates vs. Twins

The Pittsburgh Pirates came over to face the Minnesota Twins in this Grapefruit League contest, and the meaningless game ended in favor of the steel town visitors.

The game started slow, with both sides going in order. Pittsburgh struck first in the top of the second inning, with a walk, two singles to load the bases, and another walk to drive in a run, staking them to a 1-0 lead. The Twins went in order again in the second. The Pirates kept the run-train driving with a leadoff homer to dead center in the third, while Minnesota struck back in the bottom of the third with a single, a stolen base, and a double to leave the score at 2-1 after three.

The Pirates went in order in the fourth, but Minnesota tied it up with a two-out homer to right to make it 2-2. Not to be outdone, Pittsburgh had their own solo homer in the top of the fifth to center to take the lead again, 3-2. The Twins went in order in their half. The Pirates went in order in the top of the sixth, while Minnesota stranded a two-out double in the bottom.

Pittsburgh cooked up another run in the top of the seventh with a single, ground-out, and single to make it 4-2, while the Twins just had a single to show for the bottom of the eighth. The Pirates had a leadoff double in the top of the ninth that got over to third on a fly-out. He tried to make it home on a grounder to second, but the throw came home and got him at the plate. Minnesota went quickly in order in their last licks, and the Pirates went away with a pointless 4-2 victory.


The Scorecard:

Pirates vs. Twins, 03/20/15. Pirates "win," 4-2.

This scorecard was a mess. Not from a design perspective, per se, but it was literally a mess. It was part of a $5 full-color magazine program, and it was on glossy paper to start with, which made writing in pencil difficult. And then there was the art. The scorecard was printed on a full-color background, with pictures of a pitcher and a batter taking up the top quarter of the card. The glossy printing, plus all that color meant it was a nightmare to write on with sweaty hands, or god forbid, try to erase. My final scorecard looks like a disaster area, as entire sections of the printing were obliterated with erasures or smudges from my sweaty hands on this hot, hot Florida afternoon. There were also an uneven amount of batter lines, which meant you could only leave two lines (for a replacement) for eight of the positions.

For what it was worth, the scorecard had batting lines with totals on the end of each line, and inning totals at the bottom of each column. The scoring squares were empty, but tiny little boxes that made scoring cramped, and especially difficult because any erasure took off the printing of the boxes as well. The pitching lines were underneath the batting lines, and next to the pitching lines were cumulative stats for each team.

I mean, this scorecard was a MESS. Thankfully, there were nearly no interesting scoring plays. The only thing of note was a tag out in the top of the ninth on a fielder's choice that went home to get the runner from third where I noted the tag was almost definitely missed. Also, thankfully, at least the Pirates didn't do a wholesale lineup change, only switching out one position player, and that was part of the double-switch. That resulted in a bit of notational scorekeeping. The Twins did the normal near-full swap-out in the sixth and seventh innings, only leaving in the DH for the entire game.


The Accommodations:

Holiday Inn SE Celebration

I was staying at the Holiday Inn SE Celebration, or some such. It was selected the night before on the basis of being right down the street from the park for the next day and eligible for a free stay voucher that I had accumulated.

The room itself was quite nice. A kitchenette was at the entry to the room along the whole wall, which led into the living/bedroom, with a couch and chair on one end of the room, and the king-sized bed and nightstand on the other. The adjacent wall had a dresser and the TV. An alcove to the left of the bed had an open walk-in closet, and to the right of the bed was the sink and vanity for the bathroom, with the bathroom proper to the left.

The accouterments of the room were nice, but the service was lacking. The room was missing the "Do Not Disturb," and after two calls to the front desk, I had to tell them to tell whoever brought it up to put it on the door and not disturb me about it because I was going to bed.

The WiFi was spotty except right by the front door, which wasn't exactly convenient, and the room service was a half-hour later than promised. I know they are dealing with a big hotel mostly full of vacationing Disneyers, but you just have to deliver better than this.

Also, no matter how Disney you remember Disney being, it is 1,000X more Disney than that. It doesn't seem possible, and may even break the laws of physics, but that goddamn mouse is everywhere.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Grapefruit League

Bradenton

On Comings and Goings 

McKechnie Field, 2015

Friday, March 13, 2015 

Minnesota Twins vs. Pittsburgh Pirates 

McKechnie Field 

Grapefruit League (Spring Training) 

Bradenton, FL 

1:05 PM


Outside the Game:
After going to bed so early the night before, I was awake with a lot of sleep under my belt at 7 AM, which led to my lying down in bed "for a minute," and getting up an hour later.
 

Derp

The expanded canine contingent was there to greet me in the morning. As always, they showed great concern that I might have disappeared forever when I went upstairs the night before. Everyone got scratches and pets before I left, especially Josie, and, after making sure that they weren't going to make a break for it, I let myself out through the garage and used the magic keypad to close up after I left.
Packed up in the car, I set out for the park, in perhaps the shortest drive of the trip. Past morning rush hour, the drive was slightly more than a half hour, and I was parking in the lot behind the outfield (after sheepishly having to ask a police officer for directions to the parking lot from the parking lot because the entrance was hidden at the back of a municipal lot.

I did my walk-around of the park, and like many so far on this trip, it was smack-dab in the middle of a residential area, with a school providing a buffer to the practice fields in back. I was a little concerned because the first staff person I asked said that the gates weren't going to open until noon, but upon making it to the main gate after my walk-around, I found out that number was actually 11:00 AM. A brief wait on line, and I was off and running.

On the way out, it was a more leisurely affair. I slinked my way through the crowd to get to my car, GPS already pre-programmed with my parents' condo. I handed off my winning cigar coupon (see below) to a parking attendant on the way out, and I was on my way.

… to traffic. There was a bit of post-game congestion getting out of the park, but the real problems were on the highways south. The was first an accident and then another accident and construction that hung me up for a half hour or so.

But eventually, I was speeding down Florida, both figuratively and literally. After a brief stop off for food and gas, I was back at my parents' condo a little before 9 PM, and I got myself showered and situated for the game the next day.

The Stadium & Fans:

Home plate to center field, McKechnie Field

McKechnie Field is firmly in the “directly in the middle of the suburbs” school of Grapefruit League parks, nestled inside sleepy Bradenton in a way more reminiscent of a high school football stadium than an MLB Spring Training ballpark. Glimpses of the park peek out in the surrounding streets, but outside of the main façade on the street and the only sizable parking lot behind the outfield, the park is mostly lost in the suburban sprawl. As is often the case, parking is a big deal for these kinds of parks, and decidedly unfriendly signs about no street parking for game patrons heavily line the streets around the facility. There is only one main entrance to the park, in a small entrance plaza behind home plate with the ticket booths. The only other way in a staff entrance in the fence by third base. There is only one practice field and a skills area in the back of the park, which doesn’t have direct access by the fans.

The entrance to the park empties into a promenade that wraps around the entirety of the park, joining up with walkway at the base of the grandstand seating at the breaks in said grandstand by the dugouts and at the bases. The promenade circles the entire park, thanks to a raised area in the outfield accessed by a long set of stairs, or a convenient elevator. The main grandstand behind home plate is a little unusual in that it is broken up into three sections with a space in between for ramp access to the seating bowl. The main three sections are covered by an overhang, and the press box sits on top of the overhang in the center section. Additional sections of bleachers run down the outfield lines to the outfield corners. There is an additional bleacher section in left-center, and a special table section in dead center with its own tropical bar. There are party decks in both outfield corners as well.

As with many older parks, it has expanded out, not up, and there is a large plaza behind the right field line, housing lounge chairs, concessions, and stores. The promenade under the home plate grandstand houses several memorabilia dealers and further concessions. The main digital scoreboard in uncommonly located in the left-center field wall, although several smaller ball/strikes digital boards are found around the park. The new pitch clock is on the outfield wall, as well. Rows of palms trees line the blue sky over the outfield wall, a single row of panels covered in local ads.

Hands up

The Pirates drew a big crowd for a weekday game, with most of the stands filled and a lot of the standing room territory taken up with various rambling Pittsburgh backers who were probably glad not to be in the snow anymore. The minor-league mascot the Marauder, as well as The Parrot from the big team, make appearances throughout the game schmoozing and running the limited between-inning entertainment. Even the Pierogi Race takes the trip south for the winter.


At the Game with Oogie: 

Sun scoring

Not having had breakfast, I immediately had a stadium breakfast of a hot dog and souvenir drink when I got let in. I would supplement that later with a pulled pork sandwich meal and a Gatorade for my sitting needs.

Hot dog and souvenir soda

I was correctly or incorrectly pegged as a journalist several times today. The first was by the woman who sold me my pulled pork. And then there was the videographer who was working with Fans for the Cure (Ed Randall's prostate cancer charity). So, there's that.

I was sitting at the top of the 3rd base infield grandstand, in one of the two seats in that row that jutted out into the top of the stairs. Because of the way the sun hit the stadium, even though the area was covered, the first three seats in the row got direct sunlight, so I was sweating for most of the game. There was a row of Pirates' die-hards in my row, and a family with kids who were a little more interested in snacks than the game in front of me. I talked a bit with the people in my row, who would continue to check with me about who was in or out of the game.

Of note in the row was a kid in the group further to my left who spent the whole game cheering on the Pirates (even through their futility) and wishing violent vengeance on the Twins. He even got most of the row chanting with him at one point.

Great victory, I guess

After Rochester, I figured I'd never win a program contest again, but I had a stamp on the local cigar shop ad, so I ran down to the Guest Relations booth between an inning and retrieved my prize bag, which turned out to be a gift certificate, a t-shirt for a local store, and a flavored lip balm. So now I'm 2 for about 140.


The Game:

First pitch, Twins vs. Pirates

The Minnesota Twins and the Pittsburgh Pirates squared off in this meaningless Grapefruit League game, where the home team would get buried early, not that any of that matters.

The Twins got right out to it with a leadoff double scoring on a subsequent error by the second baseman, and a home run to left cleared the bases to give the Twins a very early 3-0 lead. Pittsburgh went in order despite a leadoff single thanks to a caught stealing. Minnesota had a leadoff single in the second get to second on another error, but he was stranded there. The Pirates had a two-out double followed by two walks to load the bases, but the next batter stranded everyone with a strikeout. The Twins got back to scoring with one in the top of the third with a walk and three straight singles to pull out to a 4-0 lead. Pittsburgh again went in order despite a one-out single thanks to a double play.

Minnesota managed to somehow strand a one-out triple in the top of the fourth, while the Pirates scattered two singles to no effect. The Twins blasted three more runs in the top of the fifth with a single, a double, and a homer to left, leaving them a 7-0 lead. Pittsburgh retaliated with a lone single in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota picked up on the Bucks trick by going in order in the sixth despite a one-out walk thanks to a double play. The Pirates finally got on the board in the bottom of the inning with a double and two wild pitches, and then a walk, double, and single to end up with three runs, cutting the deficit to 7-3.

The Twins got one back in the seventh with a one-out walk and two singles, to extend their lead back to 8-3, while Pittsburgh just had a hit batsman in the bottom of the frame. Minnesota went in order in the eighth, while the Pirates managed to get a walk and a hit batsman in between three strike outs looking. The Twins finished up with reaching on an error in the top of the ninth, and then going in order anyway thanks to a double play. Pittsburgh went quietly in order in their last licks, ending the Twins meaningless 8-3 victory.


The Scorecard:

Twins vs. Pirates, 03/13/15. Twins "win," 8-3.

The scorecard was part of the $5 full-color magazine program in the centerfold. It was on semi-gloss paper which made it a little difficult to write in pencil, and the printing was raised, which made the scoring boxes smudge and erase easily, and especially the right side of my scorecard was a mess by the end of the game.

Each batting line had undesignated space for a replacement (that I drew in) with batting total at the end of each line and inning totals at the bottom of each column. The scoring boxes were empty with no background printing, so there was room to score. The pitching lines were at the bottom of each side's scorecard, and team totals were in the box next to the pitching lines. The scorecard took up about a half of the spread, with whitespace headers at the top and a strip ad at the bottom, so there was plenty of space for notes.

Outside of there being more errors than expected and the fact that the first run for the Pirates in the bottom of the sixth scored after two wild pitches, there weren't many odd plays of note. The ceremonial swapping out of the lineups happened between the fifth and sixth innings for both teams, and everyone except the Pirates DH had a replacement in the game.


The Accommodations: 
After several days with friendly people and friendlier dogs, I was back with my parents. The difference was noticeable.

Click here to see all the photos from this trip.

2015 Grapefruit League