Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday at the game that did not make the cut of the post. Being at one of the lowest attended games I have ever been to had some advantages. I could have moved around wherever I wanted to, but I liked my seat enough that I stayed in it until the 8th inning. With the lefties on the mound I had a good view of them. Here are some of the pictures that I liked from yesterday.
The statue of Minnie Minoso in right field looks great in the sun
The new Bacardi at the Park restaurant outside gate 5
Last night I saw the great game ending home run by Alexei Ramirez, and of course headed over to StubHub to see if I could find a cheap way into the stadium. Not only did I find a cheap way in I found a great seat for a great price. You have to love having the day off when nobody else does. I decided that I didn’t want to pay twice as much to park as I did on the tickets themselves so I took the South Shore to Chicago, and then the Red Line to the park. This was my first time trying this out. It actually worked out well even though it takes a lot longer to get to the park. You really can’t beat getting to the park for under $20 though. I got there a little early so I decided to check out the new Bacardi at the Park restaurant by the old stadium. At first I thought the prices were a little high, but in reality they were not bad. I had a beer, burger, and fries for $16. Like I said it was a little pricey, but I was pretty full when I was done. I would have had to spend a lot more money inside to get that full. Just as I was done eating I heard the magical announcement that the gates to the park were now open. Continue reading
Yesterday I went to the Sox game to see the boys take on the Yankees. John Danks was pitching against C.C. Sabathia. I really thought that we were going to see a pitching duel. What we saw was Johnny Danks giving up runs. He gave up eight runs and put the Sox in a hole that they couldn’t get out of. The day started off much better than it ended though. My brother and I went to the game early to watch batting practice. I had my mitt and he didn’t so I thought that I had a pretty good chance to get a ball before he did. We stopped in right center where I usually stand to try and get a ball. After a couple of near misses Derek Jeter hit a ball that popped off some hands in the first row, and right in front of my brother. He reached over the seat to pick it up, and was ahead 1-0. That is the only ball that we got on the day, but he later gave it to me as a birthday present. Continue reading
Today I used my Sox Pride Club tickets to go to the Sox game against the Athletics. The bleacher seats were free, and they included a patio pass. I was there about a month ago, but it actually is a good time. Normally it costs $41 a person for the two hour pass to get into the patio area. For that though you get all you can eat and drink for two hours. When you consider a beer upstairs is $7 a piece you can really make up some ground quick here.For some reason the A’s took batting practice on family day. Usually that does not happen, but in the patio we had a great view of the activity. Several times a ball bounced right in front of us, but you can’t get it with the fence being tight. Finally two balls rolled right in front of us along the fence. A little girl had been begging for a ball to no avail. Henry Rodriguez grabbed both balls and threw the first one over the fence right into my hands. Of course I could not keep it. I gave it to the little girl who was in front of me. There is no way he was trying to throw it to me. As you can see in the picture above the balls just sit there tantalizingly close to you. But on the other hand you have all the food and beer that you can handle. Continue reading
e Chicago White Sox. The first game was a ten inning classic. More on that game can be found here. This game was just the opposite. While in Pittsburgh the Cubs jumped out to a quick start to win the game, the Sox decided to spot the A’s some runs. Carlos Torres only threw 21 pitches in his 2/3 of an inning. Sixteen of those were strikes, and five men crossed the plate. He walked the first batter of the game before giving up back to back singles. He then gave up a SAC fly and then two home runs to put the Sox in a 5-0 right away. D.J. Carrasco came in to get the final out of the inning to temporarily stop the bleeding. D.J. pitched for 3 1/3 innings giving up three runs. Daniel Hudson came in and pitched 2 1/3 innings giving up two runs, and Randy Williams pitched a scoreless 2/3 of an inning. Johnny Nunez finished up the young arms by giving up a run in his inning pitched. If these are the candidates for the fifth starter next season we may have to upgrade the offense. Of course by the time these guys were done pitching the game was out of hand. What better pitcher to bring in then Scott Linebrink. He gave up a run in his portion of the ninth. This was a terrible game to attend even if it was for free.
On the positive side I was able to see Mark Kotsay and Paul Konerko each hit home runs. The blowout let the Sox clear the bench so I saw almost every player curren
tly on the roster. How many times have you been to a nine inning game in which all three catchers that the team was carrying played. This was also the first time that I was able to see Tyler Flowers bat in the Majors. He struck out of course, but I think he will be fine over time. I sat near the Sox bullpen most of the game so I was able to watch the carousel of pitchers warming up. When I knew that Flowers was going to be coming up I moved closer to the plate. I was able to get almost right on top of the Sox dugout since most of the fans were smart and had already left the stadium. I have to go to another game this season because I don’t want to end on this note.
I will add some pictures later when blogger will allow me too.
The Sox lost tonight 11-3 behind a lot of bad pitching. I am too tired and too upset to write a good post. Maybe more tomorrow.
Confessions of a Sports Junkie 