Crumpled Notebook

Tonight the World Series teams have been determined. I haven’t done many baseball blogs lately, but gotta get this one in.

Tampa Bay Rays. Philadelphia Phillies. Seriously?! I mean, can anyone honestly say pre-season they picked these two teams for the World Series? Can anyone (other than fans of those teams) honestly say that they would have picked either of these teams? I think not.

Tampa Bay was the worst team in baseball last year and have never been to a World Series. They’ve never been to the playoffs for that matter in their ten years. Maybe dropping “Devils” from their name helped out.

The Phillies haven’t been to the World Series since 1993. That’s five years before Tampa even had a baseball team! Their only World Series win was in 1980. Coincidentally, did you know that they used to be the Philadelphia Quakers? Really only in 1883 (105 years before Tampa had a team), was that the official name before they started using the Phillies, but it officially ended in 1889. I’m thinking of Phillies fans now and picturing those hard-core fans cheering for the Quakers. If you bring your horse and buggy into Philly from New York, expect to have your horse tagged up.

Okay, so now is the time for me to make a prediction. I’m torn really. I want both teams to win in some way, but at the same time, have no connection to either. I have reasons to want them both to lose as well. So here is what I’m going with…Tampa Bay will win their first World Series. I however, will be cheering for Philly.

I’ve already told you why. I cheer for NL teams unless they are on my bad list. But I’ll be equally as happy for whoever wins. Besides, if Philly can win a World Series after a long drought, that gives me hope for my Pittsburgh Pirates!

Yeah, that’s not something I ever thought I’d ever say and really mean. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. What I have to do is root for anyone to beat the Dodgers, even if it’s the Phillies.

I say this also knowing that rumor has it that Philly fans are the worst and most obnoxious in baseball. I hear if you go to a Phillies game and have New York plates on your car, you can expect something bad to happen to your car.

I almost always cheer for NL teams over AL teams in the World Series. If the Dodgers win the NL, I can’t do that. As a Giants fan and as a Cubs fan, I simply cannot cheer for the Dodgers. I’m not sure how I’m going to cheer for the Phillies being a Pirate fan, but somehow, I’ll muster up the courage.

Besides, next year is the Pirates year. I just know it.

More baseball later. I’m disgusted at the Postseason so far.

From Yankees 08

This is it. The legendary Yankee Stadium, 1923–2008. The House the Ruth Built. Yogi Berra. Mickey Mantle. Joe DiMaggio. Lou Gehrig. Reggie Jackson. Just to name a few of the greats.

So, prior to the game, I got there early. I browsed the souvenir shops and had dinner at Yankee Tavern. It’s been around since 1923 and owned by the same family. Apparently the Babe was a frequent there as well. How cool is that? So the food was only average, but you don’t really go to a place like that for the food.

First thing I noticed that day. It was raining. A lot. I’ll go ahead and say now that the game got rained out. It sucked. A lot. I wanted to cry. However, here is the positive side of the evening. They still let people into the stadium because they didn’t call the game until over an hour after it was supposed to start. So I still had 2 hours to wander around inside Yankee Stadium. It’s old obviously. I know it’s been renovated over the years, but it’s still an old ballpark.

Second thing. Maybe the coolest thing. They have this memorial area in the back of the park, outside of Left Field. Big memorials for old players. Retired numbers. Fans can go there and look at them. By the time I realized it was there and walked down there, they had it closed off because of the rain. But again, I mostly got to see it. Apparently these things used to actually be on the field. How weird is that?

Third thing. I didn’t eat there, so I can’t comment on the food, so I’ll tell you about my seat. It was right by the right field foul pole. No, not near it. Right by it. I could touch it. In fact, I did.

From Yankees 08

See? I told you I touched it. Fourth. Yes. That is me in a poncho (I told you it was raining), and a Yankees cap. Yes, I bought that Yankees cap. Please forgive me. Honestly, I really do hate the Yankees, but I couldn’t help myself. I got caught up in the magic and the history. And that, my friends, is what makes Yankee Stadium a great ballpark. I’m sad I never got to see a game there, but I did have the full game day experience minus the actual game. I walked the paths of the greats. But I’m still sad. Did I mention how much it sucked? A lot? I’d tell you I cried myself to sleep that night, but I don’t think I slept that night (early morning flight), so I spent most of the night watching Hurricane Ike destroy Galveston. It put things into perspective for me. But it still sucked. A lot.

Do you want to see the new Yankee Stadium?

From Yankees 08

There it is. Just for you.

From Mets 08

The New York Mets. This was a pretty nice day too. I hit the Mets up my very first day in New York City. I literally got off the plane that morning, went to check-in at the hostel, took a short nap because I flew all night and headed out to Shea Stadium.

First things first. This is the last season in Shea Stadium (and if the Mets don’t pick it up, their last game there if fast approaching). I know everyone things of the Mets as “that other New York team,” but you shouldn’t. I won’t get into the history of the Mets right here and now, maybe another time, but you should really read up on the Mets history. Maybe you can start here. Back to the point at hand. The Mets will be moving into a new stadium next season as well. CitiField to be exact. In the photo above, if you look and see that stadium looking building behind the field…that indeed is the new stadium and probably why it looks like one.

Second thing. Shea Stadium is kinda a dump. Not like Oakland dump, but come on, are cup holders for the cheap seats too much to ask? They need a new stadium.

Third thing. They mostly take care of their field from what I could tell. I wasn’t super impressed but I didn’t notice any of the above mentioned pet peeves.

Last thing. I know I will probably get hate mail for this (at least from Jeff) but the Mets have the most involved fans of the games I’ve been to this season. I’m not saying they have the best fans. I’m not saying overall they are the most involved in the game. I’m simply saying, of the games I’ve been to this season, the Mets fans were the best. They were into the game. They cheered for their players. They chanted songs about players. Jose, Jose, Jose, Jose, Joseeeeee, Joseeeeee. They booed Elijah Dukes of the Nationals for being himself. They stayed til the end of of the really long game. They got there early. They played games outside the stadium and gave away t-shirts. And they were just plain nice people.

Overall, I really liked my Shea experience. The food was good too. I ate a lot of food there because I was starving. Pizza. Hotdog. Cotton Candy. Other stuff I’m forgetting.

Well, I have so much to say, and I’m not sure where to start. I guess I’ll start with Seattle.

From Seattle Sept 08

Safeco is a beautiful park. I’ll have to rank them so far, but I’d say it’s is up near the top. First thing you should know is that it’s has a top that can close. That’s just cool. Second thing you should know is that this game probably had the biggest crowd of games I’ve seen this season. What? Seattle? Near last place Seattle? Yes. Okay, they were playing the Yankees, but still.

It’s down by the water. In fact, less than one mile from the ferry, which we took across to get to the game. No worries with parking. Third thing. They take care of their field. Taking care of your field is a pet peeve of mine. Brown spots, dirt spots, uneven grass. Those things just shouldn’t happen in MLB. Fourth thing. They’re a total sell out when it comes to food. I don’t mean they sell all their food either. I mean they “jump the shark” or just plain lame in my book. Hear this: You can get sushi at this ballpark. If you read that and thought “cool!” then we cannot be baseball friends. Baseball game food is hotdogs and beer (or coke in my case). Hamburgers are acceptable. Pizza is okay. I’d even give you chicken strips. Of course the snacks as well–peanuts, cracker jack, cotton candy, pretzels, etc…but sushi? They also have fish baskets and other seafood, as well as a whole host of other things that was making my head spin. Let it be know that the folks I was with ordered seafood. I told them I was going to buy “real” baseball food and let them be. Don’t get me wrong. I understand that bringing in the local food is good for the parks and makes it unique. I also understand that Seattle is a seafood hub. But there is a line and Safeco Park crossed it completely.

As for the game itself. It was a good game. Yankees second batter (yes, Derek Jeter) hit a homerun before I even got settled into my seat. The rest of the game was similar. Lots of hits, fair amount of runs scored, and the Seattle Mariners came away with the win. It was a near perfect game day (minus the smell of seafood around me).