Baseball and Fireworks!

This weekend we went to another Albuquerque Isotopes game at beautiful Isotopes Park. They were playing the Nashville Sounds, who I remember watching many times back in the day at Omaha. I went with the wife as well as her "little sister" (she's in Big Brothers Big Sisters of America).

The game started out not-so-hot. The 'topes went down 3-0 after the top of the 2nd, but the home team busted out 10 runs in the bottom of the 2nd. You'd think this would translate to a laugher, but the Sounds actually came back to 10-9 by the middle of the 7th. The final score was 15-10 'topes, and there was a total of 9 home runs in the game, and not a single one came out onto the berm. Several cleared the weird hill in center field, and some jerks actually jumped the fence to get one of the balls. And somehow the park staff didn't do anything about it. Blergh.

The main attraction to going to the game was the fact that it was a fireworks night. The fireworks displays are pretty good for a ballpark display, and the best thing is that, if you are on the berm, the fireworks are pretty much directly over you. It's a wild time; next time I'll try to remember to take the camera and the tripod. And the music is patriotastic! Actually, it's a weird mixture of blind patriotism and classical music, but it's much more fun to make fun of "Proud to be an Amerrcan." We ended up getting the little sister home after 11pm because of all the offense.

The only bad part of the evening was that the berm was packed with children who were running around, screaming, stepping on our blanket, even running into us at times. And stealing other kids' baseballs. But any night at the ballpark is a good night.

Take me out to the ballgame!

Look! It's Matt! And he's alive!

Yes, I apologize for not blogging at you for the past 1.5 months. I imagine this is my longest drought ever. I just didn't have anything interesting to say (not that that usually stops me). Finally, though, a subject about which I can speak passionately: Baseball!

That's right, last night was the home opener for our beloved local Isotopes, and I, the wife, AW, and BT all bundled up to attend. We sat on the berm, where the team has raised ticket prices 20% since last year (from $5 to $6)! Also, I am extremely sad to report that Isotopes Brewing Company has apparently gone out of business, so no more Slammin' Amber or Isotope Ale. This makes me very, very sad, as these beers were quite excellent (especially considering that the team had no real reason to make a really good beer, since people would buy it anyway for the novelty), and the best beer available at the ballpark (they also have Fat Tire). Certainly the freshest! They were also cheap for ballpark beer, about $5-6 a pint. A trip to the ballpark will not be quite the same any more, and I'll probably no longer buy beer at the park in Albuquerque.

Our ballpark has been recognized by many as one of the nicest in the country, and in the pregame ceremonies (which included our mayor receiving an oversized novelty rent check) one person claimed it was the nicest in all of baseball. Now, we're not going to be visiting PNC Park in Pittsburgh for another month yet, and that's been called the best park in the majors; we'll see.

The theme of the evening was "cold." It was 47 degrees Fahrenheit when the game started, and the sun quickly set. Some of the players were wearing these cold-weather head things like Placido Polanco does. Of course, others were in t-shirts and whatnot. I had a thick fleece over a thinner one, and Alison was even more bundled up:


BT is the only one of the four of us who paid attention to the weather and truly prepared for it. We sat on the berm, as we always do, and I don't know whether this made us colder or warmer. The 'topes did not get off to a very good start, and were down 5-2 after the top of the third. The cold made it difficult to pay attention to the game, and I hadn't been around AW for awhile, so he had to assail me with a couple months' worth of puns in the span of a few hours. I was watching the scoreboard to monitor the major league scores (the Tigers actually won a game!) and the temperature as it continued to drop through the game. 46...45...44. At some point each of us had to get up and walk around for awhile to warm up. AW got some Crown Royal, Alison and BT went to locate hot chocolate (unsuccessfully - the concessioners must have run out), and I went to the warmest place in the park - the gear store. I didn't buy anything, although I was sorely tempted.

After the 5th, it was 6-3 Redhawks and about 44 degrees. AW, Alison, and I were all ready to go home at this point, but BT refused to leave before the end of the game. I guess we all felt emasculated, and stuck it out. I took a picture in the 7th after the temperature dropped to 42 degrees:


We ended up staying until the end of the game. The announced attendance was over 9,200, but there could not have been more than a couple hundred people left at the end of the game, and maybe fewer than 10 on the berm. Go us! The temperature when we left was 41 degrees, and the Isotopes lost their home opener.

Anyway, we were (or I was, anyway) glad to go see a baseball game for the first time this season, and look forward to seeing some more. I have two new major league parks on my schedule this summer (PNC Park in Pittsburgh and Comerica in Detroit), so that will be pretty exciting and blogs are sure to be forthcoming!

Beer + baseball = tonight

Tonight I continued Social Week by going to TWO different activities.
1) Arun and I headed up to Rio Rancho (and met SB there), which is much further away than should be expected, to attend the 2007 IPA Challenge, put on by the New Mexico Brewers' Guild and hosted here at Turtle Mountain Brewing Company taproom. It was an event where you pay $15 admission and get 3-ounce samples of 8 different beers, then when you cast your vote for your favorite you get a commemorative glass filled with that beer. I would have been more excited if I liked IPAs, but it was still fun. I found out just now that my vote went for the Santa Fe Pale Ale produced by the Santa Fe Brewing Company. Of course, it was a blind taste test, so I only know due to the polling results up on the Brewers' Guild website.
2) After the beer challenge, Arun and I headed down to the Isotopes-Royals game, the last of a four-game set. We were super late unfortunately, for which I feel badly. We met BT and friend there when we finally arrived around the 6th inning. To be fair, of course, this game moved pretty fast; when Arun and I went to the game on Monday, it took a whole hour to get through the first two innings. If that'd happened last night, we would have probably arrived in the fourth inning.
The Isotopes ended up winning 5-1, although the Royals loaded the bases and got the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth before the game ended. It was exciting (what of it we saw), and I'm very glad that I got to a whopping three of the four games in this set. I never get to see my hometown team so it was a nice time, even though the Royals lost three of the four. No more baseball and money-spending for some time to come, hopefully.

Note: In case you're keeping track, the relations now stand at:
0.5*Awesome - 0.5*Stupid = Tonight - Beer
Stupid + 2*Tonight - 2*Beer = Awesome
Beer = Stupid
I am not sure how I feel about this any more.

Baseball + tonight = awesome

Tonight a friend and I attended game 2 of the 4-game Isotopes-ORoyals series. This time we avoided the berm, sitting down in the reserved seats on the first base (visitors' dugout) side. We thought it would be intolerably sunny and hot (it hit 101 in the Burque today), but the seats were shaded by the time we got there. The chairs themselves were hot, but it was OK.
So after the weirdness of last night, I was ready for things to possibly be worse (in relation to my rooting for the visiting team). But things went really smoothly; I still clapped when the Royals did good things, and was silent when the Isotopes did. One guy sitting in the row in front of me turned around at one point and asked if we were Royals fans, and I affirmed that I was, and that I had grown up near Omaha. He was not at all upset. If the circle-running guy from the previous night is reading this, this guy's reaction to me rooting for the Royals was the correct one.
The Isotopes were winning 5-3 going into the 9th inning, when they put two Royals on base. I said to my friend that the go-ahead run was at the plate. This guy then proceeded to crank a home run to left-center, putting the Royals up 6-5. The game would end that way, which was pretty exciting for me. So that's two nights, two one-run games, one going to each team. Exciting series, and I can't be upset with the results, even though Omaha lost the first game.
Now I'm in Socorro. Bleh.

Stupid + baseball = tonight

Tonight the Wahi and I attended the first of a four-game set between the visiting Omaha Royals and the hometown Albuquerque Isotopes. I was pretty excited about this series because I grew up watching the Royals play back when I lived in a suburb of Omaha. The Royals represent a lot to me in terms of my childhood, as does their stadium, Rosenblatt. Even though I don't like the major league Royals, I will always root for Omaha.
The game started at 7:05, so Arun headed over after work and we drove down to the UNM area to eat at Saggios, an Albuquerque pizza institution. It's tasty, as long as you get some extra toppings on your pizza; the plain cheese is a bit cardboardy.
After that we headed to the game and got our seats out on the berm ($5 each, can't beat it). At this time of year, for a standard 7:05 start, the sun is annoying for a little while, but after that it gets just beautiful. Sitting on the grass can wear on you after a few hours, especially if you have a boney butt.
The game started out real slow, with a total of 10 runs scoring in the first two innings; these two innings lasted just a few minutes under an hour. After that the game moved on more quickly, and included a nice, although not stunning sunset.
Now, being a fan of the visiting team, I cheered when the Royals did good things. I would clap when they scored a run, and I raised my voice twice through the 10-inning game to say "Let's go Royals!" I would classify my rooting as wholly unintrusive. And if the Royals had blown out the Isotopes, I would certainly not have rubbed it in, as I have known others to do at games. I try to be fair and nice, things that I know, I know, are not really part of being a sports fan. Apparently my low-level cheering rankled at least one person on the berm.
Toward the end of the game (the bottom of the seventh, to be exact), one of the Isotopes players hit a home run out to left field. This guy sitting near me, who was there with his wife (I presume) and their two young sons (I presume) jumped up, started going crazy with cheering. Nothing too weird there, except that it put them up from 7-5 to 8-5, rather than being, for example, a game-winning home run. However, after that (and this seemed to happen in slow-motion), this guy ran over toward Arun and myself, and actually hustled a circuit around us, ran out from right to left in front of us, then left to right behind us. He then ran back over to his spot with his family (I presume), sat down, and said "Take THAT, Nebraska fans!" I mentioned quietly to Arun that maybe I should disabuse this guy of the idea that they are the Nebraska Royals rather than the Omaha Royals, but decided that would not really accomplish anything. He didn't say anything else to us before or after that throughout the game.
After this point it started sprinkling a little (monsoon season IS upon us), and I must say that it was the single most pleasant and refreshing rain I have ever sat in. So gentle that you don't get wet because the drops that have hit you evaporate away. Cool enough that it is refreshing, but not so cold that it is uncomfortable. Not intense enough to create runoff on the hillside upon which we were sitting. It was so nice, and so beautiful. Of course, this being the Southwest, this gentle rain also caused a mass exodus of a great majority of the 6,700+ people who attended the game.
Now, the Royals scored three runs to tie up the game in the top of the ninth inning to introduce some tension into the contest, and it went into extra innings. Of course, most everybody had left, so not a lot of people got to see the excitement. I was hoping for a home run in extra innings, since nobody else was out there to retrieve it. But alas, no such luck. Instead, the Isotopes won it in the bottom of the 10th by hitting a gapper with a man on 2nd and no outs (or one, I don't remember). The Omaha center fielder did something strange that I don't think I have ever seen in a baseball game before: he didn't bother getting the ball, and instead left it sitting on the warning track where it stopped. No reason to pick it up and throw it in, since the run was in easily.
So as the players all left the field, a fan from a group that had stayed up on the berm decided that, ooh, ball left unprotected, me want. This guy went up to the fence (the right field fence is surely at least 10 feet high, including the chain link fence above the berm), removed his flip-flops, and jumped down into the field. Now, I have seen a number of people enter the field during a baseball game, but never one afterward. This guy jumped down and started running toward the ball. If you've never seen this, you should know that stadium security gets really upset when anybody enters the field of play who is not allowed. So there was a security guard running an intercept course for this guy, and another staffer standing down at the berm fence. The runner got to the ball, picked it up, and started sprinting back toward us. I guess he realized he was in trouble (or maybe he planned this out with his likely-just-as-inebriated friend beforehand), because he skipped climbing the wall to get back to where he had started, and instead chucked the ball up onto the berm, somewhat near us. We didn't at all want to get involved, so we stayed put as the friend and the staffer both ran toward the ball. The friend fell down, and the staffer sort of then slide-tackled the ball, which was a very strange thing to do. The friend recovered the baseball, and the staffer tried to take it back from him, but the friend just kind of ignored him; I guess staffers have no power.
Meanwhile, the first guy had been tackled by security, handcuffed, and turned over to the police. I don't approve of people running onto the field and the encouragement they get from the crowd, but I do like how excited people get when security tackles these guys. And they always pretty much overreact in terms of physicality, but in this case I really, really don't mind. The staffer, still up on the berm, picked up the first guy's flip-flops, and asked us if they belonged to him; I confirmed that they were, indeed, the runner's, my own little "up yours" to that guy. The staffer took them, and I genuinely hope he tossed them in the trash; if you leave something sitting around the stadium, I think it fair to consider it garbage.
Now, this extended family (I assume) was pretty upset, aside from the guy who got the ball, since their kinsman was being hauled off the field in police custody. One lady was throwing up her hands, although to be fair she could have been pissed off at the guy who ran onto the field; somehow I doubt it. Another guy was trying to get into a confrontation with the staffer, basically asking him why it was necessary for security to take down the runner.
I don't like to tell people that they are stupid, because who am I to say? But these folks were stupid. As if it needed to, the team reminds the crowd that they are, in fact, not allowed on the field unless told so. If you break the rules for something as stupid as retrieving a baseball, you deserve to be punished, and I have zero sympathy for you, even if you are hauled to jail. I don't think he was, since I think that I observed the police uncuffing the guy on the field. Doing something that is so likely to end in your being under a pile of law enforcement officers in front of your kids, when you are supposed to be your children's moral educator, is just plain dumb. Next time, think, don't drink.

A fiesta of all-starrish proportions

Tonight I was treated to the 2007 Triple-A All-Star Fiesta here in Albuquerque. I received a free ticket from good friend the Wahi, who received free tickets to said game via his participation in the trombone group Ambush Brass. See below for an action shot.


After they were done, we went into the game complete with smuggled contraband pocket burrito. Oh Baja. Mmmmmmmm. After introductions of all the players we stood for the playing of the anthems of Canada and the U.S. by that other brass ensemble. A group from the local AFB carried out the most incredibly gigantic flag onto the field, and stretched it out for our anthem. See below.


In case you're wondering (you aren't), we had the Canadian anthem because there is still one team in Canada. Also had the flag up next to the berm. You can just see in the picture below the hill in center field at Isotopes Park.


Now, if you're a casual sports fan (I being likely the most rabid sports fan that ever reads this stuff), you may not understand the joy that is Minor League Baseball. I started out going to Omaha Royals games in beautiful Rosenblatt Stadium, also home of the College World Series. Anyway, being a minor league baseball team, the Isotopes have to do all kinds of weird stuff to draw in an audience. One of the things they do in every game, aside from Orbit's dancing, is the Chili Race. Red chili vs. green chili vs. taco. I always cheer for red. Red is behind in the year's race, of course. See below for an action shot from tonight's race.


Now the isotopes apparently thought it would be a good idea to give away terrible noisemakers to the entire crowd. I first knew of these things a few years ago, when the Angels beat the Giants in the world series (2002); they also caused worldwide anguish with their damn rally monkey. See below for a shot of the Wahi with the Bam Bams.


Isotopes park is quite beautiful. Not as nice as Rosenblatt, but this one is hard to beat. We usually try to sit out on the berm in right field, but the view from the lines is quite nice. A great view of the Sandia mountains past the right field fence. See below.


Finally, in case chili races and a specially ambiguous mascot aren't enough for you, they decided that they would bring in BirdZerk, apparently a group that is trying to fill the void left by the Famous Chicken not being there. Rather than being entertaining, they achieve some sort of impressionistic mascotism, which floats in a vague realm between interpretive dance and modern art. Included in the group was a character called "Harry Canary", a take-off on broadcasting personality and noted drunkard Harry Caray. He led us all in the singing of Take Me Out to the Ballgame during the 7th Inning Stretch, then came out and danced. See below for an action shot.


All-in-all, a great time. The Pacific Coast League lost the game 7-5, which is unfortunate because the Isotopes and the O-Royals are both in the PCL. At least the Mud Hens are in the IL and helped with the wind (netting the MVP trophy). Glad I got to go, and special thanks to the Wahi and Ambush Brass for paving the way.
Coming soon: More.

My wife is the awesomest

Today Alison was published for the first time in the LA Times. Go here to check out the article. It's about the drastically decreased native bird populations in California. Isn't she dreamy? Also, she got internet last night, so a capa blog should be forthcoming (no guarantees).
The electrician is theoretically coming over this afternoon to stick another riser on our house to appease the mighty Qwest gods, after which time maybe we can get ourselves into the Qwest hookup waiting line. We might have internet before our landlady gets back from her 6-week vacation, by which time we will unfortunately no longer be angry about the situation. Today I am trying out the internet at the library, and it is very very slow. I may have to switch back to the Flying Star until I can stay at home and surf.
Last night I and our service project friends attended the Isotopes doubleheader against the Redhawks. The 'Topes got shelled in the first game, losing 11-3 behind an 8-run second inning. In the second game we were losing 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh when we scored 3 runs to win the game. For some reason the other team left in their starter, even though he loaded the bases on no outs. Usually, this happening in the seventh would not be a huge deal. However, this doubleheader was making up the game that was rained out on Monday (and left me with nothing to listen to Monday night on the radio, BTW), and in their wacky setup they played two seven-inning games starting at 5p.m. So that third run scored on a walk-off sacrifice fly. Very exciting. However, it did make for a late night, with the last game finishing nearing 10 p.m.

Let me reiterate!

The Environmental Protection Agency is an Agency whose function is Protecting the Environment.

I am sad. The Tigers lost. However, the Braves won. Bad + Good. The Dbacks will be my own personal rubber match.

Baseball!

Wow, it's been 2 weeks since I last posted. Alison is kicking my ass this month. So I'll post today about something that nobody is going to care about.
Spring Training has started back in the ol' A.Z. and we're missing out on it this year. This is very sad. Not that I took nearly enough advantage of having 12 major league teams in my vicinity when I lived there; I only saw something like half of those teams play, and that in only 4 different stadiums. I wish now that I had gone to all (10?) of the stadiums just to see what they're like. I have been to the following:
1. Tucson Electric Park (Tucson), home of the White Sox (until next year, when they will move to Goodyear) and the new, aesthetically-different Dbacks. Also, the Tucson Sidewinders play there during the year.
2. Hi Corbett Field (Tucson), home of the Colorado Rockies since they came into existence in 1993. Before that, it was the home of the Cleveland Indians. Also, the Tucson Toros used to play there, until the Dbacks came into being, the Sidewinders were created to be their AAA team, and TEP was built (1998). I remember those days!
3. Phoenix Municipal Stadium (Phoenix), home of the Oakland A's. This stadium is really close to Tempe and ASU's campus. Also, apparently the Phoenix Firebirds used to play here before moving to Scottsdale. They were the AAA team for the Giants.
4. Tempe Diablo Stadium (Tempe), home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim which is in California located on the Pacific Coast of the United States of America in the Western Hemisphere of the planet Earth in the Solar System in the Milky Way in this particular Universe.
The following stadiums I have not been to for spring training:
1. Scottsdale Stadium (Scottsdale), home of the Giants. I have been to this stadium, but only for the World Baseball Classic, where I was embarassed to see fans make fun of the poor South African team, which lost badly to the U.S. all-stars. Jerks.
2. Peoria Sports Complex (Peoria), home of the Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres.
3. Maryvale Baseball Park (Phoenix, home of the Milwaukee Brewers.
4. HoHoKam Park (Mesa), home of the Chicago Cubs.
5. Surprise Stadium (Surprise), home of the Texas Rangers and the Kansas City Royals. I've never been here, but I saw it being constructed back when I was working.

So now what? I'll have to go back some time and check out the rest of these, plus the one they're building out in Goodyear for 2009, when the Los Angeles Dodgers will be coming out to Arizona. I hear tell that the Indians will be coming out too. The White Sox are also moving up to Goodyear with the Dodgers. I haven't yet found out whether the Indians are going to be moving into TEP.

I guess the upshot is that I miss it, and I didn't take enough advantage of it when I had it. That's always the way. Now I'm just looking forward to the good old Omaha Royals, who I grew up watching in the beautiful Rosenblatt Stadium. They're coming to Albuquerque to play against the Simpsons inspired Isotopes twice this year. I'll be sure to wear my Omaha gear!

October 27, 2006

Congratulations Cardinals. You win. We lose.
Congratulations Tigers, we had a great year. We still beat the Yankees. Work on those fielding drills next year.