Tour 2009: Final Season of HHH Metrodome

All photos of Minneapolis and Metrodome available on Flickr.

This past weekend, Peter and I attended the Sunday Night Brewers-Twins game at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. The Twins will be moving into a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis next season and are celebrating their last year in the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. I'll start by detailing a brief history of my experience with the Metrodome. While I was attending college across the Mississippi River at the University of Minnesota and cutting my teeth in the political world, I found paying summer work with the Minnesota Twins. I began working for the Twins in the summer of 2005 as an usher at the Metrodome. Being an usher at the Dome has many particular challenges that other stadiums just don't have. First of all, all the seats face the 50-yard line when the Dome is set up for football. This leads to Twins fans having to sit or crane their necks 45 degress to see home plate when there is a ballgame going on instead. To aid these fans a little bit, Metrodome ushers hold back fans returning to their seats from the restroom, concession stand, etc. until there is a change of batter. As one can imagine, this leads to many backups at the entrances to the sections and plenty of upset fans who are missing the game. Another challenge of working at the Metrodome is the panic doors. For those who do not know, the roof of the Metrodome is supported by pressurizing the air inside, there is no structure. Fans must exit and enter the stadium through revolving doors in order to maintian the pressure. These doors would never do in an emergency however, so each gate also has 8 panic doors. When these doors are opened the pressurized air inside the Dome rushes out, creating a wind tunnel. Often, Dome engineers will allow for a few of these doors to be opend following a game to ease congestion exiting the stadium. The wind tunnel effect leads to a few falls. Additionally, on days when the doors are not open, there are always a few drunks who either want to fell the rush of air or who simply can't wait to get to the bar, who open these doors. Closing them again is quite a challenge. I worked for the Twins for three years, the last being the summer of the main tour in 2007. I saw the team win the AL Central pennant on the last day of the season, saw Justin Morneau win an MVP award, and saw Joe Mauer become the first American Legaue catcher to win a batting crown. I played softball on the outfield turf and made a lot of good friends. After the Twins play their last game at the Dome, I'll miss it. Many say that the stadium is a dump, but to me its special.

Ok, enough history. Here's what happened this past weekend. I arrived in Minnesota on Friday afternoon and meet up with a buddy of mine who I would be staying with through the weekend. Pete had an interview in Madison and wouldn't be getting in until later in the evening. After meeting my buddy and having a beer and terrible hot dog and a South Minneapolis bar, I headed for the Dome. I parked a few blocks away and bought a $5 ticket from a few Brewers fans outside the Metrodome Plaza. I headed into the stadium and began making my way around visiting many of my old friends. It was good to catch up with all of them and it made me wish I was back in Minnesota and working for the Twins. I settled into my seat and was heckled by a few Twins fans sitting near me. The Brewers took it on the chin in game one, losing 11-3. Michael Cuddyer hit for the cycle and Kevin Slowey dominated the Brew Crew.

On Saturday morning, I headed down to the Mall of America in Bloomington. I was not going to shop, however. The MOA stands on the site of the Twins first ballpark in Minnesota, Metropolitan Stadium. Hidden inside the amusement park at the center of the mall is a plaque that marks the location of home plate. Several hundred feet away, above the Log Flume ride, a red chair sits high above the floor. This chair marks the landing spot of the longest home run at Met Stadium, hit by Harmon Killebrew. After a quick bite to eat I headed for the Dome. The Twins are using special balls this year commerorating their last year in the Dome with a pretty sweet logo and I wanted to see if I could snag one during batting practice. After purchasing a $10 GA ticket and then making my way down to the lower level, I raced down the stairs near the left field foul pole. About half way down the section I spotted it, sitting under the last seat in the row. I had my Metrodome souvenir. I decided to go down to the rail anyways and shortly after a soft grounder was hit toward the corner. One of the Twins ran over and when I held up my glove, he flipped the ball to me. I was pretty excited, especially when I looked at the ball and discovered that it was a commemorative, but not from the Metrodome. The Twins had just suffered three heart-breaking walk-off loses to the Yankees in New York and had apparently took some of their commemorative balls on the way out of town. The ball that was flipped to me has a scuffed logo so I'll just have to try for a clean one when we're in New York in July. After snagging these two balls I headed toward my seat and some beers. The Brewers would lose on Saturday night as well. Anthony Swarzak made his Major League debut for the Twins and went 7 great innings, allowing no runs on only 5 hits and two walks, while striking out 3. Twins catcher Joe Maur supplied much of the offense in the 6-2 win, going 3-3 with a walk and a solo home run and scoring 3 runs.

I finally met up with Pete on Sunday afternoon. Pete had attended his roomates wedding the previous day in Alexandria. We met at the Dome and proceded to Matt's Bar in South Minneapolis. Matt's is the home of the Jucy Lucy burger. Another bar stakes claim to the invention of this awesome burger, but everyone knows Matt's was the first. The Jucy Lucy is a cheeseburger that, rather than having the cheese melted on top, has it stuffed in the middle. Each burger comes with a warning form your waitress to wait a few minutes since many first timers have been burned with molten cheese squirting out of the burger with their first bite. The Jucy is toped with pickles and raw or fried onions and should be washed down with a cold glass of Grain Belt Premium. It is delicious and not to be missed. Following lunch at Matt's we headed to downtown Minneapolis to check out the future home of the Twins - Target Field. I will miss the Dome but man am I excited to watch a game at this place. The structure of the ballpark is complete and a lot of the glass and limestone curtain walls are already in place. The ballpark looks simply gorgeous. One thing I find peculiar about Target Field are the demensions of the playing field itself. For all the abuse that the Metrodome takes, the Twins are mimicing its dimensions at the new stadium. Yes, there will be a 21 foot high fence stretching from the right field foul pole to right-center field. Fortunately, it will be a padded wall rather than a baggie at the new stadium. The new stadium will feature man of the modern ballpark luxuries that the Metrodome just can't offer. There will be luxury suites, resturants, a huge team store, and an HD scoreboard only slightly smaller than the one the Yankees have in thier new stadium. Like I said, I can't wait to get there in 2010.

As for the game, it was another disappointment for the Crew. Scott Baker dominated for 8 1/3, allowing just 3 runs (2 in the 9th) on 7 hits. The one bright spot for Milwaukee was Mike Cameron who hit his 250th career home run in the 4th. Prince Fielder added a 2-run bomb to the upper deck in right which chased Baker. Joe Mauer continued his torried month, hitting a home run in the first inning and going 2-3 with 2 runs scored. Justin Morneau also cracked a homer over the baggie, deep into the upper deck for his 13th of the year.

I concluded my farewell to the Metrodome by taking in the Memorial Day matinee between the Twins and Red Sox. I arrived at the Dome about an hour before first pitch and spent my time wandering, taking photos, and saying my last good-byes. I finally got a picture next to the Kirby Puckett seat. This seat in left-center field marks the spot where Kirby Puckett's 11th-inning homer run landed, sending the 1991 World Series to its epic Game 7. This home run will forever live in the memory of Twins fans with the words "And we'll see you...tomorrow night" echoing as Puck rounded the bases pumping his fist. The game itself promised to be a good one with Fransisco Liriano facing Brad Penny. Liriano didn't have his stuff though, giving up 11 hits and only lasting 4 innings. The Twins tried to make it interesting in the 9th, however, with Joe Mauer hitting a pinch hit 2-run homer with 2 away to pull the Twins within 1. But, they would get no closer and the Sox triumphed 6-5.

So farewell Metrodome, and Target Field, we'll see you...tomorrow night!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.28:
Brewers 27-20, -1.0 (3 v. Reds)
Reds 26-20, -1.5 (3 @ Brewers)
Twins 24-25, -3.5 (3 @ Rays)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE
Erik - 17 (+ 8 worked)
Peter - 21

Weeks Out for the Season

All photos of Modern Woodmen Park available on Flickr.

With the Milwaukee Brewers untucking their shirts at an astonishing rate this May, their winning ways hit a slight bump in the road on Sunday as it was announced that second baseman Rickie Weeks would be out for the season with a torn sheath in his right wrist. This worries me for several reasons, not the least of which is that this will be Weeks' third wrist/hand injury in the past 4 seasons. Rickie was really coming into his own this year, both defensively and offensively. Every single ball he's hit all year has been a line drive and he's not hanging around in the count begging for walks anymore like Yost had him doing. The man who has the highest all-time 4-year collegiate batting average (.430) was finally showing his promise, thanks in large part to bench coach Willie Randolph. Also, the Brewers really have no other option at second base or at leadoff. Hart swings too much and too early in the count to be a leadoff guy, and his bat is much more valuable in the middle of the lineup. For right now, it looks like the Brewers will platoon Casey McGehee, a guy who has no major league experience at 2nd and is hitting below .200, and Craig Counsell, who is 38 and playing with torn cartilage in his knee, and is currently Macha's utility infielder and best option off the bench. I had mentioned to Erik jokingly that the Brewers should try to get Ray Durham off the couch - a mid-season pickup of the Crew last year brought in to spell a struggling Weeks - but it looks like he's already working out in North Carolina and has already been contacted by GM Doug Melvin. Reports right now say that the Brewers will try out their #1 position prospect Alcedes Escobar at 2B in AAA, and will call him up if he can handle it, but otherwise would try to sign Durham. This is the third thing that worries me about the Weeks injury - it almost ensures that some infielder will be traded or released next season. If Iribarren, McGehee, Durham and/or Escobar shine at 2nd in his absence, Macha will have a tough choice come next season, especially when you throw the Gamel/Hall 3B logjam into the mix, and when you look ahead to Brett Lawrie and Cutter Dykstra down the line who also play second. Lastly, the torn sheath in the wrist is the same injury that slugger David Ortiz suffered, and we all know of his epic homerless streak that is ongoing this year. The Brewers as of today lead the NL Central by 3 games; here's hoping we can maintain that lead throughout the summer without Weeks.

In other news, I visited Davenport, Iowa for a third time this week while on my way out to an interview in Waterloo. In my first visit there in 2006, the downtown was desolate, attendance was sparse, and the team was known as the Swing of the Quad Cities and played at John O' Donnell Stadium. Now in 2009, the stadium has been renamed Modern Woodmen Park and the team went back to its former name, the Quad Cities River Bandits. The city and stadium look a lot nicer too. There's still the methadone clinics across the street, but the riverfront is starting to develop, and the ballpark was packed with children for an 11 AM game. The ballpark has added amenities such as a cornfield in left where players enter from in the summer, and a tiki lounge in right field. Excluding the fact that the Swing logo and name were way better, the team store has much more and much better apparel (they did not have baseballs OR souvenir cups on the tour). There were even Bandit-themed foods at the concession stands - the Bandit Dog with bacon, cheese, and chili was phenomenal. Being there two previous times in August, it was nice to take in a game in more comfortable weather. Overall this was my best time of the three in Davenport, and Quad Cities won to boot. The River Bandits beat the Cougars 3-1 behind an overall great pitching performance. Three Quad Cities pitchers combined to strike out 12 batters while walking only one. Charlie Cutler was the star of the day, going 3-4 with an RBI for the home team.

rankings and stats-
see below and 2007 John O' Donnell Stadium post:
aesthetics - improves to 7
food variety - improves to 7
team shop - improves to 5

best food - Bandit Dog

starters - Kenny Smalley (KC) v. Arquimedes Nieto (QC)
opponent - Kane County Cougars
time of game - 2:09
attendance - 6159
score - 3-1 W
Brewers score that day - 8-5 W

Independent Leagues Begin

All photos of UWM-Butler game at Miller Park available on Flickr.

Mid-May is around the time every year when I really get excited about the baseball season. After Opening Week, of course I watch a lot of ball...but it's still cold, there are a ton of rainouts and a lot of off days in April, and the NFL Draft, NBA & NHL playoffs, and even horse racing dominate Sportscenter. Memorial Day to Labor Day is undeniably baseball time though. The sun is out, the grills are fired up, and it's the start of independent league baseball.

The Northern League and the American Association started play last week, the Frontier League begins on Wednesday, and college summer leagues and other lesser semi-pro leagues all start in the next couple weeks. I'm very excited to attend a bunch more Mallards games this year, as well as some games in the Northeast Wisconsin League, which Erik and I just discovered recently. Independent League and minor league baseball has been my favorite kind of baseball for the last several years, and if Milwaukee didn't have a pro team I would probably rarely attend any other kind of games. The games are cheap, there's tons of entertainment, and most of all, the players are dedicated. Most of these players, especially those in the independent leagues, make only enough money to buy food and are riding on buses to podunk towns all across America for 4 months, just to play the game that the love. These players and their families sacrifice and get by on $400/week and second and third jobs just to make ends meet, and I really admire the dedication. So, whenever I get the chance, I like to support these players and teams, and it's no coincidence that my minor/independent league posts are always the most energetic. Erik and I look forward to visiting cities all across America for some new semi-pro experiences every summer.

Speaking of dedicated players, Erik and I attended a UW-Milwaukee game at Miller Park on Thursday. They played after a Brewers' matinee sweep of the Marlins. Honestly, not the greatest crowd, and I'm not a particularly huge NCAA baseball fan, but it was free and there's nothing better than weekday afternoon ball. UWM actually played Butler in two games, but we could only stay for one, as I had a softball game to attend. The Panthers swept the doubleheader, thanks in large part to the energy of their recently renamed mascot, Pounce (Victor E Panther was way better). As far as the game we saw, UWM scored two in the bottom of the 9th to win 6-5 over the Bulldogs. Starting pitcher Tim Lusti gave up 5 earned over 7 and LF Tim Patzman went 2-4 with a HR for the Panthers, and Jeff Sinkiewicz gave up 3 earned over 6 and RF Colin Ziegel was 2-3 with a HR and a walk for Butler. And by the way, in doing the stats research for this post, I discovered that the Horizon League's website has a neat little videogame-like feature where you can watch a play-by-play reenactment of any game that is worth checking out.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.17:
Brewers 23-14, +1.5 (makeup game @ Cardinals, 3 @ Astros, 3 @ Twins)
Reds 20-16, -2.5 (3 v. Phillies, 3 v. Indians)
Twins 18-20, -3.0 (3 @ White Sox, 3 v. Brewers)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 12 (+ 8 worked)
Peter - 17

Fallen Heroes

Everyone that doesn't live under a rock knows by now that Manny Ramirez received a 50-game suspension last week for testing positive for a banned substance.  The tests found hCG in his blood, a female fertility drug commonly used by athletes at the end of a steroid cycle to restart the body's natural testosterone production.  Also in the past few weeks, two books have come out chronicling the playing careers of A-Rod and The Rocket.  Both books discuss ad nauseum how these players cheated the game through steroid use.  After admitting a short period of use in Texas, a new book accuses A-Rod of having done steroids since high school, accounting for his large growth spurt and monstrous numbers with the Mariners.  Clemens, however, nearly 15 months after his federal grand jury testimony, still refuses to admit anything.  The book claims that Roger added 4 MPH to his fastball in Toronto after everyone thought his career was over in Boston.  He went on to play another decade, winning four more Cy Youngs after the age of 35.

I've come to accept that this is just a dark period in baseball history that is being addressed and will always be something baseball fans have to deal with, no matter how sick of it they are.  The thing that gets to me though, is the talk about if these players are "Hall-of-Fame worthy."  For about a 20-year period starting in the mid-80s, it is just plain naive to think that a significant portion of players were not taking steroids, and I think that people who get a HOF vote need to take that into account.  The majority of players who took steroids we've never heard of - they didn't take it to get an edge, or to recover for an injury, but simply to get a chance to be a major league baseball player.  Most players that juiced were average minor leaguers looking to improve to maybe a good utility player, but yet the public only sees the star cases of great players looking to get even better.  We can't continue to keep our great players like Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro, and Roger Clemens out of the Hall when EVERYBODY was doing it.  I am not saying they shouldn't be punished or subpoenaed or persecuted, but we have to look at their on-field achievements against the backdrop of the Steroid Era.  The sooner we just accept that it was a troublesome time in baseball in which most players were trying to gain that chemical edge, the sooner we can start separating talent from drug enhancement.  A lot of people view the Steroid Era, unlike the Deadball Era or the period since the pitching mound was lowered, as something that affected only some, not all, and I just don't feel that to be the case.  I refuse to believe that any less than 90% of players didn't have their fingers in the pie for some period of time - the game is just too competitive, too salary-driven, and too personal-training oriented now to think otherwise.  MLB needed the long ball to save baseball (see 1998 Homerun Chase), and was indirectly encouraging steroid use anyways up until about 2003, so why not take a risk that nobody was monitoring?

When the Manny story broke, broadcaster Bob Costas summed it up very well on the MLB Network.  He said that there are three camps of HOF voters: those who refuse to vote for anyone linked to steroids, those that will look at the extent of use, and those that will be discretionary and will vote for players that would have been Hall of Famers anyways.  Given that this is a Steroid Era, and not a Pete Rose-like isolated case, EVERY voter needs to be in the third camp - vote based on skill, not on drug use.  Now, this is still debatable and subjective to a degree, but it is a start.  Sammy Sosa and Jose Canseco probably would never have been good without steroids, they were just giant muscle masses.  Mark McGwire?  That might be a case on the fence.  Players like A-Rod, Palmeiro, Bonds, Manny...it is hard to deny that these players wouldn't have made the Hall anyways, or we wouldn't be talking about them so much.  A-Rod and Manny are career .300+ hitters; steroids add strength and speed, but not ability.  Hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in any professional sport, and players like A-Rod, Palmeiro, Ramirez, and Bonds may have increased homerun totals, but were still great hitters.  Bonds had 3 MVPs before his first 40-HR season.  As far as pitchers, this is more of a clearcut case to me.  Scientifically, it is physically impossible to throw a baseball harder than a force of 80 Newton-meters (about 110 MPH) without your arm snapping off.  Pitchers are already at the upper limits of a tolerance that would cause normal humans to shatter every tendon in their arm.  And besides that, it is incredibly tough to control a fastball in excess of 100 MPH (see Joel Zumaya).  With that all being said, based on physics alone, the only conceivable reason for a pitcher to take steroids is to help with injury or elongate a career.  Andy Pettitte won 4 World Series before the age of 30, and Roger Clemens had 3 Cy Youngs before the age of 35, and should be in the Hall.

This is a hot-button issue that will not be resolved quickly, and probably none of the players I've mentioned will make it to the Hall of Fame since you need 75% majority.  I guess I'm trying to say that you can't fault a great player for trying to "keep up" when hundreds of average players around them like Albert Belle and Greg Vaughn are hitting 50 homeruns in a season.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.12:
Brewers 18-14, -2.0 (3 v. Marlins, 3 @ Cardinals)
Reds 18-14, -2.0 (3 @ Diamondbacks, 3 @ Padres)
Twins 15-17, -3.0 (3 v. Tigers, 4 @ Yankees)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 10 (+ 6 worked)
Peter - 15

2009 MLB Draft

Given the unrelenting coverage of the NFL Draft on ESPN, I thought I would write about the upcoming MLB draft in June. There has been a lot of buzz about Steven Strasburg out of San Diego State, a three-year starter that can reach 103 on the gun and had a 23-strikeout game last season, and Patrick Schuster, a Tampa-area high schooler that tied an American high school record by tossing four no-hitters consecutively. But when the draft approaches, I always look to a sabermetrics website for the most accurate prospect list. Sabermetrics is a term coined by Bill James and is a way of analyzing baseball players objectively through statistics, rather than subjectively based on things like "stuff," "athleticism," and "potential." It was popularized by the Oakland Athletics in the late 90s and was made popular enough in the 2003 book "Moneyball" that now I would say every team except the Yankees uses it to some degree. Sabermetrics has given us such stats as the WHIP (walks & hits per inning pitched) and OBP (on-base % + slugging %) - objective statistics that are used as better ways to measure a player's ability. Given the annual success of small-market teams like the As, Twins, and Marlins, and even larger-payroll teams like the Angels and Red Sox, sabermetricians are generally a good source of knowledge on prospect potential.

Here are the top 10 propsects according to SaberScouting.com:

1. Stephen Strasburg, RHP, SDSU

2. Dustin Ackley, CF, UNC

3. Grant Green, SS, USC

4. Andrew Oliver, LHP, OKSU

5. Donovan Tate, CF, HS

6. Tyler Matzek, LHP, HS

7. Josh Phegley, C, IU

8. Matt Davidson, 3B, HS

9. Alex White, RHP, UNC

10. Matt Purke, LHP, HS

This is a pretty solid list I'd say. Strasburg is by far the consensus #1, although there are some concerns if the Nationals would be able to sign him. His agent is Scott Boras and there are talks that he would demand a 6-yr/$50 mil guaranteed contract. Also, with a player that can reach triple-digits on the gun with a mean slider, that always sends up the red flag for future injury problems. I would say Tyler Matzek is your best high school prospect on this list. He has great mechanics, and any hard-throwing lefty will always draw attention. Position players is kind of a toss-up - the players on this list are all great prospects, but there's also a great catcher I've heard a lot about named Austin Maddox, who has a great eye at the plate and hits for power, but weight and defensive mechanics may be an issue. Aaron Crow is also a name to watch out for. He's a hard-throwing righty that was drafted 9th last year but failed to sign, and he projects to be a solid #2 starter if he irons out some mechanical flaws that could lead to injuries.

In the end, it's always hard to project how the draft will shake out, which is why baseball's draft is given the least coverage out of the four major sports. It's not a sport like football or basketball where the drafted players go right to the pros, so it's harder for the casual fan to get excited for players they won't see for 3-4 years, if ever. There are so many factors that go into a prospect delivering in the pros that go beyond stats - things like poise, work ethic, or even small things like adjusting to wood bats or better pitching. Pitchers, particularly those out of high school, are usually a bust because they end up getting hurt, traded, or developing mechanical issues moreso than position players. A lot of pitchers get drafted with one or two good pitches and cannot develop those pitches or any additional pitches to get big-league hitters out with. Baseball is an individual sport in a lot of ways, and perhaps more than any other major sport, there is intense pressure on high-drafted players to make it big, which is part of the reason there are so many minor league levels - to ensure the best preparation and seasoning possible for every talented prospect. The fact is that only about 3% of all players drafted make it through the five levels of minor leagues to the pros, and only 1% of those players that make it become Hall-of-Famers. I read somewhere once that of all pitchers drafted, the average number of pitches thrown in the big leagues per player is five pitches. With the odds stacked against prospects from the start, and with salaries reaching epic proportions, these are major reasons that a great scouting department, which includes use of sabermetrics, is THE most crucial element of fielding a competitive team at the professional level, and it all starts with the draft.

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 05.05:
Brewers 14-12, -3.0 (2 @ Pirates, 2 @ Reds, 3 v. Cubs)
Reds 13-12, -3.5 (2 @ Marlins, 2 v. Brewers, 3 v. Cardinals)
Twins 13-13, -2.0 (2 @ Tigers, 2 @ Orioles, 3 v. Mariners)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 10 (+ 4 worked)
Peter - 14

Border Battle at Miller Park

All photos of the Border Battle available on Flickr.

On Friday, Erik, myself, and my family attended the first of a hopefully annual event.  The Border Battle was a Midwest League game between the Brewers' new low-A affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, and the dreaded Cubs' affiliate, the Peoria Chiefs.  Miller Park is starting to gain the reputation of being a courteous neutral site that will host any game when the Brewers are on the road - it has even hosted a PBA event.  In the last 2 years alone, Miller Park has hosted an entire Indians' series that was snowed out, and a hurricane-refugee game between the Astros and Cubs that produced the first no-hitter ever pitched at a neutral site.  Friday's game was the third minor league game played at the park; there were two Snappers-Rattlers games played here when the Snappers were the Brewers affiliate (1982-2004) and the Rattlers belonged to the Mariners.  This was Erik and my second Rattlers game of the season, and we are very excited to be seeing Brewers prospects so close to home.

We of course tailgated this event and were pleasantly surprised with the excitement surrounding the game.  After a few beers and brats, we headed to our 19th row seats right behind home plate, about the farthest away I'd ever care to be at a minor league game, but still some of the best Miller Park seats I've ever had.  The entire event was $10 GA and most of the lower bowl was full.  The game itself was very entertaining, and with guys on the jumbotron born in the 1990s, you'd expect an interesting game.  Unlike the game we saw on opening night, this one had much more hitting.  The T-Rats beat the Chiefs 5-3 in an evening that saw 21 total hits, three mascot cornhole contests, two mascot races, and more fans that a Marlins' weekend series.  The 1-3 hitters of Dykstra, John Delaney, and Lawrie combined to go 8-14, and Brock Kjeldgaard had the final blow for the Rattlers with a 3-run homer in the 5th.  What looked to be a great pitching matchup on paper was not, as the starters 4 and 5 innings, respectively.  There was also another "former Mallard sighting" on this night, as Tony Campana hit leadoff for the Chiefs, who also played CF at UC when I went there.

No trips planned this week, but first 2009 bobblehead on Sunday!

park & game stats:

best jumbotron feature - "two-fisted slopper" video

best between-inning feature - Most Seats in the House contest

starters - Aaron Shafer (PEO) v. Wily Peralta (WIS)

opponent - Peoria Chiefs v. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
time of game - 2:54
attendance - 17880
score - 5-3 WIS
Brewers score that day - 5-2 W

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.28:
Brewers 9-10, -4.5 (3 v. Pirates, 4 v. Diamondbacks)
Reds 10-9, -3.5 (3 v. Astros, 3 @ Pirates)
Twins 9-11, -2.5 (3 v. Rays, 3 v. Royals)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 9  (+ 1 worked)
Peter - 12

New York Stadium Debuts

The building boom in Major League Baseball continued last week as both New York teams had their home openers on national television.  These were the 11th & 12th stadiums to open this decade, and when all is said and done, 23 of the current 30 teams will have debuted a stadium under Commissoner Bud Selig's tenure, with Royals, Angels, and Dodgers' stadiums all also undergoing 9-figure renovations.  A lot of people may not like the commissioner for things like the steroids debachle, but mark my words that history will look back on him as the greatest commissioner of all time.  He has created the current playoff format, fostered in instant replay, invested in marketing the game globally, and the league's expansion and building boom since he took office in 1992 have single-handedly saved baseball, not to mention a lot of neglected urban areas.

But, I digress.  The Mets' $800-million Citi Field debuted first on Monday, and in true Mets fashion, the first official hit in the new ballpark was a homerun by the Padres' leadoff man on the third pitch of the game, in what would amount to a win for the Padres.  The facades evoke memories of old Ebbets Field, and features a grand entry called the Jackie Robinson Rotunda.  From what I could tell from the broadcasts and photos, it looks to have a ton of foul ground in the infield and some strange angles and cantilevered areas, so I'm curious to see how the views will be.  I've also been reading some articles about how the visiting clubhouse is terrible and the visiting bullpens cannot see the game.  Hopefully for that price tag, all this stuff isn't as bad as it seems.  The outfield also features a huge jumbotron in centerfield, and a slightly smaller one in right-center.  It has high walls and long gaps and seems to be playing as a pitchers ballpark, at least early on, which might reduce homerun totals from their 3-6 hitters, but makes sense in the long run in terms of drawing free-agent pitching talent.

The new $1.5-billion Yankee Stadium debuted Thursday afternoon, in the only way the Yankees know how - with dozens of Yankee legends in attendance for a pre-game ceremony.  All the pressure, coupled the season-opening 10-day roadtrip, spelled disaster for the Yankees, as they ended up losing 10-2 to Cleveland.  Manager Joe Girardi put the inauspicious opening in perspective:  "It's not how you want to start a new stadium, but one game is not going to make the history of this Yankee Stadium."  Yeah, try convincing the New York media of that.  The new ballpark itself looks spectacular.  Early on, I was convinced it would be really kitschy since it is a near replica of the pre-1976 old Yankee Stadium, except for the dimensions, but that doesn't really concern me anymore.  The Yankees have paid a lot of attention to detail in the stadium - every detail except one.  Yankee Stadium is playing the exact opposite of Citi Field - it is playing like "Coors Field East," as Buster Olney of ESPN stated.  There is said to be a "wind tunnel" that carries balls out to right field.  The new park has already yielded 25 homeruns in its first five games (including 2 exhibition games) and a 22-run outburst on Saturday from the lowly Indians.  Watch out Yankee fans, this might mean a new 3-yr $40 mil contract for .240 career hitter Nick Swisher.  Needless to say, our experiences at these two ballparks will vary greatly, and I can't wait to see them this summer, and to finally get to see Monument Park!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.20:
Brewers 4-8, -3.5 (3 @ Phillies, 3 @ Astros)
Reds 6-5, -1.0 (3 @ Cubs, 3 v. Braves)
Twins 7-7, -1.0 (2 @ Red Sox, 3 @ Indians)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 7  (+ 1 worked)
Peter - 9

Opening Week 2009

All photos of Timber Rattlers home opener and Brewers home opener available on Flickr.

One of the things I love most about baseball is that it's always constant.  Poor economy, national tragedy, bad weather...you know there's always going to be another game the next day.  There's always tomorrow in baseball no matter how bad you lose or win, and it's about riding the wave and playing through streaks, moreso than the high or low of one game.  Because of this, at the end of the season, as a fan you can walk away knowing that statistics can be very misleading, and at any given point during the season every player on a team contributes something.  It's these intangibles and things that don't make the stat sheet that make baseball our greatest game.  Opening Day day is about new beginnings and overcoming adversity, and it is still the day that myself and Erik, and much of America, look forward to the most all year.

A quick update on Erik and myself: After being laid off in February, I am still searching for full-time employment, but my yearly goal of 50 ballgames remains in tact.  Erik has taken a job at a Five Guys here in town and is also working some weeknight games in the suites for the Brewers.  I look forward to being in the same city as Erik for an entire season.

The season had a long spring training and began a little bit late this year due to the World Baseball Classic.  Probably more than any other sport, baseball's preseason is no barometer at all for how the season will turn out.  Managers are trying to get a look at dozens of young players, figuring out lineups, and getting guys in shape more than anything.  So it's no surprise that rolling out of the gate that there were a few surprises, some welcome and some appalling.  It started Opening Night when Derek Lowe tossed 8 shutout innings for the Braves against the defending-champion Phillies in Philadelphia.  CC Sabathia got rocked in his first start en route to the Yankees losing their opening series to the Orioles, and Chien-Ming Wang's ERA through two starts is near 30.00, and of all players utility player Nick Swisher currently leads the Yankees both in homeruns and in ERA (he pitched an inning in a rout last night) - not any of the members of the $441 million offseason trio.  2008's 101-game loser Seattle leads the West, and the Pirates and Royals are both 4-3, prompting some reporters to jump on the bandwagon and make bold postseason predictions.  A very slim contingent picked the Rays to finish in front of the Yankees AND Red Sox this year, and an even smaller contingent probably picked that to be the case while they were in 3rd, behind the Orioles and Blue Jays - which is exactly how the AL East looks right now.  Manny Ramirez's home opener in LA was overshadowed by new free agent Orlando Hudson's cycle, the first Dodger to hit for the cycle in almost 40 years.  The Brewers' pitching staff has whimpered out of the gate, leading the league in both walks (35) and hit batsmen (7) through the first seven games, although as anticipated, the entire lineup is raking right now - except the one guy you expect to, Ryan Braun.  That's baseball folks - ups and downs, and trying to explain the unexplainable.  You just never know what you'll see at the ballpark on any given day.

Erik and I of course could not wait to actually attend a ballgame during Opening Week, and did so on Thursday as the Timber Rattlers opened their schedule against the Quad Cities River Bandits in Appleton, this year as a new member of the Brewers' farm system.  The Rattlers won 2-1 on Bernie & Fang Bobblehead Night.  T-Rats pitching looked excellent, as Cody Scarpetta struck out 8 batters over 4 innings, and the team as a whole getting 14 of its 27 outs via the K.  The two Brewers in the lineup we knew, Cutter Dykstra and Brett Lawrie, were lackluster, combining to go 1-8 out of the 1 & 3-holes - although, Cutter's at-bat song was "Cuts Like a Knife" by Bryan Adams, so that made up for his performance a little.  The cool weather was well worth the drive for Opening Night.  You know it's gonna be a busy season when we've already attended 7 ballgames before the Brewers' home opener.

The Brewers' home opener was ballgame #8 for me - Erik was not feeling too crisp from a little Hooters food poisoning and could not attend.  It was even colder today than up in Appleton, and it took us 90 minutes to drive the 3 blocks into the stadium, but we persevered for some tailgating before the 3:05 first pitch.  Another potential deterrent for our Opening Day festivities was that it was Good Friday, but Mom's crab dip and taco salad and Dad's mostly-fish frozen patties on the grill both came through in the clutch.  Walking into Miller Park for the first game after the first tailgate is always a great feeling.  This year, owner Mark Attanasio put a lot of the money from the Brewers' 2008 record attendance season back into the ballpark, creating a new Harley Davidson area, redoing the team store, and a few other small changes.  The Brewers also added 1981 and 2008 playoff banners to go along with their 1982 pennant.  The game itself was a gut-wrenching 4-3 victory for the Brewers.  We missed opening introductions and the National Anthem because the paper said the game was moved to a 3:25 start, but besides that disappointment it was an entertaining game, especially since we were playing the Cubs and it was actually mostly Brewers fans.  Free agent Braden Looper got the ball for the Crew and was serviceable, scattering 5 hits and 4 walks over 5, but only surrendering one run on a homerun by Milton Bradley.  The Brewers were down 3-2 in the 9th and won dramatically on an RBI double by Rickie Weeks, who later scored on an infield hit by Ryan Braun.  Rich Harden was dominant for the Cubs, striking out 10 over 6, giving up 2 runs (1 earned).  Enjoy it now while he's still healthy, Chicago.

Here's to another playoff run for the Brewers this season, let's go Crew!

STANDINGS AND UPCOMING SERIES AS OF 04.14:
Brewers 2-5, -3.5 (3 v. Reds, 3 @ Mets)
Reds 3-3, -2.0 (3 @ Brewers, 4 @ Astros)
Twins 3-5, -1.5 (4 v. Blue Jays, 3 v. Angels)

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE:
Erik - 7*
Peter - 8

*will keep separate "games worked" and "games attended" totals

Tour 2009: Air Canada Centre

All photos of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Air Canada Centre available on Flickr.

How can you go to Canada in March and do nothing hockey-related? We just had to see a Maple Leafs game and the Hockey Hall of Fame on our last full day in Toronto. The Hall of Fame was only a few minutes' walk from our hostel and we got there just before 2. This gave us about 3 hours to view over a century of hockey history. The Hall of Fame building was really cool, it is housed in an old bank - most of the displays are below grade, but the main bank building houses the Stanley Cup, the members of the Hall of Fame, and all of the other player trophies. The original Stanley Cup is even inside what used to be the bank's vault. The Hall of Fame's special display this year was a tribute to the Montreal Canadiens' centennial season, and had player equipment and jerseys of great Canadiens, and there was a video playing about some of the great Montreal teams. There was an area dedicated to international play, an area dedicated to hockey legends including Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, the Hall of Records, and a special display dedicated to every team past and present. It was not as extensive as the Baseball Hall of Fame, but still very cool and worth seeing. One of the coolest things for me was seeing all of the equipment players used back in the day. Goalie masks didn't even exist until the invention of the slapshot, and looked very crude and uncomfortable up until about 20 years ago. Seeing some of the protection (or lack thereof) and sticks that the players used gave me a new appreciation for the skill and toughness that hockey requires.

After the Hall of Fame, we of course hit the store, and then we grabbed a bite at a place called St. Louis Wings & Ribs. A general rule of thumb - any place with a city in its title other than the city it's in is probably not going to have very good food. I really wanted to believe that Toronto could make good St. Louis style ribs, but they fell short. At least we got to relax for awhile, and it was the cheapest meal of the trip, so no complaints. We then headed to the arena a little after 6 for the puck drop of 7:30.

The outside of the Air Canada Centre left a little to be desired, and entering the building felt a little like going into a hotel lobby, at least where we went in...there could have been some grand entrance we missed. But the arena itself was pretty decent - nice and chilly like a hockey game should be. We were starting to feel the effects of our week of heavy drinking, even though Canadian beer does not seem to give you a hangover, so we stuck with souvenir sodas (with free refills!). A little side note: in Toronto, beer served in plastic cups comes with a lid, kind of like a sippy-cup. I thought that this was just a Rogers Centre querk, but The Hangar also served beer this way. You feel really stupid drinking beer with a lid, but is actually a good idea if you think about it. And if you're going to pay $9 for a beer, it may as well come with some anti-spill protection.

Our seats were high up and provided a great view of game action, but not so much of the rest of the arena, so I had to take pictures of the arena and all the banners from a lower vantage point. The Maple Leafs have 17 retired player numbers and 13 Stanley cups in their 90-year history, both feats I can barely fathom. Going to watch a hockey game in Toronto is kind of like watching a baseball game in New York, or a football game in Green Bay. No matter how the team is doing, people are very passionate about the team, the games are always a sellout, and all people talk about in the offseason is the team's chances for next year. I always overheard people at the Rogers Centre talking about the Leafs or checking their Blackberries for the Leafs score. It's a little bit harder to cheer for the Leafs these days, as they are pretty horrible, but it was a great experience to be a part of the national sport of Canada.

The Maple Leafs fell again on this night, 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. I don't remember the last time I've seen a home hockey team play that bad. They were horrible on defense and on the power play, and they have absolutely no players that shoot the puck decently. I've kind of adopted the Maple Leafs as my favorite NHL team since Milwaukee doesn't have a pro team, so it was hard to watch. I'm sure if they still had Mats Sundin, they might have at least lost 4-3. Lee Stempniak got the Leafs out to an early lead with his 13th goal of the season, but the 'Ning scored 4 unanswered in the final two periods. A lot of the crowd left after Ryan Malone put home his 24th of the year on a centering pass from Cory Murphy.

After the game, we stopped off for one final drink in Toronto, this time at a place near our hostel called Flatiron & Firkin. I think this might be the first time I ever fly home to Milwaukee, and it will be warmer there than the city I was in! Our flights leave 4 hours apart, so Erik will have a significant amount of time to kill at the airport bar. Another great Pete & Erik trip! Our next scheduled Tour 2009 trip is to see a game in the final season of the Metrodome, so stay tuned. 25 days 'til Opening Day!

arena stats and rankings:

aesthetics - 2 (stuffed between expressway and Union Station)
view to ice - 7 (good view to ice from up high, but not of rest of arena)
surrounding area - 7 (downtown, Union Station)
food variety - 6
nachos - 5 (standard corn chips & cheese)
beer - 7 (bonus points for lids, variety of Canadian beer, and different sizes; points subtracted for price)
vendor price - 5 (comparitively to rest of Toronto, not too bad)
ticket price - 1 ($100 for seats 10 rows from the top)
atmosphere - 7 (not as rowdy as I expected, but they were playing the Lightning)
walk to arena - 7 (downtown is nice, but you have to walk through a shady tunnel)
parking proximity - n/a
concourses - 5
team shop - 7

best food - Tim Horton's
most unique arena feature - the suites, entry sequence
best jumbotron feature - expose on youth hockey players
best intermission feature - Maple Leafs Elvis & Superman toss t-shirts into crowd

starting goalies - Karri Ramo (TB) v. Martin Gerber (TOR)
Three Stars of the game - (1) Martin St. Louis - TB, (2) Steven Stamkos - TB, (3) Lee Stempniak - TOR
opponent - Tampa Bay Lightning
attendance - 19209
score - 4-1 L
Admirals score - 3-2 W (3/11)

Tour 2009: WBC Pool C Championship

All photos of day 5 in Toronto available on Flickr.

We left the hostel around 1:30 on Wednesday to make a couple of pre-game stops. Again it was raining as we strolled into the nearby St. Lawrence Market. It was like the public market in Milwaukee, except much bigger. There were quite a few seafood vendors, an Asian place, some meat and cheese shops, produce, and even clothing in the basement. It was very tempting to get some local southeastern Canada oysters, but we went to Hooters for lunch instead. After about 15 minutes of walking around, we headed out.

The downtown Toronto Hooters was adverstised as a "foul ball from the Rogers Centre," and it was actually very close to the ballpark. It was a quite the departure from Hooters in the states, where all that is on television is college basketball or Sportscenter. In Ontario, bars have typically been featuring hockey and curling 24/7, either highlights or a game. Since there was no hockey or WBC game on on a Wednesday afternoon, we were subjected to three hours of Premier League soccer and curling as we took back some wings and a couple pitchers of Labatts. Then around 5 PM, as the really hot evening shift waitresses rolled in, we reluctantly left to head to the ballpark.

Today was the 6th and final game of Pool C play. It was mainly a game for seeding purposes; it really didn't mean anything since both teams were already in, and the United States played that way. Manager Davey Johnson was managing this game as if it were a spring traning game, just trying to get pitchers their work in, as was most evident when he left in Jeremy Guthrie for over two innings despite his horrible effort. Ryan Braun and Gregor Blanco had another 3 hits each, and Blanco definitely gets my vote for Pool C MVP, if there was such a thing. Victor Zambrano pitched very well in four innings for Venezuela, and Ted Lilly was pulled after only 38 pitches but also looked good. Henry Blanco also had a homerun for Team Venezuela, and Chris Ianetta hit yet another homefun for the US that was actually foul. Overall it was fun game and a fun time at the Rogers Centre. We met a lot of interesting people and are very glad we went. We were kind of disappointed with the poor attendance though, so I wouldn't look for this tournament to travel back to Canada for awhile.

After the game, we concluded the evening as we have been every night - 3 pitchers of Molsons at Gabbys. We said our goodbyes to our friend Mike, who met us out again, and our favorite (or "favourite" in Canadian) bartender at Gabbys, whose name is Japanese and I don't remember. What I do remember was that she bought us going-away shots, and all the stories she told us about Toronto athletes she'd hooked up with over the years, including a former Blue Jays infielder (whose identity I will protect since he was married at the time). And to cap the whole night off, we watched Mexico destroy Australia, and some more curling - I will definitely miss Canadian beer and curling & hockey on the tube when I return home. Today is our last day in Toronto, and our attention now switches to hockey as the first round of the WBC concludes. We plan on going to the Hockey Hall of Fame this afternoon, and we have Leafs tickets this evening.

game stats:
starters - Victor Zambrano (VEN) v. Ted Lilly (USA)

opponent - Venezuela v. USA
time of game - 3:08
attendance - 12358
score - 5-3 VEN
Brewers score that day - 6-2 L

POOL 2 BEGINS FRIDAY:
USA, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Netherlands

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE

Erik - 6

Peter - 6

Tour 2009: WBC Pool C, Games 4 & 5

All photos of days 3 & 4 in Toronto available on Flickr.

On Monday, we enjoyed another late start to the day. Much like Milwaukee, there seems to be not a lot to do on during the winter here in Toronto except go to the bar and attend sporting events. But, we decided to make the most of our time by researching some burger joints and breweries we could visit during the week. And so, our first stop of the day on Monday was a half-hour walk east through the villages of Corktown and Riverside to a place we saw online called Dangerous Dan's, which supposedly had the best burger in the city. Unfortunately, it was closed on Mondays, but it was still a nice walk on a sunny day. We then moved back west to Mill St Brewery, in an area of the city called the Distillery District. Mill St has been voted the best brewpub in the city the last two years and we were excited to tour it, but we were again shot down - only weekend tours. At this point we had been walking for about an hour, so we decided to stay and have lunch anyways, and between the two of us we sampled almost every beer they had. The structure itself was very cool; the area reminded me of the Strip District in Pittsburgh a little bit, all of the bulidings are old distilleries and breweries, and Mill St itself is housed in the building of a former brewery. We also met a cool guy there from Chicago, Mike, who was in town for the WBC as well. He seemed to be just as into baseball as we were and it was fun talking with him - he was even going to fly to Miami after Toronto and go to the next round. We exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up later. But for now, it was nearing gametime, and so we stumbled out the brewery and headed to the ballpark.

Todays ballgame was an elimination game between Italy and Canada, both losers from their first games. The crowd was about the same as Sunday night's game, with most of the sparse crowd being Canadians, obviously. Italy came out of the gates strong, tallying single runs in each of the first four frames, and blanked Canada in the first three before the starting pitcher Serafini ran into trouble in the 4th. Canada seemed to look past this game and were flat all game, with a lot of poor at-bats and lazy plays on defense. There was a play in the 4th where an Italian player hustled from 1st to 2nd on a routine groundball to short and beat the throw to 2nd, and it was plays like that made me think Italy would pull it out - and they did, 6-2. Justin Morneau and Jason Bay were the stars for Canada with 6 of the team's 7 hits and both of their RBI. Chris Denorfia was 4-4 with 3 doubles and 2 RBI for Team Italia, and also made a spectacular diving catch in center field. Jason Grilli faired much better than in the Venezuela game and got the 3.1 inning save. After the game, we met up with Mike at Wayne Gretzky's bar and watched Mexico pound South Africa.

Tuesday was attempt #2 at finding a burger joint, and this time we were successful. The place is called Craft Burger and was only a few blocks northwest of the ballpark. It was just a little hole-in-the-wall 10-seat kind of place that just served great handmade burgers. The onion rings and fries were some of the best I've ever had, and although we thought the burgers were a little overcooked, overall a place I'd recommend to any wayward travelers. After burgers we thought about catching the ferry to Toronto Island, but we decided that that was probably like taking the ferry to Washington Island in Door County in March - probably pretty boring. Instead, we just walked around the lake some more. Along the way we found a place called the Beer Store that's pretty much the national liquor store chain of Ontario, and a lakefront walkway called the Spadina Wavedeck that was pretty crazy. We ended our walk with a stop at the Loose Moose on Front St. for a pint, and then it was off to the next game.

This day's game was an early 5 PM first pitch, another elimination between Italy and Venezuela. The crowd was even smaller today, but it was okay because this allowed us a greater chance of getting a ball during BP. Things looked grim at first because Italia does not have any power, but one of the Venezuelan coaches threw us each an offical WBC ball, and we were very pleased. As for game action, Italy's Monday night magic seemed to run out as they got dominated 10-1 by Venezuela. Things were at a stalemate the first three innings, but then for some reason Italy went to its bullpen in the 4th despite their starter giving up only one hit. This was when the wheels fell off for Italia, as Venezuela got 4 runs in the 4th and hit 4 homeruns in the 5th. Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Jose Lopez, and Ramon Hernandez all went deep for Team Venezuela, and Magglio Ordonez finally ended his 0-for-tournament streak with a couple hits. No one really stood out for Italia, as they ran through 8 pitchers and there were a lot of player substitutions, but Brewers' catcher Vinny Rottino did get a hit in his final at bat.

Today is the Pool C championship, and we have another Pete & Erik tour staple to cross off - find the local Hooters.

game stats:
starters - (4) Doug Serafini (ITA) v. Vince Perkins (CAN); (5) Adam Ottavino (ITA) v. Enrique Gonzalez (VEN)

opponent - (4) Italy v. Canada, (5) Italy v. Venezuela
time of game - 3:36 ; 3:04
attendance - 12411, 10450
score - 6-2 ITA, 10-1 VEN
Brewers score that day - 8-6 L

UPCOMING POOL C GAMES:
Game 6: 3/11 @ 630, USA v. Venezuela

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE

Erik - 5

Peter - 5

Tour 2009: World Baseball Classic, Pool C

All photos of days 1 & 2 in Toronto available on Flickr.

Despite the struggling economy and us both being unemployed, Tour 2009 rolled on on Saturday as we arrived in Canada around 11 AM. Having watched the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic on television, we were both very excited to be a part of this world event - our first international Tour Plus trip! Our day on Saturday started with a 5 o'clock wake-up call and a drive down to O'Hare Airport in the Chicago area (thanks for the ride Dad). It became immediately apparent that it wasn't worth it to drive all the way down to O'Hare, and in the future I think I'll take the extra hour sleep and coherently functioning airport over the $100 savings. Erik and I had to book separate flights, since he had to wait to see where in the country he'd be, and we both ended up having to switch terminals. But, after showing my passport to about 37 people and getting cramped on our tin-can sized aircraft, we arrived safely in Toronto. The one part of the flight I expected to be a hassle - the customs agent - was not bad at all, just a lot of routine questions (good thing I left all of my vegetables and alcohol at home).

What we remember the most about our brief 2007 stay in Toronto was that it was very expensive, and that there were cranes everywhere, and we were reminded of these two things right away. It seemed like there was construction EVERYWHERE on the $49 CAD cab ride to our hostel. And not road construction, buildings. And condominiums too, all aesthetically similar, all glass and very tall. Apparently Canada (minus Saskatchewan) is in a recession as well, but it sure didn't feel that way. We had little time to dilly-dally upon checking in, and immediately left for the ballpark for 2 PM first pitch. One good thing as far as cost goes is that the ballpark was a lot closer than we thought it was, only about a 20 minute walk, so that will save us a lot of money on trolly fare this coming week. Walking to the ballpark also allowed us to locate all the bars and restaurants we had to hit at some point, not the least of which is the best and cheapest meal in the city - the $2.50 all-beef street-vendor hot dog carts.

We arrived at Rogers Centre around 12:30 and got to catch a little Team Canada BP from our awesome seats. We have 2nd row outfield seats, right above the home team bullpen, so there will be a lot of potential for catching home runs this week. The stadium was electric, and it was a full house for the first game of Pool C play - USA v. Canada. Not suprisingly, the Canucks outnumbered us by at least 4:1 if not more, and there was a sea of red and maple leafs in the concourses at all times. We checked one of the places we had to eat - Pizza Pizza - off the list right away and grabbed some Canadian beer, and headed back to our seats for the national anthems, and to listen to all of Ontario boo all the American Yankees and Red Sox players during player introductions. Ryan Braun got the start in left for the United States, and we were very excited to see him play right in front of us, despite all of the customary home-team heckling. The United States beat Canada 6-5 in what turned out to be a very rousing and gut-wrenching game. A playoff atmosphere in March, what more can a baseball fan ask for? Brian McCann had 3 RBI, and Adam Dunn and Kevin Youkilis also homered for the US in the victory, and Joey Votto went 4-5 and Russell Jean Martin homered in the loss for Canada. It was a very well played game all around and it made me worry how we would fare against Venezuela, assuming they'd beat Italy - but more on that later.

After the game, we tried to check another place off the list - Wayne Gretzky's restaurant on 99 Blue Jays Way - but it was packed, so we found a little dive bar around the corner, Gabbys, and sat down for a drink before the Italy v. Venezuela game at 8 PM. It is an awesome bar and Erik and I fully intend on trying to become regulars here in a 6-day span. However, there seem about a hundred bars just in the loop between our hostel and the ballpark, more bars than I've even seen in Milwaukee's downtown, so we definitely have some exploring to do. But I digress; at Gabbys we met some interesting people who also were at the game. It seems that whenever Erik and I travel anywhere that we run into strangers who are open to conversation, and since we like to keep to ourselves generally, it is a very welcoming feeling. We met some really cool cats the last time we were here, and we the people at the bar were very talkative with us foreigners. There were the 19-year old kids from Syracuse next to us (drinking age is 19 in Ontario), a bunch of people from Buffalo behind us, and some people from Detroit to our right. The 19-year old kids got pretty hammered in the 90 minutes we were there and it was very entertaining watching them trying to pawn their Italy/Venezuela tickets off to anybody and everybody for $1. A couple of Molsons later and it was already time for Game 2.

We hit the team store right away when we got to Game 2, as we figured the crowd would be smaller at that game. I bought a ball, program, Team Canada cap, and an old school Blue Jays jersey, and a gift for my brother, and Erik got a ball and a patch. Later during Team Italy BP, Erik and I definitely started to feel the effects of waking up at 5 and drinking all day, and we struggled to stay focused on Venezuela's rout of Italy. We rooted hard for Team Italy - Brewer minor leaguers Mark DiFelice and Vinny Rottino were the starting battery - and they actually hung in there until about the 5th, but then Italy's bullpen took over and Venezuela eventually broke through and won the game 7-0. We still had a great time, and even managed to learn the Italian national anthem. The crowd was sparse and diverse for this game - lots of residual Canadians and Americans from Game 1, the lower bowl dominated by Venezuelan fans and flags, and a lot of Tigers fans as the entire Detroit team seemed to be playing for somebody in Pool C. Also, there were a few Italian league players that impressed us that we think should be signed, particularly the right fielder Chiarini who had a booming double and an absolute cannon for an arm.

We were pretty beat and fell asleep fairly quickly when we got back home, aside from some roommate commotion late in the night. We were in a 10-person dorm and we have two particular roommates who snore and one who uses a mining-helmet type light that he wears on his head that is very obnoxious. We finally left the hostel around 1 PM on Sunday and just walked around after grabbing food at an awesome diner we passed the day before, Shopsys. Not a lot was open on a Sunday, so we mostly just walked along the lake, and explored an area called the Harbourfront Centre. It reminded me of Millenium Park in Chicago, only smaller. There was an ice rink there, a theatre, an outdoor amphitheatre a kids play area, a marina, and some stores and bars. It was a typical Erik & Pete day - wake up late, walk around for awhile, see some sites, and then hit the bar by 330. We were the first customers of the day at a marina bar called Wallymagoo's and finally got to try Steam Whistle, a local favorite (it was ok). Soon enough, it was game time again.

Today's game featured the two winners, USA and Venezuela, and first pitch was again at 8 PM. The winner was assured of going on to the second round, so it was a big game. This time the US was the visiting team, so we got to watch some American BP. Ryan Braun and Chris Ianetta in particular were hitting some absolute bombs on every swing, and had I had a mitt I might have caught a couple. The lineup was a little different today - Jimmy Rollins, Curtis Granderson, Mark DeRosa, and Chris Ianetta all got the start. All four contributed in the 15-6 spanking of team Venezuela. It was a bad omen when J-Roll got picked off second in the first inning, but the United States were out in full force all day and got 16 hits off Venezuelan pitching. Starter Armando Gallarraga was ok, but the bullpen was pretty horrible. Venezuela has 4 good starters, but most of their relievers are from the Mexican Leagues, and a guy with a 6+ ERA against major leaguers is going to be a lopsided matchup every time. Braun, Dunn, and Youk homered for America, and Chris Ianetta had a bases-clearing triple in the US 8-run 6th. Carlos Guillen homered, and Bobby Abreu and Gregor Blanco got on base three times each for Venezuela.

After the game, we stopped back at Gabbys for pint and met another group of travelers from Chicago who said they'd stop by our seats at today's game. We also seem to be sitting with the same group of people for every game, so that's very cool. There are a bunch of hilarious Tigers fans behind us, some Yankee and Brewer fans a section over, and some friendly Canadians on our left. Today I'm still waiting for Erik to wake up, and we're going to try and find a brewery that is offering tours before Game 4 at 6:30.

rankings - see 2007 Rogers Centre post
park & game stats:
best food - hot beef sandwich
most unique stadium feature - flags of countries on upper deck
best jumbotron feature - show your team spirit, giveaway trip to Cuba
best between-inning feature - fastest grounds crew in baseball, red/blue/green ball race around the world

field dimensions - 328/400/328
starters - (1) Jake Peavy (USA) v. Johnson (CAN), (2) Carlos Silva (VEN) v. Mark DiFelice (ITA), (3) Armando Galarraga (VEN) v. Roy Oswalt (USA)
opponent - (1) USA v. Canada, (2) Venezuela v. Italy, (3) Venezuela v. USA
time of game - 2:55, 3:00, 3:39
attendance - 42314, 13272, 13094
score - 6-5 USA, 7-0 VEN, 15-6 USA
Brewers score that day - 2-0 W, 7-1 L

UPCOMING POOL C GAMES:

Game 4: 3/9 @ 630, Canada v. Italy
Game 5: 3/10 @ 5, Venezuela v. winner of Game 4
Game 6: 3/11 @ 730, USA v. winner of Game 5

RACE FOR 2009 "MOST GAMES ATTENDED" TITLE
Erik - 3
Peter - 3

RIP Millard Fuller

Yesterday morning, Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, passed away. Please visit the Habitat site for Mr. Fuller's biography and a brief history of Habitat.