2004 Baseball

Mets 2 Astros 1

Thursday Afternoon
Shea Stadium
Just me

This was my first game back after coming back from Prague. And while I was gone, my adopted team had been sold down the river by management. In fifteen minutes, the organization seemingly set itself back five years with two questionable trades - none more questionable than Scott Kazmir for Victor Zambrano. But for one day at least, Jim Duquette didn’t look like a big moron. His savior Victor Zambrano pitched brilliantly for seven innings! (This was Zambrano’s next to last start of the year before being shut down when his pre-existing injury acted up.) Who cares if Jeff Kent, Jeff Bagwell, and Craig Biggio weren’t in the starting lineup? Hey, the Mets are creeping up in the wild card standings! Too bad they have to leap over six other teams.

Diamondbacks 2 Mets 0

Sunday Afternoon
Shea Stadium
With Marc

Marc stepped in at the last moment on a Sunday morning when Lady Hong couldn’t wake up.

Randy Johnson was absolutely dominant- 8 1/3 shutout innings with 14 strikeouts. This warmed Balgavy’s heart since his fantasy team “Parking Garage” needed a boost so he could continue to withstand the onslaught of Chris Larry’s “Carroll St. Draft Day Bandits.” It is really strange to be able to talk to Marc for hours on end about baseball.

The Mets didn’t appreciate Johnson staring them down after striking them out. Todd Zeile and Johnson almost get into some fisticuffs. If nothing else, this argument got the Mets fans pumped up and booed Johnson lustily every chance they got the rest of the game. When he was taken out in the 9th, Johnson left to much booing. Always the gentleman, Johnson doffed his cap to the crowd. This gesture silenced the crowd. People didn’t know how to react. It was hilarious. After the game, Zeile said, "After all the strikeouts, he's got, 4,000 and something, he doesn't need to do that. Johnson said, "We were just battling.''

Other than that, the most exciting thing was to see Art Howe show a pulse upon being thrown out of the game for arguing a call when Mike Cameron was called out on an attempted steal of third.

Harrisburg Senators 1 Altoona Curve 0

Tuesday Night
Harrisburg, PA
With Jamie and Marc

Game 1 of Baseball Trip 2004. Jamie and I have taken trips together every summer since 1999. We've had many other assorted characters accompany us and this year we added the Balgavy to the mix. Give the boy a fantasy team and you've given him the world. The trip was in doubt for much of the summer, what with the weddings and all, but it all came together at the end.

We left New York in a haze of excitement and iPod delirium. When we arrived in Harrisburg, I was pleased to discover that this would my first ever baseball game on a small island. City Island, that is, right across the mighty Susquehanna from scenic Harrisburg. The idea of putting a baseball park on an island barely big enough for the park and a parking lot reminds me of some of the crazy baseball ideas Rich and I came up with for our dream stadiums in that bucolic summer of ’92 when we spent two out of every three home games at the ballpark. While this park was not situated on a traveling barge and it did not include spikes that periodically sprouted from the ground, this island did include batting cages, a carousel, and something called water golf.

We snagged front row seats down the line, Marc partook in a dollar hot dog, and Expo prospect Larry Broadway went deep for the Senators to account for the only run. Hopefully, this will be just one of many future Senator homeruns for the strapping slugger, but in Washington and not in Harrisburg. (Damn Nationals for screwing with my joke!)

After the game, Jamie connected for some solid line drives in the batting cage and then we checked out the bridge that connected us to the mainland.

Finally we headed back to the car to listen to Mets-Rockies (Victor Zambrano got hurt, lovely!) before continuing on in our journey of 147 unanswered Eric Bachmann tunes. Ah the glory of the iPod.

White Sox 9 Tigers 2

Wednesday Night
Comiskey Park
With Jamie, Marc, and Gary

The mantra of the night from Marc, “Will this get me in the write-up?” His first attempt to make the write-up came before the game even began when we noticed how annoyingly loud the sound system was at the game. Marc said he would take care of it and disappeared. He is always the first to rush out and complain to a movie theater attendant when something doesn’t meet his Miramax trained specifications. He was eager to prove his mettle in unfamiliar environs. At first, his complaint to guest relations seemed to have just been brushed off, but amazingly the sound seemed to be much quieter by the 2nd inning. Balgavy comes through in the clutch again!

In the bottom of the 1st, I tried to call Sujan so we could boo Roberto Alomar together when he hit. Unfortunately, she didn’t answer (A rerun of The "Gilmore Girls" must have been on) so I had to boo him by myself. The game was pretty uneventful. Aaron Rowand’s grand slam in the 1st ended any sort of possible drama.

The highlight of the game was easily the beer vendors. One of them played the angry guy schtick and rolled his eyes and uttered “Jeesh” when people wouldn’t order beer. But the best was the stoner surfer guy. He surfaced every couple innings or so to deliver in his Spicoli drawl, “No one wants any beer, right?” Finally, we couldn’t take it anymore and Marc bought a beer from the guy and made him pose for a picture. The vendor let a smile momentarily slip. His cultivated character was momentarily revealved before he immediately was able to regain it.

It was also fun to catch up with old friend Gary about old high school chums. I’d been wondering what Cass Snider was up to these days.

After the game we had to get the hell out of Chicago so we had enough time to party in Rockford, Illinois.

From Marc’s blog posted in the middle of the night:

there are guys behind me "fragging" things
jamie, dan and i are at an internet cafe in rockport, illinois. we saw a baseball game at us cellular field this evening. we narrowly avoided the rain. oh, and i'm a little bit drunk. we were at the bar next door...well, three doors down. we had a drink or two and then took a right at the stripmall and popped into what i'm calling an internet cafe, but what is really a place filled with black lights and people playing first person shooter games.

hmm, let see. so far the trip has involved a lot of driving. and i meant to dance at the bar next door, but neither dan nor i had our cameras, so that made the dancing totally unnecessary. although jamie claimed he'd be able to record it with the camera in his mind. no dice. boo yah!!!!!

okay, here's the thing. internet, I NEED YOUR HELP. bat-girl was kind enough to post jamie's request asking for things to do in minneapolis. unfortunately, the printer here doesn't work. would someone mind printing the comments and faxing them to us at the red roof inn in rockFORD (turn out rockport is a shoe company!!! - who knew???)???? red roof inn. rockford, il. we'll try to leave by 9am (right!) CENTRAL TIME. so that gives you some time...but, please, someone help us out. those suggestions sound good. sorry i don't have the fax number, there, but i'm sure you can find it. unfortunately, i don't know when i'll have internet access again. it's like i've been kidnapped on some kind of crazy baseball trip!!!! but i decided i wanted to do it. and i'm wholeheartedly embracing it, including checking my fantasy stats at this internet cafe. jamie just called the comments """ALLL GOLD"""". don't know why there are extra quotes...but that just means YOU MUST COME THROUGH FOR US. I WILL BAKE YOU COOKIES. thanks a millions, dawgs!!!!

UPDATE _____ MOST IMPORTANT _______
***** i am not that lazy, i found the fax number for the motel Fax: (815) 398-9761*****
attention marc balgavy - room 246.

The helpful Kevin Fanning came through in the clutch for us. When we awoke, the fax was already waiting for us. For more, check Balgavy’s blog.

Yankees 13 Twins 10

Thursday Night
Metrodome
With Jamie and Marc

After 1300 miles driven in 48 hours, we finally had a chance to relax and spend some time in one place. And what a place! The Twin Cities are amazing. Great people, great restaurants, fun things to do. Too bad it gets so cold in the winter or I could see moving there.

The scene outside the park was a festive one. I downed some caramel and Marc hit on some ladies.

It was a beautiful day. Too bad we had to head inside for the game. The Metrodome isn’t that bad compared to Olympic Stadium or Tropicana Field, but it just didn’t seem as much fun. Maybe a dome is only fun if the crowd is less than 10,000 people?

The Twins looked awful at first as they were going for the sweep. Down 7-1 in the 6th and 9-3 in the 7th, the Twins fought back. 5 runs in the 8th capped by Shannon Stewart’s 2 run 2 out triple in the 8th got the fans to go absolutely crazy. It was the loudest I’ve heard a ballpark get since attending Redskins games at R.F.K. in the late 80’s. Unfortunately, the Yankees plated four in the 9th on Joe Nathan. Sheffield’s homer tied it and then it was all downhill after that. Then Rivera only needed 10 pitches (9 strikes) to end the night for the Twins. Oh well, no sweep for the Twins.

After the game, we went bar hopping and Stone Arch bridge walking. Balgavy was on a quest for a good time and deemed himself ‘The Balginator” on this momentous evening.

Marc writes:

After Thursday night's Twins game, Dan, Jamie and I tried to make the most of our time in Minneapolis and St. Paul. One of the things suggested on the internet was a 3am drunken trip across the Stone Arch Bridge. After a drink at Grumpy's (where the doorman was very friendly and helpful) and a stop for cash at a gas station, we headed toward the bridge around 11:30pm.

As we weren't exactly sure where we were going, we realized that maybe the ATM visit before a trip into a dark, underpopulated section of town wasn't the best idea in the world. At one point the sidewalk split with one part following the road and the other section going down into the trees with no apparent exit. We tried the downhill trek first. After a few more jokes about getting mugged, and with me brandishing my tiny pocketknife, we turned around and folllowed the sidewalk next to the road. That took us directly past a few old mills and right to the entrance of the bridge. And then more walking. Oh, and I was saying "hello" to everyone we passed. I think that bothered Jamie and Dan, but I was trying to figure out how to be Midwestern and whatnot. After crossing the bridge we took a right and eventually crossed through Dinkytown. One guy we passed even said hello to us first. I felt vindicated. This late night walk eventually served as a warm-up for the bicycle ride we'd take the following afternoon.

The next day, it was time for some artist designed mini-golf and a bike ride. God Bless the Twin Cities!

St. Paul Saints 5 Fargo-Moorhead Red Hots 4

Friday Night
Midway Stadium
With Jamie and Marc

As Dave Nelson made his CNN debut, the boys and I headed to St. Paul for the independent league Saints. On a night where temperatures in the area descended to the thirties, we were a little cold. Any chance of me wanting to move to the Twin Cities evaporated in the cold August air. We also were a little bored at first. We had terrible seats in the general admission down the line. We were freezing cold yet somehow couldn't see because of the bright sunshine in our eyes. And things just didn’t seem to be headed in the direction of the team’s motto: Fun is Good.

After an inning and a half, we decided to take off and head across the river to catch the rest of the Twins-Indians game. But a funny thing happened on the way out of the park. We were befriended by a Saints’ booster! We had just finished posing for a picture in front of one of the many murals at the ballpark when a guy came up to us and told us we had to get a picture by the pigs that were in front of the ballpark. The Saints mascot is a pig that they parade around on the field every few innings.

After taking a quck picture, our new friend Scott, was very excited to find out that we were from Brooklyn. He asked us if we wanted to see the real pig located in the bowels of the park. Um, of course! He took us down some stairs and explained to anyone who asked that we were from Brooklyn and needed to see the pig. He seemingly knew everyone at the park. The ballpark workers seemed completely non-plussed by three out-of-towners coming to pose for a picture with their pig mascot. The pig is in the lower right if you squint real hard.

Then he took us to some choice seats behind home. We enjoyed his company whenever he sat near us. However, more than half of the time he was walking around looking for trouble.

The on field entertainment was fun- Since it was 50’s- 60’s Night, The Fonz came onto the field to read birthdays. He apologized for Potsie being absent. They had a “real life” Japanese man dressed in a kimono sing karaoke. And in the middle of the 5th inning, four guys in drag dragged the infield dirt.

Some choice Scottisms:

My girlfriend works here. Half the time she wants to leave as soon as she gets off for the night which is great for me because I stick around.

Usually they have nuns giving massages in the stands. They have fingers of steel.

Ballgames are fun. Take off your tie or you’ll be asked to leave! (When asked about the no-tie rule.)

We usually tailgate and eat burgers, hot dogs, venison, you name it. We recently made T-shirts for ourselves. We call ourselves P.E.T.A.- People Eating Tasty Animals.

Everything at the park was great. There were murals painted everywhere. They had put up dozens of photocopied photos of 50’s and 60’s stars all around the stands and concourse. When a Saints player hit a homerun, many people got up and started waving dollar bills around. Immediately, ushers and Scott (of course) started collecting the money. What? Are they giving the player bonus money for his homer? That would be amazing. Instead, they were donating to a charity for research for some disease that one of the owner’s children has. Not as funny as our original idea, but nicer I guess. Still, these Independent League guys could probably use the extra money. And the best part was that you could get a haircut while watching the game. Balgavy took the Saints up on their offer.

The fans really appreciate the effort made by the people in charge and really were into the game the entire time. I guess the constant peanuts and candy thrown at them didn’t hurt either. It felt like one big family event. Even the “strike out a guy, win some food” promotion got the fans super riled up. In Brooklyn, it is next to impossible to win any food if the designated visiting player strikes out because the player has to strike out three times to win a prize. Here, he only has to strike out once to win a free sandwich at Arby’s. This got Marc very excited. But he wasn’t the only one. There were chants the entire game for the poor schmo to strike out every time he came up and many mentions of horsey sauce abounded.

So in the top of the 9th (Scott had already slinked off when his girlfriend told him it was time to leave) the Red Hots had the tying run on base with two outs for the Arby’s hitter. The fans went nuts screaming “Arby’s! Arby’s! Arby’s!” I don’t know if the fans were more excited for a Saints victory or a roast beef sandwich. Marc was cheering lustily after coming back to the seats after getting his haircut.

What could be better than this for Balgavy? First he gets a haircut while watching the game unfold in front of him and now this? The hitter kept fouling pitches off with 2 strikes. The Japanese singer (turns out he works for the Saints) paced on the walkway riling the crowd up. The obese man who had an “S” shaved into his head right before Balgavy got his haircut was beside himself. When the Arby’s hitter finally struck out, the fans went ballistic.

Arby’s, Arby’s, Arby’s!

Unfortunately, by the time we walked out, they had run out of coupons and we received a coupon at an ice cream place that was already closed for the evening. Oh well.

And if you need any more convincing that this place is amazing, how about this? They run a promotion every game where a fan gets harnessed onto the outfield fence near the fair pole. If he catches a ball during a game, he wins $10,000. Scott told us that once a guy had put his glove down because he was hot and then a ball was hit right at him. He tried to catch it barehanded but he couldn’t do it. That remains the closest anyone has come to winning the money.

St. Paul= baseball mecca.

Tigers 11 Mariners 10, 11 innings

Saturday Night
Comerica Park
With Jamie and Marc

We had some bad traffic on the way to the game and arrived very late- 5th inning late. The game was almost sold out late. We pulled up next to burned out and falling apart buildings and houses. Ah, Detroit how I missed thee.

We bought our 15 dollar standing room tickets and went in. And I was more than pleasantly surprised with the place.

I like all the tiger statues outside the park as they crawl all over the park. Some of them have baseballs in their mouths. There are giant tigers everywhere. You can see the field from the street which is also amazing. I like the Ferris wheel and carousel and I especially like the statues of former Tiger players in the outfield. I like the many walkways and levels and stairs where you can see the game. It kind of reminded me of Coors Field in that respect.

It was a beautiful night but we still couldn’t believe how packed it was. I had no idea they drew this well in this ballpark. My only complaint about the park? I hate the General Motors fountain and the jeeps over the centerfield wall. Also, they need to do something about the leftfield fence. They moved it in so now there is blank space between the wall and the fans. It looks stupid.

When we arrived in the bottom of the 5th, the Mariners were winning 6-3. We just were hoping for extra innings. We got that and a whole lot more. In the first two innings, we were there, the two teams combined for 11 runs. The Tigers scored 4 in the 5th to take the lead. The Mariners tied it at 7 in the 6th only to see the Tigers score 3 more in the bottom of the inning. So Seattle promptly tied at 10 in the 7th. In the 11th, Craig Monroe’s single won it for Detroit. The teams combined for 36 hits- 5 players had at least 3 hits, led by Randy Winn’s 5. Ichiro and Ivan Rodriguez each had four and former Mariner (wow what a bad trade for Seattle) Carlos Guillen added 6 RBIs. It was a crazy game. I definitely would like to go back to Detroit for another game. Comerica Park is no Tiger Stadium, but it is one of the better new parks.

Erie Seawolves vs. Reading Phillies

Sunday Afternoon
Erie, PA
With Jamie and Marc

We arrived in Erie just in time for a few innings of Eastern League ball on the way to the night’s main event in Altoona. It was pretty mellow in Erie. Despite the beautiful day, there weren’t that many people at the game. One fan told us that most people were at Erie Day celebrations or something like that.

The Seawolves were wearing Negro League uniforms but none of them really matched. Some wore Kansas City shirts with Detroit hats. But they all looked great. We walked around the ballpark and watched kids chasing down foul balls and homers. There were so few people in both places that it seemed like every kid who wanted a ball had a damn good chance of getting one. The pitchers in the Seawolves’ bullpen are big fans of ice pops, in case you were wondering.

Best sound effect on trip: The ominous werewolf (seawolf?) noise piped over the PA every so often.

Favorite scoreboard sign of year: The Seawolves welcome Mrs. Piersall from England.

Fantasy baseball tip: If you have a hitter on the Seawolves (AA Tigers) do not trust their homerun totals. The fences are ridiculously close.

We left after four innings with the score tied at 3.

Altoona Curve 12 Bowie Baysox 0

Sunday Evening
Altoona, PA
With Jamie and Marc

After a scenic drive (courtesy of Jamie) and listening to parts of three games on the radio (including the Erie game- they ended up winning) we arrived in Altoona. A little late, but not Detroit late. Unfortunately, we couldn’t find any parking so we drove around a little. Luckily, we found a bearded gentleman (and I use that term loosely) who told us to park in a yard for three bucks. There were a couple yards that were packed with cars. Not a bad way to make some extra cash.

Altoona is the town that built their ballpark right next to an old amusement park. Which means that there is a 1920’s era roller coaster right behind the right field fence daring hitters to knock one off the head of a coaster enthusiast.

Altoona destroyed the Orioles affiliate 12-0 and they didn’t even have the benefit of facing Sidney Ponson. Immediately after the game, we took our chances and bought some tennis balls to throw onto the field in an attempt to win some prizes. We didn’t win nothing.

And then there were fireworks.

In Altoona, beers are cheap and plentiful. This explains some of the bad decision making after the game on our 2.3 mile walk to the bar called Zack’s.

From Marc’s blog:

another question - why did we walk to the bar tonight instead of taking a cab or accepting the offer of an 11pm ride from the hotel front desk attendant? the cab cost money which isn't an issue- but that lacked the spirit of adventure. and waiting for the hotel clerk for an hour didn't seem like a fun time. she was cute and fun and friendly but she wasn't quite yet drinking age.

I called Sujan as Balgavy walked us all the fuck over Altoona in the dark. Jim was hanging out with Sujan when I called and he later posted this on Marc’s blog

Hearing Sujan's half of a phone conversation with Drunk Dan on Sunday night was quite weird. I want more details about how you guys were walking through the underbrush next to the highway and possibly getting ticks, all just to get to a hick bar with 12:30 last call.

We trudged across Interstates, malls, neighborhoods, all for the sake of making it to the “in” bar of Altoona, PA on a Sunday night. At one point, Marc had us walking in circles and he had to call the desk clerk again to verify directions. She had no memory of Marc even though he had just been in less than an hour before. I don’t remember much about the rest of the walk other than there were a lot of ducks in the mall creek.

Eventually we made it to Zack’s! And boy was it hopping. There must have been at least three other patrons at this hot bar. But we didn’t let the diminishing chances of Balgavy getting some action ruin our night. No sir. A number of “orange slice” shots and we were feeing just fine. Darts were played, nachos were eaten, and then after debating the options of how to get back to the hotel- we took a cab. Maybe one of the other gentlemen involved in this fiasco might recall some of the highlights of the cab ride because I sure as hell don't.

Little League World Series

Monday Afternoon
Little League World Series
Mexico vs. Saipan
Davenport, Iowa vs Thousand Oaks. CA
Williamsport, PA
With Jamie and Marc

It was great to finally get to Williamsport for some Little League Action, but we were too damn tired to fully enjoy the experience. The hot sun, the crabby security folks who wouldn’t let us sit in the empty shaded seats that were roped off, and the silliness of ESPN’s staged shots everywhere you turned didn’t help. I guess it never occurred to me that the spot right behind the fence is roped off for the sole purpose of letting ESPN put people there so they can get the shots they want. I wonder if that spot was roped off back before the games were televised. My guess- no.

Mexico looked great in the few innings we saw. Thousand Oaks looked even more impressive in the one inning we saw of their dismantling of the punks from Davenport. For some reason, Jamie despises the Davenport team. We were so damn tired that we didn’t fully enjoy the experience, but it was nice to finally get there for some games.

After about two hours in Williamsport, we headed home to reality.

Dodgers 10 Mets 2

Sunday Afternoon
Shea Stadium
With Sujan (barely)

Wow, the Mets are bad. But, I guess when your lineup includes the likes of Jeff Keppinger, Gerald Williams, Wilson Delgado, and Brian Buchanan, what can you expect? It is hard to tell if the Mets have given up or if they just really, really, really suck. Does it matter?

Today’s highlights included Cliff Floyd dropping a fly ball, (if the sun is so difficult to read at Shea, how come it only affects the Mets?), a Cliff Floyd rainbow throw home on an advancing runner, a Kris Benson mental error, and all around crapitude. Floyd was booed mercilessly, but he handled it well. After the game, he said he deserved it.

In the 5th, already trailing 4-1, the Dodgers loaded the bases for Robin Ventura. Sujan said if he hit a homerun, she was leaving. Sure enough, he hit a homer and she left. The Shea faithful took a break from booing to cheer former favorite Ventura for his heroics. With that homerun, he moved into 4th place on the all time grand slam list. You think he can stick around long enough to hit seven more to break Gehrig’s record? (The answer is no, Ventura announced his retirement at the end of the season.) Maybe he needs to move to an N.L. East team so he can find himself facing the Mets 19 times a year. How many more games do I have tickets for?

At least I snagged myself a nice T-shirt on Jewish Heritage Day. If I were a conspiracy theorist, I’d say that the Mets pitiful performance on this day was bordering on anti-Semitic .

But you don’t have to be a conspiracy theorist to think maybe the fans are at least a little anti-Jewish. During the 7th inning stretch, the Mets played Mandy Patinkin’s version of “Take Me out to the Ballgame” in Yiddish. The fans booed it! Perhaps they aren’t anti-Semitic, but merely anti- Mandy Patinkin. But I'll bet they've never heard his Greatest Indie Rock Hits that he is so well known for.