 |
Away GamesJune 25th, 2008
|
Apparently, if you translate it into English, Joaquin Benoit means “You can turn the TV off now, we’re losing this one. Read a book.” (I highly recommend Tim Kurkjian’s “Is This A Great Game, or What?”) In the continuance of a theme, Benoit came into Tuesday night’s game vs. Houston, closed his eyes, and started chunking the ball toward what he believed to be homeplate. In 4 1/2 June innings, he’s allowed 8 walks and 3 HRs. Those my friends, are “Now pitching, Ken Jones” kind of numbers.
But at least he didn’t lose $1,000,000 in off-track betting. I’ve had several people ask me what was up with Cary’s last column. I’m not sure what happened there, but we gave him some of the same horse tranquilizers that they gave Big Brown before the Belmont and everything’s okay now. (Just don’t bring up Women’s Professional Field Hockey, because he’ll really go off on that…)
In case you missed it, this past week was the 1st Annual HomeTown9 Rangers Road Trip, where one lucky reader got to accompany a HT9 writer to see a couple of games. And the winner, chosen at random, was…Robbie H. of Carrollton, Texas! (okay, maybe it wasn’t a contest and maybe it wasn’t that random.)
Thursday night it was Astros-Orioles at Camden Yards. Friday night was most of the 14 innings of the Rangers-Nationals in D.C. And as a proper warm-up, the Rangers in Arlington on Tuesday vs. the Braves. Three cities, 3 ballparks, 5 different teams in 3 games over 4 days. Here are some random things that we learned along the way:
MASS TRANSIT ROCKS: The last three trips that I’ve done - Chicago, San Francisco, and Baltimore/DC - have been to cities that get the train thing right. Now, this may not be big news to much of the country, but here in Dallas, we drive 2 blocks to the 7-11, only ride the DART trains if gas hits $7 a gallon, and still can’t get to a Ranger game, the Cotton Bowl, or either Cowboys stadium by rail. Bad Dallas! Bad city!!
THE DESIGNATED HITTER: I’ve always been a big fan of the DH. Do you go to the games to see clever double switches and working around the pitcher’s spot, or do you want to see a batter who can hit? The oddities of the DH and interleague play meant that Rangers fans got to see Chipper Jones trying to stay above .400. And it meant that Nationals fans got to see their pitcher intentionally walk Ramon Vazquez to pitch to Kevin Millwood…who then worked a walk to load the bases. Great theater, but I wouldn’t want to see it all the time.
NON-BASEBALL TOURIST NOTES: I had no real interest in seeing the Lincoln Memorial, despite several folks telling me how really big and inspiring it is. They were right, I was wrong. Awesome. The World War II Memorial is interesting, but somehow it didn’t move me. The Korean War Memorial is much more stirring. Leave the ducks in the Reflecting Pool alone. And if that was the water that Forrest Gump’s Jenny waded into, well, I think I know what might have killed her. In Baltimore, while seafood might seem like a no-brainer, try the Little Italy area instead. The food was wonderful, the choices abundant, and I’m pretty sure their food came from Baltimore, unlike the blue crabs I watched trying to escape from a luggage handler on the tarmac in Houston. (so close, so close…they almost made it…)
DON’T EAT THAT MANY PEANUTS: Just don’t. Really. And the All-You-Can-Eat Left Field Club Seats in Baltimore are a great deal, unless you take “all-you-can-eat” as a Homer Simpsonesque-style challenge. Then nobody wins.
THE BALLPARKS: Camden Yards is everything that you’ve heard it is, and it is clearly evident that the architect got done there and then worked on the Ballpark in Arlington. Great look, great feel, and that warehouse is part of our collective baseball lore now. Nationals Park in D.C. is equally fantastic, just in a different way. It feels much more compact, the quirky design features like the tower/lounge/restaurant in centerfield work, and the jumbo screen is massive, which should help the announcers see the players since the press box is at the very top of the ballpark. But they probably have an incredible view of the DC skyline.
EXTRA CREDIT: Although it is probably disrespectful, just as with the “Stars” here in Dallas, in Baltimore, the National Anthem has been hijacked for the local team. It is amusing to hear 30,000 Baltimore fans scream “O’s” during “Oh, say can you see.” Well, it’s amusing once you get your heart started again, because 30,000 fans just screamed and you weren’t expecting it. But for sheer entertainment, the mascot race in DC tops everything, including our own Dot Race and even the Sausage Race in Milwaukee. George, Tom, Teddy, and Abe - the Rushmores - are genius. Abe Lincoln’s high leg kick managed to carry him to victory in Friday’s official race. Sadly, after we left in the 12th inning to catch the last train running back to Baltimore (curse you, mass transit! Oh, wait…), they ran a 2nd race in the 14th. I only found this out later thanks to the Rushmores website, http://blog.letteddywin.com, which is devoted to helping Teddy win his first race. Pure genius.
BASEBALL FANS ARE A COMMUNITY: 14 of us for Group Night in Arlington. Robbie’s cousins Wes and T.J. in Baltimore. Dewey, one of the co-authors of my misspent youth, in Washington. There is simply no better sport than baseball if you want a chance to visit with friends or family. It has just the right mixture of action and lull. And even if you don’t take friends to visit with, there’s a whole stadium of fans bonded by the game. In spite of wearing Astros and Rangers gear on the road, I got nothing but good natured trash-talk that more often than not turned into just plain old baseball talk. I understand that wouldn’t happen everywhere, but between my Rangers cap, TJ’s Yankees cap, Wes’ Jr. Astros helmet, and Robbie’s McKinney Marshal’s cap, someone should have been offended. (Dewey, as always, played it safe: No hat, look a little crazy) Even out of the ballparks, the team logo identifies the seamheads and gives you a connection. In DC, we ended up sitting next to 2 guides from the fabulous Jay Buckley’s Baseball Tours at lunch and talking MLB for an hour. Later, waiting for the train, we struck up a conversation with a former Expos pitcher and his wife who live less than 2 miles from my house here in Dallas.
When it’s all said and done, this kind of trip isn’t about the box score (nice 0-6’s MYoung, JHamilton, and DMurphy). It’s not even about how many ballparks you end up seeing in your lifetime (13 down, 17 to go). It’s about the sense of history and community, the warmness that comes with being part of something bigger than yourself. And if being a baseball fan means you can score the occasional Nick Markakis bobblehead doll along the way, well I guess we can forgive Joaquin Benoit for a little wildness. Baseball Karma. Catch It!
Related Posts
Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.