The Season Experience

7/24/08 Shea Stadium

2008-07-24T19:07:11Z

I awoke from a very good night's sleep at 7:08 AM to hear about the scattered thunderstorms New York will be providing to it's loyal residents and tourist's today. I was unhappy for a few reasons:

1) I never go to a game with the initial mindset that I will snag at least one baseball but for today's game, I had a mindset to retrieve a minimum of four baseballs during BP.

2) For the first time, I was going to be the FIRST person at Gate C.

3) Shea Stadium was going to be the center of a photo shoot conducted by yours truly.

4) The Phillies were in town. Enough said.

5) I had plans to visit the Diamond Club when the players arrived at the Stadium and I was only that early once in my life.

...But all of those reasons WILL NOT happen due to scattered thunderstorms keeping me home today.

It seems as of this year almost every game I am looking to attend gets either postponed or rescheduled. So far, half the amount of games I've attended, rain has somehow chimed in to the day.

I never like not going to a game that I have tickets for but today it was raining when I planned to leave, and I didn't feel like taking that chance and what happens? One of the BEST games the Mets had this season was played. The game was a quick 2 hours, 18 minutes and had 18 strikeouts between both teams, 12 from Oliver Perez alone. The game was 1 - 0 Mets, until the Phillies' Jason Werth blasted a home run onto the camera deck in center field to tie it 1 - 1. In the bottom of the 8th, the Mets had runners on first and second when the red hot Carlos Delgado came to the plate with two outs, and hit a fly ball to left field to score Robinson Cancel and David Wright before being thrown out at third. Billy Wagner came in to close and four batters later, the New York Mets took first place in the National League East.

I haven't attended a game since July 13, 2008 and it doesn't feel right at all. Going one week and four days so far, and then going to Ocean City, Maryland for a week means I'll be out of the baseball game for three weeks and two days before attending my next game on August 5, 2008 at Shea Stadium when the San Diego Padres roll into town. I'm hoping to see Jake Peavy get the start but with SD's rotation, I'm not sure how that will play out as of yet.

The Mets have been playing .500 baseball in the series with the Cinncinatti Reds and now, with the Philadelphia Phillies after coming off of an impressive 10 game winning streak. So far this season, only two teams have reached double digits for a winning streak and are both tied with 10, that being the Minnesota Twins and the New York Mets. If the Mets start winning again and not going 4 - 3 in their last seven games, the race for October will look a little bit better than it does now. But, with the Cardinals coming to town for a three game series then having to play in Florida before heading to Houston to end their six game road trip, the Mets won't have it too easy in the upcoming week.

Hopefully the Amazin's can pull something off and show the rest of the MLB what last year was REALLY supposed to look like instead of the garbage that was reality. There's a possible chance you'll hear from me when I'm in Maryland. Maybe a couple of photos...

Monopoly Beatdown!

2008-07-18T02:31:38Z

I am a big fan of Monopoly and love participating in a game ONLY if I am the car. Tonight, July 17, 2008 I played a game of Monopoly against my mom and sister and I dominated the both of them. It was the fastest game of Monopoly I have ever played, ending at just about 1 hour and 45 minutes from where we started at 7:45 PM. I made both of them go bankrupt, forcing myself to win and ultimately stay undefeated for my lifetime. My totals are - $4,935, Get Out of Jail FREE Card; Properties - Boardwalk (4 Houses), Park Place (4 Houses), Ventnor Ave, States Ave, Water Works, Reading Railroad.

7/13/08 Shea Stadium

2008-07-14T19:39:22Z

The crowd at Shea for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball tonight seemed to be the biggest crowd I've seen so far this season when we were on the LIRR bridge but inside the stadium, although the attendance was 51,293, it looked like a regular 47,000 ticket holders were at Shea. I'm not saying that's not enough but the Yankees sell out almost every night and the cross-town Mets are almost 10,000 people from a sell out crowd.

Tonight was the last game before the 2008 All-Star Break and the New York Mets squared up against the Colorado Rockies. If you all remember, the Rockies were the 2007 NL Champions before being swept by the World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. This year, the Colorado Rockies are currently 39-57 with a winning percentage of .406. Going into the All-Star Break, they are on a four-game losing streak after losing one game to the Brewers and then losing three straight to the New York Mets. At this time last year, the Rockies were a .500 team with a record of 44-44 and pretty much fell off of the "good" teams in the MLB.

My girlfriend PJ from a past entry and I arrived at Shea around 6 PM. I had ordered last minute tickets off of a seller on StubHub! and was told to pick them up at the window between Gate D and E. After doing so, we waited on line, got our FREE Southpole sponsored Mets t-shirts and went straight to Section 31 in the Loge. A fellow MLBLOG-er, Zack Hample, who is also known for being The Baseball Collector had told me the previous day he was attending the game as well. One of his spots is also Section 31. When we arrived, there was no sign of him and no sign of any baseballs reaching that section. I noticed two fans received baseballs from the Mets but I arrived once the Rockies were coming onto the field for BP and some came close to the seats but none that landed in my glove.

We moved to our seats in the shade and with under an hour to go, the New York Mets were looking to win their season high 9th game in a row. There were a couple of fans I met from Toronto, Canada that were here for All-Star Week and came over from the Futures Game that was earlier in the day at Yankee Stadium. They had tickets to every MLB related game in NYC for the week and Shea was one of their stops on the New York tour. There were so many people that attended tonight's game that were fans of other baseball teams, mostly of Yankees decent. Heckler's cried out to the Yankees fans and asked them about Joba as others concentrated on the fact that Phillies fans walked by several sections and were being verbally abused.

Carlos Beltran got Shea Stadium to jump when he blasted a 3-run HR to left field landing 415 feet away from home plate. The next inning, the Mets scored one and continued to make the Rockies look like a AAA Ball Club, retiring every batter that came to the plate. Later in the 5th, Carlos Delgado revived himself by hitting a 390 foot HR to right-center, putting the New York Mets up by a score of 7-0. The Rockies came close to getting one run on the board but thanks to a double-play in the 4th, that didn't happen.

The rest of the game was silent but the crowd in the Upper Deck was reckless. Wherever you looked, you saw people yelling at one another, a kid running by trying to get the wave started with a whistle, drunks, Cow-Bell Man, and the most "into the game" crowd I've seen all season. Why shouldn't we be into the game? We were about to have sole position of 2nd place and be exactly .5 games out of first from the Phillies. Eventually, the wave WAS successful and the Mets went on to win the game 7-0.

Staying until the very end of the game is usually a bad idea but getting to the LIRR seemed so much faster than it usually does with the whole crowd pouring out from Shea. We got to New York Penn Station at 11:30 PM and boarded the 11:51 PM train to Linden before arriving at home.

The next game I plan on attending is July 22, 2008 at Shea Stadium, Philadelphia Phillies vs. New York Mets. If the Mets keep up the good work (knock on wood) and win the series vs. the Cincinnati Reds at least 3-1, the series vs. Philadelphia should be one to tune in to.

7/9/08 Shea Stadium.

2008-07-10T14:01:46Z

Today was the third time this season I accompanied somebody to their first Major League game. Today, my 12-year-old sister, Amanda was the rookie and it was my duty to show her Shea Stadium. We come from a family of New York Mets fans with the exception of my Uncle who I went to Yankee Stadium with on my last visit so, it was right to bring her to Shea and nowhere else.

We took the 4:29 P.M. train out of Linden and arrived at Shea Stadium a little over an hour later. We were already late for BP and I didn't even bother to look at the field from the Subway stairs so, we both proceeded towards the front entrance of Gate E. The usher checked my bag and once our tickets were scanned, we raced up to section 31 in the Loge. Someone's first look at a Major League field is always important but when you see a tarp over the field without a single rain drop falling from the sky, their first look is basically ruined. It was about 83 degrees outside with 76% humidity so we decided to head up to the Upper Deck where the wind was and cool off until the game started. The tarp came off the field around 6:05 P.M. and by 7:10 P.M. when the first pitch was thrown, the crowd still wasn't what a summer crowd should look like. The first two side by side pictures are at 6:05 P.M. and the other two were taken at 7:10 P.M. It wasn't until the 4th inning where some action actually happened. The first four innings took just over an hour to get through having only three hits between both teams. It started drizzling for about five minutes in the 4th until Ramon Castro belted a three-run shot to put the Mets on top. In the fifth inning, the rain started to pick up and eventually led to a 42 minute delay. Once Carlos Beltran caught the last out of the 5th inning, everyone in the Upper Deck rushed down to the concourse of Shea. I said it was crowded at the last rain delay but this was INSANE. The Giants came back onto the field at 9:17 P.M. and within five minutes, Alex Hinshaw was warmed up and ready for the bottom of the 5th.

We moved from the Upper Deck down to the Mezzanine under the awning just incase the rain had come back. Jose Reyes walked to lead the inning off and advanced all the way to third before Beltran flied out to the shortstop to end the inning. We decided after the 6th inning that we'd leave, considering it was already 9:45 P.M. and this game wasn't going to be complete until 11:30 P.M. or later. Castro was the last out we saw of the night before we headed back towards the LIRR. The train didn't come until 10:13 P.M. and the ride to Penn Station felt like the longest train ride ever. Once we got into Penn, we ran to Track 4 which was already in the process of boarding, and just made the train. I got home around 11:30 P.M., turned on SportCenter, and enjoyed watching the highlights of the Mets holding onto the lead and winning their fifth straight game. Still 1.5 games behind the Phillies and out of first but, it's definitely better than where they were two weeks ago.

Since this upcoming week is All-Star Week, I will not be attending any games at Shea because of the Mets' road-trip to Cincinnati. When they come back to play at home, the Phillies will be in town and there is a 95% chance I will be at the opener of that series on Tuesday, July 22, 2008. There is a slight chance that I will be attending the Oakland Athletics vs. New York Yankees series on July 18 - July 20, but if I'm feeling antsy enough, I'll be there.

7/7/08 Applebee's Softball.

2008-07-09T18:56:58Z

Before I begin this entry, I'd just like to point out that this team I play for is compiled of the most dedicated people at the Applebees in Union, New Jersey. We play other Applebees restaurants in New Jersey in the Applebees Softball League and enjoy doing so, even though we aren't your favorite team.

It was an other day at Applebees as we waited tables, and were ready to play our seventh game of the season. We had two games get rained out and another was a forfeit from Toms River so, if you want to be technical, this would be our tenth game of the season if not for the information I just listed. This was an away game vs. Eatontown's Houlihans Restaurant which was about a 45 minute drive from Union. It was located in South Jersey and people that live in North Jersey aren't really THAT friendly to the "others" living in South Jersey. No offense to any Southern Jersians out there but, this is true!

We arrived to their field at 5 P.M. and began the game around 5:25 P.M. The first inning was definitely a different start than we were used to, driving in two runs before Eatontown's 4 run first inning. Usually our team's meltdown starts around the 6th inning and losing was something we are very acquainted with, being 0 - 6 and losing very poorly almost every game. I never understood it because almost the entire team can play the game it's just the little things that nobody can make happen. I'm not sitting here saying I make every play and are the greatest Applebees Softball player alive but I'm pretty sure I've made a maximum of four errors, if that so far with one game, myself, left to play.

The entire game from start to finish was neck and neck. When our team scored, their team scored. If we scored three, they scored two, three, or four. We were playing THE BEST softball we have played to date. Our entire team was hitting and our defense was almost perfect up until the 7th inning. The score was Union Applebees: 8, Eatontown Houlihans: 7. There were two outs with a runner on first. One of their "okay" hitters was up and hit a blooper over 2nd base that was too shallow for the right fielder. The next batter hit one up the middle to load the bases and the next batter got lucky on an infield error to tie the game. By the time three outs were called, Eatontown was up 11 - 8 going into the top of the eighth.

The middle of the order was due up for the eighth inning and it delivered what everyone on our team wanted. After two outs were called, Eatontown Houlihans started heading back towards the bench, thinking the second out, was the third out. After the confusion was cleared, we had another chance to score with a runner on 2nd. Sure enough, the runner on 2nd, Raiiinman, scored and at the end of the eighth inning, the score was 11 - 10.

The top of the ninth inning was our last chance and the first two batters popped out. It was all down to Kristy, who had two pretty enjoyable catches out there in short center earlier in the 5th inning. She hit a grounder to the pitcher who bobbled it, then kicked it away, bringing myself to the plate. I felt a bit of pressure considering this could be our very first win as a team but I gave it my all and ended up lining one up the middle, directly over the pitcher and into the short stops glove. Did I lose the game? Perhaps. I can't do anything about it now. I went 2 - 6 on the day with a single, double, and 1 RBI. Every pitch I connected with, I got under, forcing the ball to go in the air, which 75% of the time went to the left fielder.

There will be a game July 14 but I will not be attending that game courtesy of my girlfriend, PJ, if you remember her from my last visit to Shea. She will be receiving her first taste of ink (getting a tattoo) and she asked to be accompanied by none other. I'm not going to lie, but I feel honored. I'll post pictures once the outline is complete.

The trip to Chicago had some complications arise and it had to be cancelled. Instead, we will be staying in Baltimore August 21 - 24 and attending Camden Yards August 22 and August 23 vs. New York Yankees. There are three Yankee fans with us, and two Mets which will still be representing the New York Mets proudly! We plan to enjoy ourselves so if anyone can help us out with what to do at Camden Yards, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I'm off to Shea for tonight's game against the San Francisco Giants at 7:10 PM. Expect a blog later tonight about it.

Update!

2008-07-03T02:19:10Z

For the past couple of months or so, three of my friends and I have been talking about taking a road trip to Chicago, Illinois to see the legendary Wrigley Field. I didn't hear of any concern toward this idea since I first heard about it so, I decided to take ahold and plan the trip.

At first, the original idea for the trip was to be the week of August 8 - 10 with the first night attending US Cellular Field to see the White Sox vs. Red Sox and the second night at Wrigley Field to catch the Cubs vs. Cardinals. Two classic match-ups, and it turned out that weekend in August is no good for one of my friends, Eli, who had previous plans that I was not aware of.

So, earlier today I had some free time and spent it planning a weekend in Chicago to see two baseball games in one day (Wrigley Field --> US Cellular Field), and checking out the city before heading back to New Jersey early on Sunday. It actually planned out perfect because we all wanted to see what the city of Chicago had to offer but there were two games standing in our way with a weekend of two travel days and two days actually in Chicago. Now that the Cubs/Nationals game is a 1:20 PM start and the White Sox/Rays game starts at 7:10 PM, we have a full day to spend time wandering around the Chi.

We will be arriving in Chicago on Thursday, August 21, 2008 and attending two (2) baseball games on Friday, August 22, 2008. On Saturday we are going to be tourists and Sunday, August 24, 2008 we will depart from Illinois. Depending on the route we take, I plan to travel through Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana. If a detour is taken South, we will drive through the tiniest bit of West Virginia but I highly doubt that will happen.

I'll post the tickets once I get them from StubHub! but for now, my calendar is marked for Chicago, Illinois, Thursday August 21 - August 24. There will be two BIG entries and there will be TONS of pictures (hopefully). From New Jersey - Chicago and vice versa, the drive will take 12 hours 46 minutes both ways according to Google Maps.

The Mets are on the road for the next five days and I do not feel like going to Citizens Bank Park to see them, nor Yankee Stadium to be inside the chaos of a Yankees/Boston series. If I were to go, I'd be neutral just like I was at my last visit to Yankee Stadium's entry but, there are no plans. May 20, 2008 was supposed to be the last time I step foot in there, but now I am debating because I still haven't seen Monument Park. I've been looking at the Yankees/Blue Jays series during the weekend of August 29 - 31. I'll probably do the usual and buy the cheapest tickets I can find but at Yankee Stadium, that always is a big chunk of change.

6/24/08 Shea Stadium

2008-06-25T14:35:30Z

The day started off the same as any other day going to Shea. But, today I brought my girlfriend, PJ along who has always been "interested" in baseball but never really got into it as much to go to a game up until this year. This was her third game of this season and if you watched the game yourself, or just happened to catch the highlights on SportsCenter, you already know what happened.

We crossed the LIRR bridge to find that the gates were locked(?!) I've never seen this before and it was a bit strange to me so we decided to snap a picture and follow the 20 or so other fans going down a side bridge before crossing the street and heading through the gets of Shea.

I had a pair of un-used tickets from the June 14th game against the Texas Rangers that I was planning to exchange at the Advance Ticket Window. The two games I had chosen were both sold out in sections I requested so I settled for the July 9, 2008 game vs. San Francisco Giants. It wasnt a "bad" choice but I wish I could've gotten something sooner so I wouldn't have to order tickets off of StubHub! until later this month.

Once approaching Gate C , we waited there for a good 25 minutes and then raced to Section 33 for BP. If you know me, you know I am NOT a baseball collector but, I had promised PJ the next baseball I get at a game is hers. I only got one baseball in my entire life at a game and that happened on May 9, 2008. (Full Story) I came close on September 27, 1997 which happened to be my first New York Mets game but my Dad decided to jump in front of my glove and spill all of the tasty treats we had causing me to miss the ball. I wasn't even trying to get a baseball. I just got lucky that it was in my section and headed for my exact seat. Before this year, reading Zack Hample: The Baseball Collectors' blog, I never really got into collecting major league used baseballs, although, it does buy the time at batting practice.

About 15 minutes into the Mets' BP practice, a left-handed batter launched a shot deep to Section 33. I was standing in an aisle with the Section 31 tunnel behind me and had more than enough space around me to move anywhere I wanted. The only competition surrounding me for the first 25 minutes was one kid (17) with a glove, that didn't know how to open his mouth and ask for a ball. He judged the deep fly ball wrong and didn't even flinch to get it. I quickly ran over a section to my right and this was the beautiful prize waiting for me: I walked over to show PJ and told her that this baseball couldn't be hers and I felt so bad for doing so but I didn't even have a clue that teams had these yet. After I did that, I knew I HAD to get another baseball today for her. If I didn't, I would've really felt like a **** but, ten minutes before the Mets wrapped up their BP practice, I spotted Guy Conti in the bullpen with a baseball in his hand. The entire practice he had a baseball in his hand but didn't respond to anyone. I figured I'd give it a shot and when I said, "Hey Guy! how about that ball, PLEASE?!" He looked up at me, looked down at the baseball, and tossed it up just barely reaching my glove. I noticed it was an "almost new" Commemorative Shea Stadium baseball so I marched over to where PJ was sitting, and I placed the baseball in her hand to watch her face light up with joy(?) It was good I got that baseball because I would've been in a heap of trouble if I hadn't.

I was told by an Ichiro Suzki fan that yesterday he hit two BP blasts in this section so I stayed for Seattle's BP session. After waiting 20 minutes, watching only one baseball land five sections away, taking a picture with FanPhoto, and watching the section grow larger with fans, we decided to sit down for a bit and chill until the game started.

Soon after, at 7:10 PM when the first pitch was thrown, the Upper Deck was PACKED as the New York Mets went up against the last place team in the MLB, Seattle Mariners. The first inning was smooth and then the Mariners broke out and stomped the Mets out the rest of the night. Besides the Carlos Beltran/Jerry Manuel/Brian Runge incident, there wasn't any louder cheers the entire night. This game had absolutely NO action whatsoever and it wasn't what any Mets fan would want to see. After the last out in the 6th inning, PJ and I decided to call it a night and beat the fans to the LIRR and get an early start home. When we arrived at the tracks, the crowd wasn't as small as we hoped. We got on the LIRR and an hour and a half later we arrived back home. The day was complete and yet another Mets loss was chalked up on the board.

Final score: Mariners - 10, Mets - 0

The next game I plan on attending is July 9, 2008 because of the Subway Series weekend and the couple of long road series' they have coming up. If another game is added to my schedule beforehand, you know you'll read a blog about it.

6/14/08 Shea Stadium.

2008-06-15T14:33:04Z

My day started out with a haircut and work. By the time I got out of work at four, it was already obvious to me that I will NOT be attending BP today. I got home, quickly changed and checked the weather to only find out that it was 74 degrees with thunder-storms from 4 PM - 1130 PM in New York. If I had the option to not go to the game because of the rain, I think I would've stayed home but I got these tickets in advance off of StubHub! for my dad and since it was his first game of the 2008 season, we were definitely going. If the game happened to get postponed, we decided that we weren't coming back the following night (June 15, 2008) for the make-up game.

My dad and I took the 4:53 out of Linden, New Jersey and got to New York Penn Station at 5:27. We then took the 5:49 LIRR to Shea and made it there in 16 minutes. When we got off the train, there was a light drizzle but I thought nothing of it and stayed positive about both teams actually playing this game.

After I crossed the wooden bridge to get one step closer to Shea, I looked through the gap in right field and saw this:

In the picture you can barely make it out but that HUGE white thing covering all that dirt and grass was a tarp and that basically told us this game WILL be delayed.

Time passed and all we could do was hope that they decide to play this game instead of calling it. The stadium started getting packed and the rain kept on coming, preventing any in-game action to happen. The Upper Deck at Shea was like rush hour traffic on the 405 in California. Inches at a time you moved with people coming to a dead stop in front of you while there was an entire line of people behind you waiting to get to their destination.

The picture to the left was taken at one of the exit tunnels on the Upper Deck level around 7:30 PM to give you an idea of the crowd.

What still amazes me is that, even though it's New York and the Mets are having a HORRIBLE season from what was said to be a huge bounce-back from last year's collapse, Shea Stadium is STILL crowded. I honestly can say I have never seen Shea this crowded since the 2006 NLDS vs. St. Louis. But, if you think about it, school just let out for the kids and it is a Saturday night with the Texas Rangers' first series visit to Shea EVER (2nd game to be exact).

I can only be patient for a certain amount of time. It was already 8:20 PM and my dad and I were flirting with the idea about leaving, before the thunder and rain had made our decision for us.

We left Shea for the night and walked backed to the LIRR with our heads hanging low in disappointment at the fact that $40 was wasted on train tickets for a game that didn't even have a first pitch. Thousands of fans stayed inside praying the rain would, "move out" but the other 60 or so of us had other plans to head back home. When we thought we just beat the downpour that had started, we had this to still run across.

While we were waiting to see if the rain slowed down, a man approached me and asked, "Is that what they're giving away tonight? Can I see what it looks like?!" Possibly the best promotion ever. Any takers?

Now, one of the main reasons I chose this game in particular to go to this season was because of the promotion that they were giving out, shown above. They created one of these replica's as a promotion back in 2004 honoring the 40th anniversary of Shea Stadium with the scale model of Shea back in 1964.

I'm going back to Shea Stadium on June 24, 2008 to see the Seattle Mariners. First official game of the summer even though, lately, it's been WAY too humid outside for my likings as well as the rest of the east coast. If you're going, let me know. If not, nevermind.

6/10/08 Fenway Park!

2008-06-12T15:51:22Z

The road trip to Fenway Park started on the NJ Parkway at 9:51 AM. I went with a friend of mine I mentioned in my last entry. He was set to drive the estimated nine hours we had to drive until we got to Boston. He is a Red Sox fan and this was his first game at Fenway as well. I got directions from a friend of mine and we decided to use those and not Google Maps because they would've brought us halfway around the world rather than straight to Fenway but, that's where we went wrong.

After we were on the MassPike, we were supposed to go East at an exit. Instead, the options in Forfa's head said, "Go West" and that's the way we went which put us twenty minutes back from Boston.

The drive through Connecticut had to be one of the most boring, aggravating, and disgusting drives when it's hot outside, ever. Being in 93 degree weather including humidity while sitting on leather seats, sweating profusely and having the sun irritate you with its bright, yellow-colored self isn't pleasant at all. Not to mention you're driving through Connecticut.

I'm guessing people that drive on the MassPike and get too bored when they are driving alone are the ones killing the animals walking around earth. For the record, we saw five dead deer curbside, and one looking to commit suicide but realized it was a dumb idea before moving to the side of the road. Also spotted was a possum, raccoon(?), and a skunk along with its foul smell.

Miles later, we started seeing signs for Boston and our energy quickly shot up. Before we knew it, we passed Boston University and then, as if it was a dream, Fenway Park was in plain view. My heart started to quickly beat and my stomach knotted up. For what? Excitement? Too nervous? I mean, it was my first time at Fenway but why should I be nervous? It felt like the first time I saw a Major League field (July 23, 1996 at Yankee Stadium).

We shortly found a FREE parking spot around the corner from Gate A (Yawkey/Brookline) and walked from there. We were to enter at Gate B so beforehand, we visited the Official BoSox Clubhouse store on Yawkey Way and cooled off in the AC for about half an hour before walking to Gate B and enjoying the history surrounding us.

I bought the cheapest water around at $3 a bottle and killed it in nearly fifty seconds. We were standing in a semi line in the tiniest bit of shade by the entry gates and at 4:03 PM, the gates of Fenway Park opened directly in front of my eyes. In the first group of ten people I entered the world renowned Fenway Park.

I was so excited and had no clue what to do first. Forfa on the other hand was dying from the heat and needed to find a patch of shade. So, we stayed in the concourse for about ten - fifteen minutes, and had a couple of waters and Fenway Franks before taking our first look at the field from the Right Field seats during BP.

I took my glove out of my bag and placed myself wherever I thought that ball was going. This was my view and the competition around me for BP. The kids in yellow were on a Middle School class trip and would not stop begging for baseballs that landed in the bullpen. Even the pitching coach for the Red Sox, John Farrell told them the quietest person at the end of BP gets a baseball but they still wouldn't shut up.

The closest baseballs to come near me was the one I just missed from Manny Ramirez that got tangled up in the seats and fell directly in front of some guy and another was one section over from another ball hit into those seats. But, the closest baseball that came our way just missed Forfa's head by a good three inches. I had my phone out attempting to take a picture and wasn't paying attention until I heard, "HEADS UP!!" and the ball quickly smacked the pavement and then ricocheted of the seats before landing in the Orioles bullpen. I wasn't a happy camper only because I knew that there wasn't going to be another baseball hit that close to us where I wouldn't have to flinch to catch it and also the fact that I knew I would have caught that ball, no sweat. For the rest of the day that clip played over and over and kept on drilling it into my head that I could've caught that ball. But then you think about the fact that it was only a BP home run and had no other significance other than that I caught it at my first trip to Fenway Park.

So I moved on and after batting practice we decided to walk around the stadium's insides a little bit to see what Fenway was all about. It was empty around this time we were in the concourse but by the time the game officially started, you moved at an extremely slow speed.

We found seats behind home plate and took pictures there, watched Manny receive a plaque for #500, watched the first pitch thrown by Al Roker from NBC and heard the words, "Play Ball" before being told to return to our ticketed seats. So much for that. If we had the chance to sit there during the ball game without anybody showing up, which was a long shot, this would've been our seat:

We went to our seats and realized they were directly in the sun so we decided to sit on the 1912 seats in the shade which had a TERRIBLE view of the game. I wish I can share it with you but by 6 PM I turned my phone off because it was about to die so I didn't have a camera to snap a picture with. I couldn't see the batters box from that seat at all thanks to the huge green poles holding the Right Field Roof Box seats so after an entire row of people showed up, we chilled on the Right Field foul line until the end of the 4th inning.

We then decided to walk around the entire inside of the ballpark and watch the game from every view possible while being escorted out of every section that we entered and told, "Go back to your ticketed seats!" I got my picture taken by FanFoto to have some type of documentation that I was at Fenway Park in a good, clean quality rather than a picture taken from my phone from the top teck. We watched the game from a Standing Room Only section and then found the best/cheapest seat in the house. Again, I don't have a picture of the exact location but we were located on the Big Concourse behind the bar in fair territory.

There were about six other people watching the game with us while others hung over the railing in the bar, sipping on beers and talking about all of their Red Sox experiences and games they plan on attending this year. We stayed there until the 8th inning before leaving and trying to get an "early jump on the road" but, that didn't happen as planned.

Apparently, in Boston, Massachusetts it's cool to shut down gas stations and use them for parking spots down the street from Fenway instead of having them open to get gas and air for your tires. It took us nearly five hours to arrive in Boston from New Jersey and we thought we would only be on the road for four hours or less on the way back but driving around looking for gas stations set us back 45 minutes before officially getting on the road. At about 11 PM, my eyes were closed as I decided to kick back and relax and Forfa also decided to doze off and I guarantee almost immediately his car shifted to the left, having us slam into the divider, smacking his head against the inside of the top of his door and moving a lane away from the wall before stopping on the side of the road before passing a toll to check the car. There was a ton of wall dust on the side of the car that water got off quickly but the front left headlight had a piece missing from it and there was a dent next to it.

For the first time since the game started I turned my phone on and had a ton of text messages and missed calls. I called a few people and told them what had happened before turning my phone off again and taking a break from the road. A storm was going on in New Jersey but nothing was near Massachusetts yet and the sky was blinking on and off which had been going on in New Jersey for the past week. After we got back on the road, we stayed wide awake the rest of the way home. Saw seconds of the storm and that was the only rain we passed through.

Once we got back into town around 3 AM, we saw that the storm that passed through earlier that night had destroyed the streets and a lightning bolt decided to rip a HUGE hole in the top of a roof a couple of blocks away from my house. I got inside and immediately went to sleep because of work the following day at 12 PM.

Fenway itself was awesome. It felt really good to be there and actually see a game in an environment like no other. Everyone at the game is so into the game and it feels like a family. The only thing wrong with Fenway Park is the lack of space to move around. It's too tight and the seats are WAY too close together. Hopefully sometime soon another visit will come about but as for now, I'm planning a trip with three of my friends to US Field and Wrigley in Chicago then off to Cleveland's Progressive Field for an August 9 - 11 ballpark tour. More information on that weekend when I receive some news.

Here's a Panorama from Fenway Park:

Almost Fenway

2008-06-06T17:35:32Z

So far this season, I have had six orders through StubHub! for tickets to baseball games and not one of those orders has failed to impress me with delivery time. I ordered a pair of tickets to the Orioles/Red Sox match-up (This Tuesday) on June 1 and it arrived as an early morning surprise delivery June 4. The original order wasn't supposed to reach my house until June 6.

I'm going to the game with my friend (Jason) Forfa who is a Red Sox fan and since I have never been to the legendary Fenway Park, I decided to order a pair of tickets and take the four hour trip to Boston from New Jersey with him. I'm looking forward to this visit. I wish we had another day to spend in Boston so we could take the Fenway Tour as well but there is an entire season ahead of us, am I right?

The price for these tickets dropped $10 in one night so I guess it was right waiting to scoop them up at $40 each, rather than the $50 plus shipping the night before. They aren't as good looking as I thought they would be but I still enjoy them.

If anyone is planning to attend this game, get back to me and maybe we can meet up. The plan is to leave NJ around 930 AM and arrive around 2 PM. We will be attending BP also, depending on weather conditions. But, from what I have seen so far, the weather is supposed to be beautiful. Also, anyone know of a good spot to get some GOOD food? Thanks!

Aaron Heilman!

2008-05-31T05:41:13Z

I am sick and tired of watching this man, Aaron Heilman ruin wins for the Mets. Last night (5/30/08) he came in during the 8th inning and destroyed what could have been a 4th straight win for the Mets but instead gave away four runs in zero innings pitched!

At the end of every month I am going to give my "Poo Poo Player Award" out to whichever MLB player deserves it for that month in the season. This month, well, Aaron definitely deserves it.

Aaron Heilman Stats
5/30/08 Dodgers vs. Mets Recap

CONGRATULATIONS TO AARON HEILMAN FOR RECEIVING THE POO POO PLAYER AWARD FOR THE MONTH OF MAY!

5/29/08 Shea Stadium

2008-05-30T05:03:34Z

I can't remember one season that I have been to/will be to these many Mets games in my life. Sure, I've been to a good amount an average kid would go to a season but since I moved back from Los Angeles, California and I am not attending school right now, games are hitting me every week. I love it.

Last night I caught the Dodgers/Mets game at Shea. It was "Joe Torre's Return to New York" and the man deserved the standing ovation the fans gave him as he came out to the mound in the 7th inning.

The day started out with waking up, watching sportscenter, cleaning around the house, showering, and getting to Linden train station in time for the 3:42 PM train to New York Penn Station. The Linden train pulled up as the ticket machine was printing my tickets. I made the train, but barely. I got to Penn Station at 4:08 PM and rushed to the LIRR.

Surprisingly, Thursdays around 4 PM aren't THAT crowded. Usually in New York, if you are looking to get on ANY train/subway/bus, you know for a fact that it will be crowded with minimal space (if at all) and will smell like B.O. the entire ride.

As I approached Shea Stadium/Citi Field, I thought about where I might go for BP. Right Field Loge was getting some baseballs tossed to them from Duaner Sanchez and Pedro Feleciano but after the two kids caught them from field level, they left to sign autographs before heading into the clubhouse.

For the next hour and a half Shea Stadium looked like this:

I wasn't begging for baseballs. I was waiting for it to come to me. I moved from the Field Level to the Loge where i watched most of BP from. Once I found my spot in the Loge section of Shea Stadium next to the right foul pole, I watch a hooked foul ball enter the Field Level seats EXACTLY where I was standing no more than two minutes beforehand.

BP ended early and the Dodgers didn't think warm-ups were necessary today at all before a game so I was forced out of Section 31. As I was walking around the stadium, I passed by this one guy with a jersey I thought I'd never see...

Now, I know you were probably expecting a classic player for the Mets but this time, no. I got a kick out of this for one reason and if you are not aware what that reason is, look those three numbers (420) up.

After a couple of laps around Shea, I settled down in the Loge: Section 18, Row D - Seat 17. The ballpark was still empty and I waited patiently for the game to begin while eating the delicious FREE Popcorn they gave out last night. BP was packed up and pre-game festivities were happening on the field. Little Leaguers lined up across the warning track, groups danced and sang, and then it was game-time!

Because I'm too lazy to recap the entire game, you can read all about it here. The stadium started filling up around 8:10 PM but before that, this is what a busy section of the Loge looked like:

The game ran a little late but it was nice to see the Mets win their third in a row considering all the "talk" that has been going on concerning them these past couple of weeks.

I stayed behind home plate from the 8th inning for the remainder of the game, waiting for a foul tipped ball to reach me but that didn't happen at all. I should definitely try and buy tickets for this seat. Look how amazing this is, even from a camera phone:

After Joe Smith threw three straight strikes to end the game, I rushed out of the stadium and over to the LIRR to wait at the front of this mess for 15 minutes before they let anyone else through.

Getting home around 12:20 AM wasn't what I really wanted to do on a Thursday night but at least I am off of work today and can relax before making dinner for the girlfriend.

I did another one of those homemade panorama's but this time of Shea Stadium:

September 27, 1997.

2008-05-23T14:01:53Z

In my last entry, I mentioned my first New York Mets experience. This was the second game of my MLB career, as the first was at Yankee Stadium, July 23, 1996.

**Notice the price for a Field Level ticket 11 years ago compared to today's price of $74 for face value.

First Baseball!

2008-05-23T06:20:35Z

The game was rained out but Oliver Perez was still in the bullpen warming up when it wasn't even his start. Billy Wagner was throwing some serious heat while waiting for the rain to settle but that wasn't going to happen. As Oliver was going into the bullpen dugout, I yelled, "Oliver! How bout that ball?!" He tossed that up one kid away but I managed to snatch it bare-handed. The kid later said, "Yeah, I'll let you have that one." and I left.

The game got rescheduled for the next night which meant I was waking up at 8:30 AM to go back to Shea to see a double header. Sweet. I spent over 12 hours there on May 20, 2008 to see the Mets beat the Reds 12 - 6 and then lose with terrible defensive skills 7- 1. At least I got my first ball out of it. I never asked for a ball once in my life.

One time, at my first mets game, Bernard Gilkey hit a foul boul right to me but my dad jumped in front of me, spilled the popcorn, soda, dropped his pretzel, and still managed to knock the ball away from my glove and into the hands of an elder. That's the closest I've ever been to a Major League Baseball until May 9, 2008.

5/20/08 Yankee Stadium.

2008-05-23T03:56:02Z

Tuesday May 20, 2008
Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees
Yankee Stadium
Bronx, New York

5:17 PM - I entered Yankee Stadium for the last time in my life before they demolish a building that should be considered a museum. It is a landmark and there will be chaos when they ram that bolder into the front entrance. I was going there with my Uncle Mark who is a big Yankees fan. Him and I champed it out in the rain, waited for it to settle and go away just in time before the start of the game at 7:10 PM.

I picked up a pair of tickets on StubHub! which has been a savior to me a lot so far this season. Although these were our seats:

We sat here and enjoyed the game until the 8th inning before leaving. We sat ten rows up and the cop that talked to us the entire game didn't mind at all.

The game started off with a 7 - 0 lead from the Baltimore Orioles at the end of the first inning. Mike Mussina was taking a beating. It looked like he was throwing good material but the bats on the Orioles bench were awake and they wouldn't stop making contact with the ball. 2nd inning: two more runs come in for the Orioles and Alex Rodriguez hasn't even made an appearance at the plate so far this game. It was his first appearance back from his strained right quad and in the 6th inning he blasted one that landed either in Monument Park or near it. From my seat in the bleachers I couldn't see where it had landed exactly.

Jeter got hit in the wrist to be immediately aided to and taken out of the game. Yes, I understand Derek Jeter is the Captain of the New York Yankees and also one of the most pampered players in the MLB but relax, it was just a bruise. He should've felt that instantly whether something broke or not.

In the 6th inning, LaTroy Hawkins decided to throw three extremely inside pitches to Luke Scott before going upstairs and almost drilling his head. Umpire Chuck Meriwether ejected him instantly. The benches cleared and it was on. The coolest thing about the dugouts clearing was being right in front of the bullpen and hearing the players right before they ran top speed to the infield.

After we left, I heard a guy behind me asking for ticket stubs then some other guy with a thick Bronx accent said, "What do you need these stubs for? This was THE WORST game in Yankees History!" I chuckled and then shouted out "Let's Go Mets!" to quickly silence the folks around Yankee Stadium two days after they got smacked by the Mets in a two game series, compliments of the rain for canceling the first game.

We took the 4 Subway until it dropped us off at 34th, walked in the wrong direction for 10 minutes, then walked to Penn Station where we waited half an hour for our 11:09 PM Train to Linden, New Jersey.

The night was over but I did manage to create a homemade panorama of Yankee Stadium. Check it out: