PNC Park (Pittsburgh Pirates)

Pittsburgh Pictures

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
9	8	5	10	10	42

The ballpark is situated right on the river that runs through the heart of Pittsburgh and is about 1/2 mile away from Heinz Field, the Steelers home field.  I didn't realize the amount of hsitory associated with the Pirates (aka "Bucs").  There was a lot of statues and memorials both inside and outside the stadium commemorating well known ballplayers and the golden years of the Pirates' organization.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: May 31, 2010

Attendance: 20,235

Weather: 82 degrees F, cloudy

Length of Game: 2 hours, 46 minutes

Final Score: Pittsburgh Pirates 2, Chicago Cubs 1

Pinch-hitter Bobby Crosby plated the winning run in the eighth inning as the Pirates overcame the Cubs at PNC Park. Starters Randy Wells and Ross Ohlendorf dueled before handing a tie game to their bullpens.

Stories from the Road

Not much to report outside of game.  I bought sunscreen at a local Rite Aid as I was determined not to exacerbate my already sun burnt skin, walked around the "Cultural District" of Pittsburgh and photographed many of the cities yellow-painted bridges.  The hotel I had stayed in the previous night was on a random island near the city called Neville Island.  There wasn't much to eat there aside from a Subway and a chain diner (called King's).  Oh well ... King's for dinner it is!

Rogers Centre (Toronto Blue Jays)

Toronto Pictures

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
10	7	10	3	8	38

From the outside, the stadium is a very plain and unassuming concrete oval.  The story is much different inside the turnstiles.  The food selection was absolutely amazing!!!  They had meat carving station (with a big slab of meat and a carver) as well as an Asian Wok station and a market where you could get fresh fruit, hand-tossed salads, fresh sandwichs and other unique food options beyond the $4 hot dog.  The ballpark is in a great location; very close to water and right next to the CNN Tour (Toronto, and Canada's, pride and joy).

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: May 30, 2010

Attendance: 15,878

Weather: 72 degrees F, sunny

Length of Game: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Final Score: Toronto Blue Jays 6, Baltimore Orioles 1

Ricky Romero struck out seven in a complete-game gem and the Jays hit three homers, including Jose Bautista's Majors-leading 16th, to sweep the O's. Nick Markakis hit an RBI single for Baltimore's lone run.

Stories from the Road

The visit to Toronto was a short one.  I drove from Detroit to Toronto the morning of the game and left the Canadian city immediately following the game to go to Pittsburgh.  However, I did arrive in Toronto well before the game started, and, as a result, had time to walk around the city a little.  I walked down King St (which has a lot of bars and restaurants), and walked around the area near the stadium, which is located right next to the CN Tower.  A local brewery next to the stadium was offering tours and had a local burger place grilling right outside.

It was very hot during the day with the sunning beating down on the stadium throughout the day game.  I ended up getting really sunburned on my arms.  Joy.

Comerica Park (Detroit Tigers)

Detroit Pictures

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
7	7	8	9	8	39

Great looking stadium overall.  There were statues of tigers (the animals, not the players) scattered throughout the exterior of the stadium.  Seats were decent.  $5 beer (at the low end) was available inside the stadium.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: May 29, 2010

Attendance: 39,750

Weather: 78 degrees F, clear

Length of Game: 2 hours, 35 minutes

Final Score: Oakland Athletics 6, Detroit Tigers 0

Returning from the DL, Brett Anderson tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings in his first start in a month, and Mark Ellis torched Rick Porcello and Detroit relief to lead Oakland into first place in the AL West.

Stories from the Road

I woke up early enough the following morning to drive from Milwaukee to Detroit in time to catch the Cornell - Notre Dame Lacross Semifinal game at a bar in Livonia, Detroit that had been advertised on the Cornell Alumni website.  I didn't see too many Cornell supporters there so I left midway through the game to go to Tigers stadium.  After paying my $10 parking fee, I caught the end of the lacross game in a bar close to Comerica Park (Cornell lost.  It's ok.  I'm over it.).

The bar was right on a street corner and the floor to ceiling windows allowed a lot of natural light to enter the space.  I ended up grabbing a chicken shwarma pita from the bar and bringing it to the stadium.  It was messy, but delicious.

Miller Park (Milwaukee Brewers)

Milwaukee Pictures

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
4	7	7	8	7	33

The ballpark location reminded me of the Texas Rangers stadium in that it was only accessible by car.  It was located out in the suburbs of Milwaukee.

Miller Park looked very impressive from both the outside and inside.  $5.25 beer (at the low end) was available inside the stadium.  However, for a team called the Brewers, I was shocked to find that there were no cup holders in the upper deck seats I was in.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: May 28, 2010

Attendance: 32,773

Weather: 77 degrees F, clear

Length of Game: 2 hours, 27 minutes

Final Score: Milwaukee Brewers 2, New York Mets 0

The Brewers' Corey Hart crushed a homer with two outs in the ninth to end the Mets' scoreless inning streak at 35 and preserve Yovani Gallardo's shutout. Johan Santana held the Crew to three hits over eight innings.

Stories from the Road

The morning of this game, I dropped my brother off at the O'Hare airport on my way to Milwaukee.  He had to start his summer job the following day so I got him a one-way ticket from ORD to EWR.  Milwaukee is very picturesque this time of year (end of May).  It's right on Lake Michigan and has a very nice park right on the water with a great view of the city.  However, like Chicago, Milwaukee is very windy.  The kite market has definitely prospered throughout the city.

For lunch/dinner, I went to Benno's, a hole in the wall bar/pub/restaurant between the Wisconsin State Fair Park and Miller Park that was featuring their Friday Fish Fry special.  I had the grilled Walleye instead, which became my introduction to the staple fish of the northern midwestern states.  While eating, I realized that I could park on the street near Benno's, walk to/from Miller Park and avoid paying for parking!  Brilliant!  I walked about 30 minutes to and from the stadium (each way).  I saw a lot of other people doing the same thing.  I felt just like a local.

Wrigley Field (Chicago Cubs)

Chicago Pictures

Indianapolis 500 Picture

Road to Chicago Picture

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
10	10	6	7	7	40

Wrigley … wow!  This Thursday day game drew roughly 34K people.  An incredible number in my opinion.  On the rooftops just outside of the stadium were bleachers with great views of the stadium.  These bleachers each held about another 100 fans.  Being in that stadium felt like going back in time.  The ballpark is very old, but instead of seeming dilapitaded and run-down, the stadium had a certain historical and culture mystique that was truly remarkable.  The hot dog and soda vendors who came to your seats all seemed to have a lot of fun with their jobs, which made the experience that much more enjoyable.  The location was incredible.  Wrigleyville has a ton of bars and restaurants with open windows and outdoor seating.  Getting to the game was easy as there was a train (Addison station on the red line) that stopped right at the ballpark.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: May 27, 2010

Attendance: 33,868

Weather: 66 degrees F, partly cloudy

Length of Game: 2 hours, 29 minutes

Final Score: Chicago Cubs 1, Los Angeles Dodgers 0

Ted Lilly and John Ely went toe-to-toe, but it was Ely, in his homecoming, who had to take the "L" after Tyler Colvin, who came on in the eighth, drove in Mike Fontenot, who replaced Jeff Baker, with the game's only run.

Stories from the Road

On our way to Wrigley from Cincinnati we took a slight detour to the Indianapolis 500 stadium (the race was actually that coming Sunday).  The track was MASSIVE.  So large, in fact, that there was a golf course and a +5 story office building in the middle.  Unreal.  There were already tents set up that would be selling turkey legs and copious amounts of Fried food throughout the weekend.  Plenty of Winnebagos had already begun to fill the parking lots for the big race.  We also met a few interesting characters who were directing traffic within the track.  One of which felt that we were pulling a fast one on him by not staying in the same car line as everyone else.  Before I told him that we just wanted to leave, he insisted that we get to the back of the line.

On another note, Indiana really smells.  Bad.  The next time I hear someone say that New Jersey smells, I'm going to ask if they have ever been to Indiana.  Had the stench been a bit worse in certain parts of the state (particularly between Cincinnati and Indianapolis), it would have really affected my driving.  It was bad.  Also, along the route between Indianapolis and Chicago, we saw a very very large wind farm.  The obligatory pictures were taken and we continued on our way.

We hit a lot of traffic coming into Chicago and I got into a slight verbal altercation while trying to park the car in front of our hotel (The other car had decided to take up 2 street side slots so I couldn't initially park).  I showed my brother Millenium Park before the game, which still is, hands down, my favorite park in the world.  After the game we walked from Wrigleyville to Weiner Circle (where the staff is famous for abusing patrons late on weekend nights) to grab a traditional Chicago dog.  I wasn't feeling great after the hot dog, but I guess that's the price you pay for tradition.  We had dinner at a Giradinno's for some deep dish pizza, which I have now discovered is nothing more than pizza with a LOT of riccotta cheese on it ... Uggh.  Again, such is the price you pay for tradition.

While walking along the Magnificent Mile, my brother spotted a group of pro soccer players walking right in front of us.  These weren't just any pro soccer players, these were soccer players on the AC Milan squad.  Check out the photo above!  The guy in the white T-shirt was some street vendor who had been peddling his wares to the AC Milan players when this photo was taken.  Vintage Chicago, maybe?

During the game, we met Paul, a man in his 50s who is from Colorado and catches games at Wrigley every year.  He works or worked for the Treasure Department, and offered to host me if/when I come to Denver for a Rockies game.  We chatted a bit, exchanged business cards and continued on our separate ways.

Great American Ballpark (Cincinnati Reds)

Cincinnati Pictures

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Pictures

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
7	6	7	7	6	33

"America's Greatest Ballpark" didn't quite live up to it's title although there were some good aspects of the stadium.  It faced the Ohio River and the great state of Kentucky, which provided a mildly picturesque view throughout the game.  I was impressed with the main entranceway into the stadium, which featured a fresh market that served healthy sandwiches, salads, sushi and fruit.  You could also get some locally brewed beer there as well.

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)

Game Date: May 26, 2010

Attendance: 18,137

Weather: 81 degrees F, partly cloudy

Length of Game: 2 hours, 54 minutes

Final Score: Cincinnati Reds 4, Pittsburgh Pirates 0

Bronson Arroyo retired the first 11 Bucs hitters and earned his fifth win by allowing just five hits over 7 2/3 scoreless frames. Miguel Cairo and Chris Heisey each hit homers and Orlando Cabrera added two RBIs.

Stories from the Road

The morning of the Cincinnati game, my brother and I had planned on grabbing breakfast in the hotel.  To my chagrin, the hotel didn't offer a complimentary breakfast, but instead offered a breakfast that you had to purchase.  I didn't know that Courtyard Marriott's like that existed.

Before heading to Cincinnati from Cleveland, Dave and I stopped off at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a few hours.  The R&R HoF was in a very picturesque location, right on Lake Erie.  The building itself looked very reminiscent of the Louvre in Paris.  After walking through much of the building (passing by retro cars, guitars and costumes drove, played and worn, respectively, by a rocker at some point in history), it quickly became apparent that the R&R HoF was less about the inductees and more about those cool cars, guitars and costumes. They did have a rolling 1 hour long video which profiled all of the inductees by year of induction.  The video felt very much like a VH1 70s and 80s greatest music special.  Where is Dave Matthews Band?  Where is Green Day?  U2 was inducted and they are still playing.  I'm sure my parents would appreciate it much more than I did.

Progressive Field (Cleveland Indians)

Road to Cleveland (from Central Jersey) Pictures

Cleveland Pictures

Pro Football Hall of Fame Pictures

Ballpark Assessment

Category Score (0 to 10)					TOTAL (0 to 50)
Location	Atmosphere	Food	Exterior Architecture	Interior Architecture
8	6	4	7	7	32

The stadium was memorable for being next to Quicken Loans Arena where Lebron James played.  The stadium was near a lot of bars and restaurants with outdoor seating.  Inside the stadium in the outfield is a tribute to some of the Cleveland Indians greats (Bob Lemon, Jim Thome, CC Sabathia, etc).

Game Comments (courtesy of MLB.com)
Game Date: May 25, 2010
Attendance: 14,441
Weather: 74 degrees F, partly cloudy
Length of Game: 2 hours, 16 minutes
Final Score: Cleveland Indians 7, Chicago White Sox 3

Mitch Talbot held the White Sox to two hits until the seventh, and Jason Donald and Shin-Soo Choo homered as the Indians posted two three-run frames. Talbot went seven innings, allowing Chicago just two runs.

Stories from the Road
And thus begins the 7 day, 7 city (Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit, Toronto and Pittsburgh) baseball roadtrip with my brother.

To start off, the eight hour drive to Cleveland from central Jersey provided at least some excitement.  During the drive, we listened to a lot of my brother's music (so that's what the kids are listening to these days).  Along the way we stopped off for a late lunch in the "Nowheresville, PA" where they served freedom fries.  That's right ... freedom fries.  None of that French crap!

For dinner, we stopped at a trucker restaurant somewhere in the middle of Pennsylvania that purported to serve "America's Best Apple Pie."  Dave ordered it, and while I wouldn't say it is the very best, the pie was accompanied by the biggest scoop of ice cream possible in the bowl it was served in.

After this loooong Monday afternoon/evening drive, we were excited for our visit to the Football Hall of Fame the following day.  To our chagrin, the HoF looked like a church from the outside.  Like a lot of football stadiums across the country, the Football Hall of Fame is nothing special from the outside and is surrounded by a large parking lot.  When we got the tickets, we also purchased tickets to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the same time (it's not every day I'm in Cleveland).

The inside of the Hall of Fame was fantastic!!! The Hall of Fame room where all the inductees had their bronze statuettes was a sight to be hold.  In a nod to possible the greatest Super Bowl ever, the HoF had the helmet that David Tyree wore when he caught "THE PASS" from Eli Manning in their Super Bowl win over the Patriots.

We had decent seats for the Indians game, first row in the outfield.  I was able to get half priced tickets for bringing pepsi cans to the game.  Also, that night's Indians game was $1 hot dog night.  Of course, I had to take part and got 3 hot dogs for dinner .... Uggh.