May 2004 Archives

May 21, 2004, 7:05pm
Mariners v. Tigers
Final: Tigers 5, Mariners 0
Seats: Section 112, row 28, seats 1-3
Weather: Cool and cloudy
Roof: Open
Transportation: Drove, parked for $15.00
Usher: Ned
How long we stayed: All 9 innings
Play Area: Open, mobbed, went with Henry
Hat Trick: Didn't see it
Hydros: Yellow
Freebies: 2 "I was there" stickers, 2 packs laminated baseball cards
Food: 1 regular hot dog ($3.50), 1 jumbo hot dog ($5.25), 1 large Pepsi ($4.00), 1 small cookies 'n' cream Dippin' Dots ($4.00), 2 Ivar dogs (2 x $4.75), 1 bowl chowder ($4.00), 1 bottle water ($3.50)
(Total: $33.75)

Another loss, in spite of Gil Meche's 11 strikeouts and Ichiro's 2000th hit. The baseball was lackluster but at least we weren't at tonight's game, in which the Mariners lost their lead in the 8th when the bullpen imploded. Again.

The uninspired play does start to wear on you, even if you're determined to enjoy the other aspects of a night at the ball park. I wonder if I'll start dreading going to games? It's really painful to watch at times. As far as the rest of the experience, it was pretty good. Henry had a blast at the play area, in spite of the crowded craziness there. He ran into his friend Leo and got to see two loud, long freight trains pass by from his lofty perch in the kid habitrail. He had his glove with him and held it up to catch every fly ball hit, even though none of them was within 50 feet of us. Someday, he'll catch one.

May 18, 2004, 7:05pm
Final: Orioles 7, Mariners 2
Seats: Section 141, row 5, seats 1-3 (best seats ever for us, and they ought to be at $50.00 each, $167.74 total with all the convenience charges because we used Ticketmaster last minute...)
Weather: Sun and clouds, cool by game's end
Roof: Open
Transportation: Drove, parked in our favorite lot for $10.00
Usher: Bud
How long we stayed: All 9 innings.
Play Area: Open, Brad and Henry went.
Hat Trick: #1
Hydros: Red
Freebies: 3 Mariners floppy hats; 2 "I was there" stickers; 1 baseball card
Food:3 hot dogs (Hebrew National) (3 x $3.75); 1 cup of fries ($3.75); small Pepsi ($3.00); bottle water ($3.50); bottle Pepsi One ($3.50); large lemonade ($3.75); pretzel with salt ($3.00); 1 small vanilla Dippin' Dots ($4.00)
(Total: $35.75)

So, these were some good seats. Just 5 rows back, on the aisle (important when at games with a 3 year old), and right in front of third base. I wish the game had been better, but the "fan experience" otherwise was good. We paid for it, of course. A couple of other things... There were four folks in front of us from the Philadelphia area; one of them had that real strong Philly/Maryland accent that reminds me of my childhood. They about lost it when the vendor with the Shiskaberries came around. (For the uninitiated, Shishkaberries are chocolate-covered strawberries on a stick.) They wanted to know when the espresso guy would arrive, when the wine would be served, etc. They were clearly amused by the "niceness" of it all. On the other end of the spectrum, fans threw an Oriole home run ball back in the 6th inning (plus another extra ball). Henry brought his glove to the game for the first time, but we never really had a chance at a foul ball.

There were a few good things baseball-wise. The Mariners turned a nice double play. Randy Winn made a good catch at the wall. Boone and Ibanez homered. Dan Wilson had a 14-pitch at bat. But, nothing flowed, they couldn't put anything together. It was painful to watch. The Mariners have the second worst record in baseball right now; only Tampa Bay is worse, though the Montreal Expos are also in the running. I guess it's the little things, now; a double play here, a leaping catch there. And, the Mariners are up 7-0 on the Orioles as I write this. Make that 8-0; Ichiro just batted Aurilia in. It'll be interesting to see how they try to rebuild the team.

And, I guess it's the other things going on in baseball that can keep you going when your own team is stinking up the place. Randy Johnson's perfect game (they showed the 9th inning live on the big screen before the M's game started), Hee Seop Choi's inside the park home run, the Barry Bonds home run count. Also, even when your team is the second worst in baseball, they can still surprise you and win a game 11-0.

May 9, 2004, 1:05pm
Final: Yankees 7, Mariners 6
Seats: Section 214, row 3, seats 5, 6, 7
Weather: Sun and clouds, cool
Roof: Open
How long we stayed: 7 innings
Hydros: yellow
Hat Trick: unknown
Food and Drink: 1 minor league dog, 1 major league dog, french fries, 1 bottle water, 1 regular pepsi ($20.00); another minor league dog, pretzel, another regular pepsi ($10.00)
Transportation: Drove and parked for $15.00
Play Area: Henry was too tired (getting sick) to go!
Freebies: 2 "I was there" stickers

A strange game. Henry's and my first time in the terrace seats. (Brad went once last season.) They are nice (padded and wider than the regular seats) and many more of the fans around us seemed into the baseball, keeping score and such. The concourse area on the terrace level is pleasant and much calmer than the main concourse. No Dippin' Dots, though.

Both Henry and I were not feeling too well; in retrospect, maybe we should have stayed home. But, it was Brad and Henry's special Mother's Day gift to me (and Henry was very excited about that), so we went. We left in the 8th with a shaky, upset Henry. He rallied on the way home a bit, but then fell asleep in my lap at around 6pm.

Oh, yeah. There was a baseball game, too.

I almost forgot...

May 4, 2004; 7:05pm
Final: Mariners 4, Twins 3
Seats: Section 112, row 28, seats 1, 2, 3
Weather: Partly cloudy, cool
Roof: Closed, then opened at 6:24pm
How long we stayed: 11 innings out of 16 total
Hydros: red
Hat Trick: hat #1
Food: Seattle Roll ($7.50), Jumbo Dog and Regular Dog ($8.75), small vanilla Dippin' Dots ($4.00), Dark Chocolate Berry Banana Shiskaberry ($5.50)
Drink: 1 bottle water ($3.50); 1 hot chocolate ($4.00), numerous water refills from drinking fountain (free)
Transportation: Kathy took the bus from Northgate Park and Ride, bus ($1.50); Brad and Henry drove ($20.00 for parking)
Play Area: open, crowded, ran into a boy from Henry's preschool
Freebies: 2 "I was there" stickers, scads of baseball cards, 1 Ichiro Choo-choo
Purchases: 1 Mariners puzzle, 1 MLB sticker set that is really an NHL set with baseball stickers
Total Cost: a lot

A long game, full of controversial calls at the plate and weird base running errors. Henry sang along with the national anthem.

Well, the Mariners have been struggling and are now 7 games back in the AL West. They've been on the road, so we haven't been to any games recently, though we've caught some of the action on TV and radio. Their 9-16 record isn't the worst in the AL, but it's down near the bottom. Today's game was a fun exception, with the M's winning 12-2 in an offensive bonanza.

Of course, Henry doesn't care too much about their record. He's starting to understand the concept of winning but cares more about an exciting play: a collison at home plate, an acrobatic catch at the wall, a tumble into the stands to catch a pop up, a batting helmet flying off a sliding player's head. He also likes re-enacting these plays, self-announcing the action as he imitates what he's seen. He doesn't always get the jargon right, but the enthusiasm is there. We've been playing lots of basement ball and t-ball in the backyard. Henry's really been pounding the ball and he's been getting the hang of catching it with his glove, too. He seems so joyous about it. So, that part of baseball has been fun even though the world of the Mariners has been a fan gripe-fest lately.