August 2004 Archives

We've been to two games recently, the 9-0 loss to Tampa Bay on 8/23 and the 7-3 loss to Kansas City on 8/26, in which Ichiro! hit his 200th hit, a home run in the ninth inning (though we had left just before that). We ate the usual food stuffs, did the usual things, and it was all okay. Even though the Mariners have actually won their last 4 games, my impression of the team (other than Ichiro's amazing batting prowess) is that they are just... awful. We happened to be at two stinker games.

During Thursday's game, it started raining, so the roof was closed, which is somewhat interesting to watch. Henry certainly liked it. We got a little wet as it closed, even though we sit in the first part of the stadium to get covered; being used to rain, it didn't bother us. Refreshing! I asked Henry if he wanted his rain jacket on and he said, "Nah!" Good attitude, considering we're in for 8 months or so of the stuff, starting in October.

With the roof closed, you stay dry without being completely closed in, since the sides are open. The wind still blows in, you can still see the cityscape behind the left field bleachers. It is one of the things I really like about Safeco. Something I don't like about Safeco is the extra seats they've added in center field this year, known as Section 101. They replace most of the area in the center field landing where all the single kids would hang out to party and pick one another up. Why do I care, married mom that I am? These open spaces, where fans can mingle and still watch the game, without having to be confined to a seat, are great. They give Safeco a different feel than other stadiums, a more comfortable feel. You can get up, stretch your legs, meet other folks besides your seat mates, and still see the game. This is good for singles, for parents with restless preschoolers or infants who only stay calm while moving, for fans who want different perspectives from which to see the game... I hope they don't bring the seats back next season.

And, a couple more words about Ichiro! Wow. Three consecutive 50-hit months (he's up to 53 hits for August), 209 hits in his fourth season with over 200 hits. It's been fun watching him, anyway.

August 13, 2004, 7:05pm, Safeco Field
Mariners 3, New York Yankees 11

Red hydro, hat number 2, a bunch of food consumed... I don't have the heart to write about the games anymore. It hurts even more when it's a loss to the Yankees because even here in Seattle scads of their fans show up to gloat. Not as loud as the Red Sox crowd, but more smug! Sigh.

Other than the game, Henry and I had a great time. (Brad was home feeling sick, poor guy.) We went to the play area, saw several trains, talked about all kinds of things. We were hardly in our seats, which was just as well given undramatic nature of the game... We were there for some of Joel's birthday cupcakes, though, which was nice. Joel is a boy who sits 4 or 5 seats over from us; his family has the same season ticket plan we have. They brought cupcakes to the ball park for everyone! (Well, okay, they didn't bring 46,359 cupcakes; but they did bring enough for all the usual folks in our couple of rows.)