Royalty w/o 7/16 in review

Prince Outside Richmond County Ballpark in SI

After we getting to the West Palm Beach Airport Tuesday morning, we went to Alamo and we returned the car we rented for the five days while we were in Florida. I wound up driving 2,075 miles safely as another great road trip was coming to a close.


We took the shuttle bus to the terminal and we went to Delta Airlines to catch our 11AM flight home to NYC. We got to the gate with plenty of time to spare.


We arrived at LaGuardia Airport 15 minutes early. Once we got home, I went out to do some shopping to get what we needed for the rest of the week.


When I got done with that, I made dinner then the King and I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays.


It was nice to get away but after all there's no place like home. It was good to be back in the Big Apple.
As for the game we saw, the Yankees didn't waste time getting a jump start on the Blue Jays. Andruw Jones hit a three run homer in the second inning to set the tone early as the Yankees lead 3-0. CC Sabathia was making his first start since he came off the disabled list. He pitched well throwing six shutout innings to earn the victory as the Yankees extended their lead in the seventh inning as they added three more runs to make it 6-0. Reliever Chad Qualls got touched up for a run in the eighth that broke up the shutout as the Yankees won the game, 6-1.


Wednesday I went back to work after taking some time off to hit the road. After work, I went home to do my laundry and to briefly rest up.


Thursday night after work I went to Staten Island to see the Baby Bombers play the Brooklyn Cyclones at Richmond County Ballpark at St. George.


I want to once again thank our pal Rich Wolber aka Staten Island Rich who came through with tickets for the game for the King and I as well as our pal Vincent Ascanio who was there too. In addition, we got to take advantage of the all you eat deal that they offer there.


As for the game we saw, runs were hard to come by, in fact it took 15 innings before we saw a run score. Finally the Cyclones broke through thanks to a sacrifice fly by second baseman Richie Rodriguez that wound up being the game winner. Quite amazingly, the game ended with a double play with a runner getting thrown out at the plate to end the four hour and ten minute marathon.


Friday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for dinner on my way to Citi Field as the Mets were playing the Dodgers over the weekend.


After a brutal road trip, I was hoping the Mets could get their act together with some home cooking. On this night, they dug a hole right off the bat as Johan Santana who started the game got roughed up. In three innings of work, he allowed six runs including a pair of two run homers one to Matt Kemp in the first inning and another one to Luis Cruz. As for Cruz, it was his first career home run in the major leagues.


The Mets fought back but they fell short as they lost the game, 7-6.


I did get to meet up with fellow ballpark chaser Steve Behm who came in from Los Angeles. He was with his friend Tim from Denver. They were going to Cooperstown over the weekend to see Barry Larkin get inducted into the Hall of Fame. They're both big Cincinnati Reds' fans. It was nice to meet and greet them.

Saturday afternoon the King and I returned to Citi Field for game two of the three game set with the Dodgers. We were hoping for a different outcome.


Unfortunately the Mets once again fell behind early and they were forced to play catch up. This time the Dodgers beat up starter Miguel Batista who gave up four runs in three innings. The Mets cut the deficit to 4-2 after three innings. The Dodgers continued to assault the Mets' bullpen as they tacked on a few more runs. The Mets fought back but in the end they couldn't overcome the Dodgers who won again, 8-5.


We did get to see our buddy Manny Morales who stopped by to pay us a visit. As always, it was great to see him again.


In addition, we got a guest appearance from our pal Bill Graven who showed up at Citi Field for the first time since the ballpark opened in 2009. It was the first time we saw him since March 2010. It was a pleasant surprise. Hope to see him soon.


After the game, the King and I went back to Staten Island for a rematch as the Cyclones played the Baby Bombers again.


This time we wound up buying tickets ourselves. We wound up meeting our friend Bryan Gilligan out there.
As for the game we saw, this time the Yankees scored after the Cyclones took an early 1-0 lead as Jeff Glenn hit a lead off solo home run in the third inning. The Baby Bombers tied the game at one in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Saxon Butler of the Yankees hit a two run homer to break the tie as the Yankees held on to win, 3-1.


After the game, Bryan drove us back home. On the way home, we stopped off at Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.


Sunday the King and I returned to Citi Field for more punishment. We were hoping the Mets could salvage a game from the Dodgers after dropping the first two.


As for the game we saw, the Dodgers took a 2-0 lead on a two run homer from Juan Rivera in the fourth inning. The Mets cut the lead in half as they scored a run in their half of the fourth to pull within a run at 2-1. The Dodgers responded to get that run back in the sixth inning. The Mets fought back with a run in the seventh to get within a one run deficit again at 3-2. It stayed that way until the bottom of the ninth when the Mets managed to tie the game at three. It stayed tied until the 12th inning when the Dodgers exploded for five runs to complete the sweep, 8-3.


With that, another week of stadium travel is in the books.


Thank you for reading and following along.


Yours truly,


Gary Herman