Since it was close to game time, I went straight upstairs to section 515 where the rest of the Royal Court was sitting on this night. Besides Vinny, Frank & David, we also had Phil Butleman, Pat Gorman & Alan Gimpel amongst us.
We had a good pitching match up that night as the Phillies had Cliff Lee on the mound while the Mets countered with rookie prospect Zack Wheeler. It turned out to be a good one for a change. The Phillies got a two run triple from Cody Asche in the fourth inning that was the difference in the game as the Phillies got by the Mets, 2-1.
Tuesday night after work I returned to Citi Field for game two of the four game set. Since it was another Citi Tuesday I decided to eat at the ballpark with the $10 gift card I received just for showing my Citi card at the booth out in center field. I was considering going to Shake Shack but as usual the line was forever so I decided to go next door to Blue Smoke for some ribs instead. When I got done I walked back around the ballpark on the field level then I went upstairs behind home plate in section 515 where I caught up with the King, David Sack, Alan Gimpel, Al Linderman & Pat Gorman who were also present & accounted on this night.
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| Eric Schwartzman & I at Citi Field |
As for the game we saw, it was a rare fast one. It took only two hours and 19 minutes as Mets' starter Jonathon Niese went the distance throwing a three hit shutout as the Mets beat the Phillies, 5-0.
Wednesday night after work I went to Subway & Carvel for my pre game meal & dessert as I returned to Citi Field for game three against the Phillies.
When I got up to section 515 on this night, I was joined by a regular crowd as David Sack, Phil Butleman, Pat Gorman & Alan Gimpel also came back for more. In addition, Martin Caamano showed up as well. Furthermore, we had some added entertainment in section 513 as the Hooligan's were in the house.
As for the game we saw, unlike the night before it was a long one. It took three hours & 32 minutes to play mainly because of Dice K who started for the Mets & to be perfectly honest, he was absolutely awful. The Phillies roughed him up as they went on to beat the Mets, 6-2.
Thursday night after work I came home because I needed to do my laundry. The Mets wrapped up their series with the Phillies in the afternoon. They wound up winning to splitting it two games a piece.
Friday I got out of work early at 3PM thanks to the holiday weekend. As a result, I was able to go home first & I had a bite to eat. Then I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a weekend series with the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. It happened to be Yogi Berra Bobblehead Doll night for the first 18,000 fans so I was fortunate I was able to get there early enough to get one.
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| Yogi Berra Bobblehead Doll |
When I got up to my seat in section 420B row 7, my pals Steve Tepperman, Larry Peim & William Frank Guthrie were all sitting nearby. Shortly after the game started, fellow roadtripper Sean MacDonald showed up. He just moved to NYC after spending 15 years in Japan & another year in Singapore. It was great to see him again. I expect to see him more often but not in the near future because he's taking a four month trip to see all 32 NFL stadiums by car. I told him to contact me if and when he needs any of my sound advice along the way.
As for the game we saw, it was fast & scoreless for the first three innings. After that, the rest of the game was dragged on. The Orioles got on the scoreboard first in the top of the fourth inning to take a 1-0 lead which was short lived as the Yankees answered when Alfonso Soriano hit a two run homer to make it 2-1. The Orioles responded in the top of the fifth inning when they got a long two run homer from Danny Valencia who hit the ball to the back of the Oriole bullpen in left center field. They also got a clutch two out hit from Manny Machado to take a 4-2 lead. In the fifth inning, the Yankees batted around as they score five runs to take the lead for good. They wound up holding off the Orioles by a score of 8-5.
After the game we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.
Saturday afternoon the King & I returned to Yankee Stadium for game two of the series between the Yankees & the Orioles. We had William Frank Guthrie, Al Linderman & Michael Abrams there with us.
As for the game we saw, the Yankees got a stellar complete game performance as starter Ivan Nova threw a three hit shutout as the Yankees beat the Orioles, 2-0.
After the game, the King & I took the subway to Coney Island where we saw the Brooklyn Cyclones host the Aberdeen Ironbirds at MCU Park. Ironically as we were walking to the ballpark, a guy asked us if we needed tickets. We said we did & he handed them to us. I shook his hand and thanked him.
When we got inside the park, we had some friends there as Domish, William Frank Guthrie & his wife Beth showed up as did Al Linderman & Michael Abrams.
As for the game we saw, the Ironbirds got seven shutout innings from their starter Sebastian Vader who earned the victory as the Ironbirds won, 7-0. Earlier in the season, we saw Vader throw eight shutout innings. That night he left winning 4-0. The Ironbirds' bullpen blew the game as they wound up winning 5-4 in ten innings.
Sunday afternoon the King & I returned for the finale in the Bronx. Depending on how the game was going I was considering going to Brooklyn again to see the Cyclones play the Ironbirds at 5PM. I hate to leave games early unless I deem it necessary.
As for the game we saw, Andy Pettitte started and he pitched well for six innings. He gave up two hits in the seventh inning & Joe Girardi decided to take him out unnecessarily. He left with a 3-0 lead. The move turned out to back fire on the Yankees as the Orioles wound up exploding for seven runs as they batted around. The King & I were feed up in the middle of the inning. After J.J. Hardy hit a three run homer to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead, we decided to leave so we could get to the Cyclone game on time.
The Yankees wound up losing the game, 7-3. Adam Jones hit a three run homer that we missed. The game took three & a half hours to play. We didn't regret leaving. We hate to be held prisoner.
We wound up taking the subway back to Coney Island and we arrived at MCU Park just in time for the first pitch at 5:01PM.
As for the game we saw, it was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning when the Cyclones got a run to go up 1-0. The Ironbirds tied it up in the top of the eighth inning when left fielder Connor Bierfeldt hit a solo homer. In the ninth inning, the Ironbirds scored four runs including a three run double by Mike Yastrzemski, the grandson of former Red Sox great, Carl Yastrzemski. The Cyclones made a comeback in the bottom of the ninth inning but they fell short as they lost the game, 5-4.
Stay tuned for my w/o 9/2, w/o 9/9 & w/o 9/16 week in reviews. I'm trying to catch up slowly but surely. Please bear with me.
Thank you for reading & following along.
Yours truly,
Gary Herman
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