Royalty sees Yankees play Red Sox on Sunday Night with fellow roadtripper Dave Block!

Me and Dave Block outside Yankee Stadium

After we saw a minor league baseball game in Wilmington, Delaware on Sunday afternoon, I drove us back to NYC so we could see the Yankees wrap up their series with the Boston Red Sox on Sunday night in the Bronx.

I originally planned to drive straight to the Bronx where I was going to park the car in the neighborhood like I usually do if and when I drive there.

This time there was a change in plans. Since Mike Carroll decided he wanted to go home I needed to drop him off by Grand Central Station so he could catch a Metro North train. Since it was around 7:20PM, I decided that I would just leave the car on the street in Manhattan and we could hop the subway up to the Bronx. By doing so, I didn't have to deal with the possible nightmare of parking the car in the Bronx as well as the traffic to get there. I've done that drill enough times over the years to know I was better off taking the subway instead.

We said goodbye to Mike Carroll who thank us for everything and he said he had a great time. We all enjoyed his company.

As for leaving the car in Manhattan, it worked out beautifully as the King, Dave and I walked over to the subway which was three or four blocks away to catch the 4 train up to the Bronx. We got a train within a few minutes so we had no problem getting to the Stadium on time. The King and I already had tickets for the game. We just needed to get Dave one since he decided to join us. After looking around outside for a short time, we were able to find one for him to get in the building. A guy had a bleacher ticket available. He said he would take $10 for it. So Dave quickly handed him a ten dollar bill and we went inside. I told him to come up with us behind home plate.

It worked out well since there were a few empty seats near where the King and I sit so Dave sat with us and we enjoyed the game together. What a perfect way to end an amazing weekend.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees took the rubber match of the series from their hated rival as Hiroki Kuroda pitched a gem. He went eight innings to earn the victory as the Yankees won the game, 4-1.

It should be noted that Ichiro Suzuki hit two solo home runs to help the cause. Too bad Peter Farrell wasn't there to see it live.

After the game, we took the train back to Manhattan. The King went to work and Dave went back to the car with me. He left his bag in the trunk. He told me he was meeting someone in the Village where he was spending the night so I told him I'll drive him there. True to my word, I took him where he needed to go. I didn't want him to take the subway to get there by himself. He may have gotten lost. I didn't want that to happen. I treat people the way I like to be treated. With that said, I gave him door to door service. I dropped him off right in front of the building at midnight.

We said our goodbyes. Dave was very grateful for all my kindness over the few days we spent together. I told him we'll be in touch and I said it was an absolute pleasure to have him along with us.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty welcomes back the USRT as they return to NYC to see the Yankees play the Red Sox!

View from Section 420B Row 7

Friday when I was at work I contacted Andrew Kulyk and Peter Farrell aka the USRT because they were driving down from Buffalo to see the Yankees play the Red Sox.

I wanted to make sure they had the bases covered so their latest visit would be as painless as possible.
I wrote Andrew a text with some ideas that they could benefit from. I told them where they should eat outside the stadium so they don't waste their hard earned money inside. As expected, they took my advice. They were so grateful as always for my helpful hints. It's always a pleasure to see them and to guide them along.

I arranged to help them get tickets back in March when the Yankees had their presale. They wound up getting seats out by the right field foul pole on the terrace level. They really didn't want to sit there they said. So I told them to come by us we had a few empty seats. It worked out perfectly as we all got to sit together to watch and enjoy the game. We also caught up on our travels since we last met in May in Buffalo. We also discussed our future plans for the rest of the year.

As for the game we saw, it was a wild one aided by the long ball. As for the Yankees, Nick Swisher hit two more home runs, Curtis Granderson and Russell Martin also went deep. The Captain Derek Jeter made the game official when he hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score at four. It was his 250th Major League home run of his Hall of Fame career. That came after the Red Sox' Dustin Pedroia had hit a three run shot to give the Red Sox their only lead of the night at 4-3. The Yankees broke the tie later as they went to beat the Red Sox, 6-4.

Peter Farrell was disappointed because one of his favorite players Ichiro Suzuki went hitless in three at bats. It was a rare opportunity for him to see him play live and he failed to get on base.

Despite that, Andrew and Peter both had a great time catching up with the King and I. After the game, we said our goodbyes until we meet again.

The King and I went home to get ready for our busy weekend while the Buffalo Boys were driving towards Boston since they were going to see their Buffalo Bisons play as part of a minor league doubleheader at Fenway Park. They call it the Futures Game. They were continuing their getaway on Sunday in Binghamton and Auburn, NY before they returned home late Sunday night.

Stay tuned as I recap our adventurous weekend getaway with some special guests who joined us for the royal ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 7/30 in review

Monday night after work, I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees host the Baltimore Orioles.

Before I went into the Stadium, I went to Burger King to have dinner. I wound up getting a Memphis pulled pork sandwich. After I ate, I picked up a frozen bottle of water from my pal Jin Kim who was hawking them outside his store, KJY Fruit Market on my way to Yankee Stadium. Since it was so hot I needed some relief. For a dollar, I couldn't go wrong.

After I got inside the Stadium, I went up to my seat in section 420B row 7. I got to see Vincent Ascanio who was up there already. We exchanged pleasantries and we got ready for the game.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees scored first as Eric Chavez delivered a run scoring single in the bottom of the second inning to give the Yankees an early 1-0 lead. The Orioles responded quickly as former Yankee Wilson Betemit lead off the top of the third with a solo homer to even the score at one. The Orioles tacked on a few more runs in the fifth inning as they hit a few sacrifice flies to take the lead for good at 3-1. The Yankees played catch up the rest of the night. Former Mariner Ichiro Suzuki followed a solo homer by Eric Chavez with one of his own in the eighth inning to get the Yankees within a run. It was his 100th major league home run since he came over from Japan back in 2001. Unfortunately for him and the Yankees, that's the way it stayed as the Orioles held on for a 5-4 victory.

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for game two of the series. This time I decided to go to the Court Deli Restaurant to get a sandwich for the King and I. Right after I walked in, I turned around and my pal Eddie Pelle was there. What timing that was. Eddie said this was his first time there. He said he read about it on my blog so he decided to try it out. He asked me what he should get. I told him they have great pastrami and corned beef. He decided to order a combo sandwich. After we got done ordering, we took the food out so we could eat it at the Stadium.

Eddie told me he had a seat in section 415. I told him to come with me so he could get an upgrade. We went up to section 420B and we ate our sandwiches. Shortly thereafter, I asked Eddie how his sandwich was. He said it was delicious. That was music to my ears. After we finished eating, we watched the game.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got off to a fast start as they scored five runs in the first inning. In the second inning, the Orioles got a few hits then they struck out twice. They started a two out rally as they strung together five more hits and a walk before they made the third out. Chris Davis delivered the big blow as he hit a grand slam. When it was all said and done, they scored seven runs as they roughed up Yankees' starter Ivan Nova in the process. They added another run in the third inning to make it 8-5. They added on more runs later as they cruised to an easy 11-5 win.

Wednesday night after work I went home so I could do my laundry. I ate dinner and rested up briefly.
Thursday night after work I went out to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Connecticut Tigers at MCU Park.

As for the game I saw, the Tigers tossed the Cyclones a beating as they whipped them, 11-3.

Friday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open a three game series with the Seattle Mariners.

Before the game, I met the King at the 7 Fish Market where we had a pre game meal.

After we ate, we went into the Stadium to see the game. We had a few veteran pitchers starting the game as the Mariners were throwing Kevin Millwood against Yankees' ace CC Sabathia.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees knocked Millwood around as they scored four runs off him in six innings. They added a few more runs against their bullpen. CC Sabathia on the other hand, pitched well and he even went the distance as the Yankees won the game, 6-3. He allowed just three hits and he struck out ten in the process.

During the game, I got a tweet from fellow roadtripper, Tike Narry, who was visiting the New Yankee Stadium for the first time with his wife and their seven year old son Patrick. I wound up meeting up with Tike and Patrick during the game on the concourse. He's from the Bay area. He told me he has season tickets for the San Francisco Giants and he goes to a lot of Oakland A's games too. It was nice to meet and greet them.
After the game, our friend Bryan Gilligan drove the King and I to Donovan's Pub in Queens for a post game meal.

Saturday the King and I went back to the Bronx to see game two of the series. We also got a ride to Philadelphia from Bryan Gilligan as we saw the Phillies game too that night.

Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do about our busy day.

Sunday the King and I went back to Yankee Stadium for the finale of the series.

As for the game we saw, the Mariners scored first to take an early 1-0 lead. The Yankees tied the game at one in their half of the first. They scored a run in the second and another in the fourth to go up, 3-1. Former Yankee Jesus Montero drove in his second run of the game to cut the lead to 3-2 in the fifth. The Yankees answered with a run in the fifth and they got two more in the sixth to pull away as they beat the Mariners, 6-2.

With that, another week of baseball was in the books.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 7/23 in review

Gio Gonzalez up at Bat

After work Monday night I raced over to Citi Field hoping to catch up with Gio Gonzalez of the Washington Nationals since his team was in town to play the Mets who finally returned home after a miserable road trip after the All-Star break. Just like the Mets I had no such luck. Since it rained for a little while late in the afternoon I knew batting practice may have been cancelled. When I got inside Citi Field shortly after 6PM, the field was deserted except for some members of the grounds crew who were getting the field ready for the game.

When I got down to the railing, I heard a guy tell his son that the Yankees just traded for Ichiro Suzuki. I was surprised at first then I realized you can never have enough depth these days. With all the injuries, it makes sense to carry extra bodies. In my eyes, it would have been nice to see Ichiro stay with the Mariners but in this day and age, it's figures he waived his no trade clause so he could have a chance to win.
As for the Yankees, it was a good business decision even if he's old and washed up. He will help sell tickets and merchandise. It was a low risk move for them.

As for me, after I missed out on an opportunity to see Gio again, I went up towards my seat in section 516. Before I went to sit down, I decided to stop off and get something to eat at Blue Smoke where they have pulled pork sandwiches and ribs. I've had the pulled pork in the past which was excellent. This time I decided to try the ribs. They were amazing to say the least. I'm glad I decided to get them.

After I ate, I watched the Mets play the Nationals along with the King, Vincent Ascanio and David Sack who came back from a road trip out in the Midwest. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Nationals got a solid performance by starter Jordan Zimmermann who allowed just one run in six innings but he didn't weigh in the decision as the bullpen allowed the Mets to tie the game at two. The Nationals struck early in the first inning. Right after the King wanted to know why Bryce Harper was on the All-Star team, he hit the next pitch into the bullpen to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead. He showed him. After the game was tied late, the Nationals needed a tenth inning to overcome the Mets. They did so by scoring six runs to outlast them, 8-2 to keep them in their tail spin.

Tuesday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for dinner on my way to Citi Field.

I knew that Gio Gonzalez was starting so I knew I wouldn't be able to see him up close. I wound up going out to the outfield to see him as he was loosening up to get ready for his start. It was payback time for him. His last start was against the Mets in Washington and he got bombed. I expected him to bounce back and pitch well. This time he didn't disappoint me. He pitched seven strong innings allowing a run which was unearned. He retired the side in order in four of the seven innings. It was a Gio like performance that I've become accustomed to reading about.

The Nationals went on to beat the Mets again, 5-2. Gio picked up his 13th win of the season against just five losses. On this night, he out pitched Mets' ace R.A. Dickey who fell to 13-2.

It should be noted this was the first major league game I saw Gio win live in person. If you're an avid reader of my blog you know I always wound up missing him pitch by a day. That's happened numerous times the last three years. Thankfully it didn't happen again this time.

Wednesday night after I work I went home after work to rest up and catch up on things around the house.
Thursday night I got home in time for the release of the 2012-2013 NBA Schedule on NBA TV. I was anxious to see what's in store for my upcoming Fall and Winter. I spent some time laying in some potential local games as well as some possible road trips that I may take.

Friday night after work I went up to the Bronx for the first installment of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry there this season. Before I went inside the Stadium, I met the King at the 7 Fish Market for dinner.

After we ate, we walked up the block to go to the game.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees tossed the Red Sox a beating as they won, 10-3. Phil Hughes pitched well for seven innings allowing three runs. The Yankee offense was powered by the long ball as usual. Raul Ibanez and Russell Martin both hit two run homers off starter Aaron Cook who is notorious for throwing ground balls. He got shelled for six runs in four innings. Later in the game, Curtis Granderson hit a grand slam to put the game out of reach for the Yankees.

Saturday I rented a car and I drove a car full to Baltimore to see the Orioles play. Stay tuned for the special post I'm going to do that will recap that getaway.

Sunday the King and I went back to Yankee Stadium for the rubber match of the Yankees/ Red Sox series. When we were away Saturday the Red Sox beat the Yankees to even the series at a game a piece.

This time the Red Sox got off to a fast start as they built a 2-0 lead thanks to a hit by Ryan Sweeney. The game stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh inning when Russell Martin hit a solo home run to pull the Yankees within a run at 2-1. In the eighth inning, Martin delivered again. This time he got a run tying single.

The game stayed tied until the tenth inning when Pedro Ciriaco untied it with a hit to give the Red Sox a 3-2 win. As a result, they won the series over the weekend.

Another week has come and gone.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman