Royalty goes to PNC Park in Pittsburgh over first weekend in June!‏

When the baseball schedule came out last September, I knew that the weekend of June 7th & 8th, the Mets & Yankees were both going to be away. With that being said, I needed to figure out a way to maximize my time off that weekend. Since the Pirates were slated to play a 4:05PM game that Saturday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park, I thought that would be a good building block. 

As it got closer, I arranged to get the King a car rental for a week a few days before that weekend started. He always needs to see as many games as humanly possible. Since there were a few minor league games within driving distance that he could get to, he told me to make him a reservation. ‎I checked out the rates online. I was able to get a really good deal from Dollar Rent A Car by LaGuardia Airport so I went ahead & booked it for him. He wound up getting a Ford Focus which sufficed. While I was working & home relaxing for a few nights, the King was driving around. He wound up going to Baltimore that Friday night to see the Orioles play the Athletics at Camden Yards. Since I was really busy that week at work, I couldn't take off that Friday to join him. He told me that he would be willing to drive back home to pick me up. As crazy as it sounds, he did indeed. 

I got up early Saturday morning & I got ready to hit the road. We wound up leaving the house around 8:30AM. ‎We drove 400 miles before we arrived in Pittsburgh just before 3PM that afternoon. We made a stop for gas & some made to order food at Sheetz in Brookville, Pennsylvania. We then continued on Route 28 for another 80 miles until we arrived at Cedar Avenue which is where that road ends in Pittsburgh. We went up a few blocks & we turned the car around & we parked on the street. We fed the pay by license plate multi space meter that they recently installed there which replaced the old meters they used to use.  We locked the car & we proceeded to take the short walk over to the ballpark. 

Collage of my latest PNC Park visit

When we got inside I told the King I'll meet behind home plate on the lower level around game time. By doing so, I was able to wander around. I went downstairs so I could take a picture then I went to the team store behind home plate so I could get my brand new 25 game MLB Pass-Port book stamped before it got too crowded. After that, I walked ‎out to the area on the concourse behind right field. As a result, I got to see former Pirate Manny Sanguillen who played for them back in the '70's. He has his own barbecue stand called Manny's BBQ. 

After a brief stop there, I made my way to the Pirate bullpen out in left field. I went there to see my pal Jason Grilli aka Grill Cheese who was still a Pirate at the time. A few weeks ago he got traded to the Angels. I told Jason I hope to see him pitch. Thanks to a lady I know, JeanAnn Harrison, I've gotten to meet Jason on a number of occasions. She's a business partner of his. Jason is a preserver. He has fought back from numerous injuries to get back to the major leagues. He loves the game. Despite his setbacks ‎& poor performances of late, I hope Jason continues to be successful. He has the motivation to overcome the adversity. Now that's he an Angel I hope things change for the better for him. He had a nice run when he was in Pittsburgh. In fact, in May his own book called Just My Game was released. It details his rocky road to success in the big leagues. 

When I got back to the area behind home plate in section 116, I saw the King standing back there. I decided when the usher walked down to escort some people to their seats that I would attempt to give myself a royal upgrade from the standing room tickets we had. I was successful. I wound up going down five rows or so & I sat down. Quite amazingly, I had two seats to myself. It was rather crowded but luck was on my side. As a result, I got to see the game from a great vantage point. 

As for the game we saw, the first batter of the game reached on three errors which set the tone for an odd day at the ballpark. The Brewers took an early 1-0 lead. The Pirates fought back to go ahead 2-1in the bottom of the third inning but they immediately gave it back as the Brewers went ahead, 4-2 with three runs in the top of the fourth inning. The Pirates got within a run at 4-3 in the sixth inning but they blew a golden opportunity to get more. As a result, they couldn't overcome the deficit as the Brewers scored four runs in the eighth inning & one more in the ninth inning to win going away, 9-3. Matt Garza of the Brewers got a quality start as he allowed three runs in six innings of work to earn the victory despite walking five in the process. By doing so, I wasn't able to see Jason Grilli pitch that day. Regardless I still had a good time. PNC Park is one of the best modern ballparks. With that being said, if you haven't been there yet, you should make some time to get there so you can see for yourself.

Stay tuned as I plan to write some more special posts that will recap this adventurous weekend.

Thank you for reading ‎& following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty does the Chicago/Milwaukee shuttle to start the Labor Day weekend Part 2!

Brewers win, 3-2 thanks to Corey Hart

After we spent the night sleeping at Super 8 by O'Hare Airport in Elk Grove Village, the King and I ate breakfast there too before we headed out to start our busy day. It worked out well as we got to choose from cereal, toast and waffles along with juice, milk, coffee and tea.

After we ate, we drove back to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs host the Giants in game two of their three game set.

We wound up parking the car on the street again in the neighborhood for free. On the way to Wrigley, we stopped off at Artemio's Bakery where bought a few cookies and they hit the spot.

Once we got to the ballpark, we had to look for tickets for the game since we only had tickets for Friday and Sunday's games. Originally this game was going to start at 3:05PM but Fox decided not to show this game because the Cubs were so bad. As a result, the game time was changed to 12:05PM. With that being said, the Brewers were home at 6:10PM so we decided to do the Chicago/Milwaukee shuttle again.

As for tickets, we wound up getting them outside. One cost us $10 and the other one we got the guy told me to go in with him so that was free. We split the cost so we each paid $5. I'm glad the Cubs have had a bad season. By doing so, we got tickets cheap and we got to go back to Milwaukee too. Another day and we got to see another doubleheader of baseball.

As for the game we saw, the Giants learned their lesson after they lost to the Cubs Friday afternoon. This time they jumped on the Cubs right off the bat as they scored four runs as catcher Hector Sanchez got hit by a pitch which drove in the first run. Then Xavier Nady followed with a bases clearing three run double. They added a run in the second inning to take a 5-0 lead. The Cubs broke the shutout in the third inning as David DeJesus hit a two run homer off Giants' starter Tim Lincecum, who's had an off year, went six and a third innings to earn the victory as the Giants won, 5-2. Ironically the game took three hours and nine minutes which was the same exact time of Friday's game. Since the game started 15 minutes earlier than Friday we had a little more time to get to Milwaukee.

We went back to the car and we headed back to Milwaukee on US 41. Since we had more time, we decided to stop off fast at Brown's Chicken in Gurnee, Illinois which was right on the side of the road in a small shopping center that was connected with a Citgo gas station. We wound up taking out some food and we ate it in the car as we continued to make our way back to Miller Park. We wound up taking 25 minutes to do so. That was longer than we expected but at least our food was made to order and it tasted really good.

I wound up parking the car in the same area as I did Friday night on the street. This time I parked at 5:50PM. We walked over and we still needed tickets for the game. This time I got a ticket for $10 and the King wound up getting one for free. Once again we paid only $5 each. We ran inside and we even got up to the upper deck in time for the first pitch. Another on time arrival. This was the 20th game I've seen at Miller Park. I've been there at least every year since it opened its doors in April 2001.

As for the game we saw, the Pirates' A.J. Burnett, a former Yankee pitched well as he held the Brewers without a hit for five and two third innings. He did allow a run to score on a wild pitch though. The Brewers finally got a hit and they eventually tied the game at two after the Pirates took a brief lead at 2-1. Jason Grilli came on in the bottom of the eighth inning. He managed to keep the game tied despite having to work around an error and an intentional walk. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Corey Hart of the Brewers ended the game with a game winning home run off the second pitch he saw from Pirates' closer Joel Hanrahan who took the loss as the Brewers won, 3-2 in dramatic fashion.

After the game, we drove back to the Super 8 in Elk Grove Village to spend the night again. On the way back, the King said he was hungry so we decided to stop off at Steak N Shake which was located at Gurnee Mills. We went in and we had some steakburger sliders to go along with a shake. It turned out to be a great decision.

Once we were done we drove back to the hotel and we got a good night sleep.

Stay tuned for the next installment as I continue to recap the rest of the getaway.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 5/14 in review

Monday night after work I went to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Milwaukee Brewers as they returned home for a short four game homestand.

On my way there I stopped off at one of my favorite places, Taste of Dolly's. I got a few slices of pizza and a 20 ounce bottle of soda for $5.50. At Citi Field, I can't even get a hot dog for that price.

At the game I was joined by the King, our pal Vincent Ascanio and our friend Frank Anichiarico. As for Frank, he came at the last minute because our buddy Manny Morales had an extra ticket because he was going to the Ranger game instead. He contacted me during the day and he asked me for Frank's phone number because he wanted to give him the ticket. I gave him his number and Frank arranged to meet him at his office to get the ticket. It was very nice of Manny to hook him up.

As for the game we saw, the Mets had a 3-0 lead going into the ninth inning as Miguel Batista pitched well. Frank Francisco came in to pitch and he allowed a run which broke the shutout but the Mets hung on to win, 3-1.

Tuesday night after work I went back to Citi Field to see the second game of this brief two game series. It was the Brewers' only visit to New York this year.

On the way there, I went to Wendy's for dinner.

After I ate, I hopped back on the train and went to the game. This time I was joined by the King and Vincent Ascanio who were at the Phillie game against the Astros in the afternoon at Citizens Bank Park.
Since the King was on vacation this week, I arranged to get him a car for three days so he could drive himself to see some more games.

As for the Met game, the Brewers roughed up Mets' starter Dillon Gee for seven runs as they went on to beat the Mets by a score of 8-0. Zack Greinke pitched seven scoreless innings to pick up the win. Travis Ishikawa hit two home runs and Rickie Weeks added another one to carry the Brew Crew to the easy victory.

Wednesday night after work I went back to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Cincinnati Reds in the first of their two game series.

On my way I went to the game, I went to Subway and Carvel for dinner as well as dessert.

As for the King, he went to Reading, Pennsylvania to see a minor league game first. He drove back and he joined me at Citi Field.

As for the game we saw, the Mets behind a solid pitching performance by Johan Santana lead 3-2 after six innings. The Mets' bullpen proceeded to blow the game as the Mets fell to the Reds, 6-3. Todd Frazier of the Reds delivered the big blows as he homered twice. Once in the seventh inning to tie the game and again in the eighth inning to win it as Mets' reliever Jon Rauch imploded.

Thursday I went home after work since the Mets played an afternoon game. The King went there then he drove to Allentown, Pennsylvania to see the Lehigh Valley IronPigs play.

As for me, I went home and I did my laundry and I rested up for my big weekend road trip.

Stay tuned for the different special posts I'm going to do about this epic getaway. Please check back it will be worth your while to do so.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/15 in review

Shea Bridge at Citi Field

This past week was a rather uneventful one for me. Since the schedule makers had a brainstorm it prevented me from seeing any major league baseball for most of the week. Neither the Mets or Yankees were home Monday-Thursday. So I had to resort to going all the way to Coney Island to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play.

With that being said, Wednesday night right after work I met the King and we took a long subway ride out there. We got there with just enough time to go to Nathan's Famous the original one I might add for a few hot dogs, crinkle cut fries and a lemonade. A great pre game meal on our way to the ballpark which is called MCU Park these days. It used to called Keyspan Park.

Once we got inside, we met up with plenty of familiar faces. We got to see many people that we know which made for a nice night out which enhanced the royal experience.

As for the game we saw, the Brooklyn Cyclones went on to beat the Jamestown Jammers who we saw play in Jamestown on our recent road trip at the end of July. The Cyclones built an early 4-0 lead after two innings as they cruised to an easy 5-2 victory.

After staying home again Thursday night, I went back to Citi Field Friday night to see the Mets play the red hot Milwaukee Brewers. Thanks to mother nature, the game was delayed just before game time. After a lengthy almost three hour delay they finally started playing just before ten o'clock. As a result, I was forced to leave the game early due to the fact I had to count on public transportation to get me home. In addition, I had a long day in store on Saturday to deal with so I departed Citi Field in the top of the seventh inning at midnight.

The Mets were trailing 6-0 at the time. After I left the Mets wound up breaking the shutout as they scored a run. They lost the game, by a score of 6-1.

Saturday the game was originally scheduled for a 7:10PM start but Fox decided a few weeks ago to change the starting time to a 4:10PM first pitch so I knew with my game plan I was in jeopardy of having to miss the game. The way it turned out, I did indeed. That's just the way it goes sometimes. I had more important things to take care of on a personal level so I did what I needed to do.

Sunday I went back for more punishment at Citi Field. After coming back on Saturday to take a lead against K-Rod no less, the Mets still found a way to lose anyway. The Mets once again fell behind this time, 2-0. Lucas Duda hit a two run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the game at two and it gave the Mets a glimmer of hope. Unfortunately that was short lived as their lousy bullpen gave the game away again. The Brewers scored two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth inning to sweep the Mets, 6-2. This time K-Rod pitched a scoreless eighth inning to help the Brew Crew leave New York in style. Unlike their last visit to NYC, when they got embarrassed in the Bronx by the Yankees.

I was happy for the great people I know who happen to live in Milwaukee.

After the game, the King and I got a ride to Brooklyn thanks to our friend Bryan Gilligan who took us to see the Cyclones play again. Well that would have been true if mother nature didn't interfere. We got to see three plus innings. During the top of the fourth, the umpires decided to tarp the field. The Cyclones were losing to the Tri City Valley Cats, 6-2 at the time. After waiting over an hour, they suspended the game.
That's how the week ended. They were completing the game on Monday night before the regularly scheduled game which was now going to be a seven inning game. Check back next week for all the details.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty goes to Miller Park after enjoying the "Suite" life at Wrigley Field!

Miller Park

After you go to baseball heaven, things tend to spiral downward. In other words, when you start at the top, it's all downhill from there.

As for the King and I, we still try to make the best of the circumstances we're given.

With that being said, we attacked the Chicago rush hour traffic on a Friday afternoon and we made our way to Miller Park in Milwaukee so we could see another baseball game.

I managed to do 24 miles in the first hour upon our departure from the streets of Wrigleyville at 4:47PM.

The second hour I managed to do another 59 miles. A few minutes later I wound up parking the car on the street within walking distance of Miller Park at 6:51PM for a 7:10PM first pitch as the Milwaukee Brewers were taking on the Pittsburgh Pirates.

We survived the worse drive of the trip. We knew exactly what to expect since we've done this drive numerous times over the last 20 years.

As for Miller Park, it's located across the way from where Old County Stadium was. With that being said, it's a convenient location and more importantly it has a retractable roof so they can play the game regardless of the weather conditions.

In order to get to Miller Park from Chicago you have to eventually take I-94 West which goes through South Milwaukee where the airport is located at exit 318. You continue through downtown Milwaukee which is exit 312 I believe. Please be aware of the construction that's ongoing in this area. Once you get through that, you'll see Miller Park in the distance. As you approach the area, there are signs that guided you to Miller Park Way which is exit 308 and before you know it you have arrived.

You can park in their massive parking lots which surround the stadium. If you choose to do so, I strongly suggest you get there early if possible so you can take in the Wisconsin experience.

Whenever we've gone to a Brewer game in Milwaukee, it always seems like we're at a football game because everybody's outside their cars tailgating and having a great time before they decide to head into the ballpark.

Milwaukee is known for its beer and brats. In matter of fact, the Miller Brewery is located right nearby. You can even smell the alcohol as you walk over to the ballpark which makes for a fitting touch.

As for the brats, Milwaukee and the state of Wisconsin has the best around. They serve a brand called Klement's. When you go to a Brewer game, treat yourself to one and see. Please make sure you eat it right by requesting sauerkraut and the famous secret sauce that they use to give it that unique taste.

By doing so, you may not be in baseball heaven like in Chicago but you'll be in Brat heaven instead.
As for the usual game experience, Miller Park like County Stadium provides for an unique family entertainment atmosphere.

At Miller Park, they're celebrating their 10th anniversary. The Brewer tradition has continued throughout the years. From the famous Sausage race to the 7th inning stretch when they "Roll out the Barrel" to Bernie Brewer going down his slide in left field when a Brewer hits a home run.

Furthermore, they even have one dollar tickets on the day of the game. They're known as the "Uecker" seats in honor of their radio announcer, the legendary Bob Uecker, who is notorious for saying and I quote "I must be in the front row". That's another reason to get to Miller Park early so you can get in for just a buck.

As for the game, we saw the Brewers beat up on their whipping boys, the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-2.

The Brewers had beaten the Pirates 29 out of their last 31 games that were played here in Milwaukee.

Regardless of the outcome, it was fun to be in the building to take in all of the traditional festivities.

Stay tuned as the best is still yet to come from this incredible weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty enjoys the "Suite" life at Wrigley Field!

"Suite"

Once the King and I arrived in Chicago at O'Hare airport on Friday morning, life was good.

The weather at that time was gorgeous. As the day wore on, the temperature dropped considerably.

Fortunately for us we got hooked up with tickets to the Fox suite at Wrigley Field which was located right by third base. I just had to go to the Will Call window to pick them up.

I want to thank my former co-worker here at Fox in New York, Walter Augustin for making this possible for the King and I and our friend Andrew Van Cleve aka the Ultimate Sports fan who lives up the block from the friendly confines.

Walter now works at our Fox affiliate WFLD in Chicago. When he heard I was coming to town the day before he arranged to accomodate me and my friends. We had a great time in the suite thanks to our fine host Tim who made sure everything ran smoothly. We got to enjoy free food and the drinks were on the house too.

More importantly, the King and I met a lady named Rebecca Barr who was enjoying the game in the suite with us. She made a great situation even better. We got to talk baseball with her. She grew up near Peoria, Illinois in a very small town she said. Peoria is located between Chicago and St. Louis. She happens to be a Cardinal fan. I respect that. I did tell her this is baseball heaven though. Nothing beats seeing a baseball game at Wrigley Field. The setting here is so unique.

As for the game we saw, the Cubs were playing the 2010 World Champion San Francisco Giants.

The Cubs wound up putting their hitting shoes on as they proceeded to pound the World Champs, 11-4 on this Friday afternoon. With the Cubs getting the win, they raised the blue "W" and the home crowd walked out singing happily to their special song when they win. These days it's a "Way of Life" on the North side of the Windy City.

After the game, the King and I went up to Milwaukee to see the Brewers host the Pittsburgh Pirates at Miller Park a mere 85 miles away. It's alot harder than it sounds because we had to battle the impossible Chicago rush hour traffic in order to get there in a timely fashion.

Please stay tuned as I go into detail about our second game of the day.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

2011 Major League Baseball Schedule starts to leak out!

I was tipped off  by my friend Michael Abrams aka the Yankee Emperor who has a streak of seeing the last 698 Yankee home games.

He wrote me an e-mail late last night telling that the 2011 baseball season starts on April 1st and ends on September 28th.

Those dates seemed odd when I thought about the 2011 calendar. Sure enough I was right.

According to an article in USA Today, please see link below it will explain the logic behind it.  

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/dailypitch/post/2010/07/mlb-opening-day-2011-to-fall-on-friday-april-1-season-to-end-on-a-wednesday/1

Please note a trip to Taiwan at the end of March is very possible as well between the Arizona Diamondbacks & the San Francisco Giants.

They're suppose to vote on that in August.

If it comes to pass, Royalty is ready to go. I just need to renew my passport.

Royalty opened the 1999 baseball season in Monterrey, Mexico. 2000 we were in Japan and Puerto Rico in 2001.

In addition, Michael told me dates when the Red Sox play the Yankees next year that he got off a Red Sox site. They are as follows:

4/8-4/10, 8/5-8/7 & 8/30-9/1 Yankees are supposed to be in Fenway Park

5/13-5/15, 6/7-6/9 & 9/23-9/25 Red Sox come to Yankee Stadium

In addition, he said the traditional Patriot's Day game is on Monday, April 18th against the Blue Jays.

Furthermore, he said they close the season in Baltimore.

Here's some more details regarding the Red Sox from ESPN Boston:

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=5365218

I took some further steps in pursuing this.

I found out the Chicago Cubs will be in Fenway Park for the first time ever in the regular season per a first draft of the 2011 MLB schedule. It will be the club's first appearance there since the 1918 World Series on May 20-22.

In addition, the Milwaukee Brewers come to Boston on June 17-19 and the Padres are there 6/20-6/22.

Please see the link below for all the details:

http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/tags/2011-mlb-schedule

Stay tuned to my blog because as more leaks out I plan to give you the heads up.

In order to get the most out of your life, you must stay a step ahead to avoid lagging behind.