Royalty starts June by seeing three different teams play at Yankee Stadium in consecutive days!‏

Thanks to a rain out on April 30th, the Yankees wound up hosting three different teams in consecutive days at Yankee Stadium. They were scheduled to play Sunday, June 1st against the Twins & Tuesday June 3rd against the Athletics. Since Monday  June 2nd was scheduled as an open date for both the Yankees & Mariners they decided to make the game that night. As a result, it set up a rare occurrence. 

View from Section 420B

‎With that being said, here's how it played out.

On Sunday afternoon, I arranged to get my pal & fellow road tripper Blair Long a ticket for the game in the row right in front of the King & I in section 420B. Since there were a few empty seats by us he got to sit with us for the duration of the afternoon. It worked well. That way we were able to enjoy the game together. It was nice to see him again.  

As for the game we saw, former Yankee Phil Hughes pitched eight strong innings just allowing two runs. ‎The Twins trailed, 2-1 after eight innings. In the ninth inning, Josh Willingham lead off with a solo homer which tied the game & got Phil Hughes off the hook for the hard luck loss. The Twins wound up batting around as Josh Willingham flew out to center field to end the inning. In between the Twins added five more runs as they made a winner out of Phil Hughes who got the last laugh on this day as his new team, the Twins beat the Yankees, 7-2.

‎Monday night marked the return to the Bronx again for Robinson Cano. He & his new team, the Seattle Mariners came back to the Bronx to play the make up game. Not only did the Yankees see their former teammate but they wound up facing Felix Hernandez who's one of the best pitchers in baseball. 

As for the game we saw, the Mariners lead off hitter James Jones played college baseball at LIU in Brooklyn. My pal David Sack has seen him play there. It was a homecoming for him. He had a rough night though. He went hit less in five at bats which included a sacrifice bunt which was part of the decisive four run seventh inning which gave the Mariners' the lead for good. Robinson Cano once again heard the boos as he walked a few times, got picked off first base & he singled in his last at bat ‎to finish the game one for three. Felix Hernandez  pitched well. He gave up two runs in seven innings to earn the victory as the Mariners broke open a 2-2 tie as they went on to whip the Yankees, 10-2.

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Bronx hoping to make it three days in a row seeing three different teams play. Mother nature did her best to put a damper on that but thankfully she cooperated after an hour & twelve minute ‎delay. With that being said, first pitch wound up being at 8:17PM. As they say, better late than never. 

As for the game we saw, the starting pitchers pitched well. Scott Kazmir, a former Met, went six & a third innings. He allowed two runs while he striking out ten. Hiroki Kuroda who started for the Yankees gave up just one run in six & two thirds innings. The Athletics tied the game at two in the top of the eighth inning so neither starter got a decision. The game went into extra innings. The Yankees bullpen sprung a leak as Adam Warren got tagged for three runs in the top of the tenth inning which proved costly as the Yankees fell again, 5-2. 

Wednesday night when I got to Yankee Stadium I went to get my 25 game MLB Pass-Port book stamped at the Guest services booth by gate 6. While I was doing so, I saw a familiar face. It was my buddy Steve Cirvello who works as a business partner with my pal Rick Morris of the FDH Lounge. Steve told me he bought a bleacher ticket off of Stub Hub. I told him to come upstairs with me instead. It worked out well as there were some empty seats near the King & I. As a result, we got to enjoy each others company for the rest of the night. Steve can be found on Twitter. His handle is @FDHNYB. Please feel free to follow him & show him some royal love. 

As for the game we saw, the Athletics overcame a 4-0 deficit as they went on to cruise past the Yankees again, 7-4. 

Stay tuned for some special posts that will go into detail about our weekend getaway to Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Reading & Baltimore.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty gets a special visit from another roadtripper at Citi Field!

Saturday morning June 29th I woke up early so I could do my laundry.

After I got done, I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Washington Nationals in game two of their three game series in the afternoon.

I didn't get to see my pal Sam Citron at the Rotunda entrance upon arrival because he wasn't working. He told me on the last homestand that his son was getting married so he took a few days off. It felt different not seeing him there.

When I went upstairs to section 515 where we sat that day, I was greeted by a fellow roadtripper, Tolu Robertson who I initially met on Twitter over the winter. His handle is @DarkMeatHook. Please feel free to follow him. He's a good guy. He lives in the Washington DC area. I met him in person for the first back in April on Gio Gonzalez bobblehead doll day. Speaking of bobbleheads, he's a big collector of them. He said he prefers getting ones from his local teams though. Tolu came up to NYC by bus to see his Nationals play for the weekend. He also was seeing Citi Field for the first time. He wisely bought a ballpark e-guide in advance from my pal Kurt Smith so he could get a good idea of what to expect before he arrived. With that being said, he was impressed with the ballpark as a whole.

In addition, we had some other special guests on hand that day in section 513 as the Hooligan's and the 7 Line showed up. They always make the total experience better.

Furthermore, we had some of our usual pals there with us too. I'm referring to David Sack, Michael Carson, Manny Morales, Pat Gorman and Alan Gimpel.

As for the game we saw, the Mets bounced back after their brutal meltdown Friday night as they evened the series at a game a piece by beating the Nationals, 5-1.

After the game, Tolu and I took the subway to Coney Island to see another baseball game. We went to MCU Park to see the Brooklyn Cyclones take on the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Ironically on the way there, my pal Steve Cirvello from the FDH Lounge got on the train. It was a pleasant surprise. He was going to the Cyclone game too. It was great to see him again. I told him about some future trips I have planned. He said he hopes to put together a project that will include me while I'm on the road. Time will tell if something can be worked out.

When we finally got to the game, we were joined by my pals Rich Wolber, Michael Abrams, Vincent Ascanio, Bryan Gilligan and the King.

As for the game we saw, the Renegades tossed the Cyclones a beating as they whipped them, 9-0.
After the game, my pal Tolu Robertson was determined to go to a restaurant that he saw on the show Man vs. Food that airs on the Travel Channel. The place was called Spurmoni Gardens. He mapped it out beforehand. It turned out to be a few subway stops away on the train. With that being said, I made sure we went there. It worked out really well since we were both starving.

We ordered a half tray of sicilian pizza which we wound up splitting. It was delicious. I want to thank Tolu for suggesting this brilliant idea.

After we ate, we took the train back to Queens. I went home and Tolu went to a nearby hotel that he reserved for the night.

Stay tuned for the special post that will go into detail about how I spent that Sunday to end the month of June.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 7/2 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I did my laundry. After I was done, I was able to rest and relax for a short time.

Tuesday I got out of work early which worked out because that morning I got an unexpected e-mail from Steve Cirvello. He works with my pal Rick Morris from the FDH Lounge. He asked me if I had any free time this week. I wrote him back instantly and I told him I'm available this afternoon since I was getting out of work early. It's not easy for me to find free time with my schedule and/or the lifestyle I live. This turned to be a perfect opportunity. I wound up meeting Steve in Midtown Manhattan to discuss a possible documentary plan for the near future. It was a very productive conversation we had. I hope things materialize going forward. For the time being, he wanted to get the ball rolling he said.

After I finished chatting with Steve, I made my way out to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of their three game set. In addition, it was fireworks night. It turned to be a fun night that included a record crowd that gradually showed up at Citi Field. They announced there were 42,516 people on hand. Amongst those who joined us was our pal Manny Bonilla. It was nice to see him again. He always enjoys our company.

As for the game we saw, the Mets' bats did the talking as the fireworks started early as the Mets built a 6-1 lead after four innings. In the sixth inning, Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright hit a three run homer to make it 9-1. Daniel Murphy added a two run double in the eighth inning to round out the scoring as the Mets took game one, 11-1. The crowd was so into the game all night which made for a very festive atmosphere. It was great to be apart of it.

After the game, the King and I decided to stick around with Manny Bonilla to see the fireworks show that they were having. It was an entertaining display. They showed highlights and they played brief musical clips that spanned the five different decades of the Mets franchise history which began 50 years ago in 1962.
Wednesday I was off from work as America celebrated Independence Day. I spent my afternoon back at Citi Field with the King, Bryan Gilligan and Vincent Ascanio.

As for the game we saw, the Mets lead the Phillies and Cliff Lee who was looking for his first win of the season, 2-0 after six innings. Mets starter Chris Young was pitching well similar to his start a few weeks ago against the Yankees. Just like the Yankees did, the Phillies struck back in a hurry. After Juan Pierre lead off the seventh inning with a single, Chase Utley followed him with a two run homer that tied the game at two. All-Star catcher Carlos Ruiz followed by hitting a solo home run to give the Phillies the lead for good. They added three more runs in the eighth and ninth innings to even the series at a game a piece as they beat the Mets, 9-2. As for Cliff Lee, he finally picked up his first win of the season. He pitched well as he struck out nine and allowed only two runs in eight innings of work.

After the game, Bryan drove us all to Coney Island where we got to see the Brooklyn Cyclones play the Williamsport Crosscutters at MCU Park.

As for the game we saw, the Cyclones scored four runs in the first inning. The Crosscutters came back with a run in the second inning and they took a brief lead in the top of the fifth inning as they scored four more runs. The Cyclones responded with five runs in the bottom of the fifth which included a three run home run to right field by Brandon Nimmo. That's the way the game ended as the Cyclones won, 9-5.

Thursday I went back to work after having a day off in the middle of the week which seemed rather odd.
After work I went to Checker's for dinner with the King on our way to Citi Field for the rubber game or grudge match if you will since the Mets' R.A. Dickey was facing the Phillies' Cole Hamels.

As for the game we saw, the pitching match up didn't exactly live up to billing as I had hoped it would. R.A. Dickey wound up going seven innings but he gave eleven hits and five runs. Cole Hamels did slightly better. He allowed seven hits and four runs in his seven innings of work. The Mets' bullpen kept it a one run game as they headed to the bottom of the ninth inning. The Phillies' brought in their closer Jonathan Papelbon to try and seal the deal. He allowed a lead off double to pinch hitter Ronny Cedeno. After Josh Thole bunted him to third, Papelbon struck out Kirk Nieuwenhuis for the second out. He proceeded to hit pinch hitter Jordany Valdespin who won a game for the Mets in Philadelphia earlier this year in Philadelphia by hitting a game winning home run off Papelbon. Ruben Tejada battled and worked out a walk to load the bases. Daniel Murphy followed with a smash up the middle that hit off of Papelbon. He tried to recover but he fell down, Murphy beat the throw to first base as the Mets tied the game at five. All-Star David Wright became the hero when he delivered the game winning hit as the Mets beat the Phillies, 6-5. As a result, Citi Field was sent into a frenzy. It was quite a scene.

Friday night after work I met up with the King for some pizza at Taste of Dolly's on our way back to Citi Field to see the Mets who were hosting the Chicago Cubs to begin a three game weekend series.
As for the game we saw, the Cubs drew first blood as they took a 1-0 lead in the first inning off Johan Santana who gave up a lead off home run to Reed Johnson. In the bottom of the second inning, Lucas Duda answered back with a solo home run of his own. The Mets went back ahead 2-1 in the third. The Cubs evened the score again in the fourth. Then they exploded for a five run outburst in the fifth which proved to be too much to overcome as the Cubs hung on for a 8-7 win. Cubs closer Carlos Marmol escaped by getting a double play to end the game.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Saturday afternoon the King and I went back to Citi Field for game two of the weekend series. This time the Mets won, 3-1 behind a solid pitching performance by Dillon Gee who pitched eight strong innings to earn the victory.

Sunday afternoon we went back for more hoping the Mets could go into the All-Star Break on a high note.
Unfortunately the Mets fell behind 4-0 before they came up to bat. Jonathon Niese got roughed up then he settled down until the seventh inning when he served up a three run homer to All-Star shortstop Starlin Castro to make it 7-0. That's the way it ended as the Mets couldn't get anything going.

Hopefully they just had a bad day and they can continue their winning ways in the second half of the season.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees the latest Battle of New York on Christmas Eve!

Jets and Giants in Battle of NY

The one and only time I saw the Jets play the Giants in a regular season game was way back on November 1, 1981. On that day, the Jets tossed the Giants a beating as they sacked Phil Simms nine times as they won the game, 26-7.

This time things were different in more ways than one.

First and foremost, this time the game was played in a different stadium that being MetLife Stadium which is shared by both teams. This game was a designated "home" game for the Jets.

In 1981, the Giants were the home team. The game was played at old Giants Stadium that day. The Jets were still playing their home games at Shea Stadium then.

This time the result was different as well. The Jets with their coach Rex Ryan opening his big mouth early in the week got beat on the field as the Giants showed Rex who owns this town and it's not his Jets. The Giants whipped the Jets, 29-14 as they made life miserable for Jet quarterback Mark Sanchez who wound up throwing 59 passes in the defeat. Thanks to the Giant defense that was led by Jason Pierre Paul and Justin Tuck who made Sanchez feel very uncomfortable most of the afternoon.

The win set the Giants up to possibly win their division if they beat the Dallas Cowboys in their season finale Sunday night in prime time.

The Jets on the other hand, have to beat the Miami Dolphins and they'll need three other teams to lose just to get in the playoffs as a wild card team.

On the bright side, the King and I did get a special visit from Steve Cirvello who's from the FDH Lounge. Steve is Rick Morris' business partner. It was great to see him again.

It was frustrating to watch the Jets lose a game they really needed to win but being able to see Steve softened the blow.

In reality, both teams don't deserve to make the playoffs but the bottom line is the Giants have the bragging rights in the area for the time being.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman