Royalty is hitting the road again to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Buffalo, Cleveland, & Pittsburgh over Memorial Day Weekend!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Enterprise Rent A Car on Friday morning to start Memorial Day weekend off right.

I'll be driving up North of the Border to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Buffalo, Cleveland & Pittsburgh to see some Major League Baseball games before returning to NYC early Monday morning. My pal Mike Carroll aka Sabre Mike as we call him is joining me as is my pal John Newkirk. In addition, I plan to see our pals Andrew Kulyk & Peter Farrell aka USRT who live in Buffalo along the way either in Toronto and/or in Buffalo for dinner Saturday night. Furthermore, due to a change in plans, another sports traveler, Paul Nieuwland who lives in Mississauga, Ontario which is a suburb of Toronto won't be able to join us now. Moreover, Sunday we'll be joined by our pal, Scott Bultman who's driving from Indianapolis to spend the day with royalty in Cleveland & Pittsburgh. 
             
Friday May 26th Columbus Crew at Toronto FC 7PM

Saturday May 27th Rangers at Blue Jays 1:07PM                                  

Sunday May 28th Royals at Indians 1:10PM

                              Mets at Pirates 8:05PM

Monday May 29th Brewers at Mets 4:10PM
           
If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join Mike, John & I as well as the rest of the very special guests we're meeting along the way.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/19 in review

Monday morning my missing bag finally showed up. The driver called me when I was taking a shower as I prepared to go to work. He left me a voice mail. Luckily I was able to get in touch with him before he left the area. He said he was up the block. Thankfully he was kind enough to come back to the house and he gave me my bag. I couldn't thank him enough for accommodating me.

I then proceeded to go to work after I took a week off to go the West Coast. I had to play catch up in the office all day. After work I came home and I made myself dinner. After I ate, I went around the block and I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I returned to Citi Field as the Mets opened a homestand against the Atlanta Braves. I saw my pal Sam Citron at the Rotunda gate. As always, it was a pleasure to see him.

Me with my Home Run Apple Bank 

Upon entry I got a Home Run Apple Bank which they gave out to the first 25,000 fans. I then proceeded to get my MLB Passport book stamped at the Fan Assistance booth on the field level. Since it was another Citi Tuesday I went out to the Citi booth by center field & I got my $10 gift card for showing my Citibank credit card. I then decided to use it at Blue Smoke where I got four made to order hot smoking Kansas City barbecue ribs. They were outrageous. A person who was nearby where I was eating them said to me and I quote "are they as good as they look". I responded, absolutely. I was a very satisfied customer.

When I got done eating, I went upstairs to section 516 where I was joined by the Royal Court which included the King, Vinny Ascanio, Alan Gimpel, Pat Gorman, David Sack, Michael Carson, Harry Schwartz & Jerry Caffarello.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got a nice pitching performance from Zack Wheeler as they beat the Braves, 5-3. It should be noted that Mets rookie Travis d'Arnaud got his first major league hit, a double in the bottom of the eighth inning.

Wednesday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Toronto Blue Jays. Before I went into Yankee Stadium, I stopped of at Foodtown a few blocks away and I bought myself a ham & swiss sandwich which I ate when I got up to my seat in section 420B row 7 where I met up with the King.

Ichiro's 4,000th Professional Hit

As for the game we saw, we witnessed history for what it's worth as Ichiro Suzuki got a single to left which was his 4,000th professional hit which includes the ones he got while he played in Japan. It should be noted that former Met Jose Reyes got thrown out of the game in the 2nd inning for arguing a called third strike. The game was tied at two until the bottom of the eighth inning when Alfonso Soriano hit a two run homer off Blue Jays' starter & former Met R.A. Dickey who threw a eight inning complete game but he got saddled with the hard luck loss as the Yankees held off the Blue Jays, 4-2.

Thursday night I came home for a rare night off. I was able to rest up and relax.

Friday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for a pre game meal before I returned to Citi Field as the Mets opened a three game weekend series with the Detroit Tigers.

When I got up to section 516 I was joined by Mike Carroll, David Sack, his friend Andrew, Pat Gorman, Michael Abrams, Bill Graven, Michael Carson & Frank Anichiarico aka Duck.

As for the game we saw, Daisuke Matsuzaka aka Dice K made his debut as a Met. He didn't really impress as he gave up five runs in five innings. Torii Hunter hit a solo homer and a run scoring single. Miguel Cabrera hit a three run homer and Austin Jackson hit a solo shot as the Tigers beat the Mets, 6-1.

After the game, there was a post game concert by Third Eye Blind who we saw last year after a Nationals game. So I was looking to it. Much to my chagrin, this performance was awful.

Saturday afternoon I returned to Citi Field for game two of the series between the Mets and the Tigers. Before I went into the ballpark, I met up with fellow ballpark chaser and Tiger fan, Mark Walker who was there too. I gave him some pointers since he was from the Midwest. I wanted him to feel at home here in NYC.

After we spoke briefly, I went inside and I went up to section 516 where I was accompanied by my pals Phil Butleman, Manny Morales, Marc Beck, Al Linderman, David Sack & Pat Gorman. It was Fiesta Latina Day. As a result, the Mets wore orange Los Mets jerseys.

As for the game we saw, it was a rematch of the All-Star game starters, Max Scherzer for the Tigers and Matt Harvey for the Mets. Max Scherzer threw six shutout innings allowing three hits while he did walk four and he struck out ten. He also got a run scoring double. While Matt Harvey gave up two runs on 13 hits in six and two thirds innings. The Tigers' bullpen shut down the Mets offense over the last three innings as they beat the Mets, 3-0.

After the game, we went to Donovan's Pub where they were having a grand re opening. Earlier this year, there was a ownership change. Donovan's is now better than ever. It turned out to be a very festive gathering as many of their regular customers over the years were there to celebrate this special occasion.

Tom Seaver Bobblehead Doll Day

Sunday afternoon I returned to Citi Field for the finale of the three game series. It was Tom Seaver Bobblehead Doll Day for the first 25,000 fans. This time I was joined by Alan Gimpel, Frank Anichiarico, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Michael Carson & Martin Caamano.

I did get a special visit from fellow ballpark chaser, Bob Deal who came by for a few innings. He was at the game with friends of his in section 520. I want to personally thank Bob for stopping by. It's always fun to catch up with him.

In addition, after Bob left, another fellow ballpark chaser, Terrence Williams came by to meet me. It was nice of him to do so. He's from Toronto but he said he has friends who live in Brooklyn so he comes down here often to visit. Hopefully our paths will cross again soon.

As for the game we saw, the Tigers took a 2-0 lead in the first inning as Miguel Cabrera hit a two run homer. In the fourth inning, Travis d'Arnaud hit his first major league home run that gave the Mets a 3-2 lead. It was short lived as the Tigers regained the lead in the sixth inning when Andy Dirks hit a two run homer to give the Tigers a 4-3 lead. The Tigers put the game out of reach with a seven run outburst in the ninth inning as they won the game, 11-3 which gave them a sweep of the three game series.

Stay tuned as I continue to play catch up whenever time allows me to.

Thank you for reading & following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 5/13 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I made myself dinner. After I ate, I went out and I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a three game series with the Seattle Mariners. 17 years ago to the day was the anniversary of Dwight Gooden's no hitter which ironically was against the Mariners who had A-Rod in their line up at the time. It was the first no hitter I ever saw live in person. It was a very memorable night for me.

This time on paper history looked like it could repeat itself with Felix Hernandez starting for the Mariners and CC Sabathia going for the Yankees.

Before I went into the Stadium, I stopped off at Burger King a few blocks away to have a pre game meal. When I got done, I went up to my seat in section 420B row 7 where I was greeted by my pal and avid reader of my blog, Greg Venuto who came down from Norwalk, Connecticut to see his Yankees play. He told me he was in Washington DC over Mother's Day weekend. He went to visit his friend who lives down there. While he was there he went to see the Capitals play the Rangers. He also saw the Nationals host the Cubs. He enjoyed his time away. It was great to see him again.

It should be noted our friends Steve Tepperman and Pat Gorman were also in attendance on this night.

As for the game we saw, it didn't exactly live up to the billing. It turned out to be an ordinary occasion between two of baseball's best pitchers these days. The Mariners got to CC but they couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. They wound up getting ten hits off of him in six and a third innings before he departed. He allowed three runs only two of them were earned and he did strikeout ten in the process. Former Yankee Raul Ibanez felt right at home as he hit a two run homer to give the Mariners a 3-0 lead in the sixth inning. The Yankees finally scored a run off of Felix Hernandez who had kept the Yankee bats quiet as he struck out eight over his six innings of work. Once he left for the night, the Yankees bats awoke. In the seventh inning, they scored three runs to take the lead, 4-3. Robinson Cano delivered a two run double and Lyle Overbay hit a sacrifice fly to put the Yankees ahead for good. Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth inning and he closed it out. As a result, he notched his 624th career save as the Yankees took the opener of the series.

Wednesday night after work I went back to the Bronx for game two of the series. I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant first so I could pick up sandwiches for the King and I. I had a corned beef and he had turkey. After I rounded up some snacks at a few different stores in the area I went into the Stadium.
When I got up to my seat in section 420B row 7 I was joined by our pals Vincent Ascanio, Larry Peim, Phil Butleman, David Sack and Rich Wolber who were also present & accounted for.

I want to congratulate our pal Vincent Ascanio aka the Kid who saw his 700th live baseball game on this night.

As for the game we saw, the Mariners jumped on Yankee starter Phil Hughes who failed to finish the first inning as they scored seven runs which included a grand slam by former Yankee Raul Ibanez. He also hit a two run homer in the fifth inning. Kyle Seager added a three run blast in the sixth inning as the Mariners cruised to a 12-2 victory.

Despite the blowout it was an historical night because the Yankees called up third baseman David Adams earlier in the day and he made his major league debut on his 26th birthday. He became the 30th player in MLB history to do so. In addition, he was the first Yankee to do it since 1916. I got that fact from our pal Michael Abrams who has been to over 900+ consecutive Yankee home games. To cap off his memorable special day, David Adams got his first major league hit in the sixth inning.

Thursday night after work I went back to the Bronx to see the rubber match of the three game series between the Yankees and the Mariners. I wound up eating dinner at Burger King again.

As for the game we saw, the Mariners held on to beat the Yankees, 3-2 to take the series two games to one. I was happy because I was thinking about a few ballpark chasers I know from Seattle who like the Mariners.It should be noted that Yankee starter Andy Pettitte left the game with two outs in the top of the fifth inning with an injury. Former Yankee Raul Ibanez finally cooled off after destroying them in the first two games. This time he was held hit less in four at bats and he struck out three times.

Friday night after work I went back to Yankee Stadium as the Toronto Blue Jays came back for a weekend series in the Bronx. Since I had a big lunch I didn't eat before the game. I went up to my seat and I was joined by our pal William Frank Guthrie who was there. It was nice to see him again.

It should be noted that this day marked the 15th anniversary of the first perfect game I saw live in person as David Wells accomplished the feat against the Minnesota Twins on a Sunday afternoon at Old Yankee Stadium.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got a stellar pitching performance from starter Hiroki Kuroda who threw eight shutout innings. He allowed just two hits as the Yankees beat the Blue Jays, 5-0.

After the game, Bryan Gilligan drove the King and I to Donovan's Pub in Woodside, Queens for our usual post game meal. We were also joined by our friend Frank Anichiarico who met us there. It should be noted that Donovan's recently changed ownership but many of the people we know are still there and the menu has been expanded. In addition, they now accept credit cards too.

Saturday afternoon the King and I took the subway up to the Bronx for game two of the series with the Blue Jays. We were joined by Vincent Ascanio and Bryan Gilligan who were there as usual along with our pal Pat Gorman.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got two home runs from Robinson Cano, one in the third inning and the other in the fifth as the Yankees built a 5-1 lead. In the top of the eighth inning, the Blue Jays' Edwin Encarnacion hit a solo homer to make it 5-2. In the bottom of the eighth, Travis Hafner hit a two run homer that made the score 7-2. As a result, Mariano Rivera who had been warming up was forced to sit down since it was no longer a save situation. The Yankees got the last three outs as they beat the Blue Jays again.

Since the game was played in a timely fashion, Bryan who was driving us decided to skip going to Trenton, NJ. Instead he drove the King, Vincent & I to Allentown, Pennsylvania. By doing so, we got to go to Coca Cola Park, which is the home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Phillies' Triple A affiliate. They were hosting the Rochester Red Wings, the Minnesota Twins farm team. After we parked the game, we walked over to the right field gate. We decided to ask around for tickets before we walked down to the box office. We lucked out. We came across different people who had extra tickets and they were kind enough to give them to us. We were very grateful. I wound up getting one in the Red Robin Tiki Terrace area which is located out in left field. The best part of it was it included free food. I was able to help myself to hot dogs, burgers and pulled pork. They also had chips and cookies along with soft drinks. Since we had time before the game started, I went out there and fed myself. When I had enough, I walked back to stand behind the plate with the King, Bryan & Vincent. We also had a guy who is a big fan of the King's signature strikeout call on hand which made for a captive audience.

As for the game we saw, the IronPigs broke a 2-2 tie in the bottom of the eighth inning thanks to a costly error which allowed the winning run to score by journeyman Ray Olmedo who has seen limited tours of duty in the major leagues from time to time from 2003-2007. For the most part, he's been a Triple A player the last five years. He continues to play in hopes of getting another shot at the major league level.

Sunday afternoon the King and I took the subway back to Yankee Stadium hoping to see the finale of the three game series with the Blue Jays. As we were getting ready to cross the street to go to the Stadium, we found out that the game was postponed due to rain. We got back on the train and we went home. We wound up watching TV unexpectedly.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty meets up with the Ultimate Sports Family at Citi Field before going to Yankee Stadium for more baseball over weekend in NYC!

Thanks again to the quirky schedule makers, the Mets and Yankees played at home on Saturday, April 27th. The Mets were playing the Philadelphia Phillies at 1:05PM on Fox and the Yankees were scheduled to start at 4:05PM against the Toronto Blue Jays. With that being said, barring a miracle there was no way humanly possible for anybody to see both games start to finish.

Since the King & I and our friend Bryan Gilligan have season tickets for both teams we wanted to see as much as we could of both games that day.

Here's how things turned out for us. We met up at Citi Field and we sat in section 515 on this day. We had a number of people we knew that showed up. I'm referring to our pal Manny Morales who was there with his buddy Marc Beck in section 516 which is where their Saturday plan seats are located. In addition, we had our friends Phil Butleman, David Sack, Al Linderman, Pat Gorman, Bill Graven and a guy we know from going to Islander games named Donovan who made a rare appearance.

Last but definitely not least we got a visit from the Ultimate Sports family, the Van Cleves. Our good friend and fellow roadtripper Andrew brought both of his sons to the game. They are known as the Ultimate Sports Brothers, Dylan & Micah. Thanks to Andrew, these lucky little boys have seen a number of live sporting events already at such a young age. Dylan is almost three years old and Micah is a year and a half. This game was Dylan's 11th MLB park and it was Micah's 2nd. As always, it was great to see them all again.

Andrew, Micah, me, Dylan and the King

As for the game we saw at Citi Field, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Phillies came back with three runs in the third inning as rookie pitcher Jonathan Pettibone got his first major league hit to ignite the comeback. The Mets cut the lead to 3-2 in the fourth inning. The Phillies responded with five more runs in the top of the fifth inning as they hit a few homers, one from Domonic Brown, a three run shot and John Mayberry Jr. added a solo blast after Ryan Howard delivered a run scoring single to break open the game as the Phillies took a 8-2 lead. The Mets got one back in their half of the fifth inning. The Phillies tacked on another run in the top of the seventh inning. After the Phillies batted, the King, Bryan & I decided it was time to leave so we could get to Yankee Stadium. We departed at 3:28PM with the Phillies up , 9-3. The Mets went on to lose, 9-4 as John Buck hit a solo homer in the ninth. It should be noted that Phillies' starter Jonathan Pettibone pitched the first five innings to earn his first major league win.

As for the Yankee game we saw, we arrived there at Yankee Stadium at 4:16PM. We got great service from the MTA which enabled us to get there so fast. As a result, we missed just the top of the first inning as CC Sabathia got the Blue Jays out 1,2,3. We went upstairs to our seats in section 420B and we watched the rest of the game. The Blue Jays went up 3-0 with a run in third and two more in the fourth inning. The Yankees took advantage of a few walks from J.A. Happ to lead off their half of the fourth inning. Travis Hafner made Happ pay by hitting a homer which tied the game at three. In the sixth inning, Brett Lawrie of the Blue Jays hit a solo homer to make it 4-3. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Yankees tied the game again on a run scoring single by former Blue Jay Vernon Wells. Two batters later, Travis Hafner delivered the game winning blow as he hit a two hit triple to give the Yankees the lead for good, 5-4. Apparently Mariano Rivera was overworked so I was surprised he didn't come in to pitch the ninth inning after CC Sabathia went the first eight innings. Instead Joba Chamberlain gave up a few hits but he worked himself out of trouble as the Yankees held on for the 5-4 victory.

After the game, the King and I went home and we had dinner.

Sunday afternoon we returned to Citi Field for the finale of the Mets and Phillies series. We were hoping to see the Mets salvage a game. We were joined by our pals Frank Anichiarico, Al Linderman, Alan Gimpel, David Sack & Michael Carson who were present & accounted for as well.

As for the game we saw, the Mets took an early 1-0 lead with a run in the first inning. The Phillies tied the game at one in top of the fifth inning when left fielder Freddy Galvis hit a solo homer. In the top of the seventh inning, the Mets got the first two Phillies out. Then catcher John Buck failed to catch a foul pop up which proved to be very costly as it extended the inning. The Phillies capitalized as they got four straight hits that led to three runs to make it 4-1. They tacked on another run in the eighth as they went on to sweep the Mets, 5-1.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 4/22 in review

Taste of Italy No. 2

Monday night after work I came home. I made myself dinner and then went out & I did my laundry.

Tuesday night after work I stopped off at a restaurant called Taste of Italy No. 2 which is located at 40-05 Junction Blvd in Corona, Queens. It's right off the 7 train which makes it nice & convenient to go to. I want to thank my pal Vincent Ascanio for the royal recommendation. I wound up getting chicken parm and spaghetti which came with three garlic knots for $5.95. They have waitress service too so you can sit down, relax and enjoy your meal. I certainly did. When I got done, I hopped back on the 7 express train one stop to Citi Field where I went to see the Mets open a three game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Chicken Parm and Spaghetti

When I got off the train, I went to see my pal Sam Citron who greeted me with a handshake. As always, it was a pleasure to see him again. I went upstairs to section 515 because that's where the rest of the people I know were sitting on this cold, windy night. Amongst us regulars were our friends Steve Tepperman, Pat Gorman and Martin Caamano who were present and accounted for as well.

In addition, we had some musical entertainment in section 513 as the Hooligan's were at the game too. They always make the game experience more amusing. In fact, they chanted out during the game, Where's the King? He was near me. He said and I quote "they're asking for me." I told him, yes they are. They're also big fans of his signature strikeout call which they join him on. Regardless of the lousy weather, it turned out to be a great night out.

As for the game we saw, the Dodgers got a three run homer from Mark Ellis in the seventh inning which broke a 2-2 tie to make it 5-2. In the eighth inning, they added a few more runs thanks to a two run double by A.J. Ellis. The Mets wound up losing the game, 7-2. The one bright spot for the Mets was that former Brooklyn Cyclone Juan Lagares who was called up from the minor leagues got his first major league hit, a single in the seventh inning.

Wednesday night after work I went to Subway and Carvel for my pre game meal before I went to Citi Field for game two of the three game series between the Mets and Dodgers. This time we sat in our usual section 516 up near the top. We had a nice gathering on this night which was also cold & nasty. Thankfully Matt Harvey was starting for the Mets so we had a chance to see a good game.

As for the people who joined us, we had Manny Morales, Charlie Vitanza, Phil Butleman, David Sack, Rich Wolber, Alan Gimpel and Martin Caamano. In addition, we had some special guests who used to show up more often. I'm referring to my good friend James Gabriele who was there with his son Andrew and our pal Mike Klein who came out as well.

As for the game we saw, Matt Harvey pitched well. He went six innings. He allowed three runs & four hits while he walked just one and he struck out seven. He left the game down 3-2. The Mets rallied to tie the game with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning thanks to a clutch two out hit by David Wright which got Matt Harvey off the hook for the loss. The game was decided in the tenth inning as the Mets got a game winning grand slam from Jordany Valdespin which gave them a 7-3 win.

Thursday night after work I went up to the Bronx. I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant. I got a roast beef sandwich for dinner. I took it into Yankee Stadium and I ate it. I was joined by the King.

The Yankees were opening a four game series with the Toronto Blue Jays. Thanks to the horrible scheduling the Mets were home over the weekend too at the same time Friday and Sunday.

As for the game we saw, the Blue Jays took an early 3-0 lead thanks to Edwin Encarnacion who hit a two run homer in the first inning and Brett Lawrie who hit a solo shot in the second inning. The Yankees answered back in their half of the second inning as former Blue Jay Vernon Wells hit a solo homer to make it a 3-1 game. In the third inning, Robinson Cano hit a three run homer with two outs to give the Yankees a 4-3 lead. They added another run in the fourth inning when Francisco Cervelli hit a rare homer as home run derby continued. The Yankees and Blue Jays didn't score the rest of the way as the Yankees won the game, 5-3.

Friday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's for a pre game meal on my to Citi Field as the Mets opened a three game series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Since the Yankees were also home, we had a smaller than usual crew amongst us on this night. Those who were present & accounted for were Pat Gorman, Frank Anichiarico, Alan Gimpel, Martin Caamano and Michael Carson. In addition, the Hooligan's were in the house again too which is also a welcome addition.

As for the game we saw, the Mets and Phillies were scoreless until the sixth inning when the Phillies finally broke through. They roughed up Mets starter Dillon Gee who gave up four straight hits which resulted in four runs before he recorded an out. Michael Young got a run scoring single and Ryan Howard cleared the bases when he hit a home run to center field to give the Phillies all the offensive support they needed as starter Kyle Kendrick pitched a gem. He went the distance as he shutout the Mets on just three hits. He walked one and struck out five as the Phillies took the opener, 4-0.

After the game, Bryan Gilligan, Frank Anichiarico, the King & I went to Donovan's Pub for a post game meal.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the way we made the most of our weekend in NYC.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 9/17 in review

Michael Abrams, Brian Cashman, Rich Zimmerman & I

Monday after work I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets host the Philadelphia Phillies. Since I had money remaining on a gift card I decided to eat at the ballpark. Upon arrival I was greeted by my pal and big fan of royalty, Sam Citron. We exchanged pleasantries and then I proceeded into the ballpark.

I decided to take a walk out to the center field area where the best food selection is. I saw the line for Shake Shack was extremely long as usual so I ruled that out. I went next door to Blue Smoke where nobody was on line. I got their Kansas City spare ribs and fries. It was a smart choice as those ribs are to die for. After I finished eating, I went up to my usual perch in section 516 where I met up with the King, Vincent Ascanio, Bryan Gilligan and Charlie O'Reilly.

As for the game we saw, we had a marquee match up between Cliff Lee of the Phillies who's pitched well but his record doesn't indicate it and R.A. Dickey, possible Cy Young Award winner for the Mets.

The Phillies got a run early in the first inning off Dickey to lead 1-0. Jimmy Rollins lead off and strikeout but he got to first base on a passed ball. He went to second on a throwing error by Dickey who tried to pick him off. He went to third on a ground ball out and he scored on a sacrifice fly. That's a perfect example of playing the game of baseball the right way. The Phillies turned a negative into a positive by hustling and making things happen. As a result, it set the tone as Cliff Lee hurled eight beautiful innings allowing just one run. He walked one and he struck out ten as the Phillies got a few more runs off Dickey thanks to homers by Jimmy Rollins and Domonic Brown. The Phillies beat the Mets, 3-1.

Tuesday night after work I was going to go back to Citi Field to see the Mets even though the Yankees were also home. Thanks to mother nature, neither game was played. Instead I went home and I got an unexpected night of rest. It was nice to have some time to relax after another busy day at work.

Wednesday night after work I went back to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Phillies. The Yankees were playing a day/night doubleheader to make up for the game that got rained out Tuesday night in the Bronx.
I got to see Sam again when I went in. Like he says it's always a pleasure. It certainly is. I went upstairs and I ate a few slices of pizza at Two Boots which is located on the food court near our seats on the Promenade level. It was really good and filling.

As for the game we saw, the Mets and Phillies battled it out again as Cole Hamels of the Phillies and rookie Matt Harvey who was making his last appearance of the season for the Mets hooked up. Jimmy Rollins lead off the game with a homer to give the Phillies the early 1-0 lead. The Mets got even in the third as Daniel Murphy drove in the equalizer. The Mets took the lead in the sixth inning when David Wright hit a homer to make it 2-1. Cole Hamels was pulled after six innings allowing two runs while he walked one and struck out ten.

Matt Harvey pitched better as he went seven innings giving up just the lead off homer. He showed promise for 2013 and beyond. I hope he does indeed pan out for the Mets.

Since this is modern times, the game came down to the battle of the bullpens. The Phillies survived a scare in the eighth as the Mets loaded the bases with one out looking for some insurance. Andres Torres hit into a costly inning ending double play. The Mets got a scoreless eighth inning from Bobby Parnell. In the ninth, Josh Edgin was summoned to close out the game. He struck out the first two batters with no problem. He proceeded to walk Chase Utley in front of Ryan Howard. That was the beginning of the end for the Mets as the Phillies awoke from the dead as Ryan Howard blasted a home run to right field to give the Phillies a 3-2 lead. The Mets got a single with one out but they couldn't get him in as the Phillies still had a pulse.

Thursday night after work I decided to stick to my original plan of going to the Yankee game after work. The Mets decided to make up the game that got rained out on Tuesday that night to spite the Phillies. The Phillies got the last laugh as they scored eight runs in the first inning on their way to a 16-1 whipping of the Mets. The King went there because he has a streak of not missing a game at Citi Field. He's only missed one since the ballpark opened back in 2009.

As for me, I'm always true to my word. I got an invitation from the Yankees the week before to take part in a pre game social that was for season ticket holders. I was able to choose Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday night. So I told them I'll come Thursday night knowing the Mets weren't going to be home. I put the King is as my guest. He didn't make it. It was no big deal. But I felt obligated to show up since I committed myself already. That's just the way I am. I don't make promises I can't keep barring an unforeseen emergency.

I wound up going to the picnic area out by the left field gate where the social was taking place when I got off the subway. I wound up seeing a few friends, Michael Abrams and Richard Zimmerman who were taking part as well. We spoke and then we noticed Yankee General Manager Brian Cashman who was standing nearby. He was there talking to the fans who had questions they wanted to ask him. We approached him and he spoke to us. It was a really cool experience. When we were done he took a picture with all of us. With that being said, I'm glad I stuck with my decision.

When we were done, we had some hot dogs, hamburgers and ice cream that were there for us to take. It turned out to be a nice social gathering for the Yankee season ticket holders.

Once we finished we all went up to our seats in section 420B and we were joined by our pal Larry Peim who at also at the game.

As for the game we saw, it started fast but it dragged on. The Yankees were playing the Blue Jays. The Blue Jays lead 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third inning when Ichiro Suzuki hit a homer to slice the lead in half at 2-1. Phil Hughes who started for the Yankees struck out nine batters in the first four innings. In the third inning, he hit a few batters including Moises Sierra that allowed a run to score. He benefited as the Yankees scored a touchdown if you will in the bottom of the fourth inning. Nick Swisher hit a grand slam to cap the scoring after Ichiro Suzuki hit a two run double and Derek Jeter delivered a run scoring single. Hughes made it through five innings after he gave up a two run homer to Moises Sierra who he previously hit. Apparently it was payback time. In the end, Phil Hughes got the win and the last laugh. The Yankees got those two runs back in their half of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 10-4. After a few innings of scoreless relief by Derek Lowe, Cory Wade came on and he got roughed up for three runs in the eighth inning. With that being said, a save situation was created. Rafael Soriano was too overworked to benefit so David Robertson got the chance to close it out instead. He did so by striking out the three batters he faced as he preserved the 10-7 victory for the Yankees. I might add it took a mere 3 hours and 41 minutes to play. In that regard, I wish I wasn't there. It's the nature of the game of baseball. You never know how long a game's going to go from one to the next. Some are better than others. Time wise this was a bad one.
Friday night after work I went back to Citi Field to see the Mets play the Marlins. It was nice to see Sam again when I went in.

I went up to my perch and met up with the usual die hards that we know. We got a special visit from a follower of my blog, Fredy Sanchez who introduced me to his friend Ramiro. He said he enjoys reading about my adventures on my blog. I told him I greatly appreciate that..

As for the game we saw, the Mets fresh off their embarrassing loss to the Phillies the night before, had their hitting shoes on early on this night. They scored early and often as they got three runs in the first inning and two more in the second to take a 5-0 lead. They made it hold up as they went on to defeat the Marlins, 7-3.
After the game, the King, Bryan Gilligan and I went to celebrate at Donovan's Pub where we had a post game dinner and drinks. We wound up meeting our pal Frank Anichiarico there as well. It was a great way to start the weekend.

Speaking of the weekend, stay tuned for the recap of the memorable weekend I enjoyed. Please bear with me as I find time to write it. There will be a number of special posts.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 8/27 in review

The King and I with Dylan Van Cleve 

Monday night after work I went up to the Bronx on the D train. When I got up there I went to Burger King where I met the King and Vincent Ascanio. I wound up getting a few Whoppers for dinner. Nothing beats flame broiled burgers and more importantly I had them my way with just lettuce. They were made to order and they tasted really good.

After we got done eating we made our way over to Yankee Stadium to see the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays. I was thinking of our pal Sean MacDonald who's originally from Ottawa, Canada then he moved to Japan for quite some time until he recently relocated to Singapore. Regardless he still loves watching baseball and he always roots for the Blue Jays. With that being said, he was with us in spirit.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees scored first as Robinson Cano hit a solo homer to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead. The Blue Jays answered right back as Adam Lind tied the game at one with a solo homer of his own in the top of the second. In the fourth inning, Robinson Cano homered again and the Yankees tacked on a few more runs to take the lead again, 4-1. The Blue Jays got within one as Yorvit Torrealba hit a two run shot to make the score 4-3 in the fifth. The Yankees responded as Nick Swisher did the same. The Blue Jays inched closer again with a run in the seventh to make it 6-4. In the top of the ninth, the Blue Jays were down to their last out with two men on when Colby Rasmus who previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals crushed the ball into the second deck in right field to give the Blue Jays a 7-6 lead. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Derek Jeter aka Captain Clutch lived up to his nickname as he tied the game at seven with a solo homer to right center. The game went into extra innings. The Blue Jays went on to win, 8-7 in 11 innings thanks to a throwing error on a pick off attempt by Derek Lowe which put pinch runner Mike McCoy on third base with nobody out after Yorvit Torrealba got a single to start the inning. After a strikeout, Mike McCoy scored the eventual winning run after a ball was grounded to third by Adeiny Hechavarria. McCoy raced home and he beat the throw to make Sean a happy camper on this night.

Tuesday after work I did the same drill except I met the King for dinner at the 7 Fish Market where we had some seafood.

This time we saw a much faster game with a different end result. The Yankees scored a run in the third and fourth innings to take a 2-0 lead off starter Ricky Romero who's had a rough year on the mound. Third baseman Adeiny Hechavarria sliced the lead in half in the fifth inning with a solo homer to make the score 2-1. That's the way it stayed as the Yankees won much to Sean's chagrin. Yankees' starter Phil Hughes pitched 7 strong innings to earn his 13th victory of the season.

Wednesday night after work I went home since the Blue Jays and Yankees wrapped up their series in the afternoon. The Blue Jays wound up winning the game and the series.

As for me, I came home and I made dinner then I went out and I did my laundry. When I came back I packed up my bags in preparation for our weekend getaway.

Thursday I took off from work so I could pick up the King as he worked at the Post Office for the last time. He decided to take a buyout that they offered him to retire. I went to Dollar Rent A Car to get a car for the day by LaGuardia Airport. I proceeded to pick up the King and off to Philadelphia we went to see the Mets play the Phillies in a matinee.

We were joined by our pal Andrew Van Cleve who recently became a father for the second and last time. On August 22nd, his wife Nicole gave birth to their second son, Micah. With that being said, the letters USB have taken on a new meaning. It used to stand for the Ultimate Sports Baby who is Dylan who was with Andrew at the game. Now it stands for Ultimate Sports Brothers aka Dylan and Micah.

As always, it was great to see Andrew and Dylan. They made the Met loss as it turned out much more bearable. I want to thank them for keeping us company.

As for the game we saw, the Mets were looking to sweep the Phillies. Mike Baxter lead off the game with a home run. Scott Hairston hit one of his own in the second inning with one out. After that, it was all Phillies as they scored single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-2 lead. That's how it ended as the Phillies avoided getting swept by the Mets.

Since the game went so fast, the King and I decided to change our game plan from going to Trenton, NJ to getting closer to home since we had to return the car rental early Friday morning before we caught our flight to Milwaukee for our Labor Day weekend getaway.

With that being said, we wound up in Coney Island where we met up with Vincent Ascanio. We all went to MCU Park to see the Brooklyn Cyclones host the Hudson Valley Renegades.
 
As for the game we saw, both teams were battling to make the playoffs. In the second inning, the Cyclones scored first on a fielder's choice by Brandon Nimmo to take a 1-0 lead. The Renegades tied the game in the fourth inning on a single by Justin O'Connor. The game remained tied until the ninth inning when the Renegades' shortstop Leonardo Reginatto delivered the big blow, a two run homer which was the difference as the Renegades clinched a playoff spot with a 3-1 victory.

Stay tuned as I'll be doing some special posts that will go into detail about our latest annual traditional journey to the Midwest. It was a blast that doesn't get played out. In fact, I can't wait until next year to go back for more. Please bear with me as I try to find time to recap it for you.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 5/23 in review

View from section 336 at Camden Yards

Monday after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees host the Toronto Blue Jays.

Outside the ballpark, the King and I met up with our friend Manny Morales who was going to the game as well. Manny doesn't go to Yankee Stadium too often so we showed him how royalty enters the ballpark.
He was impressed with how easy it was to get in. He said he usually waits on a long line when he's on his own.

Now he knows how to do it for his next visit.

It was a pleasure to educate him on how it's done. When you live the life of royalty, you earn privileges from plenty of years of practice. It has become routine for us to learn the tricks of the trade. It's our way of beating out the competition.

As for the game we saw that night, the Blue Jays roughed up Yankee starter Bartolo Colon as they went on to beat the Yankees, 7-3.

Tuesday night I was back in the Bronx for game two of the series. The Blue Jays appeared to have a handle on this game. They lead 4-1 after seven innings thanks to great pitching from their starter Ricky Romero.
In the eighth inning, they decided to turn the game over to their bullpen. That proved to be a mistake as they gave up a pair of runs in the eighth and ninth innings to give the Yankees the 5-4 victory.

Mark Teixeira delivered the game winning hit after Curtis Granderson tied the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Yankee starter CC Sabathia wound up going the distance and he earned the win as a result.

Wednesday night after work I went home to rest up since the Yankees played an afternoon game.

Thursday I wound up taking off from work and I rented a car from Avis for the day.

The King and I and our friends Phil Butleman and Al Linderman decided to take in a baseball doubleheader.
First we drove to Baltimore, Maryland to see the Orioles play the Kansas City Royals at Camden Yards in the afternoon.

Camden Yards is the Wrigley Field of the new retro ballparks that started the trend back in 1992. If you haven't had the luxury of seeing a game there I strongly suggest that someday you do.

This was my 79th game there. In addition, I've seen at least one there every year since it opened back in 1992.

Over the years, they've upgraded the scoreboards to stay up with the latest in technology. In addition, this time I noticed they fixed up many of their concession stands too. It's nice to see a great place get better over the years.

If the Orioles can get back to their winning ways from when this ballpark opened back in the 90's, Camden Yards can and will become the destination again for baseball in the Baltimore area on a regular basis. Unlike many of the newer ballparks, Camden Yards can hold up to 49,000 people.

As for the game we saw, the Orioles and Royals supplied plenty of offense early as the game was tied at 5 in the fourth inning. It remained that way as the game wound up going into extra innings. The Orioles blew a golden opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the eleventh inning. They eventually won it in the twelfth inning when Vladimir Guerrero delivered the game winning single up the middle to give the Orioles a 6-5 decision.

Since the game went so long we had to hustle to get to our next game which was in Allentown, Pennsylvania, home of the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs.

We had to drive 170 miles through rush hour traffic to make a 7:05PM first pitch. That was asking the impossible.

I did my best to get us there as soon as I could. We wound up arriving at 7:35PM. We were fortunate that our friend Jean Ann Harrison was able to arrange to have tickets left for us by her friend, business partner and Iron Pigs pitcher Jason Grilli. I had to go to will call and pick them up. We were very grateful.

Stay tuned for the special post that I'm going to do regarding the business they just started up together.

As for the game, since we arrived late we missed the Iron Pigs three run first inning when former major leaguers Pete Orr and Brandon Moss each homered to give the Iron Pigs all the offense they needed on this night as they hung on to beat the Rochester Red Wings, 3-2.

Friday I went back to work and afterwards I went out to Citi Field to see the Mets take on their division rival, the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Mets had a 3-2 lead after 7 innings. In the eighth inning, the Phillies tied the game thanks to a double by shortstop Jimmy Rollins. In the ninth inning, with the game tied the Mets called on their closer Francisco Rodriguez aka K-Rod to keep it that way. Unfortunately, the Phillies broke through and they scored three runs to beat the Mets who added a run in the bottom of the ninth inning, 6-4.

In fairness to K-Rod, the Phillies didn't hit him hard but they found the holes and they found a way to capitalize on their opportunity.

Saturday night I went to back to Citi Field. It turned out to be a replay if you will. The Mets lead this time, 2-1 after 7 innings as Mike Pelfrey pitched well. Once again the Mets bullpen failed as the Phillies got a tying hit from second baseman Chase Utley and then their clean up hitter Ryan Howard delivered a two run single to give the Phillies the lead in the eighth inning. They added another run as they beat the Mets, 5-2.

Sunday afternoon I went back for more. Luckily this time the Mets build a 8-0 lead after two innings and they managed to hold on and they salvaged a game from the Phillies, 9-5.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees the Mets down in the City of Brotherly Love!

Phillie Phanatic

Saturday morning I went to Avis and I rented a car for the weekend. I picked up the King and off we went to another one of our many second homes, this time we went to Philadelphia to see the Mets play the Phillies in an early afternoon affair.

We got to see the best pitcher in the major leagues pitch. I'm talking about the "Doc" aka Roy Halladay. He didn't let us or the fans in jammed packed Citizens Bank Park down either.

Doc pitched a gem of a game as he went the distance in beating division rival, the New York Mets. He struck out eight batters as the Phillies backed his great pitching with just enough run support to beat the Mets, 2-1.

Thankfully the game took only 2 hours and 25 minutes to play. My rule of thumb is to allow 3 hours on average. As I like to say, a baseball game can go two hours or five hours. I just hope that it goes fast when I want it to. Unfortunately for the King and I that doesn't seem to be the case that often. This time we got a break.

Since the game went so fast we had plenty of time to get to our next game which was in Trenton, New Jersey, 40 miles away. In addition, we were able to sit down and enjoy a quality meal at a rock bottom price. We wound up going to the Golden Corral for dinner. Stay tuned as I'm going to write a special post about that unique experience.

After we ate, we continued on our way to Trenton to see a minor league baseball game between the Trenton Thunder who are the Yankees double A affiliate and the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the farm club of the Toronto Blue Jays who we saw play a few weeks ago in New Britain, Connecticut.

The last time we saw the Fisher Cats win. This time they lost to the Thunder, 4-1. We even got to see former major leaguer Kei Igawa pitch and he picked up the win in relief because starting pitcher Manny Banuelos didn't get the last out in the fifth inning to qualify for the victory. He pitched effectively for the two and a third innings he threw.

He pitched in Japan before the Yankees brought him to the States back in November 2006. Since he signed a huge long term contract, the Yankees are stuck with him. He didn't cut it in the big leagues, now he's pitching in the lower minor leagues after spending time in Triple A. He turned out to be a total bust.

Sunday afternoon the King and I went back to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Blue Jays. This time the Yankees beat the Jays, 5-2.

After the game, we went back down to Philadelphia to see if the Mets could savage a game in their three game series with the Phillies. After facing the best pitcher in baseball, the Phillies followed up by sending their next best pitcher to the mound, that being Cliff Lee.

Fortunately for the Mets, Cliff Lee didn't have his best stuff on this night. The Mets managed to take a 1-0 lead but the Phillies fought back to tie the game after Lee departed for the night.

The game remained tied when we were forced to leave the ballpark after watching the game for four hours after the Mets batted in the top of the 12th inning. The King had to get to work. He works overnight at the Post Office. He starts at 2AM.

The Mets wound up winning the game in the 14th inning when catcher Ronny Paulino doubled in the go ahead run to give the Mets a 2-1 win. Paulino finished the game with 5 hits.

We hated to leave but we had no choice. We got back to the car at 12:23AM. I had to drive 100 miles to get him back to work on time. I got him there at 1:56AM. He said and I quote "I'm impressed." It should be noted we had to stop for gas too.

I proceeded to drive myself home and I got home at 2:27AM.

Monday morning I woke up and I returned the car back to Avis and then I went to work.

Another adventurous weekend was in the memory bank.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 4/25 in review

Yankee Stadium

Monday after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees play the Chicago White Sox who were making their only visit to the Stadium.

More importantly, I was able to show my co-worker Lauren DiGirolamo and her friend Caitlin the way to the Stadium. They went with me so needless to say they got to experience the royal way of doing things.
They got to the Stadium with relative ease. They were meeting people who had their tickets for them. I made sure they got where they needed to go then we parted ways.

As for me, it was great to be back in the Bronx where I was able to see familiar faces as I entered the ballpark as well as the ones on my way to my seat.

Nothing beats the feeling when you're in your own backyard and people treat you like you're really at home even though you're really at the ballyard.

That's why going to Yankee Stadium is such a pleasure for me. I know how fortunate and lucky I am when I go there.

When you want to go to the Stadium you should consult me so I can show you the right way to enjoy the experience, the royal way.

As for the game I saw, the White Sox got a dominant performance out of former Met farmhand Philip Humber who held the Yankees hitless for six and a third innings when A-Rod singled up the middle to break it up. Humber allowed the lone hit in seven innings of work.

The White Sox got a run off A.J. Burnett who pitched well for 8 innings but he suffered the loss as the White Sox went on to win, 2-0.

Tuesday night after work I went back to the Stadium for more royal treatment from the Stadium staff. In addition, I was treated to a pleasant surprise when I got to my seat because I got to see Vincent Ascanio who was there to see the game too. We got to catch up since we last saw each other at Citi Field when his father was the Mets season ticket holder of the game.

As for the game, this time the White Sox won again behind their starter Gavin Floyd who struck out 10 Yankees over 8 innings.Paul Konerko delivered a big blow when he hit a two run homer in the top of the eighth inning to gave the White Sox the lead. It should be noted that pinch runner Brent Lillibridge who played in the Atlanta Brave farm system, saved the game in rightfield. He went into the game and he made two great catches in the ninth inning to preserve the victory for the pale hose, 3-2. What a way to end the game as he caught a sinking line drive off the bat of Robinson Cano as he got his glove barely off the blades of grass to seal the deal.

That's an example of why it's always better to be there live. If you listen on the radio and/or watch on TV then you have to listen to the announcer describe to you what they saw. Most of the time, they over embellish it. If you're there live, you can draw your own conclusion and savor the moment for a lifetime. If and when somebody asks you about that particular game, you can say "I was there."

Wednesday night you know the drill. This time the outcome was different though. The Yankees won, 3-1.
This was another great game which lasted only a mere 2 hours and 11 minutes as Yankee starter Bartolo Colon rediscovered the fountain of youth as he pitched 8 brilliant innings. He pitched like the Bartolo Colon in his younger day.

Speaking of the past, back on March 31, 2002 the King and I saw him start the season in Anaheim when the Angels played Opening night against the Cleveland Indians, his former team. That night he threw a complete game shutout as the Tribe beat the Halos, 6-0.

Thursday night I decided to take the night off which is very rare considering the Yankees and White Sox were wrapping up their four game series in the Bronx.

In retrospect, it turned out to be a wise decision. The Yankees blew out the White Sox, 12-3 and I needed to recharge my batteries.

Friday night I returned to one of my many second homes for more baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays were visiting the Yankees for the first of their three trips to NYC this season.

Too bad our good friend Sean MacDonald who lives in Japan was out on the West Coast in California and Nevada wrapping up a three week excursion to the States following different sports. He's originally from Ottawa, Canada and his favourite team is the Blue Jays. Needless to say, he was with us in spirit. His Blue Jays on this night make him proud as they beat the Yankees, 5-3.

Jose Bautista, the 2010 Major League home run champion, had a single, a home run and he walked twice, one was intentional in the victory.

Stay tuned as I will write a special post about the royal getaway that the King and I took over the past weekend. As usual, it lived up to billing and then some.

As always, thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman