Fenway vs. The Stadium Sausage Test

Two weekends ago I had to go to Boston for my buddy Carl’s wedding. After the wedding, myself and Miss Double (yes, it is an honor to be The Double’s girl) headed over to Fenway. Now, sports aren’t really her thing, but what can she do? Say no? I mean, she say’s no to me enough as it is, so for this event, no meant yes. I had to go to Fenway. As I drove up and saw it in my vision I couldn’t help but to gaze as if I just saw a great looking woman walk past me. It was like the ‘perv’ in me was coming out towards a Baseball Stadium. What they should do is make the “7 Baseball Wonders of the World” and those places would include: Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Polo Grounds, Double Day Field, Ebbets Field, Wrigley Field and Old Tiger Stadium. Now, I admit, there’s an aura surrounding Fenway Park. So, it was inevitable that there were a number of things I enjoyed about Fenway.

1) So many bars surrounding the stadium. Now, you don’t quite get this at Yankee Stadium or Oriole Park in Camden Yards. Yankee Stadium has what, 4 bars, and everyone goes to Stans and pays $8 for a bottle of beer. At Fenway, there are bars everywhere and filled with young people, like myself. (I apologize to the old-timers.)
2) The convenience of the stadium, of where it is located. Its easy to get to, but only if you live in the city of Boston, or on the outskirts.
3) I also like the convenience and accessibility of condiments such as ketchup and mustard at the sausage/hotdog stands. They don’t use packets, which is great. Unbelievable! Packets and myself are not a good mix because whenever I use a packet of ketchup and/or mustard, I can never quite get all of it out of the packet which leaves drips on the torn section which then, in turns, somehow finds a way to get on my pants and shirt that I am wearing.
4) Well, that’s it. Only 3 things I liked about Fenway (Editors Note* I hate the Red Sox, so I’m a little byist.)

But there was plenty of things that I did not like about Fenway Park.

1) All the Boston Fans.
2) The Sausage Sandwich. I was walking around the stadium with Miss Double, and I said to her form the moment I got into Boston that I need to get a Sausage sandwich and just see how it tastes. No problem. Sausage sandwiches are easily accessible around the stadium. So I go up and get my sausage. I look at it, and its smaller that a Premio Stadium sausage. So I head over to the very ACCESSIBLE condiments and pour on the pool of ketchup and mustard and I get ready to delve into that baby. No Good! If the bread were left out 15 minutes longer, it would have been labeled stale. The sausage itself wasn’t even that tasty. And there was also a lack of peppers and onions on the sausage. No good. I refused to even finish it.
3) T-Shirts. This is such a bite off from Yankee Stadium. They’ve been doing this forever. Whenever you go to the Stadium, you will find every Boston Sucks, Babe/Bucky/Buckner and now Boone t-shirts. And then you have the t-shirts that will just show their distaste for Boston period. So Boston went ahead and made extremely cheesy, corny t-shirts. Like “A-Rod sucks Jeter” or “Jeter sucks the Big Unit”. There was only one funny t-shirt that I got a chuckle out of. It had a picture of a video camera and in print next to the camera said “I banged Sheffield’s Wife”. Now, I thought that was absolute gold. But every other t-shirt sucked, for a lack of better words. When you have about a 15:1 bad: good t-shirt ratio, you should just quit. But of course Boston fans find it humorous because Boston fans are lame and not very intelligent and cannot come up with their own clever souvenirs.
4) Boston Fans. Man, I hate Boston fans.

*Editors Note: I also loathe the New York Yankees. But Boston is a different story---Compliments to Derek Lowe and the 2003 RedSox squad.

A-Rod a True Yankee?

True Yankee?

Now that A-Rod has finally found his swing on Tuesday night in a game against the Anaheim Angels, which he went 4-5 with 3 HR, 10 RBI and a single, (and don’t forget he also added another HR the following evening) the question has sprung….Is A-Rod now a true Yankee?
I am so tired of this question being asked. Reason being, because I am the one that knows the answer. I will dedicate a whole column to what it means to be a “True Yankee”, but here’s a quick synopsis of why he IS NOT a true Yankee….yet.

1) Longevity. He hasn’t been with this ball club long enough.

2) Hasn’t won anything. Win a World Series, then we’ll talk.

3) Hasn’t done anything individually to make my jaw drop.
This one is very important to me. A true Yankee will do something to make your jaw drop. Like Jeter and his miraculous “flip” play against the Oakland A’s in the 2001 Divisional Series. And yes, I’m still pissed that Jeremy Giambi did not slide. Or any of Bernie’s miraculous catches and game winning hits. Posada and his game tying homerun off of Jason Isringhausen in 2000 at Yankee Stadium. Mo…enough said.

4) When I picture A-Rod, I don’t picture him in a Yankee uniform…yet.
a. This is the absolute most crucial aspect of being termed a Yankee or true anything. But this doesn’t pertain to just this ball club. This relates with any player and any other club. It’s like when a player has to choose a hat for the HOF (although now it isn’t up to them anymore). Can you picture Griffey going to the HOF in a Reds cap? No! When you think of Greg Maddux, do you think of the Chicago Cubs? No, you remember him and his glory days with the Atlanta Braves. See what I mean? Its almost like when Jeter gets old and Steinbrenner wants to unload him because he isn’t producing and has that “what have you done for me today” bravado, can you see him in any other cap other than the NY emblem? Just like it’s strange to see Andy Pettite in a Houston cap. I always thought of him as a Yankee. That is the true test. The cap test.

No arguments. I’m right. Everyone else who disagrees with me is wrong.

Bricks, Bricks and More Bricks...

Poor shooting by the New Jersey Nets have led to their collapse and dropping to an 0-3 deficit in the opening round against the Miami Heat. It’s sort of like watching John Starks again in Game 7 of the ’94 Finals against the Houston Rockets. The Nets had numerous amounts of open opportunities to put Game 3 away last night. Kidd, Carter, Jefferson, Best, and even my boy and favorite NBA player, Brian Scalabrine, they all missed wide-open shots over the course of the game, especially down the stretch.

But that’s not the only thing that killed them. In the 2OT, Shaq had the ball down low with Jason Collins guarding him. Shaq gave Collins a ‘bow’ to the face and they somehow called the foul against Collins. I was livid and stunned. That foul was almost as blatant as the Chuck Knoblauch phantom tag. I don’t understand why and how the refs blow these blatant, obvious calls. I understand that Shaq is a big man, but I don’t think he will go attack you for making a call against him which would ultimately be the CORRECT call. It’s as if these refs get on their knees just for Shaq. Pathetic. But the Nets need someone to make some buckets. And they need to find someone to step up now. Or else this could be the last time I ever see Veal play in a Nets uniform. And that, ultimately, is more disheartening than watching the Nets in this fashion.

My First Cubs/Cards Experience: Cheap Beer, Friendly Fans and a 5 Year Old Con Artist

My co-worker Kathleen and I were told we had to take a Project Management course. Kathleen looks up the different locations where they offer this class. When she informed me of the different locations we had to decide where to go. We decided to avoid D.C. since we’ve been there before. So we decided on St. Louis. Neither of us have ever been there, she wanted to check out a college in St. Louis for grad school, and the most important factor in our decision, the final season of Busch Stadium after 39 years. Being the huge baseball fan that I am, I always wanted to go to Busch Stadium. I mean, my hero but now outcast throughout the baseball fraternity, Mark David McGwire, had spent his final 4 years wearing the Red and White Cardinals uniform. (He is still adored in St. Louis). I was also hoping to get to Busch Stadium sometime this summer before they tear it down at the end of the season. I have to go to the great stadiums (Busch was a borderline “7 Baseball Wonders of the World---if it were for present-day stadiums only, it would have easily made it) in which the Gas House Gang of the 30’s which included Dizzy Dean, Jersey native Joe “Muscles” Medwick, Frankie Frisch and being managed by Leo Durocher. Busch Stadium was also the place where Bob Gibson commanded the pitching mound. It’s also the place where the great Stan Musial roamed. Now, here in 2005, these cards are a sort of newer version of the gas house gang, where these players can do it all from top to bottom of the lineup. If you need a bunt, just call on David Eckstein, Reggie Sanders, John Mabry or Mark Grudzielanek to lay it down. If you need that big 2 out hit whether it be a double or Home Run, you can count on the middle of the lineup which includes Larry Walker, Albert Pujols, Jim Edmonds and Scott Rolen. If you want a defense which is nearly flawless and filled with Gold Glovers, or future Gold Glovers (Albert Pujols), you can count on Molina, Rolen, Eckstein, Larry Walker and hi-light real, Jim Edmonds (remember the catch in Game 7 of last years NLCS against the Astros?). You want good pitching and one of the best bullpens in the National League? Turn to the Cards with a sick rotation of Mark Mulder, Jason Marquis, Chris Carpenter, Jeff Suppan and Matt Morris (Mulder, Carp and Morris have Cy Young capabilities.) Turn to the pen for Left Handed specialist Ray King, rubber-arm Julian Tavarez (and plus he’s played on a lot of winning ball clubs, starting from Cleveland to Florida), and then letting Izzy close out the games. This team has it all, along with one of the best managers ever – PERIOD! Tony LaRussa just knows the game and does not get enough credit for it.
But going to the April 20 game wasn’t just about going to see this well orchestrated team that was put together by GM Walt Jocketty, but it was to also watch the 2nd biggest rivalry in baseball, next to the Sox/Yanks rivalry. This was the Cubs/Cards rivalry. And as a baseball enthusiast, this is a series you just have to watch live, in person.
We get to the Stadium fairly early, about 2 hours prior to the game. As I walk up to Busch Stadium, I am again, in amazement and in awe. It’s Busch Stadium. Stan Musial’s statue stands right outside the stadium. Kathleen and I go up to Will Call and get our tickets for that nights game. After we get our tix, we began our journey to find a bar and get a few beers in us. The nearest bar is down the road. But this bar was the nicest baseball stadium bar I’ve ever seen. And the memorabilia all around the bar was amazing. Beer was extremely cheap ($3 for LaBatt bottle). So we get a couple brews before the game, then it starts to down pour. Kathleen and I had no jackets or umbrellas. We run back to the stadium and take cover and get ourselves red Cardinal Ponchos. But we didn’t need them because where our seats were, Left Field upper deck, there was a cover over us.
The first thing we did once we got to our seated area was buy a lot of food. We were hungry and purposely did not each much so that we can test the food at the stadium. As you can tell, I am a big fan of stadium food. The first thing I order is a 32oz. Beer, which cost me only $9. I also order a braut and nachos along with the peanuts that were given to us. (When we left the bar to go to the stadium, Kat and I were handed 2 big bags of shelled peanuts and they were spectacular.) After receiving all our food (Kat got herself a small beer and some food, don’t remember what though) we head up to our seats, and they were up there. But we didn’t mind. All we cared about what being in the atmosphere. In attendance were a lot of Cubs fans, as St. Louis is only a 4-hour drive from Chicago. Now, I was always aware of how faithful and friendly the Cardinal fans are. Take a look from last year alone. After Larry Walker was acquired from the Colorado Rockies, he was given a standing ovation from the Cardinal Faithful’s after he Struck Out! But for this game, I was expecting some angst amongst the Cubbies and Cards fans. But no. They are all friendly. They joke around with one another, don’t argue at all. Not one fight. Now, from experiencing Sox/Yankees games at The Stadium, I’m used to fights, name-calling, cursing, and the whole 9 yards. I mean, about 9 years ago, when I was all of 13, I attended an Oakland/Yankee game with my friend Porky and his family. And during the game Yankee fans were throwing food at me because it was obvious I was an Oakland fan (I was wearing one of my Oakland jerseys). But these people were throwing food at a 13 year old. That’s alright. But there was none of this. Even when the people were belligerently drunk, they still stayed friendly with one another.
The Cubs ended up beating the Cards 3-1, but John Mabry gave everyone a gasp of hope in the bottom of the 9th with 2 out and a runner on base as he drove the ball to deep left center, but just short. Still, a great game even though Nom-ah went down with the left groin injury (no one in the stands understood what happened because we just saw the ball head over to Eckstein at Short and watched the double play be turned without a sign of Nomar in sight.)
But after the game I had a devised a plan. Our seats were right behind what is called “Big Mac Land”. This section was named after Mark McGwire during his time he spent, and broke the 37-year-old homerun record, with the St. Louis Cardinals. And everyone in the section had yellow hard hats on. Now, I needed a souvenir from the stadium, and what better souvenir than a hard helmet which were made for my childhood hero?
So I figured if I went up to someone I’d be able to get a helmet. I would give them $5 for the helmet, hoping that would cover the charges of it and explain my story about how I’m from Jersey and this is my only opportunity to be out in St. Louis and how Mac was my hero, yada yada yada. So by the time the crowd dispersed which enabled us to get down towards that section, there weren’t many fans still in the section. But I spotted a young boy, no more than 5 years old. I notice him wearing one of the hats. I figure he’s a young kid and if I offered him $5 he would just take it because $5 to a 5 year old is like $100 to people in their 20’s.
I approach the young lad and offer him the $5 right away for the helmet. He starts laughing at me. I say, I’ll give you $5 for that helmet. He continues to laugh at me. We finally exchange money and helmet. He is still laughing. I then notice his guardian had 2 more helmets that were still in the bag. So I asked if I could switch the helmet the little boy gave me (he was wearing it) for one of the new ones. No problem. But the little brat is still laughing at me.
Apparently, he duped me. They give the helmets away for free.
No worries.
I had to head to the bathroom after the game. As I’m in there, Cubs and Cards fans are once again embracing one another and telling each other “Great Game”. As I’m walking out, I turn to the Cubs fan and say, “I guess you’ve never been to Yankee Stadium?” He replies “No, but I’m going there for all 3 games against the Cubs in June.” I told him “Good luck with that” and just explained to him that its nothing like Busch Stadium. I told him to beware of the name calling, possible fights, and possibility of food being thrown at them. Just be prepared for the worst harassment he has ever experienced.
After Kathleen and I do our “touristy” things like take pictures, stand around and talk about this and that, we decide to get more drinks in us at the bar we were at before the game. As we are walking towards the bar, we once again see the fans of opposing teams embracing one another. So I just had to take some pictures. We finally get to the bar after breaking through the crowd. This bar was packed with Cardinal and Cubs fans, but with mostly young people in their early-mid 20’s. I had so much fun, plus the beer was cheap (*remember, $3 LaBatt bottles?).
There were people dancing all over the place and the customers would go absolutely nuts when the DJ would play anything by St. Louis native, Nelly.
Kat and I moved to another bar down the street and that bar, once again, was an inside/outside bar. Lots of drunken people. I think she even got on video some guy holding himself up on a table then eventually tumbling to the ground.I don’t really remember too much getting back to the hotel, but I will never ever forget my first Cubs/Cards experience.