BALLPARK HISTORY

Ballparks are full of history. They each have thier own distinct features, The bricks and ivy in Wrigley, monument park and the mystique of Yankee stadium, the warehouse at Camden, the green monster at Fenway, and more, but when you go to a park its more than to see the game, its to take in the environment. As much as I dislike it, part of going to Turner is listening to the fans do that tommohawk chant. I also enjoy seeing the statues or plaques of players who have contributed to all that history.

Each ballpark also gives you a different perspective of the game. What might be a HR at one park is just a fly ball in another. The site lines, angles and views of a game vary from park to park, even if your sitting in the same general area. Also the in game extras , like the mascot races, or singing the stretch at Wrigley, Sweet Caroline at Fenway, or the 7th inning God Bless America at Yankee stadium.

Another great thing about parks is visiting the local bar near the stadium. Harry Carays and Murphy's in Chicago, Pickles in Baltimore, Hockeytown Cafe in Detroit, Hooters in Anaheim, Rock Bottom Brewery in Denver (and Cinci), Harpoon Brewery in Boston, and Billys sports bar in the Bronx.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Memorial day

They say that you shouldn't look at the standings in baseball until Memorial Day. Once it is here, there have been enough games to give a little more realistic view of what teams are capable of. If that's the case, well my Cubs aren't capable of competing for the playoffs. That said, I do see a lot of improvement this year and if we just get one or two more pieces for next year we should be able to compete for the playoffs. Castro and Rizzo continue to improve, and Samardzija looks like he could possibly become our ace. The questions will be what will the Cubs do with Garza and what other moves will we do this year at the trade deadline.  Two players that I would love to see in cubbie blue are Chase Headley and Giancarlo Stanton. I known we couldn't get both and either one would cost us a few pieces, but either would fit great in the lineup with our other big pieces.