All HH'ers can see the Angels have fielded a pathetic offense this year. How pathetic? Here's a comparison to the glory days of 2009...or one specific glory day anyway.

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 I recall my Dad favorably discussing a lot of different ballplayers. The list includes Steve Bilko, Joe DiMaggio, Dom DiMaggio, Dean Change, Bob Feller, Jim Fregosi, Brian Downing and many others. He wasn’t exactly given to waxing poetic of their baseball exploits, but he’d occasionally share some insight into some of these guys. EXAMPLE: I recall him telling me how Dizzy Dean would (intentionally?) walk the bases loaded, with no apparent purpose but to goad his manager into inventing new swear words. Then he’d “magically” remember the direction of home plate and proceed to strike out the side. The story would be followed by Dad’s unique cackle.

I never checked to find out if this story about Dean was true. It really didn’t matter. To me, it helped explain what he meant when he described a person as a “character” (as in a nut-job, the term my Dad reserved for Dizzy Dean, Jim Piersall, and others). It also was a brief glimpse into the mind of Dad, to what he found amusing. There weren’t so many moments like these, since he was frequently at work in support of a stay-at-home mom and my 4 older siblings.

As I wrote here last year, the player that had the greatest appeal (or as least the one of which I was most aware…Dad was 40 years old when I was born) was Nolan Ryan. While he was his most favorite, he could also be his least favorite. Ryan must have taken 10 years off of Dad’s life. It was truly love/hate, providing Dad his chance to invent new swear words. Unlike Dizzy Dean, Ryan didn’t intentionally walk batters. He would simply lose his mechanics (thanks Gubi!) for a random number of innings, and proceed to issue anywhere from 2-8 walks. It was at those moments he’d react like I do when Fernando Rodney is poised to walk yet another lead-off batter (and in the spirit of “like father, like son”, inspire my own foul language creativity).

What did this love (and revulsion) say about my Dad? That’s difficult to answer, in the sense that Ryan is the dictionary definition of enigma. He was a once in a generation (century?) pitcher. Take for example his 7 no-hitters. Can you think of a record in any major sport where the next closest player/athlete (Sandy Koufax with 4) has like 43% less of that quantity? And we are talking about a sport with over 100 years of records. When people speak of unbreakable records this is the first to come to my mind. With the way the game has changed, this is a record I doubt anyone will come close to matching, let alone exceed.

Dad was as captivated by Ryan’s unique baseball gifts as most others that followed his career. I believe it occurred to my Dad that Ryan might be that once-a-century enigma after the 2rd no-hitter (and 2nd of ’73). After that, he followed Ryan with greater intensity. It really doesn’t say much more than he enjoyed the spectacle of vastly superior athlete at the top of his game.

Last add…he has been gone now for 21 years. It’s strange to say, but he seems more “alive” now than he walked this good earth. As time passes, I have become more aware of the giant upon whose shoulders I stand. Dad, thanks for holding me steady.

     So the Rangers trade for Cliff Lee, then blow a lead in the top of the 9th to the worst team in baseball. A sign of things to come? According to many commenters here at HH,  the Rangers pitching is about to "wilt", due to excessive Summer heat. Is it true? Here's a look back at the last 5 seasons. First, overall record and 1st half-2nd half win-loss splits (for the record, 1st half is pre-ASG, 2nd half is post-ASG).

 

		SEASON			1ST HALF			2ND HALF
YEAR	WIN	LOSS	%	WIN	LOSS	%	WIN	LOSS	%
2005	79	83	.488	46	40	.535	33	43	.434
2006	80	82	.494	45	43	.511	35	39	.473
2007	75	87	.463	38	50	.432	37	37	.500
2008	79	83	.488	50	46	.521	29	37	.439
2009	87	75	.537	48	39	.552	39	36	.520

 

     Yes, there is a trend for the Rangers not performing as well in the 2nd half. Only once in the last 5 years (2007) did their 2nd half winning percentage exceed their 1st half percentage. But was pitching the difference? Here are the ERA numbers for the last 5 seasons, showing overall season ERA, and then 1st half 2nd half splits;

		ERA
YEAR	OVERALL	1ST HALF	2ND HALF
2005	4.96	4.74	5.18
2006	4.60	4.65	4.55
2007	4.75	5.23	4.27
2008	5.37	4.97	5.77
2009	4.38	4.34	4.43

 

     There is no consistent trend. In 2005 and 2008, their team ERA was significantly higher in the 2nd half. 2nd half team ERA was slightly higher in 2009. But, team ERA was slightly lower for the 2nd half in 2006, and almost a full run lower in 2007. I just don't see a consistent "wilting" trend in these pitching numbers. In fact, the numbers below make as good a case for their hitters "wilting" in the Texas heat;

 

		BATTING AVG.
YEAR	OVERALL	1ST HALF	2ND HALF
2005	.267	.273	.261
2006	.278	.282	.274
2007	.263	.256	.270
2008	.283	.283	.282
2009	.260	.255	.265

 

     Conclusion? Don't bet on the Rangers pitchers appreciably worse during the summer heat wave. Now that they have added Cliff Lee, I suspect their 2nd half ERA this season will be better than if he had remained in Seattle. I hope the Rev is correct (in this fanpost) that their relief pitching falls apart like it did last evening.

     If there is any trend in the numbers above, it is that they have steadily improved their win-loss percentage every year since 2007.  This will be the toughest divisional fight for the Angels since 2006. I hope our guys are up to the task. Nutter-up!

Here is the final installment of the Father's appreciation series...

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Part 5. Remember, only 2 more shopping days until Father's Day! Ha!

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Here's part 4 of 6 in the series of fatherhood appreciation. Just 2 more to go...

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Here is part 3 of the ongoing Father's Week saga.

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 So, here is part 2 of the Father's Day Week extravaganza...

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     This coming Sunday, June 20th is Father’s  Day, and I intend to post a little something each day this week as a remembrance of my Dad. Why on a baseball blog? Well, why not? My Dad was a hard core Angel fan for many years. He is the reason I became an Angel fan, which will be described in one of upcoming posts. If you don’t like it, that's OK. There's other posts to fulfill your reading and baseball enjoyment. If you like what you read, post your own memories of the Angels, baseball, and fatherhood...or son-hood or some equal.

 And away we go with a little background on my Father.

 PART 1 - BIRTH OF A LOYAL FAN & MLB COMES TO LA

      Dad was born in 1917 in the mining town of Butte, Montana. His Mom died when he was about 10 years old, and shortly thereafter, his father moved the remaining family to Los Angeles. My Dad attended Los Angeles High School and was a fair athlete, excelling in baseball with the help of one of his older brothers, my uncle Bob. (Uncle Bob played in the Yankees minor league system). Dad also had a tremendous singing voice. For the first few years after high school, he balanced these twin passions by playing on a semi-pro baseball team, and performing in opera & light opera productions. He also worked as an auto mechanic. How’s that for variety?

     Like so many others of his generation, he enlisted in the Army after the start of WWII. He had a rather bazaar military career, nearly getting court-martialed for fist-fighting with a drill sergeant (you read that right…a drill sergeant!). A few months later while preparing for his first deployment, his pant leg was caught by the belt on a conveyor while loading equipment, and his left knee cap was crushed. The military doctors weren’t sure how to treat the injury, so they put him in a hip to toe cast for 5 months. The knee didn’t heal during that time. It took 2-3 years for it to improve. Even then, it was never "right". He spent the rest of his enlistment in the States working a desk assignment. This was probably to the benefit of our enemies, since his Vesuvian temper was erupting on a more frequent basis.

      After the war, he met my Mom, and they were married in 1947. Dad also tried to resume playing baseball, but the knee wouldn’t cooperate. Straight forward running was OK, but any twisting or turning was out of the question. My Mom once told me of going to see him play before they were married. He got a base hit and rounded first, only to have the knee buckle. He collapsed on the ground, and had a hard time getting back to his feet. My Mom closed this memory by saying it was the most despondent she had ever seen him. His attempt to resume some level of competitive play ended later that year.

     His other passion of singing also was shelved as the need to provide for a growing family exceeded his personal priorities. My oldest brother was born in ’49, followed by other brothers in ’51 and ’54. My only sister was born in ’52, and I entered the world in ’57. Yes, my parents were good Catholics, doing their best to keep the Pope employed. To stoke his baseball passion, Dad would take the family to minor baseball games, and he coached my brothers when they were old enough to play little league. He developed a strong desire to support a full-fledged MLB team, and through the 50’s, it seemed only a matter of time before that desire would be satisfied with an MLB franchise in Los Angeles.

     He was initially excited when he heard that the Dodgers might relocate to Los Angeles. An MLB team in LA! But as he read more about the deal-making to secure the move, his excitement turned to loathing, and then to anger. Make that A-N-G-E-R. It was directed at all involved, but most focused on Walter O’Malley. There is a part of my youth where I was convinced "God DAMN" must have been Walter’s middle name, and "That" was his first name, since I recall hearing Dad say repeatedly, "That God DAMN O’Malley!" When the move of the Dodgers was finally announced, he reluctantly concluded that there was no way he would spend one cent to support the Dodgers. NO WAY. He wouldn’t give that bastard the satisfaction…not to that God DAMN O’Malley (from here after to be known as GDOM). 

Ah, but fate can be one fickle mistress. Events would conspire to tempt him into the land of that GDOM. Would he go? You'll have to read that in part 2, which will be posted some time tomorrow. 

When someone of "celebrity" status dies, their passing is often accompanied by remembrances not quite worthy of the life they lived. That is definitely not the case with the man whose death was announced today, that of John Robert Wooden. If anything, the memorials will likely fail to capture this man’s unique gifts, knowledge, and understanding of basketball but more than that, of life and it’s challenges.As a young man, I was fortunate enough to attend John Wooden’s basketball camp over 4 consecutive summers (1971 – 1974). As a normal budding teen, I had lots of questions with too few answers that coincided with the time I attended his basketball camp. One document that helped me was his "Pyramid of Success". The pyramid didn’t answer my questions, but it did provide a framework of behavior to follow whether looking for answers, or competing, or for many of the other vicissitudes of life.  I have posted his pyramid for you to draw your own conclusions.

 

 

What impressed me most about Mr. Wooden was his humility. At the time I attended his camp, the UCLA teams he coached were winning NCAA championships with such regularity they seemed pre-ordained. He could have cashed in this success with a healthy NBA career. Instead, he chose to continue coaching at the collegiate level and running his basketball camps because he so much enjoyed teaching and working with youth.

 

He was as approachable as your favorite grand-parent, and equally warm. The day I asked him to autograph the attached "Pyramid of Success" provides an example. I heard he was in the coach’s office, so I went there to ask for the autograph. He was eating his lunch with the other coaches, a combination of his assistants at UCLA and high school coaches from Pacific Palisades High School. They were deeply engrossed in a discussion of basketball strategy. I was somewhat embarrassed that I had interrupted their lunch and discussion. One of the coaches gave me a look that I interpreted as "Go away, kid". Wooden put down his sandwich and immediately autographed the document. He then asked me some questions, such as my age, how many years I had attended the camp, what I liked about the camp, and what I thought would help me learn more. I was really too stunned to give more than cursory responses. He again wished me well, and said to come back to talk anytime I wanted.

 

Mr. Wooden finally gets to re-unite with his life long love - his wife Nell - that preceded him in death by about 20 years. Thanks you sir for some memorable years of college baskeball. Thanks for the "Pyramid of Success". More than anything, thanks for all that you helped me learn, about basketball and life. May your timeless, classic lessons and ideas continue to thrive.

 

Bob Clear - former Angel minor league manager and bench coach from 1976 to 1987 - died on Tuesday, April 6, 2010. He was 82 years old. Services are scheduled for tomorrow.

I didn't hear any announcement of this on any of the Angels media outlets. Anyone know how to contact Angels Media Dept. and advise of his passing? This should be acknowledged by the Angels organization.

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Trades I want to see. Really, these will work!

-          Draft Tommy Lasorda and trade him back to the Dodgers for Matt Kemp and Vin Scully.

-          Package Physioc and Al Davis in a trade to Kansas City for Mike Jacobs, Matt Grienke, and a really bad broadcaster to be named later...much later. Like in 2014. And I have this crazy instinct Al Davis will work his charm in KC and trade the entire city for Georgia Frontiere.

-          Sign Manute Bol and then trade him to Boston for Jason Bay. We can sell this! Imagine a guy 7'-7" patrolling the Green Monster. Can't miss...

-          Trade Matt Kemp and Jason bay to the Yankees for Alex Rodriguez. The plan is starting to work...stick with me!

-          I just realized I didn't actually have a previous trade for Al Davis. Sorry about that!

-          (Insert whatever crazy trade you want in this space).

-          Trade Jacobs BACK to KC for George Brett's infamous pine tar bat.

-          Take some practice swings with the pine tar bat against Al Davis' head. If it doesn't break (the bat that is)...the plan gets closer to the ultimate goal!

-          This is the easiest part of the whole scenario...trade Alex Rodriguez to the Dominican Republic to lure Pedro Guerrero out of retirement. This is our almost ace in the whole (or hole...whichever).

-          Matt Kemp and Jason Bay get traded to the 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks  for Luis Gonzales.

-          You should now be cognizant of this ultimate ingenious plan...

-          We now trade Matt Kemp and Jason Bay for...get this...Samuel L. Jackson!

 

So here's my line-up for the 2010 ALCS against the defending champs...

-          Curtis Granderson (this wasn't in my trades, but I figured I had no choice. I had to inherit this one).

-          Abreu

-          Pedro Guerrero! (He was so good in the '81 playoff's against the Yanks...can't miss!!!)

-          Samuel L. Jackson! (He was GREAT in Pulp Fiction!!)

-          Luis Gonzales! (The only guy to ever get a game winning World Series hit against Rivera!!!)

-          (Who's on first)

-          (Doesn't Matter...he'll be swinging the infamous PINE TAR BAT!!! Ha!)

-          (What's on second)

-          (Matt Grienke...just because we want to give the Yanks a fighting chance).

Pitchers??? Aw...we have Grienke. Who needs anyone else?

If this somehow doesn't work, we have Vinny to help soothe our misery, and we are FINALLY rid of the Phyz! Vinny and Huddy...what a team! Are you ready for a delicious Farmer John Hot Dog? You will be!

OK.  None of this makes sense. Is it any different than any of the other trade suggestions posted in the last 3 weeks? Maybe someone can swing another trade for Georgia Frontiere. To patrol center field. Or for batting practice.

If you trades aren't at least as ridiculous, don't bother. Please. Somehow, I doubt we'll be disappointed.

An impressive number of viewers watched ALCS game #5. From overnight Nielsen ratings;

"Fox is getting a lot better luck with the ALCS this season than they did with the NLCS last season. From 8-11p, ALCS Game 5 (Yankees v. Angels) delivered a 3.3/8 among Adults 18-49. The final ratings this afternoon are expected to make this the highest rating game of the series. It’s well ahead of last year’s NLCS Game 5 on FOX (Phillies v. Dodgers, Wednesday 10/15/08) by +27% among Adults 18-49 (3.3/9 vs. 2.6/7). The best news for Fox is that the Angels won, pushing the series to at least 6 games."

Here's a link to the TV rating scoreboard.

Hello Brewer fans. I visited Miller Park in late June along with my wife and daughter. We had tickets to see a game between the Brewers and Giants on June 25. I actually am an Angels fan. We are on a quest (spanning a few years) to visit all MLB parks.

Here is a link to my post at Halos Heaven. I originally thought I had posted this in early July. WRONG. I'm not sure if it's work stress or early Alzheimer's. Either way, here are my impressions. We had a great time, and only wish we had spent more time in Milwaukee. I hope you enjoy. Cheers.

 

Well, this is a little embarrassing. I thought I had posted this a couple of months ago. It took BrewAngel asking me in another comment when I was going to post this. Apparently, Alzheimer's has started a bit early for me. In any case, here is the post from our visit to Miller Park that SHOULD have posted a couple of months ago...

************************************************************************

So after visits to Wrigley Field and US Cellular Field, my wife, daughter traveled to Milwaukee on June 25 for a game at Miller Park. First, I didn't realize it was such a short trip from Chicago to Milwaukee. If not for construction traffic, we would have made the trip in an hour.

As you can see from this photo, Miller Park was built close to the former location of Milwaukee County Stadium (photo by others). You can also get the sense that scale of Miller Park is big...I mean REALLY big.

via www.digitalballparks.com

This photo was taken from the somewhere where the previous location of County Stadium. Just beyond the trees at the center right (below the "Miller Park" sign in this photo) is an awesome little league field. That's right...it's as though there was a little league field on the grounds of the Big A.

 

Here's a picture of the little league park This took us completely by surprise.

 

The scale isn't as noticeable until you get closer to the park. It's then you realize that everything seems to be oversized. Maybe my eye was fooled. Here's a shot from the exterior left field side back toward the clock tower (clock tower is behind home plate).

It's inside that I really got the sense of scale. My immediate sense was that I was in a very large interior space...like a cavern. Here's a 5 photo panorama from behind home plate.

 

Here's a close-up of the roof structure. Maybe this gives a better sense of the size of relative size. Check the size of fans versus the structure.

 

There was an impressive number of tailgaters. There were lots of bar-b-que's with a wide variety of items on the grille...various sausages, chicken, steak.  It all smelled so good...

 

So there was also a baseball game played on this day. The Brewers played the Giants. Here's a picture of a familiar figure preparing for BP.

 

And we had...cheerleaders? OK...I could get used to this. The only truly strange part is that during the National Anthem, they are positioned in center field and go through some motions that signify...something. Some sort of salutes to...I am not sure what. Maybe someone else from Milwaukee will read this and explain.

 

Um...back to the game. Here"s another guy familiar to Angel fans for his time in Oakland...

Here's the first pitch of the game.

This is one of the games where Benjie Molina was almost bowled over by a runaway sausage. Here he emerges from the dugout oblivious to the over-sized wieners on a collision course with the former Angel catcher.

My eyes were more on the out-of -town scoreboard. The Angels were doing well! One unique feature of the scoreboard is the Gameday like diamond showing runners on base.

 

This was the last photo we took for the night. It was getting late, and San Francisco wasn't showing much punch. We decided to leave at this time since we still had a 60-90 minute drive back to Chicago.

Impressions? Other than the outrageous cost of $25.00 to park, We really enjoyed the stadium...it's an impressive structure, and the amenities are fine. Next time, I want to join in on the tailgate experience, and I want to see how the roof operates (OK...that may be a bit weird, but I love to see how things work). I also wish we has spent more time in Milwaukee. It seems like a pleasant city with lots of friendly people.

Here's a link to lots more photos from our visit. I hope you enjoy.

 

 

 

 

The Angels played their 95th game of the year tonight. They beat the Twins 6-3 to raise their record after 95 games to 57-38.

As most HHer's know, last season was the most successful regular season in franchise history, winning 100 games for the first time ever. Any guesses on their record after 95 games last season?

 

 

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Time's up for the guessers. In 2008, the Angels played their 95th game on July 17th. Their record? 57-38...EXACTLY the same as their record this year! Surprised?

Poll

How many games will the Angels win this season?

5%

90 or less.

4 votes

55%

91-95

44 votes

34%

96-100

27 votes

5%

101 or more

4 votes

79 votes | Poll has closed

My wife, daughter and I visited US Cellular field on the south side of Chicago a couple of days after visiting Wrigley Field. There is probably no greater disparity in 2 professional sport stadiums anywhere in the US, especially in the same city. Adjectives used to describe Wrigley Field are small, quaint, traditional, original, intimate, and welcoming. Descriptions of US Cellular would need to include sleek, clean, well designed, antiseptic, and modern.

I read here that the stadium was built in 1991, and has been remodeled over the last few years. One added note. I will never complain about the cost of parking at the Big A again. The cost to park at US Cellular Field is $23.00!!! We attended the game on Tuesday, June 23, 2009. The opponents were the Dodgers. The Dodgers won the game 5-2 behind a god pitching performance by Hiroki Kuroda.

Here are some photos from the game we attended;

 

Here's a 5 picture panorama just inside the entrance;

 

There are some great seats, like these behind the RF fence. You are right at field level.

 

They sure like their bronze statues! Here's one of Harold Baines.

There are nice wide corridors all around the stadium. Easy in, easy out.

The one thing I REALLY disliked was the sound system. They have high quality speakers, but the volume is way too high, and they are constantly pumping music, ads, and announcements at you in high volume. I got tired of this after the first inning. Here's a picture of the speakers right behind our seats...

 

...over our heads...

...and a picture of the speakers around the stadium. A bit too much for me.

If you think LA Dodger fans clear out early, here's the exodus of White Sox fans in the bottom of the 8th (score was 5-1 Dodgers at this time).

 

My take? A nice stadium, but...how do I say this? US Cellular offers lots of great amenities. It's a great place to see a game. Perhaps I am getting too old. But, I don't need to be entertained every damn moment. I don't mind a few quiet moments between innings - or between at-bats or even between pitches - to just relax, take in the game, and think. There were precious few moments at US Cellular where there wasn't something blaring through the more than ample quantity of speakers. Maybe it's great for kids, but for me, it's over-kill. I far preferred the game at Wrigley Field. There were actual opportunities to think about the game or exchange conversation with others .

 

Anyway, here's a link to the balance of the photos. Enjoy!

I created a fanpost on this site 3-4 months ago titled "Future Visitor" I asked for your recommendations of places to stay, visit, and dine while in Chicago. Well, time flies, and the "Future Visitor(s)" are now a "Past Visitors".

My wife, daughter, and I attended a game at Wrigley Field on Sunday, June 21 (Father's Day). It was a great game for the Cubs, beating the Indians 6-2, and with Randy Wells getting his first victory. We thoroughly loved Wrigley Field. In fact, we took a tour the next day.

I wrote up our experience in a fanpost at Halos Heaven. There are photos accompanying the fanpost, and more photos are linked in that post. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, but I hope you manage to keep Wrigley around for another 100 years. It's a real treasure!

Good luck to all you Cub fans for the balance of 2009!

It was a beautiful day for a game...perfect baseball weather. Here are a few random thoughts...

 

1) Right about 12:00 Noon, Napoli went out to the Nick Adenhart logo in center field, tapped it (as we have seen Weaver do), and then he wrote or drew something on the warning track. If anyone know what I wrote, I’d be curious to find out.

2) Unless he’s hurt, it bugged me to find out Izzy was sitting out the game. I don’t care how well Aybar and Kendrick did today. Izzy has earned a starting spot. He should not have to sit down and await another opportunity. He already EARNED it!

3) Not sure if Vlad is back, but the Vlad we have seen the last 2 days is a lot better than the Vlad of the last 2-3 weeks. It was also good to see him in RF again.

4) Saunders needs a break. I hope the ASB will give him the rest he seems to need. He looks tired, and his confidence seems to be waning. He was 1-0 on probably 90% of the batters today, and I bet he was 2-0 on close to 50% of the batters. That said, he would have still had a chance at a victory if not for Howie’s error in the 3rd inning. That really hurt.

5) Do my eyes deceive me, or do we really have a chance for 3 players with 25-30 HR’s and 90-110 RBI’s (Hunter, Rivera, Morales), and a combination of Napoli/Abreu for a 4th (Napoli with 25-30 HR’s Abreu with 90-110 RBI’s)? This offense could really be scary if Vlad continues to improve. This is definitely the best Angel offense since 2002…so far anyway.

6) Speier got the job done in the 6th, but it was scary! We still need help in the ‘pen. On the other hand, Bulger’s strike out of Brian Roberts in the 8th was a thing of beauty.

7) On the post-game report, Rory said this is the first time the Angels have come back for victories from 4 run deficits in successive games since the ’79 series against the Yankees (right before the ASB). Oh man…that ‘79 series was one of the best 4 game series EVER.

 Mrs. Sothball, the junior Ms. Sothball (daughter) and I got to attend a game at Wrigley Field on Sunday 6/21/09. It was a day game between the Cubs and Indians. The Cubs won the game, 6-2. For us, the star of the show was Wrigley Field.

Wrigley Field is one of only 2 baseball stadiums remaining that were built prior to the "automobile age". The other is Fenway Park. As a consequence, these 2 fields have very limited parking facilities, and are surrounded by a mix of residential and commercial buildings. So, you either walk, take the subway (the "El" in Chicago), or park as close as possible. The parking rates are pretty high close to the park. For our game, the asking rate was $30.00. We parked on the street for free about a mile from Wrigley, and then walked to the field. It was actually a great experience. The surrounding area is called "Wrigleyville". There are lots of stores, shops, restaurants, and sports bars…lots of sports bars.

Here are some of photos;

Here’s the view of the main entrance…sort of. It’s below the red "Wrigley Field" sign.

 

This is the view just inside the main entrance to the right.

 

Here’s a 4 picture panorama inside the main entrance.

I hadn’t realized how many seats there are on rooftops of adjacent buildings. This photo was taken from the very top corner seat. That’s Sheffield Avenue below. Sheffield intersects with Waveland at the upper left of the photo…where the red car is turning.

This was the view from our seats.  The "luxury" box seats were added about 10 years ago. They are directly over our heads. It’s the thin layer of seats directly below the upper deck (seen at upper middle of the photo).

The hand operated scoreboard. This photo was taken at the end of the game, right after the final score was posted. It’s on the lower left side.

 

Here’s the sign at the front displaying the final score…Wrigley’s version of lighting the halo.

 

Impressions?

1) If you’ve ever met a Cub fan, they seem more "in love" with their team, almost as though the team is a part of their extended family. I think I understand part of the reason why. Wrigley Field and the surrounding residential neighborhood are tightly interwoven. They are a part of one another, and seem to play off each other.

2) People we met were friendly and curious. I had no problems with anyone, even though I was wearing an Angel cap and shirt. About the only team identity that may have caused problems would have been a White Sox gear.

3) The food was great, and the facilities were adequate. No extended waiting time for food or restrooms.

 If you ever have a chance to see a game at Wrigley, take it! You can suspend time in your mind and imagine what it was like seeing a baseball game 75 years ago.

To check out more photos, go to this link (taken the day of the game) and at this link (taken on Monday, 6/22 on a tour of the stadium). There are two pages of photos for each link.

We all know how Vlad has struggled this year. ESPN has made sure the world knows of the weakness of David Ortiz. Did you know Alphonso Soriano is having the same precipitous drop in average and power statistics? These are his current numbers: BA is .224, SLG is .430, OBP is .291, and OPS is .721. These are all well below is career averages. He has hit 14 HR's, but has only 30 RBI's. This seems odd to have 3 prominent power hitters from the Dominican Republic all experiencing the exact same thing in the same year. All three are within a year or so in age. Vlad and Soriano are free-swingers, while Ortiz is a more patient hitter. Of the 3, Ortiz is the only one that seems to be breaking out of a season long slump. Is it the WBC? I believe both Soriano and Ortiz participated, but Vlad didn't participate. Are they just getting older? I don't believe it's steroids, but there sure could be speculation on that direction. Was kryptonite added to the Dominican water supply this past winter? Give your thoughts and comments. Let the speculation continue.