View My Seats

At the Intersection of Sports and Culture

Photo Credit for Header: Alex Foucre-Stimes

Shadowboxing with Kevin Gregg and David Ortiz

by

VMS reader Jimmy M. sends us this pic from last night’s Red Sox/Orioles game at Fenway Park. Full stadium on hand, as expected, to see Boston bludgeon the O’s by a final score of 10-3. But all anybody is talking about today is the “fight” between Red Sox DH David Ortiz and Baltimore pitcher Kevin Gregg. As Jimmy points out, the 8th inning provided and interesting series of events to have to explain to his 8 year old son Tommy. To be fair, what transpired between Gregg and Papi was a little a little confusing to even the most seasoned of baseball eyes.

As far as I can tell, the Baltimore Orioles are upset because they are playing like horse manure, having fallen a total of 16 games behind the steamrolling Sox. Papi has been walking his way down to first base since his days as David Arias so I’m not so sure why Gregg was so compelled to scold Ortiz on this particular occasion. On the other hand, Ortiz has no business overreacting to being pitched inside. That’s where you go to get him out. Everyone knows this yet nobody executes this strategy properly – see New York Yankees.

In the end, the only way Baltimore exacts any sort of revenge against Ortiz is to win the next two games vs the Red Sox before heading into the break. Even still, they would remain well behind Boston in the standings with very little cause for optimism over the remainder of the 2011 MLB season.

 

PNC Park says: “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled massses”

by

My buddy Brownie* visited PNC Park over the weekend to watch the Pirates take on the Boston Red Sox. He sent me this view from his seats and told me that yes, those buildings in the background are in fact real and spectacular. He went on to say that the Pittsburgh skyline borders on hypnotic and that when you watch a Pirates game from the upper deck of PNC Park, you can’t help but stare at the Clemente Bridge and the tall buildings behind. He equated it to a Cowboys game at the new stadium in Dallas where fans can’t help but be distracted by the massive jumbotron hovering above the field.

*It’s true what they say, every group of friends has someone called “Brownie” and “Murph”.

I have to admit, I’m starting to develop a bit of a “fan crush” on Pittsburgh and the Pirates. The Steel City has emerged as the hippest port of call between New York and Chicago – sorry Cleveland – for young professionals in their late 20’s/early 30’s. With a strong university system, gobs of entrepreneurial spirit, and affordable housing, Pittsburgh has everything that a wayward soul with latent ambition could possibly ever need. Think about it as grittier version of Portland, Oregon.

The Pirates are quietly becoming my National League team. As a Baltimore Orioles fan, I have empathy for the plight of the Pittsburgh Pirates fan base and share their longing for a winning season. With loads of young talent, Andrew McCutchen as the centerpiece of this youth movement, and a beautiful ballpark, this is a team that should be able to turn things around, if ownership ever becomes willing to invest money in improving the quality of their on the field product.

Hopefully the great migration of “coasties” who have abandoned their studio apartments in Red Hook for a new lease on life in the Steel City will be able to go out to PNC Park and watch a winner sometime in the near future.

That Time I was Booed at Camden Yards for Cheering On the Orioles

by

In honor of the 3 game series opening this evening in Camden Yards between the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles, I figured this was an appropriate time to pass along the story of how I was heckled and told to sit down for rooting for the O’s in BALTIMORE!!!!

For years now, well really since the Orioles last winning season in 1998, and especially after Cal Ripken retired in 2001, the club has struggled to draw fans to Camden Yards. The appeal of the still gorgeous looking, trailblazing retro ballpark has not been able to overcome rosters full of overpaid (Albert Belle), over the hill (Miguel Tejada the 2nd time) players and an owner in Peter Angelos who Orioles fans loathe with a passion akin to maybe only the budding relationship between Jerry Seinfeld and Donald Trump. Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, with its various attractions, restaurants, and aquarium, still attract tourists to the downtown area but these crowds do not always migrate the 6 blocks or so west to the Warehouse to catch a baseball game. That is unless the Orioles are hosting either the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees.

Like a swarm of locusts they descend upon the Charm City devouring anything that crosses their path. Merchants and hotels love it when these two teams are in town because it means a tremendous boost in sales. Orioles season ticket holders enjoy the return on their investment as Yankee and Red Sox fans are more than willing to shell out the extra dough for a game at Camden Yards because it still cheaper, travel down the northeast corridor included, than taking a family of four to a game at either Yankee Stadium or Fenway Park.

All of this being said, having so many Sawx and Yanks fans in OPACY does not make for an enjoyable experience if you happen to support the home team. Now to my tale. It had to have been around 5 years ago that my girlfriend, now wife, and I made what has become our annual trip down to Baltimore to catch a couple of Oriole games. For us, we go all in. Fancy Hampton Inn 25 minutes outside of the city? Done. Nothing but the finest dinners at places like Pizzerio Uno and Hooters? You got it! We live for the entire experience. That was until the moment where I was belittled in my own ballpark.

I think it was right after I stood up to celebrate a Jeff Conine home run against the Yankees that a New York fan in the Eutaw Street bleachers told me to “sit down and shut up”. If this were Yankee Stadium, I understand a fan defending their turf but this was Oriole Park and as an Oriole fan I thought I had a right to root for the home team. My reaction to this verbal chiding? Nothing. Zero. Bupkis. And here’s why, when the Yankees and Red Sox are in town, their fans outnumber Oriole fans 5 to 1. I must have been surrounded by an entire section of Staten Island’s finest. In this moment of spiritual survival I couldn’t locate a single ally.  A verbal and/or physical altercation would not have worked out for me. Speaking up also would have put my girlfriend in jeopardy of verbal abuse and I wasn’t about to bring that sort of ridicule and embarrassment onto her.

5 years, and as many losing seasons later, I have had to live with the shame of being booed in Camden Yards for cheering on the Orioles. I must also live with my wife constantly reminding me and anyone else who will listen that when confronted by a Yankee fan in Oriole Park, I stood down and did nothing. Of course pride is often the highest form of self indulgence so I can keep my head high while continuing to avoid Camden Yards anytime the Red Sox and Yankees are in town.

view from Camden Yards courtesy of @vtbeach

The Pulse of a 2-9 Nation

by

Before heading out to Yankee Stadium this evening for my first MLB baseball game of the season, I thought it was appropriate to spend a few moments commenting on the state of the last place Boston Red Sox after a dismal 2-9 start to the season. I’m not a Sox fan and if there is one thing “The Nation” dislikes it is non Sawx fans having any sort of opinion on their team whatsoever. So, I asked VMS contributor, and rabid Boston sports fan, Abe what he thinks is going on with the Sox and whether or not he has already given up on the Carl Crawford “experiment”.

Abe was in Fenway for the Sox 4-0 Sunday night victory over C.C. Sabathia and the Yankees. He said that heading into the game most Sox fans remained optimistic and unwilling to push the panic button too early but cautioned that the next ten games could go a long way in determining the course of the 2011 season. Our conversation was three days and two home losses at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays ago. Now, at 2-9, are Sox fans ready to push that panic button?

For me, it boils down to two things: pitching and chemistry. When Tim Wakefield is your most reliable starting pitcher, and he he hasn’t started a game all season, you know your staff is under performing. Watching the Dice-K Monday night meltdown was a bit like being in the audience for a high school musical when the lead actors forgets all their lines. Judging by the cheers for Francona as he pulled Matsuzaka from the game in the 3rd inning, Sox fans have seen enough and are ready for a change.

The chemistry issue is not all that uncommon a problem. Any time you introduce new stars – Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez – to an already established veteran lineup/clubhouse you must account for a small grace period while these players are acclimated to their new surroundings. No worries, Crawford and Gonzalez are going to be superstars in Boston for a long, long time.

So relax Red Sox Nation, your team is going to be alright. Unless they lose tonight and fall to 2-10.

view from Fenway Park courtesy of @jbomengo

View from Spring Training: 2011 Boston Red Sox

by

2011 Boston Red Sox

NFL Equivalent – Pittsburgh Steelers: As a proud member of “The Nation”, and a huge Pats fan to boot, it pains me to compare the Steelers to the Sox but the similarities are there. Both are storied franchises with fervent fan bases who have each remained relevant, championship contending teams in the 21st century. Ignoring the detestable – and overrated – Ben Roethlisberger, to whom no one compares, there are some player similarities, with veterans WR Hines Ward and C Jason Varitek as team leaders, speedsters WR Mike Wallace and OF Carl Crawford, and some pirating, roving defenders like S Troy Polamalu and OF Jacoby Ellsbury.

Google Search: Nobody maid more off-season noise than the Red Sox. The major acquisitions of Crawford and 1B Adrian Gonzalez aside, the 2011 Sox got another player who might end up being more important to their offense this year, and he was already on the team! Two years ago, Jacoby Ellsbury was the next Ricky Hendersen. He danced around .300 while stealing a crap ton of bases while hitting more than his fair share of homers. After getting steam rolled by Adrian Beltre, and then whining about it in Arizona, he is back, he is healthy, he is happy about his return to center, and he is ready to ignite the powerful Sox offense. For Ellsbury, getting to first means taking second. He will set the table for an unmatched 2-3-4-5, however Tito Francona decides to arrange the hot bats of Pedroia, Crawford, Gonzalez and Youkilis. You heard it here, he’ll be healthy and starting the All-Star game in center field for the AL team with about 25 SB by mid season.

Famous Movie Quote: …people will come Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’t mind if you look around, you’ll say. It’s only $20 per person. They’ll pass over the money without even thinking about it: for it is money they have and peace they lack. And they’ll walk out to the bleachers; sit in shirtsleeves on a perfect afternoon. They’ll find they have reserved seats somewhere along one of the baselines, where they sat when they were children and cheered their heroes. And they’ll watch the game and it’ll be as if they dipped themselves in magic waters. The memories will be so thick they’ll have to brush them away from their faces. People will come Ray.  – James Earl Jones from Field of Dreams

Not that the Red Sox need any help with attendance, but lets not forget that Ray Cansella had to bring Terrence Mann to Fenway in order to find Moonlight Graham. Ignoring the loudmouths behind you, Fenway still has the most magic of any stadium in baseball. It is a time warp. You can imagine Foxx and Williams, and Yaz trotting during warm-ups. You can feel the rich history of what is still America’s most important game, if no longer its most popular. The Red Sox have put together an impressive team this year, reminiscent of the days before over-expansion diluted the game. The aggravatingly peace-less fans of Boston will breathe easy with every Sox win… and they will win. Tons. And people will come. 2011 prediction: 98-64, 1st place AL East

view from City of Palms Park courtesy of @stephbam