Right Back Where I Started From...

This is the post I really didn't want to write. It means I'm done, finished, and have no where else to go or have any other weird religious things to write about.

The drive from Dallas home took about 3 days, and was largely uneventful. The American southwest is absolutely beautiful for someone who has never seen it before, but for someone who has grown up in the desert, it gets kind of old.

I stopped at the Grand Canyon, somewhere I had never been before. It's a very difficult experience to put into words, but if you still believe in that 6000 year old Earth crap, I strongly suggest a visit here.

I stopped in Laughlin, NV for a night. If you've never been there, it's OK. The place is a lot like Las Vegas, except without anything fun.

I've been home for a couple of days now, and have done absolutely nothing. It's honestly been a refreshing change of pace to not have any place to be or have any 8 hour drives to tackle.

So now I have to figure out what do next. Job hunting doesn't quite sound as fun as going from ballpark to ballpark, but I suppose its what I need to do to survive. Damn you, money and desire to live comfortably.

The trip was an amazing success, and will continue to be an amazing story to tell. I really, truly want to thank everyone along the way for their generosity, and everyone who has been following me through here, and for everyone's kind comments and support. The positive support has meant a lot to me, and I'm glad you all have helped in your own ways to help me support these goals.

Thanks!

Official (And Last) Road Trip Stop #23: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Arlington, TX

9/26/2009
Rays 3 @ Rangers 15

When history looks back on the legacy of President George W. Bush, it'll probably focus on things like September 11, the War in Iraq, that whole almost-depression thing and the fact that he was the first non-english speaking man to be elected President. But what about the positives? Like....uh....well....oh, he did get the Ballpark in Arlington built. And its a pretty nice stadium. But you'll never hear about that from the damn liberal media, will you?

Actually, I'm kind of surprised you don't hear more about it in the damn liberal media, because Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is pretty much the whole reason that the man was able to become President. The details are outlined in this really interesting New York Times article, but the basic story is this: The young son of President George H.W. Bush invested roughly half of a million dollars to become a 1% owner of the Texas Rangers. A (somewhat surprisingly) shrewd businessman, he and the other owners were able to convince the taxpayers of Texas to pay $135 million to build a new stadium in Arlington. Because tax money for baseball is OK, but tax money for health care is bad. With the revenues generated by the new stadium and a halfway decent team, Mr. Bush became a multi-millionaire off of his investment, and was able to fund his successful campaign to become Governor of Texas, and later, the President of the United States of America. And I thought I was done writing political science papers.

It was built just after Camden Yards in Baltimore, and opened in 1995. It mimics a lot of Camden Yards, from the bricks, to the green seats, to the unnecessarily forced awkward field dimensions, but manages to maintain a distinctly Texas feel. You are reminded you are in Texas around every turn, from either the southwestern food, to the Texas flags and colors, to all the country songs on the PA that basically say "America is awesome, and you liberals and towelheads can get out if you don't like it."

Parking is plentiful, but kind of pricey. However, with Six Flags over Texas being right next door, I was able to use my Six Flags employee ID to park there for free and walk over to the ballpark. Thank you very much.

It is a massive structure, and is actually probably a bit too big for its market. From watching on TV, there always seems to be plenty of seats available, and sure enough, there were tonight too. This may also be because of the weather. It gets unbearably hot in Dallas in the Summer, but there is no roof or any real shade to protect from the heat. It was built just before retractable roofs became more affordable and practical, so it is kind of doomed to always be exposed to Texas heat. This negatively effects the product on the field as well, as the players get tired and worn out much easier in Texas' dog days.

Gee, a stadium built with the sole purpose of making its owners richer without much thought about how it may negatively effect a fan or player experience. This doesn't sound like a Bush project at all.

I really don't mean to bash on Bush, enough people do that already, and the stadium is actually really, really nice. It has very impressive architecture, and I like the distinctly Texas feel that it gives.

This was the last baseball stop on the Trip, and it was a nice one to end on. With Six Flags being next door, you can see the Texas Titan from the concourse of the upper deck. The Titan is almost an exact clone of Goliath back home, and every time I saw it, it served as kind of a looming reminder that it'll be back to reality in just a few days.

Official Road Trip Stop #22: Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

 9/25/2009

Reds 10 @ Astros 4

Houston, you've got a problem.

You call your team the Astros, yet the mascot is a rabbit in a conductor outfit. The franchise has for years been one of the leaders in technology and progressive thinking in the game, yet now plays in a stadium that focuses on evoking the past. I'm confused.

Don't get me wrong, Minute Maid Park is absolutely beautiful. It opened in 2000 to replace the "Eighth Wonder of the World," the Astrodome. In one of the most hilarious unfortunate naming rights blunders in history, the park opened as "Enron Field," and when the now infamous scandal was at its peak in 2002, the team was forced to scramble to find a new naming rights partner, and was able to come up with Houston-based Minute Maid.

It's easy to find in downtown Houston, and parking is pretty plentiful and cheap for a downtown park. I had planned to buy an upper deck seat for about $12 for the game, but wasn't aware that it was fireworks night, so the whole upper deck was sold out. I was forced to buy a seat for $40, which I wasn't happy about until I took my seat about 5 rows from Lance Berkman at first base and right behind the camera well. Great value for a $40 ticket.

The food is OK, but BIG. Of course, this is Texas, so there are a lot of southwestern specialties and tex-mex options. It isn't great food, and its a bit expensive, but you do get a lot for your money in the end.

Minute Maid Park probably has my favorite in-stadium promotion in the league. The foul poles have been christened the "Eat Mor Fowl" Poles, and if an Astros player hits one of them, everyone in the stadium gets a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich. Awesome.

But my one big problem with the place is that you would hardly know that a team named "The Astros" played here.

It was built on the site of the old Houston Union Station, and in fact, the team's offices and team store are located in the old Union Station building. As an homage to the site, a locomotive sits atop the wall in Left Field, and when an Astros player hits a home run, the train toots its horn and moves across the tracks. The mascot is also named "Junction Jack," and is indeed a rabbit in a conductor outfit. Which would all be fine and good, if the team were the Houston Engineers or Houston Conductors or Houston Locomotives, but they're the Houston Astros. Where's the goofy aliens? Futuristic technology? The nods to the amazingly rich history of the space industry in Houston?

The only thing futuristic about the stadium is the retractable roof. I suppose having a space shuttle launch every time an Astros player hit a home run would be a bit much, but even the uniforms and colors are described as being "meant to evoke images of old Texas and steam trains." I think that a few subtle nods to the Union Station site are cool, but its a bit overdone here. Like I said, the stadium is very nice, and you definitely know that you're in Texas, but none of it feels very "Astros-y."

I may be making a bigger deal about this than necessary, but it just feels weird to me. I actually like the train, and think the Union Station incorporation is really well done, but I think I would rather have the space motif than the southwestern train one.

There are a ton of stadiums out there that try so hard to evoke the past. It just would have been nice to see one, especially the one where the Astros play, to present a vision of the future. There's a reason that most modern stadiums don't feature a hill in center field anymore, but the people in Houston didn't seem to get that memo.

The Easiest Batting Practice Ball I've Ever Caught

Another cool thing about Nationals Park in Washington, DC, is the fact that the gates to the stadium open early. Like, REALLY early. They open 2 1/2 hours prior to game time to allow fans to watch both the home team and visiting team batting practice.

I got there at this time, after running out of things I wanted to see in DC and my tour of the Capitol building. (SO not worth it, you see the rotunda, and where the House of Representatives USED to be...if you want to see the Capitol, try to get in contact with the office of your Representative or Senator, and if you don't know who any of them are, stop reading this now and figure it out.) After getting a real workout, I simply entered and sat down in the Right-Center Field seats to catch a breath and rest my legs.

The Nationals were still in Batting Practice, and were working on fundamentals, as any 100-loss team should be. A bunch of players with names I didn't recognize were shagging fly balls and trying to judge hits off of a fungo bat.

There were a few kids trying to get balls in the left field stands, but I was the only person in the right field stands at the time. I normally don't try for balls in BP. I've caught 3 before, but the odds are usually stacked against me and the effort of fighting off a bunch of 11 year olds or ego-maniacal 20-somethings just isn't worth it.

One young player caught a fly ball and looked up in to the right field stands, looking to flip his prize to ANYBODY. Since I was the only one there, he simply said "Hey! Wanna ball?" I must have had a pretty solid look of disbelief as I hadn't even asked, but simply said "Sure!" and made a pretty nice bare-handed catch. (If I say so myself).

I had to look up the name "Maxwell" in the free Nationals program, and the player turned out to be Justin Maxwell, a prospect in the Nationals system who was called up when the rosters expanded on September 1. He seems like he has promise, and is still up and coming, and I'll certainly be paying attention to his career from now on.

It's always a really cool thing to catch a ball, either in BP or a foul ball for those of us lucky enough (I'm not), and its especially cool when a player on the field acknowledges you in the stands. After this, and spending time with the Twins, my perception as a fan is changed, because I know now that players really do care about the fans, and know that we're there, and work really hard to try and keep us entertained. If they don't sign your autograph or flip you a ball, it's not because they're jerks (well, some of them are) but because they're focusing on trying to play well in the game and make you happy that way. You are not entitled to an autograph or a ball, but you are entitled to good baseball.

Official Road Trip Stop #21: Nationals Park, Washington, DC

9/22/2009
Dodgers 14 @ Expos Nationals 2

After a few weeks of driving, and having to sit through some truly awful match-ups, I finally caught up with my Dodgers in Washington, DC at Nationals Park.

Nationals Park opened just last year, and has already had its share of moments. It opened with President George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch, followed by a walk-off home run from Ryan Zimmerman in the opening game. And just a few weeks later, the Pope celebrated mass at the stadium.

It's located about a mile and a half south of the Capitol building, and the Green Line on the Washington Metro lets you off steps from the park. The Nationals strongly encourage public transit, as the parking situation around the stadium wasn't very well thought out during construction.

The place is sparkling and ultra-modern. No boring bricks or green seats here. Its a fresh design, and offers views of the Capitol building in a few upper deck sections. There are some nice touches of the area, too, like in left field where they have a row of cherry trees planted. The building tries to celebrate both the Nationals, and the history of baseball in the Nation's capital.

The Nationals have one of my favorite goups of mascots in the Racing Presidents. It's a shameless direct rip-off of the Sausage Race in Milwaukee, but it has to be my second favorite. Four people dressed in costumes that are caricatures of the presidents on Mount Rushmore race from Center Field to First Base in the 4th inning. It's entertaining, and the fans seem to love it. Also, as a running gag, "Teddy" Roosevelt never wins, and is usually comically foiled as he seeks his first win. I'm not sure off the top of my head if this is a political reference or anything, but its a funny new touch to an old idea.

The stadium really is beautiful, and a really cool place to watch a game. The place could use a better team though. The Nationals are, of course, the relocated Montreal Expos, and came to Washington in 2005 with a new owner, a new stadium, and new hope. It hasn't quite worked out so far, as the Nationals are currently the worst team in Major League Baseball, or, according to manager Jim Riggleman, "not the worst team, just the team with the worst record." Either way, its bad. The Dodgers handled the Nationals easily tonight, with a 7 run inning and a 6 run inning to win 14-2.

The Nationals actually have a somewhat decent offensive line-up, but the team has almost no pitching, and the defense is pretty abysmal. A lot of the fans (and there are a few, surprisingly passionate Nats fans) are excited about the arrival of Stephen Strasburg next year, but its a lot to ask of a 21 year old to single handily save a franchise.

Nationals Park is a beautiful stadium in a cool city, with a team that may or may not have some hope in the not too distant future. The next time you're in town to protest taxes in front of the White House (even though the President ultimately has no say in tax policy) be sure to set aside a few hours and enjoy a game here.

You can see all my pictures of Nationals Park and Washington, DC here.

Off Day in DC

So I had a free day while waiting for my Dodgers to show up in Washington, DC tomorrow night, so I spent it soaking in the sights of our nation's capital.

I started at the National Air & Space Museum and worked my way across the Mall to the Natural History Museum and Museum of American History. It's all great, great stuff and it's a great way to spend an afternoon in Washington, by walking through the museums of the Smithsonian Institution.

The good people at the Smithsonian may need to check their facts, though. As we learned in Kentucky, there is no such thing as evolution. And Dinosaurs and humans lived together. And all of Earth's geological features were formed by the great flood. These two groups may want to get together for a meeting or something, because they both present two COMPLETELY different answers to the reasons behind life on Earth.

The Natural History Museum also features an exhibit on mammals, which is kind of like walking through a weird taxidermy zoo. There is a bison in the exhibit, and really, it isn't quite as cool as being about 20 feet away from an actual, live bison in Yellowstone. But to each his own.

I was bummed to see that the exhibit featuring Archie Bunker's chair and Fonzie's jacket was under renovation at the American History Museum. Two really, very important artifacts in American life.

The Air and Space museum is the best, and features a lot of cool models and simulators. I'm not a very big aviation or space stuff, but they are fields that I have at least a passing interest in, and it is very cool to see the artifacts from the Space Age, when America actually had the will to do something challenging and cool.

There is a television that continuously replays Kennedy's speech in which he declares that the US would put a man on the Moon by the end of the 1960's. It's a stirring, chilling speech, in that there is so much confidence and will to do something. Not necessarily because it was what was right or a smart thing to do, but because it was a challenge. It made me think that we need more challenges in today's American life. More "why not?" instead of "why?" There are always a million reasons to not do something, and we may be passing up great opportunities for greatness in favor of ease.

After enjoying the museums, I walked down the Mall and saw the Washington Monument, the World War II Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial, and the White House. This again was all stuff I had seen in the 8th grade (except the World War II Memorial), but it was nice to see again through a more adult and educated lens.

After all of that, I met my old friend Christina at the White House and we walked all the way back to 6th Street and Maryland to my car and chatted and caught up on life. Always nice to see and chat with old friends, especially in a cool place like Washington, DC.

All in all, a very nice, relaxing, and rewarding day in the District. My Dodgers come to town tomorrow, and I also have a tour of the Capitol Building scheduled, so it should be a fun first day of Fall!

Official Road Trip Stop #20: PNC Park, Pittsburgh, PA

9/20/2009
Padres 4 @ Pirates 0

Ahoy Mateys! Climb aboard and I'll spin you a yarn about the terrors of the deep, way down below in the depths of last place in the National League Central. And be warned - dead baseball franchises tell no tales!

The Pirates have been black spotted ever since Barry Bonds left town after the 1992 season for San Francisco. Since hilariously losing to Sid Bream and the Braves in Game 7 of the NLCS that year, the Pirates have failed to have a winning season. At all. Not one. They are truly, a historically bad franchise.

There isn't even any hope at the moment, either. The Pirates have been plundered (I'm on a freaking roll) of almost all of their talent, and are, yet again, rebuilding. It is so bad, that at this afternoon's game, when a 9 year old was asked on the Pirate Vision who his favorite Pirate was, he didn't know, because anybody worth mentioning has been traded away. I honestly feel bad for kids who are forced to root for a team that features Lastings Milledge as the #3 hitter in the line-up.

The Pirates may be the best case for a booty salary cap in baseball that there is. They are marooned in the small market of Pittsburgh, but just this year, the Steelers of the NFL and the Penguins of the NHL managed to win their respective championships in sports that have a salary cap in that same market.

What makes the Pirates toiling in Davey Jones' Locker so much more depressing is the fact that they do have such a great history and tradition, with names like Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell, and the fact that they play in such a beautiful, beautiful stadium in PNC Park.

PNC Park opened in 2001 and quickly became the favorite stadium of many, many people. I really looked forward to this one as I had heard absolutely nothing but good things. The stadium is situated right on the North Shore of the Alleghany River, with a magnificent view of (surprisingly) beautiful downtown Pittsburgh. Two things that I'm a sucker for.

The stadium is beautiful, and may be the sole reason that more Pirates fans haven't yet walked the plank. There was a surprisingly decent crowd this afternoon on a "Family Sunday" to see the Pirates and Padres, two teams that have been eliminated from contention since sometime in May. However, with the Steelers game starting at 4, it felt more like a giant Steeler tailgate party than it did a Pirate game.

Like Camden Yards, PNC Park is very simplistic, and resists throwing in too many gimmicks. The view and the ballgame are enough for the fans here, and its great. Its another place where you know that "the Pirates play here." There are a lot of Pirate references and puns, which is harmlessly fun. When the Pirates do manage to win, they have a Jolly Roger flag that they will actually raise, which is a pretty cool touch, but it may look like its actually from the 1700's with all of the moths that are currently attacking it.

PNC Park is absolutely beautiful, and Pittsburgh actually seems like a pretty cool city. There just has to be some way to make the Pirates a relevant franchise again to make seeing games at PNC Park truly worth it. And I think I'm out of Pirate words, so this is the end.

You can see the treasure chest of PNC Park photos (HA! I'm good!) here.