east vs. west: a tale of two baseball games

I recently had the opportunity to attend two baseball games on opposite coasts within two days of each other. I'm a huge baseball fan so this really shouldn't surprise anyone. The first game I attended was on the 3rd at Angel Stadium, the first Angel game following the tragic death of pitcher Nick Adenhart. It was the first game of their series with the Red Sox, a rematch of last year's AL Championship.

The game was awesome but incredibly sad. Before the game, I visited the Adenhart memorial set up by fans right outside the main entrance. There were multiple Adenhart tributes before, during, and after the game. His image and number had been put up on the outfield wall and, on their way out to the field, players touched the image on the wall.

 

  

 

 Needless to say, the Angels played some inspired ball. It was a great game, offensively and defensively. The Angels won and eventually took the series that weekend, 2-1.

I flew the red eye to DC Sunday night and got in Monday morning (the 6th). After a quick nap, Jesse and I headed to Nationals Stadium for the Nats home opener. The Phillies were in town and there were tons of Phillies fans there.  

I like the Nats and want them to succeed but I will always be an Angels fan first.  The Nats can be a very eye-roll-inducing team.  There was a lot of offense in the game, but there were a couple of Nats errors that were a bit frustrating to watch.  After a string of frustration, Jesse and I took a tour of the stadium to see what was new this year.

Besides the fun presidential bobbleheads and the addition of another Ben's Chili Bowl concession stand, there were these incredibly creepy looking statues. I think they were supposed to be old Senators players in motion. Well, it's really hard to recreate motion in a statue, but someone thought this would be a good idea. Maybe in theory. But in practice, we've got these monstrosities greeting you upon entering the main entrance:

 

  

  

 

Thankfully, I saw the presidential bobbleheads soon after that nightmarish sight.

The Nats eventually lost the game after a late rally fell short. I have a feeling it's going to be very long season for the Nats.

Maybe not for the Angels though...

stuff on my cat: OC girl edition

My kitties are trying to tell you something.





Gracie and Nicky's mommy will be at the Angels/Nats game tonight and tomorrow. Naturally, I will be cheering on my beloved Angels, just as I did last night from the comfort of my own home (Angels came from behind to win, 3-2).

I'll return to the blog on Thursday.

Until then, here is a gratuitous kitteh photo to hold you over:

I caught my babies cuddling. Awww...

let's go Nats!!!

Sniff, sniff. Can you smell that, peeps? The fresh scent of pine? The smell of soft, supple leather? No, they're not opening a new S&M club in DC. It's baseball season!!! Woo hoo!

So what's a baseball fan in the nation's capital to do?

Well, you show up on opening day of the season at the new Nationals Park! With tickets in hand of course.

Here are some shots of opening day.




























The entire set of photos can be viewed here.

And here's a video of Bush's warm reception at the stadium before the first pitch:


I have to say, I have mixed feelings about the Park itself. Thankfully for the Lerners (the Nats' owners), the bar was set really low with RFK Stadium being the previous home of the Nationals. RFK was a dump and that's putting it nicely.

Nationals Park is nice, with it's many, many beer concessions and cherry blossom trees. But it's no Petco Park. Unfortunately, I've been to a number of new ball parks* and I mentally compared them to Nationals Park while I was walking around yesterday. But San Diego's Petco Park captured Southern California culture so perfectly (yes, I'm usually biased about all things SoCal, but I am not a Padres fan), that I was hoping Nationals Park would do the same for D.C.

However, I could barely see the Capitol Dome and the Washington Monument, and I thought that was the whole point of the views. There were lots of opportunities for drinking, from the many beer concessions to the Red Loft and Red Porch bars to the beer pen on the 2nd level terrace (behind the scoreboard). So it was very fitting that they captured the drinking nature of this town.

Also, the architecture of the stadium is supposed to be some kind of homage to the monuments but I'm not an architecture aficionado so I can't really speak to that.

I know they still have some kinks to work out at the stadium, but I have to mention the total lack of TV screens at the concession stands. Considering how long the lines were to get food, it was impossible to keep track of the game while waiting in line for grub because there were no TV to keep you in the loop.

And about the food, they really needed to provide some seating areas for those of us who wanted to buy food, but not eat it at our seats. Please see Petco Park on how to do this right. I thought it was kinda sad to have a band playing on the terrace behind the score board, but not provide any seating for us to enjoy the music while eating some food.

Finally, I heard the Metro was a pain. So Jesse and I decided to drive to RFK and take the Nats Express shuttle to the game. I highly recommend it. It took us less then 30 minutes to get home last night and I'm sure it would've taken us a lot longer had we taken the Metro.

Still, the game was lots of fun. And it was nice to see so many Nats fans in one place since I usually see more of the opposing teams fans at Nats games.

Will I go back? Hells yeah. I love baseball too much not to go and appreciate the game. Jesse and I already have tickets to the Angels series in June (I'm an Angels fan first and a Nats fan second, so I'll be decked out in Angels gear for that series) and I'm sure we'll go back before then.

*For reference, here are the parks I've been to:
Angel Stadium (home of my Anaheim Angels)
Dodger Stadium (ugh. please avoid at all costs)
Camden Yards (home of the B-more Orioles)
Wrigley Field (home of the Cubs)
Yankee Stadium (home of the Yanks, obviously)
Citizens Bank Park (home of the Phillies)
PNC Park (home of the Pittsburgh Pirates)
Petco Park (home of the San Diego Padres)
At&T Park (home of the SF Giants)

I will be going to Coors Field on Saturday for the Colorado Rockies' Opening Day

having fun despite my nats losing streak

In honor of the Beltway Series, Jesse and I planned a little pre-game tailgate with our friends for Saturday’s game. We were all pretty excited about getting together and looking forward to cheering on the Nats. Not surprisingly, the Nats lost. I say this not because they’re not exactly the best team in baseball. I say this because I can’t remember the last time I attended a Nats game and actually saw them win. Jesse and I are huge baseball fans so we frequent RFK (and Camden Yards) and I just never see the Nats win. Regardless, we had a great time, especially since my friend Roo Roos was visiting this weekend from Philly.

Here I am with my boys, Dave and Roo Roos before the game.


After the game, we had a late dinner at Banana Café, Roo Roos favorite DC restaurant. Here I am with Jesse during dinner.


Even though they missed our tailgate, Jesse’s friends and co-workers, Carl, Anna, and Adrian joined us for the game and dinner.


Here I am with Roo Roos.


Roo Roos wanted to get a pic with the Banana Café sign so here we are with Dave.


Even though the Nats lost, it was an awesome weekend. I love when Roo Roos comes to visit!

we’ve got a long way to go

This weekend Jesse and I attended a Nats game. They lost, of course. I believe that it is in our destiny this year for the Nats to lose every game Jesse and I attend (we’re currently 0 and 5 so far). It wasn’t too bad. After all, we’re starting to expect those losses so it wasn’t a total disappointment. At least we got to see Soriano hit a home run. And I’m pretty happy about RFK’s recent improvements (next time I’m definitely getting those loaded nachos from the terrace food court thingy). Heck, even the giveaway, a Washington Nationals/Potomac Nationals sports “bag”, wasn’t so bad. Oh no. My letdown of the day didn’t happen until after the game.

Jesse and I kinda lingered around the stadium for awhile before we made our way to the Metro. Walking a few yards behind us were a group of kids, probably not that much younger than Jesse and me (24, 25). And since they were a few yards behind us, I found it really strange that they were talking loudly enough for us to hear what they were saying. Especially since ignorance was spewing from their mouths like water flowing from a faucet.

“Lesbians. There are different kinds, you know. There are the kind that dress well and that guys like to see together. And then there are the dykes. Dykes are the kinds of lesbians that don’t shower for days. They just don’t take care of themselves. They are hairy. They don’t groom themselves. They smell. They’re the worst…”

At this point, I notice that Jesse is trying really hard to get my attention again. He’s heard them too and knows me well enough to know that their blatant and loud display of ignorance really bothers me. He says, “I know, I know. I can hear them too. They’ve probably been drinking.” I reply, “That’s no excuse. I can hear them clear as day. It’s offensive.” Jesse says, “You know. This reminds me of last time we were on our way to the Metro from a Nats game.”

Ah yes. I different display of ignorance.

A few weeks ago, after some other game that the Nats lost, Jesse and I were walking behind a woman on a cell phone on our way to the Metro. She was older, well-dressed, and alone. Loudly, she appeared to be talking about a coworker. Jesse and I had been talking and we weren’t paying attention to what she was saying. During a break in our conversation, we overheard the woman say, “…well, you know, she’s black so it’s not like she’ll ever get fired. She’ll cry discrimination before that happens.”

Jesse and I were in shock. Did she really just say that? In the year 2006? With dozens of people within earshot, some of them black?

At what point did ignorant, racist verbal diarrhea become acceptable in public? Do they feel any guilt for not only thinking this way but also saying it out loud? I try not to let this kind of stuff get to me, but it does. I have yet to become desensitized to prejudice. Why does this stuff still surprise me? Why is it so shocking to hear?

Maybe I still have faith in people. Undeservedly so.