The parking lots opened three hours before the game, but the gates opened an hour and a half later. Hmmm....what could we possibly do with that extra time?
I FINALLY got some tailgate time. I knew this was the plan all season, so this one was at the top of the list for that reason.
It felt nice to be apart of the festivities. We broke out the typical game of bags:
But we for sure weren't the most intense tailgaters there:
Pretty big grill right? You have no idea....
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| HOLY SAUSAGE! |
Going back to the bags game-I'm wearing the yellow shirt in the second picture. The other reason I was looking forward to this game was my color scheme. I had my official Pirates hat already, so all I needed was a bright yellow shirt. I looked just a little more like a real fan, and it would make me stand out in the sea of navy blue.
Sean and I downed a few burgers and started our way towards the park.
The last weekend game I attended was April 22nd at Wrigley (and even earlier, April 7th). Before those two, it had been an entire season since I attended a weekend game. Those games early in the year are never too crowded, so I was always in good shape for Ballhawking.
That being said, I was pretty deflated (and not surprised) when I saw this when we got to the gate:
That's a whole ton of people, and that wasn't even the start of the line. This wasn't the best choice of game to chase balls. I was confident in my skill, but still felt a bit discouraged. I was at this game to have fun though, so I wouldn't let myself say this was a bad idea.
This is what I saw shortly after I got inside:
Awww maaannn. I did NOT want to have to put up with this today.
I got to the best spot I could, right next to these guys below. They had four balls between them. Thanks to an autograph hunter, I found out the one flipping the ball was Jason Grilli.
Wait a minute....why was a tiny human being taking swings at the plate?
IT'S F$%*&@# FAMILY DAY.
No BP, and all the Brewers are busy with their kids on the field. Honestly, for any given park, this is the worst possible day to try to get a ball.
(The best thing about this family day was Yovani Gallardo Jr. He had a foam ball and bat, and started hitting his ball into the seats down the foul line. He kept doing it only because the fans as a whole were throwing it back and so he could swing again. People were jostling for position just to grab it and pitch to him. He almost took some heads off with line drives...that kid can make serious contact).
It was at about this time where I started to think I would end up with nothing. And you know what? I was okay with that. Last time I was here, on July 5th, nothing was going on. It just wasn't my day, simple as that. Nothing I could do about it. This game was under even WORSE conditions for me, and didn't have the pressure of a streak to frustrate me. I was still going to try my hardest, though.
Grilli started throwing with his buddy after a few minutes. Notice the time; 11:40. That's what time the gates were scheduled to open. I feel like that's some sort of cruel joke the baseball Gods played on me.
Once they were done throwing and doing their sprints, they handed their balls to attractive young women and small children. I wasn't going to stand around for another hour in the same spot with nothing to do, so we took off for the sole purpose of not getting bored.
Meanwhile, Sean was being a goof:
I skipped right over the right field bleachers. Neither team was hitting, and nobody was in the bullpen to get a toss. I thought I HAD to have a glove trick opportunity in the visitors bullpen. Not this many things could go wrong at two games in a row without catching a break, right?
Not so much. It looked like a desert in there.
It wasn't exactly empty, though.
"That guy is smokin' a Stogie!" exclaimed Sean. Indeed, he was. These two (I assume) coaches were chilling out before the game. From their gestures and tone of voice, I would guess it had nothing to do with baseball. I've never seen anything like that at a Major League park, and I don't expect to see it ever again.
Just as we started walking away, some Brewers came out into right field.
I hoped and hoped as I moved behind them, but the bullpen coach was pretty sure handed.
After they went inside, there was again nothing to do or look at. I figured I should spend my time by the Pirates dugout just like last game, in case anyone came out.
Needless to say, they didn't.
I'm not going to say "I *heart* photography" or anything stupid like that, but I think I'm a pretty photogenic person. Sean was chilling out, and I snapped some shots that were all pretty similar to this:
I waited there until we got kicked out. No pregame balls for me.
I said it before, but it was pretty damn crowded. At 12:40, most of the tailgate crew was inside. I like going to sold out games at Wrigley, because that usually means we're doing pretty good. But no matter the record, there's always an extra energy with a packed house.
When it's at another stadium, however, it's just hot, annoying, and hard to move.
This time, I was planning on sitting in the section I actually had a ticket for. I wanted to pay attention to the game instead of focusing on balls. It would be more relaxing, and I would be running around alone if I went with my usual plan.
I tired to pick the best seats on StubHub, and they honestly weren't that bad. I was a little weary when I noticed they were four rows from the top of the stadium, but a few feet doesn't make a huge difference up there.
I've never been a guy to favor pitching duels. That meant a fast game, which I always thought was a bummer. In the past two years since I've been going to so many games, I don't mind it every once in a while.
Today was one of those days, because Yovani Gallardo was facing the red hot A.J. Burnett.
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| First pitch from Gallardo to Drew Sutton. |
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| Burnett had 10 wins before this start. That's great for anyone, but amazing for a Pirate. |
The other man of the hour was MVP candidate Andrew McCutchen. At the start of the day, he was hitting .371; that's almost video game numbers...AND he's already tied his career high in homers with 23. He's on his way to do great things in the coming years.
In the top of the 3rd, his solo homer was the first run of the game and gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead.
Here's a panoramic shot I took from our seats that turned out pretty good:
Brewer fans aside, this place is great. It's an out of the ordinary park just a short drive from home. If you've never been there, you should really think about doing it next season.
The game was still 1-0 in the middle of the 6th. Then the real competition started.
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| Italian is slowly gaining ground on Chorizo in the season standings. |
I noticed throughout the game that my scorecard was littered with K's for the Pirates. Gallardo was on his way to striking out FOURTEEN batters in just 7 innings! This was by far the most dominating pitching performances I've seen this season, and probably the second best pitched game I had ever seen.
The Brewers played some small ball, and got four runs in just five batters in the 5th. Aramis Ramirez, Rickie Weeks, and Martin Maldonado were credited with an RBI each.
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| Again, fantastic place to be. |
By the 8th inning, I had enjoyed the game and it was a...blah, blah, blah, whatever! It was time to focus on my one last shot for a ball.
Last time I was here, for the first time, I tried to beg the home plate umpire for a ball out of desperation. I was sort of close, but in this setting, it comes down almost to inches. He didn't see me, and I went home empty handed.
I remembered that whole scenario, and knew exactly where I needed to be when he was walking back down the tunnel.
Sean and I moved down to field level, and were lucky to get these seats right before the 9th inning started:
As you can see, it was still very crowded. I was happy just to be this close. This section was about 20 feet to the right of the one I was in last time. The tunnel was only 4 seat lengths to the left down this aisle.
When the second out was recorded, only a few people left. I saw their seats and bolted. Sean followed right behind me, and we ended up moving down even farther to the 7th row.
As soon as the ball was hit into play, I started moving. The Brewers celebrated their 4-1 win, but I was only focusing on the umpire. He walked in, and I was right there. He gave some to a couple kids right in front of me, rolled one on the top of the dugout (to almost exactly where I was last time), and tossed one over the top of the tunnel. I was waiting for him to look up so I could ask for one, but by the time all that happened, he was already too far away.
I couldn't believe it. That was the most bogus missed opportunity ever. The kids were there first, so I was almost happy to have them get one so they could get out of my way. It didn't seem like a situation to raise my voice over everyone, either. All it took was a couple seconds of hesitation before I had no chance. Maybe I just need to try this more often and see what I can do better. All I know is that I won't be counting on it until I've gotten multiple balls this way.
I accepted defeat once again. For the second game in a row, I had no balls. It was a tough pill to swallow, but less depressing than last time. Having this happen a second time made me feel a little more human. Even though I expect to get a ball every game, I'm not entitled to it. I have to earn it. The players don't know how much I've practiced and prepared, and even if they did, I doubt they would care. Sometimes it's just not my day, and I can't get riled up from a little bad luck.
This was my final game in Milwaukee this season. As I walked on the bridge back to the car, all I could say was "Good riddance". I've really had enough of this place for the year. One ball in three games was not the results I thought I would get back in April. I admit, I was unprepared and didn't try to take advantage of the chances unique to this park. Next year will be different, and I expect to dominate this place at least once in 2013.
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