My Getaways: America's Past-Time

With today being Opening Day of the 2010 Major League Baseball season, I couldn't help but be reminded of one of the earliest goals that I set for myself, which was visiting all of the Major League ballparks. I know that this is not a dream unique to just myself since many have reached this feat before, but it's still something I'd love to do. The thing is this goal has lost some of its luster since most of the old school parks have been replaced with state of the art stadiums, but there are a few I'd like to see sooner rather than later:

5. Oriole Park at Camden Yards: Baltimore Orioles

For some reason, I will always see Camden Yards as the forerunner of the modern day ballpark, and according to some sources, it's the blueprint that so many other organizations have copied. I just remember the opening of Oriole Park at Camden Yards being such a big deal, and it's always stuck with me, which is why it's one the short list of stadiums I want to see now. Plus, it has one of the best names in baseball because it's simple and void of commercialism. Good job Baltimore.

4. AT&T Park: San Francisco Giants

While on my roadtrip home from Oregon to Texas, I spent a few days in San Francisco, and while I didn't actually go into AT&T Park, I did get to drive by it. Even from the outside, I could tell that it was a nice park. You know that it's a modern park with some old school charm. Also, the idea of McCovey Cove is brilliant, and I wouldn't mind spending a few games just floating around waiting for home run balls.

3. U.S. Cellular Field: Chicago White Sox

To be honest, I could careless about the stadium (which has lost some of its appeal when it changed names from Comiskey Park to its current moniker), but I've always been a fan of the Chicago White Sox, so I would love to watch a home game on the South Side of Chicago. I'm still glad that it was the Chi-Sox that beat my beloved Astros during the World Series. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

2. Wrigley Field: Chicago Cubs

Since I'm a White Sox fan, I have no desire to support the Cubs (plus they're in the NL Central, which makes them divisional rivals of the Houston Astros), but I have to admit that seeing Wrigley Field would be an amazing experience. The old school parks are becoming a rare breed, and Wrigley is one of the few still around. I need to see the ivy-covered wall and the rooftop seats before the Cubbies decide to follow in the footsteps of every other club.

1. Fenway Park: Boston Red Sox

The only team I like less than the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees is the Boston Red Sox. I really don't have any ill-will towards the franchise, but their fans are insufferable (even more so now that they've actually started winning championships). With that being said, I'd love to watch a home game amongst them because any baseball fan has to. I'm pretty sure for many going to a game at Fenway is a religious experience, and it's one that I'd like to partake in while I still can. Plus, I really want to sing "Sweet Caroline" during the 8th. You don't get to do that just anywhere.

So, there you have it, the top five ballparks that I'd love to see. Sure, I wouldn't mind seeing dumps like Tropicana Field (Tampa Bay Rays) and Sun Life Stadium (Florida Marlins) someday, but these five parks are the cream of the crop in my opinion, and I need to experience them before it's too late.

I can just smell the hot dogs...

My Double Dutch

This is why sports are a great thing...

My Roid Indifference

So, it's only been about two weeks since the A-Rod steroids debacle was brought to our attention, but it feels like it's been going on for months because of the non-stop media attention, and to be honest, I really don't care one way or the other.

The only thing that has been getting on my nerves is how some members of the media are complaining that Rodriguez didn't do enough, or he was lying, or this or that. Stop it already! I'll admit that A-Rod didn't totally absolve himself, but he's done more than Roger Clemens has, and Barry Bonds, and Mark McGwire. It may not have been up to everyone's standards, but he fessed up and admitted he made a mistake, but some people will never be happy (mostly Jay Mariotti on Around the Horn). He would've been judged and damned by the press either way.

The main reason I think the media is ready to put Rodriguez through the wringer is because they feel betrayed by A-Rod. Everyone had him anointed as the heir apparent to the home run throne, and he was going to do it clean, so he'd remove the stain left by Bonds...whoops. Now, the golden boy who was supposed to restore baseball's honor is tarnished himself, and people are kicking themselves for being duped.

In all honesty, I don't think the fans really care too much about this new steroids hoopla because it's been going on for so long now. It's getting old, and I'm willing to bet that most fans weren't surprised by the news. People are still going to spend money to watch A-Rod, sure they'll boo the crap out of him, but most fans were going to do that regardless.

Major League Baseball is also adding to the silliness of this whole debacle by entertaining the idea of resetting the home run records back to Hank Aaron's career number of 755, and Roger Maris' single season record of 61. Now, I'm not saying that the steroids-era has to be ignored, but having the records restored is not the answer because while not everyone was juicing, I'm sure a lot were, so the numbers will never be accurate. Plus, if these numbers are reversed, then no one will break them...ever! The next closest to Aaron's 755 is Ken Griffey Jr. at 611, and I don't see him hitting 145 home runs in Seattle. Albert Pujols might do it someday, but he's just at 319. MLB needs to acknowledge that the records were set during the steroids-era and move on. Plus, who is to say that whomever breaks the records down the road are going to do it clean too. Let's face it, the league will never get rid of the steroids cloud.

So, I'm over the whole A-Rod thing, and I'm praying that the rest of the world (i.e. ESPN) does the same. I'll never say that Rodriguez was a saint, but he's taking his lumps, which is more than most of those who were suspected of juicing can say. Let's just drop it already.

My Two-Cents on the Baseball Playoffs

So, the Divisional Series have wrapped up and I think we have two interesting match-ups to see which teams goes to the World Series.

ALCS: Tampa Bay Rays vs. Boston Red Sox

I'll admit it, I've jumped on the Rays bandwagon because I seriously didn't think they'd make it this far, but I'm happy that they have. I'm a sucker for the underdog, and you can't get any more underdog than the Rays (so what if they won their division). It's even better because they're taking on a division rival that happens to be the defending World Champions.

My gut's telling me that the Red Sox will win this series, which would really bum me out because the BoSox are one of my four most hated teams (along with the New York Yankees, the Atlanta Braves, and the Chicago Cubs). So, I might not be a true Tampa Bay fan, but I'm still going to root for them, and plus they could use all they help they can get.

NLCS: Philadelphia Phillies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

I really don't have a horse in this race because I'm neither a Phillies fan nor a Dodgers fan, but this series has some old school charm to it. It's been forever since either team's been this far in the playoffs, so I'll be happy for either one of them.

If I had to pick a winner, I'd go with the Dodgers because of my west coast bias but they beat the Cubs, which in theory are better than the Brewers, so there you go. I'm just glad that both Milwaukee and Chicago got knocked out earlier after the screwjob that happened to the Astros, since both of these team ultimately came out ahead.

2008 World Series: Boston Red Sox vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Again, this series would have some old school nostalgia since these two teams go way back, and it would make a lot of baseball fans (and MLB) happy. If this match-up does somehow occur, I'll be pulling for the Dodgers all the way. Again, there's some WC bias, but also I'm tired of hearing all the Boston sportswriters going on and on about how great their teams are. Then again, all of the gloating didn't help the Patriots, did it?

My Summer

Even though it is late September, my summer is finally coming to an end. On Monday, classes start up again, and I am not looking forward to it. Part of my hesitance is because I don't like sitting in boring classes, but another reason is because I'm not ready for summer to be over especially since I didn't get to do anything that I wanted to do.

I had a relatively short to-do list for this summer, and unfortunately I didn't cross much off of it. For example, I wanted to hit the Oregon coast. One of the benefits of living in Portland is you live in a metropolitan area, but are really close to the ocean and mountains. Last summer, I had the chance to go to the coast and I remembered how much I like being around water (something I realized while in Ireland). Sadly, I didn't have the chance to re-visit the beach, and I don't know if I'll have the chance to go back before I leave Oregon. Ah well.

Also, I really wanted to head up to Seattle for a Mariners game. I had all summer to put together a trip, but I waited until the last series of the season, and didn't ask anyone to go until the day before the game. The planning was a little short-sighted to say the least. Now, I'm not a huge Mariners fan (especially this season), but I do love baseball, and since I can't go to any Astros games this summer, Seattle's my only option. The good thing is, I'll should have a chance to go to a game next season.

Luckily, I did have the chance to head back to Texas for a quick visit, and it was much needed after 8 weeks of summer school. Living so far away is starting to take its toll on me because I don't get to see my family as much as I'd like. I'm lucky if I'm back in Texas every six to seven months, which is OK but not great. My trip back to Midland will hold me over until I go back in December, and then I'll be heading back for good in June (maybe???), so I'll be back home before I know it.

Overall, it wasn't a wasted summer but I do wish I accomplished more. Then again, I was able to cross some classes off of my list, which will make this school year a little more manageable. At least I won't have to sit through as many boring classes this time around.

My Two-Cents on the Astros

I know that the city of Houston has more important things to worry about than what happened to the Astros about a week ago. For those who don't pay attention to baseball, the Astros were supposed to host the Chicago Cubs for a three game series. Then Hurricane Ike disrupted things, and Major League Baseball moved the series to a neutral site in Milwaukee, WI. The Astros were on a hot-streak that was halted due to this change of venue, and it could have cost the Astros a possible playoff berth.

So, apparently the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, Bud Selig is trying to apologize to Astro fans, and he should because having the games played in Milwaukee is far from "neutral" because Cubs fans can travel there fairly easily to create a home field vibe. Also, Brewers fans could have attended the games to help create a hostile environment for the Astros since they were only a few games ahead of Houston for the Wildcard. Either way, Miller Park was not a neutral site. Of course fans are upset because Astros had the chance to come back from the dead to make the playoffs for the third time, which is not an easy task, but MLB played a role in hurting their chances of doing such an amazing feat.

Some non-Astro fans are accusing Houston fans of being whiners because they're still bitching about the crappy hand that was dealt to their beloved team. Let's just turn things around for a bit. If this series was in Chicago, and a huge blizzard hit thus moving the series to let's say Arlington, the Cub fans would be adding the Curse of the Blizzard along with the Billy Goat and Bartman.

Fans are fans. They support their teams and feel shafted when stuff like this happens, so let them complain if they want. I'm an Astros fan, and I was not happy when I heard the news, but I got over it fairly quickly. Some other fans are more invested, and they can feel slighted all they want because we've had to listen to Cubs fans whine and Red Sox whine (up until recently). It's time for the Stros fans to raise some hell.

I do agree that the players shouldn't be as outspoken because it makes them look less professional. They still played the game, and while they weren't at 100% they still had the chance to win, but people cannot discount the mental and physical fatigue the players had to endure. Flying from Houston to Milwaukee on such short notice, worrying about your family, friends, and homes, and playing in a hostile environment will have an impact. It's only human.

So, the players should be quiet and move on, but fans can whine all they want because that's what fans do best!