Showing posts with label cleveland. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cleveland. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Boys of Summer Book - Entry #86

Park Number 19 (of 30), Olympic Stadium

Montreal 19, New York Mets 10
 WP: L. Ayala (3-6)   LP: S. Erickson (0-1)

July 26, 2004 - Bob
Morrisburg, ONT


Only a few minutes to drop the thoughts, and so I proceed:

I had two very potent dreams last night:

1) That I was about to go on stage at a talent show -- I was going to do a song I wrote called, “The work”. Though last night I had dubbed it: “You will not outwork me” -- a much wordier title for no good reason. Note to self: word economy, even in dreams, is good practice.

2) The other was a dream where I was on the golf course with my dad. I hit a bizarre shot that actually went 360 degrees and landed right next to me. There were some jackals (4 of them) waiting up by the tee and they started hooting and laughing hysterically. I went up and told them to keep it down so my dad could get his next shot off. They acted like they were going to be quiet, but they didn’t really do that. I then threatened them and my dad told them to “shut the fuck up”. They started getting aggressive and I took out the golf club and used it like a staff -- whooping all their asses. My dad hit a nice tee shot and off we went.

What’s up with the violence in my dreams?

5 games in 5 days. Minnesota, Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Montreal. Whew. Oh and don’t forget a brief visit to Cooperstown in between. A hell of a lot of smiles and experiences. Dad was referencing our luck w/rain delays -- not having them -- today. No doubt -- but we still have a ways to go! No cursing us, please!

Last night in Montreal was absolutely bizarre. We showed up late and tried to rush through a city with signs we couldn’t read -- French, French everywhere and not an ounce of the ability to read it within us.

We were late pulling in, we couldn’t find our way to the stadium, because (again because everything was written in French) and we were definitely pressing. Then we get there and knock off the sign... because of our soft top carrier...so we wait (late for the game while Charlie Security decides what he’s going to do with us).

We end up getting out and we walk around this empty slab of concrete shaped like a space ship, unable to find anything but a few scalpers. We buy tickets (getting a little bit of a deal -- by the way is there a tougher gig than trying to scalp tickets to an Expos game? What do you think is going to happen when only 6,643 are showing up to a stadium that holds 42,000? Now, I’m no economist, but the law of supply and demand tells me this ain’t an easy gig.)

At any rate, we get in and there’s this odd haze that floats along the almost shiny concrete walls (is concrete supposed to shine?). The smells are reasonably pleasant but, again, everything here is written in French, so what might smell good might be...snails? I did order a piece of cheese pizza (as the Veggie was no more) and they snuck a piece of Canadian Bacon in it under the cheese. Didn’t fool me -- I tossed it and went on my Veggie way. We walk into the game, bottom of the 3rd and it was like somebody hit the switch and transformed us to the inside of a Playstation game.

The Expos dropped seven runs on the Mets that half-inning and made it look easy. Tony Batista, 3rd basemen for the Expos, had the most gaudy numbers for the night: 4-5, 3 runs scored and 6 RBI’s. We had a big time know-it-all behind us to confirm these facts. “I’m not sure,” I told my dad, “But this guy may know about all there is to know -- period.”

Then there were a group of young men (I think) dressed in very colorful outfits for no apparent reason. After one guy (and again, I’m assuming here) in a cat suit got a foul ball, it was apparently time to put the cat and his crew out. I tried to chase them down for an interview but they were gone. Security told me they “chose” to leave. Sure. I know cats. They don’t choose like that. Then again, maybe French-Canadian ones do. I don’t know all cats.

Getting out of the city, we took a while to make sure we knew we knew exactly where we were going -- checking the map and all those French road signs -- again, not easy. In the midst of it all, I almost hit a biker -- near tragedy. We finally got on the highway and rolled. Roll-roll-roll...

 
Oak 14, Sea 5

Friday, November 4, 2011

Boys of Summer book Entry #83


We’re in Chicago and headed to Cleveland. Wonderful people, the Tumeas. A warm and loving group. Joyce made us a most delicious breakfast including...I want to get this right -- German Pancakes? Maybe not. Something like it though -- quite delicious.

We have a bit of trouble getting out of Chicago. Tough with the time we’ve allotted. No one’s fault -- just better planning needed. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

We are low on Coscto donations - D’oh! need to rework some of our old contacts. I’m feeling the the money strain a bit right now.  Costco, to date, has been extremely generous -- helping offset our gas costs with about $600 in cash card donations. Many, many thanks to them.

I believe strongly in our group in KC and their ability to put together a big event for us. I wish I believed more strongly in Milwaukee. The Parkinson group is not shaping up there I wish it would. They’re great people -- it just takes a particular kind of person with the time, vision and community for what we’re doing.

The road is opening up before us. I need to do my part to stay in a positive frame at this point. I’m hoping Cleveland’s a little closer than Dad had figured -- otherwise we’re going to be late. I hate being late to the game. I’ll take a look and see how we’re rolling.

Want to hold back the need to pee for now. Don’t want to stop again for a while if I can avoid it. Bladder be damned, we have baseball to see!

July 24,2004 - DAD
Cleveland, OH

We are up for a very enjoyable breakfast with Tony and Joyce and are on the road by 9:30 to Cleveland. It turns out that this is the tenth anniversary of Jacob’s Field. During that ten years the "Jake" had a record 455 sellouts. We are on a very tight schedule which does not allow us to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  It is another great evening for baseball. 

Nothing was developed with local Parkinsonians, so this is baseball on its own. The Indians are playing the Kansas City Royals. We watch a very entertaining game and are on the road again. We have an afternoon game at Shea Stadium in New York tomorrow close to 400 miles away so we drive through the night.

July 24, 2004 - Bob
Cleveland, OH

The Jake (even it’s name suggests it’s friendliness) has a fantastic old dixie-style trio walking around singing songs like, “When the Tribe...comes marching in...”. Now this place definitely feels like baseball to me. Though the fans still talk about the “good old days” in the ‘90s -- when the Tribe put a good team on the field year in and year out -- they love the Jake as a place to come watch their young guys and feel like they’re a team on the rise. Judging by the game we saw tonight, I’d have to agree.

It was the most exciting finish we’ve had so far, with rookie Grady Sizemore, in something like his 17th at bat of the year, dropping the game-winning RBI in to give Cleveland the “W”. It didn’t matter that the Indians are at least a year away, in all likelihood. It didn’t matter that it came against the hapless Royals. For one night, these fans, and obviously the Indians players by the way they mobbed Sizemore, felt like champions. This is the greatness of the game to me. My best vs. your best -- chips fall where they may.