Game 12 - Unexpected Tigers @ Pirates

Today Dr. Bob gave us the option of going to see the last game of the series between the Tigers and Pirates. Six of us decided to go see the game. Our tickets were in left center field close to the bullpen where the pitchers warm up. It was a lot different seeing a game in the middle of the day than at night. I was excited to see the difference in the atmosphere of the crowds from each night. I think the Sunday crowd was a lot less intense than the night games. Another interesting point that I noticed that was different from any other game that we had been too was the singing of "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch.

The Pirates avoided the sweep and won 2-0 on seven hits and only allowing two hits against them. That night we enjoyed sub sandwiches from the Market Square near our hotel. We will depart for New Jersey early tomorrow morning to start fist pumping at the beach and enjoy a New York Yankee's game tomorrow night verse the Toronto Blue Jays!

Game 11 - Tigers @ Pirates

I was really excited for today because for lunch we were going to eat at Primanti Brother's restaurant I had heard so much about this place and how amazing their sandwiches were. Each one is served with cheese, fires, and coleslaw on top of your choice of meat. The restaurant was even on Food Networks; Man VS. Food, so I knew it had to be all that it was talked up to be. While the sandwich was good, I didn't think it was all that it was hyped up to be. So I was a little disappointed with it. But enough about food, lets get to the ball game. No, not just any Major League game like you're used to. This one was "A little different!" As fantastic Mr. Fox would say (if you've seen the movie). We had some time and extra calories to shed so we decided to play a pick-up game of wiffle ball outside our hotel in a grassy area. We used the sleeves of one of our free shirts as bases and divided up into teams. The most exciting part about the game was the fact that Dr. Bob was going to be playing with us! I was a little sad that we weren't on the same team, because everyone knows he has had the most experience playing. The teams were 5-on-5, we played with two outs, only two strikes, and no walks. Early in the game as my team was on defense, Dr. Bob got on first base with one out. I was playing as a shortstop and third baseman when the ball was hit toward me. Dr. Bob was heading for second base. I picked up the ball and dove for the baseball glove on the ground representing second. I reached the base just in time for the out, but the next thing I knew I was tangled up. I saw legs flying through the air over top of me. Yep, that's right, I took out Dr. Bob. When we both got up off the ground everyone was huddled around us, I appologized and he put his hand on my shoulder and said, "I would like to introduce you to someone who had just failed this class." Everyone laughed and we went back to playing the game. My team won both games of wiffle ball, it was a close match, I just had to take out their best player to do so. It should be known that, that was not the only time Dr. Bob was on the ground that game. He was also the defensive MVP. While pitching, he caught a frozen rope back up the middle, and while in the outfield he jumped and rolled backwards to catch a zinger. We all laughed about the games later as we enjoyed ice cream and lemonade from a nearby McDonalds.

After a little down time in our hotel, we then had to meet in the lobby to head to watch the second matchup between the visiting Detroit Tiger's and the Pittsburgh Pirates. We all got bobblehead's when we came through the gate today, which we were really excited for. The game today started out with the Tigers striking early scoring two runs in the fourth inning on three doubles in a row. It wasn't until the bottom of the sixth when the Pirates scored their first runs of the game and took the slight lead 3-2. The Pirates built on that lead doubling the amount of runs they had in the seventh inning making it a 6-2 advantage for the Pirates. The Pirates got their second win against the Tigers today and will see if they can make it three tomorrow as they face them again at 12:35.

Game 10 - Detroit Tigers @ Pittsburgh Pirates

Today we spent most of of the day in the van, which at times seems like all we do. When we checked into our hotel we had an hour of free time before we had to meet in Dr. Bob's room to leave for the game. The best part about the place we were staying was our location. We were only a few short blocks away from PNC Park where the Pittsburgh Pirates play. As we walked across the bridge I was really impressed with PNC Park. It seemed to be in the perfect spot. The river was right along the stadium. To our luck, we all got free Pittsburgh Pirate shirts when we walked into the gate. Every college kid loves free stuff! When we got to our seats the view got even better. Not only were we on the first level, we also got to be behind the plate. This was really nice because usually our seats are on the upper levels. Being so close to the action really made me get into the game. Another advantage of our seats was that you could see through the opening in center field. It was filled with tall buildings and the mustard yellow colored bridges. I really liked PNC Park because of its view and the Pirate atmosphere. It is one of the nicest placed we've been to so far in my opinion. Apparently the Pirates are known for their terrible records, but the Kranks (Die hard fans) are always there. Even with a losing record Pirate fans have something to cheer about. The energy in PNC Park was enough to give you chills. The stadium was packed full of fans, and to my surprise there were about as many Tiger fans as I did Pirate fans. Before the game started some of the class signed up to take a spin at the prize wheel! When it was my turn, I won an aluminum Pittsburgh Pirates water bottle. After spinning the wheel it was time for the game to start. There wasn't a whole lot of action at the start of the game. The Pirates struck first scoring a run in the fourth inning. On the defensive end, the Pirate's were almost perfect. The pitcher actually had a no hitter going into the 5th inning, but it wasn't until the sixth inning that the Tiger's answered back with a solo homerun in the top of the sixth to tie the game 1-1. Going into the bottom of the sixth was when the wheels fell off for the Tiger's. They gave up six runs on four hits and three walks making it a 7-1 lead for the Pirates. They added to that lead in the eighth inning with a three run homer to put it out of reach for the Tiger's as they lost 10-1.

Game 9 - Rockies @ Phillies

"Get a picture of me punching the Rocky statue." -Carl
"Well, you're gonna have to sketch it because I didn't bring a camera." -Angie;  This is from one of my favorite movies, Baby Mama.  One the goals we had on our bucket list was to get a picture of us punching the Rocky statue in Philadelphia at the Art History Museum.  These are the steps Rocky runs up during the movie.  Everyone ran up them before we headed to the game.

It was really exciting to go into downtown Philadelphia. There is so much history in Philly, and several things to do!  When we got to the downtown square we went looked for a place to eat Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches. We found "Oh So Good" which produced massive sized sandwiches.  After grabbing our bite we headed to see the Liberty Bell.  There were so many interesting facts to learn about the Liberty Bell.  The large crack is actually not the reason the bell retired from use.  It was actually a hairline crack that developed much later.  In 1751, William Penn asked that the new bell being cast for the Pennsylvania Statehouse be engraved with the words, “Proclaim LIBERTY throughout all the Land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” The bell rang to call citizens to the first reading of the Declaration of Independence, and was later dubbed The Liberty Bell by abolitionists, who adopted the bell as a symbol of their fight for freedom for all Americans. 

My heads up penny on Franklin's tomb

We then went to visit Benjamin Franklin tomb at the Christ Church burial ground and threw pennies on his grave and made wishes for good luck.  Which we really needed because many people around the downtown area were shouting about the world ending on May 21, 2011.  We then went to Carpenters Hall, the first meeting place of the National Congress.  After that we visited Christ Church, the church Benjamin Franklin attended.  It was all very interesting to learn about and I'm glad I got to see so much of America's history.  

After punching the Rocky statue, we headed to the second match-up between the Rockies and the Phillie's, or should I say, Jason Giambi versus the Phillie's?  The Phillie's got off to a "rockie" start in the first inning when first baseman, Jason Giambi sent his first bomb over the right field wall.  We watched as Giambi sent three back-to-back-to-back home runs to right field!  Giambi collected seven RBI's and drove in all seven of the Rockies runs.  The Phillie's scored one run in the fourth and ended the night with a 7-1 loss.

Game 8 - Colorado Rockies @ Philadelphia Phillie's

Most of our day consisted of traveling in the van.  We were packed, loaded, and on our way by 4:30am.  We drove about 13 hours to get to Philadelphia for our first of two games watching the Colorado Rockies and the Philadelphia Phillies.  We drove through rain almost the entire way to Pennsylvania so I was a little apprehensive we might be wet by the time the game started at 7:10 ET.  When we walked into Citizen's Bank Park the sprinkles started coming down, shockingly it only lasted for about 10 minutes.

Danny with his "rally" cap on hoping for a comeback!

 The matchup was without a doubt the best game we have seen so far in my opinion.  One thing I was really excited about was seeing Raul Ibanez, the Phillies left fielder.  He may not seem like a big deal to many but the reason I was excited to see him play is because he brings back the memories of my very first major league baseball game.  I was in Kansas City watching the Royals play.  At that time Ibanez was their first baseman.  The bases were loaded as Ibanez came up to bat.  I was sitting along the first base line behind the dugout.  With one swing of the bat, the ball sailed over the fence.  Fireworks went off and the fountains in the outfield went crazy along with all the Royals fans.  I had just witnessed my first grand slam by a Major League hitter!  I remember thinking to myself,"I'm never going to forget this moment." I was shocked to see him playing the game still at 39 and excited to watch him play again.  Ibanez  scored the very first run of the game in the fifth inning to give the Phillie's the 1-0 lead.  However, the game turned out to be a pitching match.  There was a combined total of 15 strikeouts.  The Rockies scored one run on six hits while the Phillies took the win in the bottom of the 8th inning with a sacrifice fly ball to right field to make it 2-1.

Game 7 - Rangers @ White Sox

Our class at the "Bean" in dowtown Chicago, Illinois

Aboard the Tall Ship Windy at Navy Pier!

Today we met in the hotel lobby to discuss our plans before the second match up between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers.  We decided to go into Chi-town early to do some sight seeing before the ballgame.  Dr. Bob dropped us off at the Metro Train Station, where I rode my first train ever.  When we got off the train, we walked to "the bean" so we could take pictures.  We asked some locals for suggestions for an authentic "Chicago-style" deep dish pizza.  We went to Pizano's Pizza and Pasta on Madison Street, at this point I knew it was going to be amazing!  When we were done eating we walked to Navy Pier for some entertainment.  During our adventure on the Pier we met Longfellow the pirate.  He insisted we go on a real pirate ship to hear about actual pirate who sailed the Lake Michigan.  Another pirate said he would give us a deal on tickets if we all wanted to go.  The original cost of each ticket to board the ship was $25, we got them for $10.  An offer no college kid could refuse for a 75 minute ride.  Everyone really enjoyed being on the water listening to pirate stories and interacting with the crew.  Many of us volunteered to raise the missen sail.  The stories and pirates were very entertaining.   When we got back to shore it was almost time to meet Dr. Bob for our tickets and the baseball game.  We took the Red Line South right to the stadium.  We were early to the stadium so we decided to grab something to eat from our favorite place (and the only place) we knew, 35th Street Red Hots!  After eating we hurried to the stadium to meet Dr. Bob for our tickets into the game, except he was nowhere to be found.  As a classmate said, "Where's Dr. Bob: a real life version of where's waldo (minus the striped sweater, plus a bucket hat) that's nowhere near as fun." -Beth Wallace, a Junior at Coe College.  We finally found him after almost an hour of searching.

White Sox third baseman, Brent Morel, lays one down!

The game started at 7:10pm.  Our seats were on the upper level overlooking the field along the first baseline.  The Rangers took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning.  They collected another run in the second when the Sox walked the bases loaded followed by an error by the shortstop to make it 2-0 after two innings.  Another run in the 4th gave the Rangers a quick 3-0 lead before their bats got cold and the White Sox began to heat up.  The Sox took advantage of a runner reaching by fielders choice and a walk to set up Morel, hitting in the ninth spot to hit a 3-run shot to tie the game.  The bottom of the eighth, the White Sox got a runner on first after a walk.  A single moved runners to the corners and a wild pitch scored the go ahead run for the White Sox.  The Rangers went three and out in the top of the ninth giving the Sox the "W" 4-3.

Game 6 - Texas Rangers @ Chicago White Sox

Best little dive in town!

Everyone was really excited to reconvene for the second part of our May term trip.  We met at Coe to watch a documentary film of baseball from the 1840's - 1900.  When the two hour first inning segment was over, we packed up to head on our 18 day road trip. Once we arrived in Chicago, we got out of the van and waited for Dr. Bob to give the class our tickets.  After waiting and watching Dr. Bob search frantically for about ten minutes we all decided something must be wrong.  He informed us that only two out of the ten tickets were printed off and that he would go buy some more.  When Dr. Bob came back with the new tickets we went to eat at 35th Street Red Hots, a little dive near the ball park.  Many of us enjoyed a doubledog and fries!  The doubledog was loaded with peppers, onions, mustard, relish, and French fries on top.

When we walked to US Cellular Field we were wanded before entering, which was a little sketchy.  When part of the class was making our way to our seats, we stopped for Danny and Erick to be clocked by the radar gun.  After they were done throwing, we were interviewed by Slim Jim.  They asked  us what our plans were for the summer and then gave us free t-shirts for participating.  We were all extremely excited to get shirts because we could then cross it off our baseball bucket list we created as a class at the beginning of the trip!  When I first saw the White Sox stadium, I was really impressed with it.  One thing that I noticed that was unique to the White Sox field was the two on-deck circles that were unused and very close to the foul line.  This is similar to how it was in the early game of baseball.  I also noticed there was a huge difference between the two Chicago stadiums.  Wrigley field definitely has an old time baseball feel.  There was no big screen, instead there was an old fashion score board where numbers were put up after each inning.  The design of Wrigley field was not exactly "fan-friendly" Wrigley had pillars in the way for some portions of the field.

Free Slim Jim t-shirts, STAY SPICY!!

The game between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers started out scoreless after two innings of play.  A hit to right field, and a stolen base put #9 Chavez on second base.  A double to centerfield scored Chavez with two outs.  A single to to left field scores another run for the Rangers to give them a 2-0 lead.  The game picked up for the Rangers again in the sixth inning.  Chavez started things off again with a leadoff bunt for a single.  A single to left field and a ball in the dirt moved runners to second and third base.  A fly ball to right center field scored two runs to make it a 4-0 game.  The Sox could not score any runs and ended the game on three fly balls to the outfield in the bottom of the ninth for the 4-0 loss.