Game #41 - Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 1:35 P.M. I am crossing the halfway point. It seems to fly by. I hung out with Kyle and Nate today. We returned home to Section 8. :) This was a great series and the Cincinnati Reds fans were ubiquitous during the three games. Overall, they were very friendly and sociable. Good crowds for all the games.

Game #40 - Saturday, June 25, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. There was a who's who of pals in attendance. We had a good crew ourselves. Kimmy and Eric M, Josh and Mesa G., Tracy K., Brian V., Christi G. and Ryan. There were a combined 9 home runs. I spotted Vitya, Matt G, Renee, CJ, Scott, Brett S., Michael C., and Tina M. My apologies is I left you out. A great night of friends and doing fun things. And did I mention being pals?

Game #39 - Friday, June 27, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. - Second sell-out of the year. We have the Cincinnati Red's first ever to Camden Yards, fireworks night, union workers night, and great weather for this evening. This might end up being my favorite game of the year. I don't live and die by wins and losses. I know baseball is just a game and it's just business. However, this is why you come to a live sporting event. Moments like this are not commonplace. But feel-good moments should be perpetual. Derek Lee hit a walk-off home run in the 12th and it was done with class. He is the quiet veteran in the club-house and I am happy to see him succeed. Game went over 4 hours. Hung out with Chris, Vijay and Melanie. I ran into Lewis Poole and Jason B. beforehand at Pickle's. It was great to catch up with both.

Bonus Game #2 - Wednesday, June 22, 2011 at 12:35 P.M. I am happy for this day. This was my first visit to Pittsburgh. A special thanks for Pete D. for driving. Shaun T. is here with us as well. I love this city. I don't care about sports rivalries. It's not my job or place to belittle or show animosity for teams. Even if it's all in good fun, I don't see the point. It's just a game. Now onto the good stuff: Like Washington, DC - the Pirates do a lot of their fans too. I know it's been 17 years since they had a winning record and that is maybe part of the reason they reciprocate. But they have a lot of promotions and their most expensive ticket is only $52. Every home game on Friday welcomes a new free t-shirt giveaway. Some folks remarked that the in-between innings stuff was dopey and minor league, but I think it makes each team unique. I have only been to four stadiums (Camden Yards, Nationals Park, Citizens Bank Park, and PNC Park). I could include RFK Stadium for the early years of the Nationals. I suspect each facility does it different. It's good to be unique or it will get stale and largely ignored. The big stand out here was the food prices. You can get a order of six Miss T.'s Pierogies for only $4. They view it as a side item! They sell Pierogie BBQ Stackers, Gyros, Hummus, the usual ballpark fare, and some vegetarian options. The view of the skyline and the water from our seats was the best. I want to come back and visit the rest of the city. Pete informed me that on our mini-tour, we saw a majority of the city already. Nevertheless, I can't wait to come back and make a night or weekend out of it. Photos include the Pierogi Race along with the stadium, and other things. The campy moment for me, is when the Orioles starting line-up was introduced to The Blind Boys of Alabama version of "Way Down In The Hole" from Season 1 of The Wire. Is this done for every visiting team or were they paying respect (poking fun) at Charm City? :) The Pirate Parrot was hard to reach on this day for photo opportunities. :( One of the friendly ushers told me that he does have a day job and was probably busy in-between stints of dancing and shooting t-shirts to the crowd. I was oblivious to the fact that the game started at 12:35 and this was office hours. Next time! :)

Bonus Game #1 - Sunday, June 19, 2011 - at 1:35 P.M. Today, I am at Nationals Park and greeted with a wonderful Washington Nationals' Father's Day hat promotion. The game was nearly sold out. This needs to be said: The Nationals organization does a lot to give back to it's fans. Whether or not it's corporate, Disney-esque, minor league, vapid, or insert put down or analogy here : at least they show appreciation to their fans. They have a lot of promotions; $1 hot dog days, $1 peanut days, $1 parking days, $2 ticket Thursdays, t-shirt giveaways to the crowd, and a lot of interacting with the fans in between innings. Also, the freebies and promotions given away to the first 10-20k fans who enter is a great gesture. I went up there alone but new Bret Holme's and company (Kompany?) would be there. As expected he called me over and I sad in fantastic seats bridging first base and home plate. All-in-all, I think I am going to quietly root for this club. Yes I got my picture with Screech! And that makes me happy! Cheers!

Game #38 - Sunday, June 12, 2011 at 1:35 P.M. Adam Jones is a class guy. He has really matured into a fantastic player and maybe even better person. He is arguably the team's best hitter, along with Matt Weiters and JJ Hardy. The miscue that lead to Evan Longoria's home run was hard to watch. These freak occurences happen more times than probably documented. In a positive sense, at least many of us got to see an inside-the-park home run, for the first time. It was my first. Little gems like that are what enhances the experience of going to a baseball game, on any level or platform. Kyle, joined me today for fee hat day! Thanks again to Kelly for the Natty Boy shot once again!

Game #37 - Saturday, June 11, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. 2110 Eutaw Street Shirt Day, Part 2. The best part of these games for me, are the animal rescue groups! The Great Dane group was there today and that is wonderful! Hung out with a lot of people at this game! Saw Tim and Rebecca, fresh from their wedding and trip to Las Vegas and chatted with them for a while about English Premiere League withdrawal, which won't last too much longer! Also hung out with a major crew of Will G., Erin, Bob H., Steve H., Michael, Andrew, Laurie, Erin, Dr, Ryan, and Kristin. There were heckling the heck (corny) out of the Rays' bullpen for the duration. My apologies for any names I have forgotten. I can add names, if necessary. It was a long day as there were many festivals occurring today. I was able to go to Honfest, Greekfest, and Little Italy Fest, where I happen to see AC Milan (Vlade) coming out of Sabatino's, with quite the presence and aura, as only AC Milan as. He was there for a bachelor party and mentioned they had box seats at the Orioles game, so I joined them later. Josh G. was also there but was unable to meet up with him. Good guy, hopefully next time! Thanks again to Kelly for the Natty Boy photo!

Game #36 - Friday, June 10, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. Very low-key again in terms of company, but still fun. I walked with Marie from the dollar store (Murphy's) to meet her pals at the Marriott hotel bar, right by the stadium. It rained heavily for a good half-hour and the game was delayed for one. I officially got to meet Kelly, who is a good person and has been hanging out with Natty Boh, outside the bar happily titled the same name, inside the stadium. I explained to her about my blog, so I don't come off as quite the stalker, as I have been with the Orioles bird! Thank you!

Game #35 - Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. - The bird may be giving me the boot. He gave me a hex after I saw him later on during the game. I did however get my picture with him. I follow my own path, so the things I do in my own life are not typical and I prefer it that way. But it might be time to dial it back with pictures with the the beloved mascot. Still friends forever! Good group today as the Orioles got the sweep. Chris W., Pete D., Pete's pal Chris, Jason S., and Muriel in Sec. 8. I did run into Bukola and Justin Andrew early on in the game and we catched up for a little bit. Also said hi to Nick and Lindsay. Pete got a foul ball in his vicinity at the second pitch of the game. He called it and he didn't have to move very far to get it. In general, things just come to us. Maybe, I should learn that when mingling with people in animal costumes. Kim mentioned to me that I should have explained my blog to the bird and his associates. I will have to broach this subject carefully :)

Game #34 - Tuesday, June 7, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. I was happy to meet up with John and Cindy before the game started. Chris and his pal joined me in Section 8. Also saw Jeff, the manager at Slainte, at Jimmy John's. I would like to give an acknowledgement to event staff team member Joe, who has been kind to me and my friends over in that section. A picture is coming. Thanks so muchh! The other picture here is from Ed Harris throwing the first pitch. As some folks are aware, he is in town to film a cinema.

Game #33 - Monday, June 6, 2011 at 7:05 P.M. - A very relaxed start to this series. And this is one of the rare games, where for the most part, I hung out by myself. I did run into Bar Rob from Slainte (Silantos) before the game started, but that was it. This crowd was right around 10,000 people. So this may have been the smallest crowd of the year so far. I suspect Wednesday's game may be the smallest. A few things stood out for me, aside from the result. I am fascinated as to what players and umpires discuss in between halves of winnings. Before the top of the 9th, Nick Markakis was in a long discussion with the first base umpire. It seemed serious and emotional. Guess I will never know. I also caught Adam Jones inadvertently throwing a baseball to the bleacher seats but it ended up into the area over by the ivy. He was met with a hilarious groan by the fans but tapped himself on the chest to acknowledge that it was his goof. Fun times.

Game #32 - Sunday, June 5, 2011 at 1:35 P.M. - Met up with Pete, Sarah, their pals Eric and Becky, and Rick. Walked through the Federal Hill Jazz and Wine Festival which was very fun. Pete and Sara introduced everyone to the new frozen yogurt place that opened up, Afters. In addition, we stopped over at Jimmy John's, which has quickly become a favorite place to grab food before going to the game. Fantastic sandwiches. Beautiful weather, good food, maybe decent wine? :) and good friends made it enjoyable.