I was at Wrigley on Tuesday night for the second time ever. The last time I went, the Expos won 5-4, but Sammy Sosa's game-ending flyout to the left-field warning track made the game a lot more interesting than it should have been. Sitting in the sunny Wrigley bleachers on a perfect summer day made the experience just about perfect; I came back raving about Wrigley. (More on that below.)
Tuesday night's game, against the Dodgers, had a marquee pitching matchup (Mark Prior vs. Brad Penny), pleasant late-summer weather (low 70s with a 10 mph crosswind), and the presence of one Nomah Garshaparrah. Nomar didn't disappoint either, hitting a rocket HR to right field and slamming every pitch he made contact with. His sac fly in the 6th was on the first pitch... classic Nomar. In fact, the entire night was classic Nomar. The reason I wasn't upset about Nomar's departure is that the Nomar I knew and loved, the one who tore the cover off of every ball he hit, hadn't been seen in Boston since 2001. Between injuries and front-office clashes, Old Nomar has been gone for a long time. New Nomar is better known for his DL stints and Gatorade commericals ("Thanks, beautiful!") than his on-field heroics. Finally seeing a glimpse of the Old Nomar, once compared to no less a giant than Ted Williams himself, was really special. If I were writing a book about last season, last night's game would be a nice, warm epilogue.
What wouldn't be a nice, warm epilogue, however, was the kid who wore a Kevin Youkilis t-shirt to the game. That's like getting a David Newhan t-shirt. Why????? I'm all for recognizing the little guy, but Youk can't even stay in the majors. God, kids are pretty stupid.
So, let's get heretical for a moment. If I were forced to choose one park to save from the terrorists... I would save Wrigley. Yes, that was me taking a big dump on Baseball Mecca. But once you delete the on-field history, the recent consummation of its 40-Year-Old-Virgin-esque wait for a championship, and the fan allegiances, I believe Wrigley to be a superior baseball stadium. There's nothing in baseball that can beat the houses along Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. Even though each of those houses has been converted into glorified bleachers, they define the Wrigley experience in a way that no other local neighborhood defines its ballpark. It's a romantic nod to the days when hitting a ball all the way out to the street was the benchmark for success. Sure, Fenway has Lansdowne Street, and once had the Citgo Sign, but they're interesting sidebars compared to being able to live in view of your home team's ballpark.
But perhaps in this world of yings and yangs, and ying-yang twins even, it's important to see the value of both ends of a spectrum. While every new park has some "unique" quirk that hearkens back to Fenway, places like Camden Yards, SBC Park, and PNC Park have embraced Wrigley's friendliness and warmth by weaving the Warehouse, the Bay, and all of Pittsburgh (respectively) into their geographies. It's no coincidence that they are widely considered to be the crown jewels of modern ballparks; PNC was actually awarded best-in-baseball status by Page 2. So, as much as Fenway is credited for inspiring new ballparks' field configurations, I think Wrigley deserves just as much credit for the new parks' intimacy. If I were able to save both Wrigley and Fenway, and then mate them to produce a fourth generation of baseball stadiums, I think we'd be doing all right. But let's not mince words here... Fenway's the bitch, and Wrigley's the butch.
Talky talky talky... no more talky.
Tuesday night's game, against the Dodgers, had a marquee pitching matchup (Mark Prior vs. Brad Penny), pleasant late-summer weather (low 70s with a 10 mph crosswind), and the presence of one Nomah Garshaparrah. Nomar didn't disappoint either, hitting a rocket HR to right field and slamming every pitch he made contact with. His sac fly in the 6th was on the first pitch... classic Nomar. In fact, the entire night was classic Nomar. The reason I wasn't upset about Nomar's departure is that the Nomar I knew and loved, the one who tore the cover off of every ball he hit, hadn't been seen in Boston since 2001. Between injuries and front-office clashes, Old Nomar has been gone for a long time. New Nomar is better known for his DL stints and Gatorade commericals ("Thanks, beautiful!") than his on-field heroics. Finally seeing a glimpse of the Old Nomar, once compared to no less a giant than Ted Williams himself, was really special. If I were writing a book about last season, last night's game would be a nice, warm epilogue.
What wouldn't be a nice, warm epilogue, however, was the kid who wore a Kevin Youkilis t-shirt to the game. That's like getting a David Newhan t-shirt. Why????? I'm all for recognizing the little guy, but Youk can't even stay in the majors. God, kids are pretty stupid.
So, let's get heretical for a moment. If I were forced to choose one park to save from the terrorists... I would save Wrigley. Yes, that was me taking a big dump on Baseball Mecca. But once you delete the on-field history, the recent consummation of its 40-Year-Old-Virgin-esque wait for a championship, and the fan allegiances, I believe Wrigley to be a superior baseball stadium. There's nothing in baseball that can beat the houses along Waveland and Sheffield Avenues. Even though each of those houses has been converted into glorified bleachers, they define the Wrigley experience in a way that no other local neighborhood defines its ballpark. It's a romantic nod to the days when hitting a ball all the way out to the street was the benchmark for success. Sure, Fenway has Lansdowne Street, and once had the Citgo Sign, but they're interesting sidebars compared to being able to live in view of your home team's ballpark.
But perhaps in this world of yings and yangs, and ying-yang twins even, it's important to see the value of both ends of a spectrum. While every new park has some "unique" quirk that hearkens back to Fenway, places like Camden Yards, SBC Park, and PNC Park have embraced Wrigley's friendliness and warmth by weaving the Warehouse, the Bay, and all of Pittsburgh (respectively) into their geographies. It's no coincidence that they are widely considered to be the crown jewels of modern ballparks; PNC was actually awarded best-in-baseball status by Page 2. So, as much as Fenway is credited for inspiring new ballparks' field configurations, I think Wrigley deserves just as much credit for the new parks' intimacy. If I were able to save both Wrigley and Fenway, and then mate them to produce a fourth generation of baseball stadiums, I think we'd be doing all right. But let's not mince words here... Fenway's the bitch, and Wrigley's the butch.
Talky talky talky... no more talky.
posted by Jeff at
6:16 PM
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