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Ballpark Tour: Indians
As we prepare to close out 2019, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head east to the so-called Mistake By The Lake for a look at the Cleveland Indians. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Progressive Field.
Stadium Name: Progressive Field
Years in Service: 1994 – Present
Visits: 2
The Indians moved into Jacobs Field for the 1994 season after calling Cleveland Stadium home since 1932. In 1997, the park became one of the few in MLB history to host both the All Star Game and the World Series in the same season. 2008 saw the naming rights sold to a local insurance company and the stadium was renamed Progressive Field. Since opening, the park has seen 10 Central Division titles, 5 ALCS appearances, and 3 trips to the World Series. It hosted its second All Star Game this past summer.
I almost took my first trip to the park in 2016, for Game 7 of the World Series against the Cubs, but I just couldn’t quite pull the trigger. A Southwest credit this summer led to me booking a 2-day September trip to Cleveland for $3, so there was no second guessing this time. I arrived on a Wednesday afternoon, in plenty of time for that evening’s tilt between the White Sox and the Indians. A tremendous catch on a smash by Eloy Jimenez saved the game for the Tribe. The matinee performance on Thursday afternoon entailed a nice one-hitter by Reynaldo Lopez, giving the White Sox a quick victory before I had to head back to the airport.
Book 28 (of 52) – Everything is Horrible and Wonderful
Everything is Horrible and Wonderful: A Tragicomic Memoir of Genius, Heroin, Love, and Loss – Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Book 27 (of 52) – Doxology
Doxology – Nell Zink
Nell Zink’s fifth novel, Doxology, is basically two inter-connected stories with a tragedy separating them. The first half is the tale of a punk adjacent couple and their friend who somehow becomes a pop sensation. When the World Trade Center is attacked on 9/11, the couple bring their daughter to Washington DC, leaving her with her grandparents, and the story follows her life, through high school, college, and the 2016 Presidential campaign, which leaves her pregnant and, in a twist of fate, headed back to New York and her parents.
I picked this book up after seeing a review in the Chicago Tribune calling it the “Gen-X novel of the year.” I don’t know if I’m willing to go that far, but I enjoyed the work. The first half more than the second, as the story of Pam and Daniel, and how the attacks of 9/11 changed their world, resonated a little more than the coming of age of Flora, who wants to save the world and works for the Jill Stein campaign. I haven’t come into contact with Zink’s work before this, so I may keep a look out and see what else she has to offer.
2020 Calendar
Now that Christmas has come and gone, we can unveil the cover to this year’s calendar gift, given annually to my mom and sister, made up of pictures I have taken throughout the year, with entries from 5 different states. Once again. this year’s calendar was produced by the good folks at Shutterfly. As in year’s past, we will unveil each month’s photo on the first day of the month throughout 2020.
This year’s cover features various shots of Angelina, Danny, and Michael in Washington, DC from our trip to celebrate Michael’s graduation in June. There are photos from the US Capitol Building, the White House, Nationals Park, and the Supreme Court Building, with a special guest appearance from Abraham Lincoln.
Oh Christmas Tree
The family and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas.
Fitbit V: Week 47
Fortifying The Staff
After missing out on Zack Wheeler earlier in the offseason, the White Sox looked idly by as the remaining big names vanished off the free agent board: Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg, Madison Bumgarner. Last week, however, the struck on their plan B, signing Gio Gonzalez to a one year deal on Friday and coming to terms with Dallas Keuchel on a reported 3 year deal on Saturday.
Keuchel, a 31 year old left hander, sat out the first half of last season, signing after the draft (and the expiration of the draft pick compensation attached to him) and helping the Braves to the NL East title. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 2015, and should help stabilize the White Sox rotation, both on the mound and as a mentor on the bench.
Gonzalez, 34, enters his third stint in the White Sox organization. Originally signed as the team’s first round draft pick in 2004, he was part of the deal that brought Jim Thome from the Phillies following the 2005 season. He was reacquired from the Phillies a year later, along with Gavin Floyd for Freddy Garcia. He was traded again in 2008 as part of the ill-fated Nick Swisher deal with the A’s. He will now bolster the back end of the White Sox rotation.
These moves give the White Sox plenty of pitching depth as they go into spring training, allowing Michael Kopech and Carlos Rodon to return from injury on their own timetable and keeping the likes of Dylan Covey and Ross Detwiler far from the pitching mound at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Ballpark Tour: Twins
With the offseason underway, we continue our tour of all of the different baseball stadiums I’ve been to over the years. This week, we head north to the Twin Cities for a look at the Minnesota Twins. So, without further ado, let’s take a deeper look at my history with Target Field.
Stadium Name: Target Field
Years in Service: 2010 – Present
Visits: 2
After 28 seasons of indoor baseball at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, the Twins moved back outside starting with the 2010 season when they opened Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. The first regular season game took place on April 12, 2010, with the Twins defeating the Red Sox. In 2014, Target Field hosted the All Star Game, the first in Minnesota since 1985.
I took the long trip up to Minneapolis in the weeks after the All Star Game, along with Danny and Michael, to see the White Sox take on the Twins. We picked two good games to see, as the White Sox offense came to life and they won both games against the Twinkies. We sat down on the first level, between home plate and third base behind the White Sox dugout for both games, so I didn’t get to sample the different areas of the ballpark, but I certainly liked what I saw. The one thing I didn’t like about the park was the configuration of most of the outfield. Between the large hitting background in center field and the high walls in left and right, there is a lot of dead space in the outfield that seems to put the fans far away from the action. Besides that, though, a good time was had by all and I certainly wouldn’t mind returning one day.
Book 26 (of 52) – The Burial Hour
The Burial Hour – Jeffery Deaver
The Burial Hour, one of the latest Lincoln Rhyme entries from Jeffery Deaver, puts Rhyme and Sachs on the trail of The Composer, who leads them to Naples, Italy, where they team up with local law enforcement to stop his crime spree. Of course, once they untangle the case, Rhyme and Sachs take the opportunity to stop in Bellagio and get married.
This marks 9 out of 14 entries in Jefferey Deaver’s series that I’ve read. I assume I’ll get to those remaining 5, or maybe even some of his other work, at some point.