Tag / Guaranteed Rate Field

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FB8 – Week 27

We start the second half of the year with a nice bounce back week, thanks to a midweek trip to Denver.  Things got off to a pretty decent start on Sunday, as I finished 12 steps below 5700 thanks to an afternoon at Guaranteed Rate Field.  Monday fell off quite a bit, dropping down to 2600 steps.  Tuesday was the high point of the week, thanks to a trip to the airport and then a White Sox/Rockies game at Coors Field, leaving me with 8700 steps, the best day of the week.  Another afternoon in Denver and at Coors Field on finished at 8200 steps, my second straight day over goal.  Thanks in part to an early morning arrival at O’Hare on Thursday, I was able to come 16 steps away from 4500.  Friday was another disappointing day, coming in 7 steps shy of 2900.  Another White Sox game on Saturday pushed me back up over 5800 steps.

Total steps: 38,522

Daily average: 5503.1

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FB8 – Week 24

A nice bounce-back with a pretty solid week, as I posted my highest weekly total since Hawaii in February.  Things got off to a decent start on Sunday, as a late afternoon White Sox game on the television helped me finish just 13 steps shy of 5600.  A trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday for Independence Day put me over 6300 steps and was the high point of the week.  Tuesday saw a big drop-off, down to 4700 steps, as I used a day off work to visit my old friends at Superdawg for lunch.  Another day off on Wednesday and another White Sox game helped me jump back up to 6200 steps.  Going back to work on Thursday saw a slight drop-off, coming a single step short of 5700.  Friday saw another decline, falling down to 4700 steps.  A third trip to the ballpark on Saturday helped to end the week on a high note, finishing with 6100 steps.

Total steps: 39,456

Daily average: 5636.6

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FB8 – Week 22

Another pretty solid week, as I found myself staying on the right side of 30,000 steps and even going over my daily goal for the first time in a month.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, finishing just over 4000.  A day off work combined with a trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Monday put me close to 8200 steps, the high point of the week.  Tuesday saw a drop-off, as returning to work left me with only 4300 steps.  Wednesday bounced back a bit, jumping up to 5400 steps.  Thursday was even better, ending with over 5500 steps.  Friday turned that around and saw the lowest total of the week, with only 3700 steps.  A bobblehead day on Saturday followed by a night out with friends ended the week on a high note, finishing with 5400 steps.

Total steps: 36,671

Daily average: 5238.7

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FB8 – Week 21

Another solid-ish week, as I found myself staying on the right side of 30,000 steps thanks to some outside activities.  Things got off to a pretty good start on Sunday, finishing 13 steps shy of 5800 thanks to a frustrating trip to Guaranteed Rate Field.  Monday saw very little drop-off, ending with 5700 steps.  Tuesday saw a much bigger fall, dropping down to 4300 steps.  Wednesday fell even more, going down to 4100 steps.  Thursday was the high point of the week, thanks to a last-minute decision to head to the World Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre to see Garbage and Tears for Fears, putting me over 7000 steps.  Friday turned that around and saw the lowest total of the week, with only 3500 steps.  A trip to Wrigley Field to see the Cubs battle the Braves on Saturday was a decent way to end the week, finishing with 6900 steps.

Total steps: 37,414

Daily average: 5344.9

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FB8 – Week 20

A bit of a bounce back week, as I found myself back on the right side of 30,000 steps.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, finishing 16 steps shy of 4400.  Monday saw a small drop-off, falling down to 4000 steps.  Tuesday saw a much bigger fall, needing 12 steps just to get to 3400.  An evening trip to Guaranteed Rate Field on Wednesday was the high point of the week, coming just 6 steps short of 7000.  Thursday saw another huge drop, falling back down to 3500 steps.  Friday saw a nice recovery, jumping all the way back up to nearly 6300 steps.  Saturday was a decent way to end the week, finishing with 4800 steps.

Total steps: 33,493

Daily average: 4784.7

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FB8 – Week 16

Another pretty successful week, as a couple of baseball games kept me over 35,000 steps for the second week in a row.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, as I managed to get 5200 steps.  Monday saw a pretty decent increase, jumping up to 7600 steps due to a harrowing trip to Guaranteed Rate Field, putting my streak of at least one day over goal at three.  Hey, we celebrate the little things these days.  No baseball led to a big drop on Tuesday, as I ended with only 4400 steps.  A day full of meetings on Wednesday left me 16 steps away from 2300, easily the worst day of the week.  Thursday saw a slight increase, finishing 32 steps shy of 3600.  A haircut and White Sox game Friday night caused a big improvement, jumping up to 6400 steps.  Another game on Saturday helped me to 5700 steps.

Total steps: 35,299

Daily average: 5042.7

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A Different Point Of View

Five years ago today, I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a Tesla.  I took possession in late July and, until a few months back, sent a good portion of my paycheck to Elon Musk each month.  Which meant something different in 2017 than it does in 2022.

For reasons that I don’t entirely understand, Musk has, in more recent times, aligned himself with the fringe right wing.  He has recently announced his intentions to purchase Twitter, promising “free speech”, which the right wing has taken to mean it will be open season on any minority or marginalized group.  Persons who have been previously banned for their bad behavior on the platform are expected to see their accounts restored.

Two weekends ago, I was pulling into the parking lot at Guaranteed Rate Field and there was someone in the car parking next to me who seemed very excited by my car.  I’ve had people comment on it in the past, because they are still somewhat rare, but never to this level.  I acknowledged his interest with a head nod, existed the car, and started walking towards the stadium.  Which is when it occurred to me: maybe he wasn’t excited by the car itself, but what Tesla, and Elon Musk, now means to him.  And does that meaning include attacking minorities and marginalized groups?  Suddenly, it may not be such an exciting time.

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FB8 – Week 14

A pretty bad week, thanks to cold, rainy weather and work “emergencies”.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, as I came 13 steps short of 4300.  Monday saw a slight increase, jumping up to 4600 steps.  Tuesday fell down a bit, dropping to 4300 steps.  Wednesday was the low point of the week, ending with a mere 2400 steps.  Thursday started the long climb back up towards respectability, going up to 3300 steps.  Friday saw another meager increase, jumping back up to 3800 steps.  A trip down to Guaranteed Rate Field for exciting White Sox baseball raised Saturday’s total to nearly 5300 steps.

Total steps: 28,201

Daily average: 4028.7

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FB8 – Week 12

A pretty successful week, as the return of baseball gave me my highest weekly total completed in the state of Illinois since last July.  Things got off to a decent enough start on Sunday, as I managed to score 5500 steps thanks to mid-inning pacing while watching the White Sox.  Monday saw a slight decline, as I finished a single step shy of 4500.  My long-awaited return to Guaranteed Rate Field on Tuesday, minus parking, left me four steps away from 8100, the first time I’ve surpassed my daily goal at home since September.  A 3-hour meeting on Wednesday dropped me down to 3900 steps.  Another day game on Thursday caused a jump back up to 5600 steps.  Friday was the worst day of the week, finishing with only 3600 steps.  Another game on Saturday, with a hunt to get multiple bobbleheads, put me up over 5500 steps.

Total steps: 36,973

Daily average: 5281.9

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The Heroes Of Opening Day

This week I attended my 21st consecutive (except for the pandemic year of 2020 that had no fans) Opening Day at Comiskey Park II/US Cellular Field/Guaranteed Rate Field, and my 38th overall.  From my first, at old Comiskey Park in 1985, to my first as a Cubs season ticket holder at Wrigley Field in 2002, to road trips to Shea Stadium, in 2003, and Great American Ballpark, in 2004 and 2006, Opening Day remains a spring holiday proclaiming the theoretical beginning of summer.  This seemed like a good time to see who the best performers were on both sides of the ball from those 38 contests.

Home Runs

Name Total
Corey Patterson 3
Paul Konerko 3
Alejandro de Aza 2
Ray Durham 2
Jose Valentin 2
Joe Crede 2
Jim Thome 2

Hits

Name Total
Paul Konerko 15
Jermaine Dye 9
Aramis Ramirez 8
Victor Martinez 8
Mark Grudzielanek 8

Runs

Name Total
Paul Konerko 7
Derrek Lee 7
Alex Gonzalez 6
Joe Crede 6

RBI

Name Total
Paul Konerko 10
Corey Patterson 8
Moises Alou 8

Doubles

Name Total
Michael Barrett 4
Paul Konerko 3
Moises Alou 3
Jose Valentin 3
Victor Marinez 3
Alex Rios 3
Jose Abreu 3
Miguel Olivo 3
Jeromy Burnitz 3
Carlos Lee 3

Triples Continue reading →