Fisher Cats vs Binghamton Mets

Ready for some minor league fun we took a ride up to Manchester, NH to see the new Hampshire Fisher Cats. It was a trip down memory lane since I attended college at Saint Anselm's located here. At the time there was no minor league team in the city. Today the New Hampshire Fisher Cats call the Northeast Delta Dental Stadium located close to down town home.

The weather forecast wasn't the greatest but it appeared that it would hopefully clear in time for the 1:35pm game. My brother got the suite tickets which included VIP parking. As we walked through he back VIP gate we were each handed a Fisher Cats baseball. The kids loved it and were already asking to play toss.

We headed up the stairs and found our suite. After settling into the luxury suite we enjoyed the view and took some pictures.. The rain was light but steady and somewhat refreshing. The stadium ground crew were busy preparing the field as we relaxed. as the rain began to intensify they rolled out an enormous tarp. It was a fairly impressive feat considering the size. I counted 18 people working to secure the tarp. As we waited for the start of the game which we knew it would be at least delayed we enjoyed the stadium hotdogs and some beer.

45 minutes after the schedule start of the game the grounds crew were again working hard rolling up the large tarp and prepping the field. As they worked hard we could see the umpires touring the field checking on its readiness for the game. Unfortunately we learned shortly there after that the game had not only been delayed but postponed to a later date. Evidently the field was too wet to play.

We took a walk to the box office where we traded in our tickets for another game later this summer. Hopefully it won't get washed out too. As we headed for the car we decided to check out where the new seats were. While they weren't luxury suite seats they were right behind the home team dugout.  I am looking forward to the game in August

Task 33- Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (Boston RedSox vs. Toronto Blue Jay's)

It was a beautiful warm September night at Fenway Park. It would be the first of a 3-game series between the Toronto Blue Jay’s and the Boston Red Sox. We were in our usual field box seats just behind home plate. The seats couldn't be more perfect. With our Italian sausage in hand we were ready for a great game.

The game started with a quick two runs by Toronto’s Cabrera & Bautista in the top of the first. In the bottom of the first Brock Holt singled after with a ground ball. After Pedroia and Ortiz struck out Holt stole second in a daring sprint.Cespedes singled with a line drive giving Holt the opportunity to score.

Toronto failed to score in the top of the second leaving the RedSox a chance to tie it up. It doesn’t start of well with Nava out after a fly ball is caught by Toronto’s Cabrera. Bett’s makes it to first after a walk. Bogaerts singled with a line drive and Betts made it to third. Vazquez struck out on a fly caught by Bautista and Bett’s made a run for it and scored bringing the game to a tie. 

Toronto didn’t manage to score in the top of the third but Red Sox’s Pedroia scored after a single to center field.

The fourth and fifth innings were uneventful with neither team scoring. An intentional walk by the RedSox in the top of the fourth made it so any base would get an out and that is exactly what happen with Danny Valencia.

At the top of the six Gose hits a ground ball. Next up Bautista hit a home run giving Toronto a 7-6 lead. The bottom of the six yielded no scoring for the Red Sox.
The seventh was another dud with neither team scoring.

The top of the eight inning looked like the beginning of the end for a Red Sox win when Reyes lands on first with a line drive to left field. Gose goes for a bunt but is out. Encarnacion nails one out of the park giving Toronto a 2-run lead.

To start Boston's eighth-inning rally, Cespedes and Mike Napoli singled. A double steal put both runners in scoring position with none out, and Betts drove in one with a line-drive to left a batter later. Bogaerts then sliced a two-run double into the right-center field gap to tie the game giving Napoli and Betts each a score.

The ninth left the game tied with no scores leading into the tenth. In the tenth Encarnacion singles on a line drive to left field. Pinch runnner Stroman takes Encarnacion’s place. Next up Mayberry doubles with a line drive to left.  Navarro singles with a ground ball to Pedroia and Marcus scores the first run in the tenth. Mayberry scored the second run with a sacrifice out by Valencia.

Down by two in the bottom of the tenth it looked bleak for the Red Sox but they would rally again starting with a ground ball single by Betts to center field. Next Bogaerts singles on a ground ball to left field.  Vazquez singles on a bunt ground ball to second. With bases loaded Middlebrooks singles on a ground ball to left. Betts makes it back to home plate for a score. Pinch runner Weeks replaces Vazquez. Pedroia sacrifices an out allowing Bogarets to score. After a throwing error Ortiz reaches 1st base. To make the final score possible Cespedes singles on a fly ball to center fielder allowing Weeks to make it home.

With the exciting 10th inning the Redsox clinched the win with a 9-8 lead over the Blue Jays’s.

Task 33 - Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Rays)

(33) Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (4/2)

 

After a rainy game against the Orioles on Wednesday we returned for another game. This time we brought along my brother and 7yo nephew to watch the Boston Red Sox take on the Tampa Bay Ray's.

It was not as exciting as the previous game but the weather definitely was better. The game started out real slow with Tampa scoring a run in the 3rd and Boston tied it up in the 5th with a homerun by David Ross.

With the game tied and my nephew getting restless we decided to call it a day at the end of the 7th inning stretch. On the way home we listened as Boston finished the Ray's 2-1 with a score by Jacoby Ellsbury in the 10th.

Task 33 - Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (Boston Red Sox vs. Baltimore Orioles)

(33) Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (3/2)

Last night the Boston Red Sox hosted their second game of the season at Fenway Park against the Baltimore Orioles. We arrived at Yawkey Way about 6:00 and grabbed a couple Fenway Franks before taking to our seats in Field Box 37. As start time drew closer it was obviously not a packed stadium. I had heard rumors before coming out that the Boston Red Sox’s streak of sold-out home games was coming to an end and it showed.

We settled into our seats as the players began warming up. It didn’t take long before the festivities of a pregame ritual ran their course with the ceremonial first pitch and the amazing Star Spangled Banner being sung by a local school teacher. She did a fantastic job.

There was a moment of silence before the game for Dave O’Hara, the former New England sports editor for the Associated Press in Boston, who died Tuesday at the age of 86. Even the jumbotron went black as a gesture of respect.

With all of that done the game and the rain started like clockwork at 7:10 pm. The game got off to a pretty slow start with Baltimore Orioles scoring 1 run in the first inning. Boston managed to tie it up in the second and take a small 3-1 lead in the third. The Orioles fought back in the fourth to tie the game up and as the fourth inning ended the skies really started to open up and the rain came down hard.

While we were having a great time the weather got the best of us and we decided to call it a night. Had the weather been better I am sure it would have been a far more enjoyable experience and we would have easily made it to the end of the game.

One thing I can’t resist commenting on is how expensive it is to attend a game. While our seats were pretty good they at $130 a ticket they weren’t cheap. With 4 of us in attendance it was $520 before we even left the house. Another $35 to park, $5 per Fenway Frank, $4.75 a soda and $7.25 a beer it was an over $600 dollar night pretty quickly. With prices like that it doesn’t surprise me that the Sell-out streak came to an end last night. With the economy still in rough shape I can’t understand how they have kept the stands so full for so long especially since the storied team is in a season of rebuilding after several season of high profile departures by some big name players.

It is a great experience for anyone who can afford to attend but for the average Joe it might be better to save your cash this season and watch from the comfort of home on your big screen TV.

Task 33- Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (Worcester Tornadoe's vs. Quebec Capitales)

(33) Catch 2 Live Sporting Events (2/2)

Event:      Worcester Tornadoes vs the Quebeck Capitals

Location: Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field

The night started off with a almost certain game cancellation in its future but the dark clouds and down pours took a break just before the start of the game. With our Groupon in hand we made our way to the will-call booth to pick up our tickets, food vouchers, and hat vouchers. We made our way into Fitton Field, picked up our food and hats and found our seats covered in water. After a quick dry down we settled in for the game.

We quickly devoured the tiny hotdog, the small soda and the even smaller bag of chips. They were not the usual size sold and were clearly purchased just for the Groupon event. The hat was even more cheap then the meal and I would call it a throw away to be honest. I was disappointed in the food and the hat.

After a terrible rendition of the Star Spangled Banner and an even worse Canadian National Anthem the game began. It started off a bit slow but once it got going it was fun to watch. We even got to see Jose Canseco go up to bat for the first time as a Tornadoes and strike out. Although his second time up to bat he hit a nice grounder and made it to first base. Even more amusing was how badly he was heckled. Each time he got up people started yelling "Juice It" which I found amusing although annoying. Let the guy play.

The Tornadoes managed to be the Capitales 5-3 although we decided with the drizzle to make it an early evening. On our way out we scored an autograph from the Twister the Tornadoes mascot.

If I were to go again and that is a big IF I would skip the Groupon for a couple reasons.

1. The lower quality food was a joke and I was still hungry after eating it. So I still ended up going out to eat after the game.
2. The hat was an even bigger joke and was really a waste and was a huge disappointment. I would have paid more to get a real hat.
3. The reduced cost brought too many poorly behaved children to the game. The parents seems to think the game was an acceptable place for their kids to be a nuisance. I would rather pay full price at Fenway and not have to deal with someone poorly behaved obnoxious children.