Orioles 9, Rangers 0
They got themselves a new scoreboard. Admittedly, this was actually my second trip to Camden Yards, my first coming last year in a Rockies drilling of the O’s. And I have to say, they did quite an upgrade to their scoreboard. Before they had broken lights and that weird yellow writing and now the pictures and wording are clearer and the graphics are great.
Seat location is key. I know, that seems quite obvious, but there are very few stadiums that I have been to (and honestly, that number isn’t that great) that seat location has been so important. Going back to last season when I sat upper deck but down the third baseline, I literally could not see home plate. But this year, I was seated about three sections off from directly behind home plate in the upper deck and the view was fabulous. I really got to soak in all that Camden Yards had to offer, the wonderful view of the downtown area as well as actually being able to see the players at bat. Next time I’ll have to try out the bleachers, just to see if the view is great there too!
The Orioles actually have some offense. After getting off to a quick start, the Orioles have faded back to their familiar tail end standing in the AL East. So it was nice to see the O’s kick some Ranger butt. Nick Markakis had a three run homer and Melvin Mora added a two run shot to tag onto their blowout victory. And for some good measure, Daniel Cabrera contributed a stellar six inning shut out performance to prove to me that even the worst teams have good games during a 162 game season.
The Oriole bird is creepy. Yeah, so Mr. Met is a little daunting to see at 7:30 in the morning as I am walking out of Penn Station. He’s literally just a baseball planted on top of a mascot’s body. And yeah, the Braves mascot bares a striking resemblance and is equally as awkward, but the Oriole Bird is just creepy. Its beak probably frightens small children. And the stir-up socks are not doing it any favors. Not to mention, I think mascots fall into that clown category, the one that tops everyone’s nightmares list. Expect the Phillie Phanatic, he’s pretty cool.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hard name for some people to pronounce. A few weeks back when I was at Citizens Bank Park to watch the Braves take on the Phillies, the girl behind me could not figure out how to pronounce Mark Teixeira’s name (obviously this came before he was traded to the Angels). No matter how many times she was corrected, or the announcer correctly pronounced his name, she just could not figure out. A similar incident happened to a couple of people behind me, who for the life of them, could not figure out how to say Salty’s name. Now I get it, he played for the Braves, so I had an inside track on it, but it’s literally spelt like it sounds kids. And if he ever gets traded to a bigger market team, I’m sure it won’t baffle as many people.
The food has gotten better. Last year I got a hot dog, because my feeling is, how badly can you screw up a hot dog? Well, pretty badly. It may have one of the worst things I have ever ingested and that includes a long line of day old goodies my grandmother used to feed us when we’d visit on the weekends. It literally tasted like I ate a bottle of salt incased in rubber. But I smiled as I ate it because I with my friends who were just so excited to show off their beloved ballpark. Well this year, I once again dove in for the hot dog and was pleasantly surprised. Granted I could have gone for some spicy mustard instead of the yellow crap that they dispense, it was still pretty good. Not Nathan’s quality but pretty good. And the fries were equally as tasty. I didn’t even need ketchup. (which is the mark of any good French fry) I was told that next time I’d have to go for the barbeque plate, because it’s the best thing at the stadium.
Yankees fans do travel. As I am heading out of the stadium, I begin to hear a Yankees chant from a level above. I hate to mention that the Yankees were not one of the teams involved in the game and that the Yankees are considered a hated rival of the Orioles so why this drunken idiot decided to yell out a “Let’s Go Yankees” chant is beyond me. I’ve gotten over going to a stadium and seeing people wearing t-shirts for their favorite team, even if that team is not playing in the game (hats were always acceptable because some people have a favorite hat they always wear), but doing a chant makes absolutely no sense to me.
They got themselves a new scoreboard. Admittedly, this was actually my second trip to Camden Yards, my first coming last year in a Rockies drilling of the O’s. And I have to say, they did quite an upgrade to their scoreboard. Before they had broken lights and that weird yellow writing and now the pictures and wording are clearer and the graphics are great.
Seat location is key. I know, that seems quite obvious, but there are very few stadiums that I have been to (and honestly, that number isn’t that great) that seat location has been so important. Going back to last season when I sat upper deck but down the third baseline, I literally could not see home plate. But this year, I was seated about three sections off from directly behind home plate in the upper deck and the view was fabulous. I really got to soak in all that Camden Yards had to offer, the wonderful view of the downtown area as well as actually being able to see the players at bat. Next time I’ll have to try out the bleachers, just to see if the view is great there too!
The Orioles actually have some offense. After getting off to a quick start, the Orioles have faded back to their familiar tail end standing in the AL East. So it was nice to see the O’s kick some Ranger butt. Nick Markakis had a three run homer and Melvin Mora added a two run shot to tag onto their blowout victory. And for some good measure, Daniel Cabrera contributed a stellar six inning shut out performance to prove to me that even the worst teams have good games during a 162 game season.
The Oriole bird is creepy. Yeah, so Mr. Met is a little daunting to see at 7:30 in the morning as I am walking out of Penn Station. He’s literally just a baseball planted on top of a mascot’s body. And yeah, the Braves mascot bares a striking resemblance and is equally as awkward, but the Oriole Bird is just creepy. Its beak probably frightens small children. And the stir-up socks are not doing it any favors. Not to mention, I think mascots fall into that clown category, the one that tops everyone’s nightmares list. Expect the Phillie Phanatic, he’s pretty cool.
Jarrod Saltalamacchia is hard name for some people to pronounce. A few weeks back when I was at Citizens Bank Park to watch the Braves take on the Phillies, the girl behind me could not figure out how to pronounce Mark Teixeira’s name (obviously this came before he was traded to the Angels). No matter how many times she was corrected, or the announcer correctly pronounced his name, she just could not figure out. A similar incident happened to a couple of people behind me, who for the life of them, could not figure out how to say Salty’s name. Now I get it, he played for the Braves, so I had an inside track on it, but it’s literally spelt like it sounds kids. And if he ever gets traded to a bigger market team, I’m sure it won’t baffle as many people.
The food has gotten better. Last year I got a hot dog, because my feeling is, how badly can you screw up a hot dog? Well, pretty badly. It may have one of the worst things I have ever ingested and that includes a long line of day old goodies my grandmother used to feed us when we’d visit on the weekends. It literally tasted like I ate a bottle of salt incased in rubber. But I smiled as I ate it because I with my friends who were just so excited to show off their beloved ballpark. Well this year, I once again dove in for the hot dog and was pleasantly surprised. Granted I could have gone for some spicy mustard instead of the yellow crap that they dispense, it was still pretty good. Not Nathan’s quality but pretty good. And the fries were equally as tasty. I didn’t even need ketchup. (which is the mark of any good French fry) I was told that next time I’d have to go for the barbeque plate, because it’s the best thing at the stadium.
Yankees fans do travel. As I am heading out of the stadium, I begin to hear a Yankees chant from a level above. I hate to mention that the Yankees were not one of the teams involved in the game and that the Yankees are considered a hated rival of the Orioles so why this drunken idiot decided to yell out a “Let’s Go Yankees” chant is beyond me. I’ve gotten over going to a stadium and seeing people wearing t-shirts for their favorite team, even if that team is not playing in the game (hats were always acceptable because some people have a favorite hat they always wear), but doing a chant makes absolutely no sense to me.
Thanks Kath for the tickets!
It’s been fun blogging with you,
Kate
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