Porking out at the Ballpark on Mother’s Day!

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 Some of the above pictures courtesy of  Fox Sports MLB’s Best Food List.

I just found out I’m going to the Oakland A’s – Detroit Tigers game on Mother’s Day so I went online to find out what’s for dinner!  My search found this great website  with such tantalizing food pictures I think I’ll conjure up some ballpark food for dinner tonight!

One of my favorite ballpark foods is the Primanti Brothers Sandwich at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.  When I was there the fans were lined up around the block for this one.  The special sandwich (pictured above) includes not only the roast beef, but also the salad and french fries  stacked high and part of the sandwich.

And someday I’m going to try those Rocky Mountain Oysters at Coors Stadium.  Or maybe I’ll watch someone else try them but it’ll still be an experience.

And for dessert it’s a toss-up between those yummy looking cupcakes at Safeco Field in Seattle and the  funnel cakes at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

If you don’t have plans for your mom, your kid’s mom or someone else that’s really special on Mother’s Day why not consider taking her to dinner at the Ballpark!  You’ll get to enjoy the camaraderie of some the greatest fans in all of sports, hopefully a great game and some really terrific food.

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Dodgers Maintain MLB Lead (with a little help from their friends) ~

"The bunt that started it all"

Last night the Dodgers beat the Padres 5-4 with an incredulous triple play that ended the game.  The particulars of that triple play are what’s in question here.  I watched the video over and over again and there’s no doubt in my mind the plate umpire ruled a bunt ball as “out-of-bounds” wherein the Padres ceased play, went back to their bases, and play should have resumed with another pitch.  But that’s not what happened.  Instead, the Dodgers kept playing as though nothing had happened, as though no call had been made, as the Padres went back to their business in disbelief because, according to their version, and what I saw on the video, it should have been a dead ball, and the batter should have returned to the plate to take another pitch.

Now, I’m as happy as the next guy to see something good finally happen to the Los Angeles Dodgers.  This team’s been run through the mill these past few years and now it looks like they’re finally getting their act together.  I mean the last time the Dodgers got off to a start like this they ended up winning the World Series.  Here’s the article, video included, that has everyone (well, almost everyone) in a stew.  See what you think!

San Diego Padres Cry foul over Triple Play Call.

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Best Food at the Ballpark in 2012? ~ You Decide!

"Strasburg: Last year's version with butterflied hotdog on top"

I found a great little ditty this morning at the Washington Post.  The Nationals are going to highlight special food from the visiting team’s home town each time they play in Washington.   I recommend you take advantage of  San Francisco’s special food “Garlic Fries” this year, especially since the Giants will be playing at Nationals Park on the 4th of July, and not just because they’re our namesake, but because they’re really, really good!

But for sure you gotta love the special food presented by the Washington Nationals this year, honoring their special pitcher, Stephen Strasburg.  I hear it includes 12 pickles, representing the twelve strike-outs the Stras got in his first outing.   Great article written by Dan Steinberg, from the Washington Post.

Nationals Park introduces 8-pound ‘StrasBurger’

By Dan Steinberg, Washington Post  Posted at 02:06 PM ET, 03/12/2012

 

The new 8 lb. Strasburger includes fries and a coke! Courtesy "Yardbarker"

(Marvin Joseph – TWP.) As the baseball season approaches, you know what that means on this here blog: lots of updates on the concessions available at Nationals Park.

Our first update concerns the Red Porch, and a brand-new menu item that will get lots of attention from media and fans: The StrasBurger. Via my favorite friends in Nats PR:

Weighing eight pounds total (including toppings), the StrasBurger is a monstrous all beef burger (combination of ground brisket, chuck and short ribs). The burger is served on a large burger bun with our secret sauce, American cheese, shredded lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sliced red onions, pickle chips and served with a cone basket of fresh cut fries and a pitcher of your choice of soft drink. This signature dish is the perfect entrée to share at this affordably-priced family restaurant.

In case you missed the key phrase, this burger WEIGHS EIGHT POUNDS TOTAL, which is a lot of pounds. Even if some of them are onion pounds. Every TV station in this market will have hosts merrily attempting to grapple with the StrasBurger next month. At least, I hope so.The Red Porch will also feature special food and beer pairings that will spotlight area brews, including those from Dogfish Head and Flying Dog. Any time I get to type “Dogfish Head,” I consider that a win.

Also, the Taste of the Majors stand — which has spotlighted a few items from other MLB cities — will now feature a special dish from the city of each visiting opponent while they’re actually in D.C. Those items will all be limited time only offers, obviously.  The list:

Atlanta:   Smothered Fried Chicken Platter

Baltimore:  Pit Beef Sandwich Platter

Arizona:  Dog Platter

Chicago:  Dog Platter

Cincinnati:   5-Way Cincinnati Chili

Colorado:  Mile High Burger

Houston:  Houston Nacho

Los Angeles:  Dog Platter

Miami:   Cuban Dog

Milwaukee:   Beer Brat Platter

New York (Mets and Yankees):   Coney Dog Platter

Philadelphia:   Philly Chicken Cheese Steak Platter

Pittsburgh:   Pitts Burger Platter

St. Louis:   BBQ Rib Platter

San Diego:   Fish Taco Platter

San Francisco:   Garlic Fries and Shrimp Platter

Tampa Bay:  Salty Dog Platter

Geez, this is all making me hungry!  Only 23 Days to Opening Day ~  See you at the ballpark!

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Baseball’s Top Ten News Items in 2011

2011 World Champions St Louis Cardinals

The media’s full of articles and videos of the most newsworthy items about baseball this past year.   You might think this would be those articles you and I found the most interesting and representative of baseball throughout the country, but not necessarily so.

I compiled a list from a survey today of the “top 10″ from USA Today, Bleacher Report, Sports Illustrated, and ESPN.

Here’s the results and below that I’ve listed my own personal “Top Ten”.  How does your list compare?

TOP TEN FROM SURVEY

1. St. Louis Cardinals, World Series Champions
2. Justin Verlander,  AL Cy Young and MVP Winner
3. Game 162 collapse of the Red Sox and Braves.
4. Game 6 World Series between the Cardinals and Rangers
5. Derek Jeter’s 3000th hit
6. Ryan Braun’s Drug Test
7. Jim Thome’s 600th Home Run
8. Shannon Stone Fatal Fall at Rangers Stadium
9. Mariano Rivera all time saves leader
10. Bryan Stow beating at Dodger Stadium

“TOP BASEBALL PLAYERS OF PAST 60 YEARS!” A Mathematical Study.

This is the third year we’ve published this study by Dr. Don Davis.  It’s one of our most popular blogs and we’re happy to be able to share it again with you.  Be sure to link to his website  for additional information, changes and criteria he used in compiling his study.

“2011 Baseball Players Mathematical Study, written by Don Davis, Department of Mathematics, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, PA., and printed here with his permission.”

Pos’n	First team	Second team	Third team	Fourth team	Fifth team
P,1	Roger Clemens, 266.0	Tom Seaver, 181.1	Bob Gibson, 140.4	Juan Marichal, 107.9	Curt Schilling, 85.1
P,2	Randy Johnson, 202.1	Warren Spahn, 167.5	Sandy Koufax, 137.8	Gaylord Perry, 102.8	Phil Niekro, 84.9
P,3	Greg Maddux, 197.5	Bob Feller, 157.6	Robin Roberts, 136.5	Roy Halladay, 102.1	Johan Santana, 84.6
P,4	Pedro Martinez, 187.5	Steve Carlton, 143.5	Jim Palmer, 133.2	Fergie Jenkins, 87.2	Nolan Ryan, 83.7
C	Johnny Bench, 111.2	Yogi Berra, 92.9	Gary Carter, 75.6	Mike Piazza, 74.8	Ivan Rodriguez, 71.0

Veterans Day and Every Day ….. Thank You!

Arlington National Cemetery

“But the mainstay of the big leagues was the reservoir of 4-Fs – males of draft age who had been rejected on physical grounds by the Armed Forces. Not since harem attendants had gone out of style were men’s physical deficiencies so highly prized. Ulcers, hearing defects, and torn cartilages were coveted by team owners.” – Frank Graham, Jr. in Farewell to Heroes (1981)

This and the following list of Hall of Fame Members Courtesy of  Baseball Almanac.

Baseball Hall of Fame Members  who Served in the Armed Forces.

The Civil War
Morgan Bulkeley	United States Army
World War I
Grover Alexander	United States Army
Happy Chandler	United States Army

Update: 2011 MLB Payrolls & Individual Salaries.

Courtesy TTF Baseball

Here’s the 2011 update to our 2010 Major League Baseball listing published November 22, 2010.  This comes to us compliments of USA Today.  If you’ll click the individual teams, you can access the individual players salaries.  It will be interesting to note the annual salaries of the teams that make the playoffs;  in other words, did they get what they paid for?

 TEAM                          TOTAL P/R             AVG SALARY       MEDIAN

New York Yankees	$ 202,689,028	$ 6,756,300	$ 2,100,000
Philadelphia Phillies	$ 172,976,379	$ 5,765,879	$ 2,625,000
Boston Red Sox	$ 161,762,475	$ 5,991,202	$ 5,500,000
Los Angeles Angels	$ 138,543,166	$ 4,469,134	$ 2,000,000
Chicago White Sox	$ 127,789,000	$ 4,732,925	$ 2,750,000
Chicago Cubs	$ 125,047,329	$ 5,001,893	$ 1,600,000
New York Mets	$ 118,847,309	$ 4,401,752	$ 900,000
San Francisco Giants	$ 118,198,333	$ 4,377,716	$ 2,200,000
Minnesota Twins	$ 112,737,000	$ 4,509,480	$ 3,000,000
Detroit Tigers	$ 105,700,231	$ 3,914,823	$ 1,300,000
St. Louis Cardinals	$ 105,433,572	$ 3,904,947	$ 1,000,000
Los Angeles Dodgers	$ 104,188,999	$ 3,472,966	$ 2,142,838
Texas Rangers	$ 92,299,264	$ 3,182,733	$ 1,251,000
Colorado Rockies	$ 88,148,071	$ 3,390,310	$ 2,318,750
Atlanta Braves	$ 87,002,692	$ 3,346,257	$ 1,275,000
Seattle Mariners	$ 86,524,600	$ 2,884,153	$ 825,000
Milwaukee Brewers	$ 85,497,333	$ 2,849,911	$ 1,050,000
Baltimore Orioles	$ 85,304,038	$ 3,280,924	$ 1,425,000
Cincinnati Reds	$ 75,947,134	$ 2,531,571	$ 825,000
Houston Astros	$ 70,694,000	$ 2,437,724	$ 467,000
Oakland Athletics	$ 66,536,500	$ 2,376,303	$ 1,400,000
Washington Nationals	$ 63,856,928	$ 2,201,963	$ 1,050,000
Toronto Blue Jays	$ 62,567,800	$ 2,018,316	$ 1,200,000
Florida Marlins	$ 56,944,000	$ 2,190,153	$ 545,000
Arizona Diamondbacks	$ 53,639,833	$ 1,986,660	$ 1,000,000
Cleveland Indians	$ 49,190,566	$ 1,639,685	$ 484,200
San Diego Padres	$ 45,869,140	$ 1,479,649	$ 468,800
Pittsburgh Pirates	$ 45,047,000	$ 1,553,344	$ 450,000
Tampa Bay Rays	$ 41,053,571	$ 1,578,983	$ 907,750
Kansas City Royals	$ 36,126,000	$ 1,338,000	$ 850,000

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Garlic Fries and Baseball: The Book

Update:  Now available at Amazon as Book and Kindle.

Finally it’s here!  My book’s been in the works since February and  it’s being published today.  It’s available for sale here first, and will be available on Amazon.com early next week and in Kindle form  soon thereafter.

The book’s a compilation of some of my favorite blogs, some in expanded form, with a few little ditties added in and formatted in such a way you’ll hardly recognize it!  I have to admit ~ writing a book is a great experience, but it’s much easier writing a blog!

Let me know what you think but please be kind.   This is my debut you know ♥   Ronni

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Dodger Fans ….. On Saving the American Flag!

Happy 4th of July!

This YouTube video was uploaded by giramino on Jun 10, 2008, and this is an excerpt from the comment that was posted with the video:

“On April 25, 1976 at Dodger Stadium, Rick Monday of the Chicago Cubs, grabbed and secured the American flag from two individuals as they were attempting to burn our flag in the middle of the playing field. It was an outstanding display of American Patriotism.”

I particularly liked that this incident took place at Dodger Stadium, because it’s been in the news lately as being maybe not such a great place to attend a ball game.  But great fans are everywhere including Dodger Stadium and little things like God Bless America, sung  by the home team fans, the Dodger fans,after the incident, is symbolic of baseball fans in every stadium.  And even though this happened over 35 years ago, it’s a reminder that patriotism is alive and well in the USA.   Happy 4th of July everyone!

Suspected Attacker in Bryan Stow Case taken into Custody sources say.

This is an UPDATE to GFBB’s Blog “A DODGER FAN” April 2, 2011.

By Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times,  Posted: 05/22/2011 09:20:03 AM PDT, Updated: 05/22/2011 10:12:35 AM PDT

A man suspected of being one of the two assailants in the brutal beating of Giants fan Bryan Stow at Dodger Stadium was taken into custody early this morning, Los Angeles police sources say.

At about 7 a.m., the Los Angeles Police Department SWAT team descended on an East Hollywood apartment building with a warrant in hand. According to apartment building manager Maritza Camacho, police, using loudspeakers and with guns drawn, called out to the occupants of Apartment 25. Inside was one of the men police suspect in the March 31 beating that left Stow with brain damage.

As residents of the three-story building stood watching from balconies, police removed, one by one, the people who were inside the apartment, according to Camacho. Among them was a man with a bald head and tattoos on his neck and arms, she said, a description that appeared to match the vague sketches released by police of one of the two suspects. She added that he did not appear to resist being taken into custody.

Several police sources confirmed that the man taken into custody was one of the two suspects in the beating.

Police officials declined to give details, including the name of the suspect, saying only that the investigation was ongoing.

Bryan Stow, 42, a father of two, was walking through the Dodger Stadium parking lot with two friends after the Dodgers’ opening-day victory over San Francisco when he was brutally assaulted. Stow, who lives in Santa Cruz and worked as a paramedic in Santa Clara, was wearing Giants apparel, police said, and two young men began taunting him. One of the assailants blindsided Stow with blows to the back and head, police said.  The two assailants repeatedly kicked and punched Stow while he was on the ground. Stow’s friends attempted to help, and were also punched and kicked before the attackers fled in a car driven by a woman wearing an Andre Ethier jersey. Police said it appeared there also was a 10-year-old boy in the car.

As more time passed without an arrest, the reward fund grew to more than $200,000, and the suspects’ sketches were plastered on about 200 billboards around the L.A. area.

Camacho said that the man taken into custody Sunday morning had not been a longtime resident of the East Hollywood apartment building, but she had begun to see him coming and going in the last few months.

Stow remains in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, where he was moved last week from County-USC Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Doctors in San Francisco told reporters Stow had opened his eyes but that his long-term recovery was far from certain.

The incident has brought scrutiny and negative media attention to the Dodgers, who are also in the midst of an ownership battle. Owner Frank McCourt is struggling to meet payroll, prompting Major League Baseball to seize all business and day-to-day operations of the team.

Despite a significantly increased police presence, attendance has lagged. At Wednesday’s game against the Giants — the rival team’s first visit back since the opening series — paid attendance was 30,421. Although that was the number of tickets sold, the 56,000-seat stadium was clearly more than half empty. The last time the Dodgers sold fewer tickets for a home game against the Giants was June 4, 1997, when they sold 30,357.

MLB Standings vs MLB Payrolls …. How do they measure?

Okay, so we’re maybe 25% through the 2011 Major League Baseball Season.  How is your team doing?  How is your team doing in relation to their total payroll?  In other words, are they getting what they paid for?

Here’s an interesting article published by Hayes & Taylor recently.  I’m always amazed at the amount of work some of these guys put into their daily blogs;  I mean who has time for this stuff?   In any event, this is a great chart and one of the better blogs and I wanted to share it with you.

“The Cleveland Indians are in first place in the AL Central. They have the fifth lowest payroll in all of baseball. Which got me thinking, how do the other teams in the MLB rank in the standings relative to their payroll. It turns out that the Indians aren’t even the best example right now.

The Tampa Bay Rays have the second lowest payroll in the majors. The are currently in first place in the power packed AL East. Ahead of the number one payroll in baseball the Yankees, the number three payroll in Boston and numbers 19 and 24 in Baltimore and Toronto. The Royals, Marlins and A’s are all over .500, and are all in the bottom ten payrolls in the league. Not to mention all are very alive in the playoff races.

If the season ended today, four of the eight playoff teams would come from the bottom eleven in payroll (Rays, Indians, Marlins, Reds). On the other side, only three would be coming from the top eight in payroll (Angels, Phillies and Giants).

What does this all mean? Talent wins in baseball and not always how much you pay for that talent. If money was how you win, the Yankees would win every year, but they don’t. That makes me very happy. I love to see underdogs win. I love the fact that some of the lower payroll teams won’t be trading away all of their talent this season to teams who will pay whatever it takes. Baseball is stronger than ever right now.

Click here to link to a chart that shows  where all 30 teams in major league baseball rank in payroll and where they are currently in the standings. Is your team over or under achieving?”

A Dodger Fan? …….

This morning in the San Francisco Chronicle, a headline read “GIANTS FAN ON LIFE SUPPORT AFTER L.A. BEATING“.  When I first heard about the attack I wasn’t surprised.  It’s happened before.  Back in 2003, a fan was shot in the Dodgers stadium parking lot after a game, and then again, in 2009, in the same parking lot, a man was stabbed after leaving a home-opener game there.   So ho-hum, (yawn) here we go again.    But then I picked up the local Santa Cruz Sentinel and the headline read “SANTA CRUZ MAN CRITICAL AFTER BEATING AT DODGER STADIUM“.     Please read the article.  It will give you a better perspective.

It’s rather sad that I accepted the story as being routine until I found out it was one of my neighbors, someone from my home town.  All of a sudden it becomes really personal, and that’s not acceptable.  This type of story should involve all of us, everywhere, and not just baseball fans.     How many times have you heard about a crime where there were onlookers, passersby everywhere and no one stopped to lift a finger, to intervene?    In this situation, imagine leaving a baseball stadium with thousands of people walking,  totally ambivalent to their surroundings, or probably aware,  but just don’t want to get involved.  It happens all the time. 

In February I purchased tickets to this very game, the season opener with the World Champion Giants vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers!  Whatta game that would be!   I’d never been to an opening game before so I was stoked;  only to receive an email a few weeks later from Stubhub announcing the tickets had to be cancelled and refunded (evidently they had the game time at 1:00 PM instead of the actual 5:10PM game time and had to reissue the tickets.  I never found out exactly what it was about, but nonetheless, when I tried to repurchase the tickets, it was not to be.  They were sold out.  

I’d been warned about Dodger Stadium before;  don’t wear your game colors, etc.  But I wouldn’t have paid attention.  After all, a game’s a game and what would it be without fans from both teams there cheering them on?  So this morning I was totally disheartened after reading about this local fellow being in a coma after the attack.   It’s especially disheartening when you read responses like this, reprinted from the LAist blog.   Here you go, hang on……

“really not that big a deal and certainly nothing inherent in Giants or Dodgers fans, sure there was some extra trash talking leading up to the game this year but people get in fights in the proximity of alcohol period no matter where they are or from or whether it’s a wine bar or a ufc fight or the parking lot at Dodger stadium. Calling fans thugs is naive and ignores reality that drinking with thousands of people around is fun and probably going to cause a fight, these people were probably drinking and got rowdy after them game it’s doubtful that it’s more complex than that“  

Oh really?   Talk about naive.   The statement above would be good for another  blog but I’ll refrain, for now.   The reason I was so intent on blogging this morning was because I believe there’s a high probability the perpetrator of this crime wasn’t even a Dodger fan!    Think about it.  The Dodgers won the game!   And it was a great game!   The Dodger’s young pitcher, Clayton Kershaw, had an outstanding game,  and the Giants didn’t.   So from a Dodgers  perspective, what was there to get so ticked off about?  What was it about the game that would make someone become a total jerk?   It’s pathetic.  

I’m guessing these guys probably fit the stereotype of a bunch of thugs, no job, nothing to do, totally miserable with their life , and this is how they get their kicks.   And even though no one stopped to intervene, they certainly weren’t standing around cheering the guys on.   That ambivalence is a societal problem that’s probably here to stay, spurred on by the litigious spirit that, unfortunately, surrounds each of  us on a daily basis.

I don’t know.  I’m just saying I feel bad for the Giants for losing the game, of course.  But I also feel badly that the Dodgers fans who earned the right to revel in their glory after beating the World Champions should have been able to enjoy the win without having this albatross around their neck.  

UPDATE:  4/5/11.   THE SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS ARE SUPPORTING A FUND SET UP FOR THE BENEFIT OF BRYAN STOW, THE PARAMEDIC WHO WAS ATTACKED.  HERE’S THE LINK: 

BRYAN STOW FUND,  C/O SF POLICE CREDIT UNION.

Related Articles

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