If I Had A Blog Then: 2006 4th of July Weekend Trip to Kansas City.

For having the reputation of one of the best looking ballparks in baseball, Kauffman Stadium sure looks clunky from the parking lot. What gives? Me and three buds drove down from the Twin Cities to escape the Dome and get a taste of outdoor baseball, and all I can see is asphalt and dead gra-

OH! Keep in mind that the Twins play in a teflon covererd, concrete bowl - with old Astroturf covering that concrete. This was not the first time I'd seen an MLB game outdoors, just the first time in about 8 years.

But take a look at that lineup! Not a typo, Joe Mauer was hitting a George Brett-like .392 on July 6th. Pretty good for a Catcher, am I right? Ron Gardenhire was experimenting with splitting up the M&M boys with right handed hitting Michael Cuddyer in the Clean up spot. Morneau was a team player about it, but you know he (and Torii Hunter) would have preferred to be a bit higher in the order.

The iconic K.C. Waterworks. Did you know Kansas City is known as the City of Fountains? Well, it is. You just learned something! Or not.

We got the park on the right day - Johan himself was there to go after his 10th win of the season (He finished the year 19-6). Best of luck to Scott Elarton, hoping to avoid his 10th loss. Speaking of ten wins, Coming into the game tonight, the Twins had won 10 Straight Games! Even with the streak, Minnesota was still in 3rd place in the AL Central, 9 games behind the front-running Detroit Tigers.

Here's the first pitch of the game from our seats - Elarton delivers to Luis Castillo. Castillo bluffed bunt and Royals third baseman Mark Teahan started to crash towards the line and home.

Here's a View of Home Plate from the Right Field Line. If you look closely, you'll see several fans wearing Jeremy Affeldt T-Shirts - there must have been a giveaway!

Fireworks were provided by the Royals -- and by the Twins. Mauer and Morneau both homered. The Twins took a lead in the 8th inning with a 3 run burst. Morneau hit an RBI single, and then two wild pitches led to 2 more runs in the inning. Your 2006 Kansas City Royals, everyone...

It was a great weekend in KC - not pictured: way too much BBQ.

By the end of the 2006 season, the Twins made up those 9 games on the Tigers and had the privilege of getting swept by Oakland in the ALDS.

If I Had A Blog Then: Visiting Wrigley Field

It was July 28th, 2000 when I was visiting my brother for the first time in Chicago. I had just tried Horchata for the first time, and the world was our oyster. My brother said, "Hey, finish that drink, we're going to Wrigley."

It was a gray day, and the overcast skies were threatening rain but none fell during the game.

We were more interested in seeing some thunder - see that little blurry blob in the bottom left stepping up to the plate in the photo?

That would be this guy:

At the plate, the Cubs featured their own big slugger:

The 4th of July was long gone, but we were hoping to see some fireworks. Instead, the Cubs and Giants treated the North Side with a good ol' fashioned Pitchers' Duel.

 Courtesy of Livan Hernandez and .... Ruben Quevedo?!? Well, good for him. Livan outlasted Ruben, with the game's only 2 runs coming off the bat of Rich Aurilia, who crushed a 2 run dinger off of Cubs reliever Tim Worrell in the top of the ninth. Robb Nen faced the last two batters in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his 25th save of the season. Box Score

The weather didn't really co-operate, and the Cubbies did not score a run, but I got a chance to see Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa at Wrigley Field. The "Make 7 Up Yours" t-shirt should properly contextualize the late 90's early 2000's time this photo was taken. (I still have that hat by the way.)

If I had a blog then . . . Trip to Citi Field, 2014

 HEY! Are you planning on attending the national? We should hang out, check out some cards, maybe make a trade or two in person? Send me an e-mail so I know which day(s) you'll be there!

This post would have appeared in May of 2014, if I had a blog then . . .

My sister lives in Manhattan, so I usually go visit her once a year or so. She's not much of a baseball fan, so even though it was my 10th time in New York, I still had not attended a MLB game in NYC.

A buddy of mine who is a theater guy had never been to an MLB game despite living in New York for a decade, so I bought a couple tickets off stubhub and jumped on the train to Flushing.

Ah, the Big Apple. Someone smarter than me can tell me if the one outside is the original from Shea, or if the original is inside and this is a replica...

Our tickets were the cheapest I could find at the last minute, so our seats were pretty far away from the action. The bird's eye view was unique, I've never watched a game from this perspective before:

It was a great day for baseball!

Bronson Arroyo was on the Hill for the visiting Diamondbacks, and his funky high leg kick was on display in full force.

The Mets dropped a heartbreaker, falling 2-1. With Jenrry Meijia on the hill in the top of the ninth, an error by Daniel Murphy at second base allowed AJ Pollock to score the go ahead run. Addison Reed closed out the game in the bottom of the ninth for the D'Backs.

 After the game, we headed all the way down to Coney Island to meet up with another friend. We went to the Coney Island Freak Show! Sorry, no pictures of that...