I saw the St. Louis Cardinals play the Seattle Mariners, Part One

What I saw: the St. Louis Cardinals play the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field in Seattle. The Mariners won, 4-3, on a 9th inning walk-off three run home run by Adam Lind off Trevor Rosenthal.

 

What I wore: newish grey Nike sneakers, tan Levi's jeans (most comfortable pair of pants I own), unremarkable blue polo shirt, black Helly Hansen rain jacket, faded blue Cardinals hat

What I did beforehand: waited at my apartment for my friend Pete to arrive from work on his bike; drove him in my truck over to his house to drop off his bike; drove over to the Beacon Hill light rail station and parked my truck; took light rail to the stadium.

Who went with me: my friend Pete (see above). I took him to the game in honor of his birthday which was the previous week.

How I got tickets: the last time the Cardinals were in Seattle was back in 2002. I had always promised myself that I would go to every game in the series the next time the Redbirds returned. When I saw this three game series on the schedule, I took the light rail down to the Safeco Field ticket office to buy tickets to all three games (to save on service charges and delivery fees which typically add a sizable amount to any online ticket order). At the time that I bought the tickets, I had no idea who would be going with me to each game.

Why I saw this game: I grew up in St. Louis,  where everyone (except one or two crackpots in my family who claimed to originally be Browns fans) roots for the Cardinals pretty much from birth. Many of the most memorably traumatic moments of my life revolve around Cardinals losses, starting in 1974 with the time I cried inconsolably after Cubs catcher Steve Swisher dropped a third strike to allow the Pittsburgh Pirates to clinch the NL East title and knock the Cardinals out of playoff contention. I was six years old.

Where I sat: section 109, row 37, seat 7. One of my favorite places to sit-- easy access from the south-east gate at Safeco Field; on the first level of the outfield so there's a realistic chance of catching a home run ball. The other fans in our section were friendly, rowdy (but not drunk), profane, and knowledgeable-- can't really ask for more (except for fans to refrain from shouting out racist insults-- see below).

Things that were sad: the Cardinals held a 3-1 lead going into the 9th inning but lost.

Things that were funny: from where we were seated, we could not see the Tyranno-Vision screen, so we did not have a lot of information about players and stats (nor were we close enough to see the players faces clearly). I haven't followed the Cardinals quite as closely in the past few years as I have in previous years, so I don't know all the numbers of the players. Because of this, I somehow convinced myself the Cardinals were pitching Michael Wacha instead of Carlos Martinez. It was only in about the sixth inning that I finally figured out my mistake.

 

 Wacha (left) and Martinez (right)

Things that were not funny: at one point early in the game, the Mariner's Dae-Ho Lee, an enormous south Korean slugger who has become something a fan favorite this year, came up to bat. In the section around me, several people made racist comments, most notably the guy behind us who shouted out, "Konnichwa, motherfucker!!!!" Once again, Seattle's self-annointed reputation for open-mindedness and tolerance is shown to not actually be the case. 

What it is: a sport, played by professionals, in front of a crowd of paying customers (and others watching on television).

Who should see it: Cardinals fans, Mariners fans, baseball fans, and even people who aren't baseball fans-- this was a game that almost anyone who have found enthralling.

What I saw on the way home: the most erraticly-driven light rail train I've ever ridden on. 

(Thanks to How Way Leads On To Way for the inspiration.)

Rainier Valley Heritage Parade 2012

Today was the Rainier Valley Heritage Parade-- along with the many drill teams and junior cheerleading squads, Sound Transit Man was there. Thank you, Sound Transit, for sending him!

Walking the length of Seattle (and back), part one

On June 28, 2012, my daughter, Alexandra, and I began what is planned to be a five-part walk the length and back of the City of Seattle. The first leg of this expedition began from the temporary world headquarters of Ape Canyon News Service in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle, proceeded south on Seward Park Avenue S, and continued along Rainier Avenue S until we reached the sign indicating that we had reached the Renton city limits. Shortly after that, we turned around and walked back.

Below: The starting line

Along the way, we saw several businesses.

Below: A combination magic & juggling shop/tae kwon do studio

Below: The Why? Grocery, where we bought a package of trail mix

Below: The Blue Star Food Mart, where we bought peanuts and peanut butter cookies

Upon arriving at the Renton city limits sign (see below), we spent a little bit of time trying to find the corresponding Seattle city limits sign on the other side of the street. We were not successful in this, however, because of the fact that we had not actually been in Seattle for quite a while. Apparently there is a lengthy stretch of unincorporated King County between Seattle and Renton. Had we known this, we could have cut down the length of our walk by several miles (from over nine miles to approximately six-and-a-half).

Below: Along our route, we saw a boat in someone's driveway that had the word Bigfoot written on the side of it-- always a good omen.

Above and below: On the way back, we found the Entering Seattle signs we had been searching for.

All in all, I would consider part one of our expedition to be a success. We reached our goal of walking to the southern border of Seattle and back (even if we did walk several extra miles as well). We encountered few difficulties other than branches hanging over the sidewalk, bewildered stares from passing motorists, and a tiny bit of rain at the very end. We are both very confident that we will do just as well in the next four stages of our expedition.

Below: We approach the finish line to part one

MLS Cup 2009-- Real Salt Lake 1 - LA Galaxy 1 (5-4 on penalties)

The new champions of the MLS are Real Salt Lake, who beat the LA Galaxy last night in the MLS Cup in Seattle on penalty kicks.

Above: Real Salt Lake fans on their way to the MLS Cup

To celebrate the victory, the King of Utah has declared a two day holiday of thanksgiving for later this week. He has also announced a general amnesty for all political prisoners in the kingdom of Utah.

For a match report, click here.

For highlights, click here.

For more photos, click here.

Below: Waiting for the match to begin

A note to visiting baseball players and front-office personnel about pedestrian safety in Seattle

Many visitors to Seattle (and other west coast cities) do not realize that expectations for pedestrians are different here than in other cities. Specifically, police officers will give tickets to people who cross at the middle of the block or against the light at the crosswalk. Yesterday, Chicago White Sox general manager Ken Williams (pictured above) found this out for himself when he was stopped outside Safeco Field before his team's game against the Mariners and given a ticket for jaywalking.

However, this is actually not the most important baseball/pedestrian safety event to ever take place in Seattle. The most important baseball/pedestrian safety event to ever take place in Seattle is the time in 2008 that a police officer stopped Manny Ramirez for jaywalking outside the stadium after a game and did not even know who Manny was.

Update (later that same day): White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen expressed interest in also getting a ticket for jaywalking.

Riding on sleds in Seattle

Snow has been falling, and we at Ape Canyon News Service know what to do with it.

Bumbershoot 2008

This year my family and I went to all three days of Bumbershoot, Seattle's music and arts festival. Here were some of the highlights of this year's event:



Best band I'd never heard of before: Blitzen Trapper

Best band I only knew a tiny, little bit about: the Shackletons

Coldest performance: Beck on Friday night at Memorial Stadium. We were freezing even with coats and a horse blanket.

Loudest band I actually enjoyed: Sons and Daughters

Loudest band I didn't really like: Battles

Band that seemed most excited to be there: the Shackletons

Best band I saw only because I'd come to see the band coming up next on the same stage: the Whigs

Worst comedian: Jessi Klein - both vulgar and unfunny.

Weirdest performance: Dan Deacon

Band I'd most like to live with in a large house with a yard and a dog: Blitzen Trapper

Best light show: Beck. It looked like Lite-Brite.

Musical group so unremarkable I forgot I had seen them by the next morning: Band of Horses

Food vendor I most missed: The place that sold calzones that hasn't been at Bumbershoot for several years.

Total amount paid for parking over the three days: $12

Most surprisingly enjoyable street performer: Dizzy Hips, the hula-hoop guy.

Where are they now? #1

Grant Goodeve (pictured then) used to play the role of David, the oldest son, on the popular television program Eight is Enough in the late 1970s and early 80s. For most Americans, Goodeve is just a fond, distant memory. However, if you are lucky enough to live in the Seattle-area, you can still see Goodeve on the local NBC affiliate King-5, where he appears regularly on such programs as Evening Magazine and Northwest Backroads.

Grant Goodeve (pictured now)