It was for mom's birthday, took her to the game this Saturday, we knew the team was struggling but hey, you root for the team you love through the bad times and good so...
1) Parking is $20? Did it go UP the last time I went? I don't remember it being $20 to park at the stadium. Gee, team ownership group, you might wanna consider the high cost of parking as a reason for the sh-tty turnout... well, as much as the sh-tty team batting and questionable bullpen...
2) We sat in Sect 310... found out we got a Sign Guy, I think THE Sign Guy, sitting in the front row there. He had signs for EVERYBODY... and for every situation.
2a) While the upper deck is pretty high up, it's a great view of the field.
3) Mom counted the number of times our Rays batters just stood there looking at each first pitch that was called strikes over the plate. She started hitting my shoulder after the seventh guy to do it. I told her to hit the damn batting coach - Derek Shelton, a plague upon our Rays house the last three seasons - and not her own son.
4) Another problem with the Trop, not so much a heartbreaker as it is an annoyance, and it's probably been mentioned elsewhere: most of the seating is on the west side of the building, but most of the parking is on the east side. It's a lot of walking back and forth, kids...
5) It was Throwback night for both the Astros and the Rays. Astros broke out their classic rainbow eyesore, while the Rays went with their Faux throwback unis instead of any of the real jerseys from the ill-fated Devil Ray years. I wouldn't argue for the early year jerseys, but the green-and-white jerseys didn't look TOO bad... and this is coming from a guy who favors blue as a color.
5a) Mom reminded me she gave me an Astros jersey when I was in the 5th grade because I needed more color in my wardrobe. I reminded her I never wore it because we weren't Houston fans and I hated the rainbow pattern.
6) Oh, right, there was a game on. Did I mention the two pigeons that kept circling inside the dome most of the game...?
7) There's nothing quite like watching a dominant pitching performance. Odorizzi may not be a Cy Young candidate any time soon, and there were a few times his pitches went wild, but getting 10 strikeouts in seven innings is a huge deal.
7a) Also, pizza.
8) It was also nice to see the batters actually get some damn hits for once. It was better still watching the base-running perform as expected. A lot of doubles where the Rays players stretched it out making the gamble that Houston's defense would be sluggish throwing back into the infield. Although as my shoulder will attest from all the bruising my mom inflicted on me, starting off with those damned called strikes does not help.
9) The Astros pitcher must have been doing his first start of the season: his stats were at total zeros in the First inning. And then he gave up two runs pretty quickly, and his ERA was about 54.00. Good thing the Rays offense quieted down the next three innings to let that poor guy's ERA get back down to a more respectable 6.something...
10) Dunno the next time I'll be able to make it to a Rays game this season. If they turn it around and get back within .500 baseball, I might make a September game.