Mariano Rivera Stuck It To Me

Mariano Rivera announced that he wouldn't pitch in Houston yesterday. That must've made the interest in going to Rivera's last game drop dramatically. So I dropped my ticket price down to $120. That was still more than double what I paid for it. So I suppose I shouldn't complain. The ticket sold a few minutes ago. After Stubhub takes their fees out I'll see $87.97 of that. Overall, I sold my tickets for $95.02, a $14.02 profit. That doesn't make up for the United fees I'll incur, but coming out ahead on anything feels pretty good.

Rangers-Angels Game Going On Now

I'm listening to the Rangers-Angels game on my MLB At Bat app. That's the Rangers-Angels game I had a ticket for. If I went through with my plans I'd be preparing to leave for the airport. I did sell my Rangers ticket for $11.80 and got $7.05 for it. So I lost $18. I currently have my Astros ticket listed for $145. If I get that, I'll probably keep around $115 and make a nice profit overall.

It's raining in Arlington. They're still playing. I'm glad I missed that.

Texas Trip Cancelled

I got a message this morning from "texasrangers.com".

The starting time for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Angels has been moved from 7:05 p.m. to 11:05 a.m. CT due to the threat of inclement weather later in the day.

Argh! Why "argh?" My flight was scheduled to arrive in Dallas at 5:22. In the absence of a time machine, I'd arrive after the game ended. I looked at United's flight schedule and the only way I was going to get to the game before it started was to fly tonight. I don't think anyone had a Saturday flight that'd get me in before the game started. So I'd have to cancel my Friday night plans, find a hotel for an extra night and leave for the airport in about six hours. That wasn't a good choice. So I decided to cancel my trip.

All I can say is thank heaven for the Internet. In the span of the last hour I cancelled my flights, hotel, rental car, LA airport parking, and relisted the game tickets on Stubhub. I might only have cancellation fees on the United tickets as change fees when I rebook. The baseball tickets are another story. You can't cancel those.

I relisted my $25 Ranger ticket for $17, of which I'd get $11. If it sells, and it might not, I'll lose $14. The Rangers are still in the playoff hunt. So I'd guess someone will want to go. The Astro game is a different story. My ticket cost me $58 because it'll be the Yankees first trip to Houston in three years. There are a lot of Yankee fans in South Texas who likely have been chomping at the bit to see their team. What makes the game special is that Sunday will be Mariano Rivera's final game. The Astros will honor him. Demand for this game is huge. I listed my ticket for $118, of which I'd keep $88. That seems like a lot, but it includes the fee I pay and the fee the buyer pays. Regardless, if I sell this ticket and the Ranger ticket goes unsold I still would come out ahead. That's not a big profit considering all the time and effort I've put in, but considering that before the Internet I would've likely taken a bath by canceling so late.

Games 8 and 9: Dallas and Houston

This project would be easy if I could do travel every day and I had the money to do so. But would it really be as interesting? I didn't think so. So far I've managed to attend 7 games in 7 cities while taking only 3 flights and spending 3 nights in hotels. I asked myself whether I could go to any more stadiums before the season ended on September 29. I noticed that both the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros were home the final weekend. I looked up flights and saw that that Virgin was having a fare sale between Los Angeles and Dallas. They don't fly to Houston, so there was no fare sale there. Yet going to Houston and Dallas on one trip was way too enticing.

I had some miles in my United account and saw that I could do the trip with miles.

United could provide me a flight into Dallas that'd get me there 1 hour 40 minutes before the game and then fly out to Houston the next morning, go to the game, and then catch a flight home. I'd see two games, spend one night away, not miss any work days, and even have to hire a dog walker for the minimum number of walks. Sure, the timing is a little tight, but wouldn't that make it more of a challenge?

So now I needed to find a hotel for the one night in Dallas. The best hotel would be one that'd pick me up at the airport and then, a few minutes later, take me to the game. All complimentary, of course, so I could save some bucks. I found it, the Hilton Arlington. They told me they'd do both, although they indicated that I might not get a reservation on the trolley to the game because I arrived so late. I'll work on that one. The Rangers, currently in free fall, are in the playoff hunt and probably will be then. They'll play the Angels. I was able to find a ticket in Section 322 Row 5 for $25. Reasonable.

My flight the next morning would be easy. I made 6 AM and 7 AM flights during my last trip. 9:23 AM? Got it. I'd get into Houston at 10:30, well before the game. But this one wouldn't be as easy. I don't know anyone in Houston, so I'd get no help there. Unlike Dallas, where I could use a hotel between the airport and hotel, there's be no hotel to help me. And the distance to the stadium is 20 miles, greater than in Dallas. I decided to rent a car. I found that Dollar would rent me a Midsize SUV for $24. That'd be much cheaper than a cab. TaxiFareFinder.com indicated a one way trip would be $52.60. Even with parking, this would be cheaper than a one way trip to the game.

I looked for tickets and they were very expensive. What? To the last game of the season for the horrible Houston Astros? It turns out they're playing the Yankees. This will be their only trip into Houston this year and, in fact, will be the first trip since June, 2008. Those ex-New Yorkers are likely chomping at the bit to go to see the Yankees play. I'm guessing half the crowd will be Yankee fans. At least. So my seat is in Section 216 Row 9 and will cost me $68. That's a lot pricier than the Rangers and that game will count. Still, I got to two games and pay of hotel, car, game tickets, parking at LAX, and dog walkers for around $300. I have to like that.

2014 MLB Schedule Out Today

The 2014 MLB Schedule is out today. Since I have a long winter where I'll rarely post, I'll save my analysis of it and the games I might go to for October. You are, of course, welcome to give suggestions.

Game 7: September 7, 2013 Rockies at Padres

On Saturday, I trekked down the 5 Freeway, stopping briefly in scenic Oceanside for lunch. I was a little early for the game. So I stopped in the Gaslamp Quarter for a beer.

I haven't mentioned this before, but I like it when a stadium is in a fun part of town. Of course most teams don't have control over this. Real estate isn't usually available in fun parts of town. I remember that Coors Field was in the LoDo and that was a lot of fun. Some might argue Wrigleyville is fun, but there all the bars I tried to go to before the game were overcrowded. The Gaslamp Quarter has a lot more going on.

We went in the 7th and K entrance, passing this little gem, where a Padre official was playing with the kids. It gave the stadium such a homey feel. We grabbed some barbecue and my friend Bill suggested we eat on the lawn behind the field that's beyond right field.

There aren't many stadiums where you can make yourself a picnic, so that was a new experience. Maybe it was because there wasn't a big crowd, but it was easy to find a good spot. Of course, the view of the game wasn't great. So we did go to find our seats.

I should explain how I got these seats. I've purchased most of the seats on Stubhub.com and I love buying from them. You can find affordable tickets, with all fees included, and download them immediately. These I bought directly from the team. Why? Well, I gave blood in July. In Los Angeles. The Red Cross likes to give stuff to people who give blood as a thank you. One of those thank you gifts was discounted tickets to a Padres game. Petco Park is 135 miles from the church I gave blood at. You drive past the Dodgers and Angels on your way.

I wanted to go to Petco, however, so it was perfect for me. The seat selection was limited by the Padres, however. So I had to choose Field level in the outfield. The sight line wasn't terrible, although I prefer infield. Still, these were the least expensive seats, by far, of any I'd purchased and they were priced higher than some.

I liked the scoreboard, reminiscent of Great American and Progressive, and those seats added on to the Western Metal Supply Building. Cool. They grill here too and, liked the two stadiums noted above also have local microbrews.

They make you wait for the end of a batter before going back to your seat. Not to worry. It's easy to follow what's going on.

Tyson Ross was very impressive. It must be his presence in San Diego, but I'd never heard of him before. He's 5th in the NL in ERA, among pitchers with at least 100 IP. The Rockies tied the game at 1 in the 8th, but Jedd Gyorko hit the ball off the top of the right field fence, just out of the reach of Michael Cuddyer. The game ended bizarrely when Cuddyer took off from first on a sinking liner to right that looked like it'd be caught. It was and Cuddyer was doubled off.

Game 6: September 3, 2013 Cardinals at Reds

I don't have a picture of myself outside of Great American Ballpark. Why? Because my friends Janet and Michael got Mercedes Diamond Club tickets.

When you sit in these seats, you enter through a garage that leads to a private entrance. There, you have a buffet with gourmet food, wine, beer, and fantastic deserts. All included in the price of the ticket.

Yes, I was, in fact, there.

The seats were right behind home plate, about four rows up.

Fancy high end restaurant dinner, dessert, and drinks included. Would they stop there? Nope. They bring you food and drink from a smaller menu during the games. Also included. I could learn to really enjoy this. Big props and big thank you to my friends Michael and Janet.

I didn't see that much of the park since I didn't walk around the concourse. Yet I enjoyed their special outfield seating, Cincinnati Bell has their own "ship" for clients. And the game was an amazing pitchers' duel, like Sunday's Tigers-Indians game. It was 1-0 in the 9th when the Reds brought in Aroldis Chapman. I'd never seen him live. He was a treat. All of his fastballs were over 100 MPH, with the fastest at 103. His sliders were 90-91 MPH. He retired the Cardinals on three strikeouts. No Cardinal batter even connected with a pitch. There were no foul balls.

Great game. Great seats. Great ballpark.

Game 5: September 2, 2013 Orioles at Indians

When you go to Cleveland, your day has to start at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Since this blog reviews ballparks, I'll leave that open for others to review. I enjoyed it.

Then it was off to Progressive Field. The giveaway was a 1970's Indians T-Shirt. It's kind of cool, although they gave out XL to everyone, whether you were a big guy, like my friend Brendan, who joined me for Detroit and Cleveland, or a child. Go figure.

The food was very good and diverse. I had fresh popped popcorn and pizza, but I could've chosen something from the Food Network.

Holy crap! They even had microbrews. And not just one of two. There were ten from different Ohio brewers.

And look at this stadium. It was gorgeous aesthetically. No, there wasn't any gray concrete. There was brick and stone and the concourses were wide with a lot of choices.

Overall, Cleveland's Progressive Field really rocked, even if the Indians were really lame on Monday.

Game 4: September 1, 2013 Indians at Tigers

When I circled this game on the schedule, it was with hopes that it'd be a fight for first place. Instead, the Indians went into the tank and could only see first place with a periscope. They were still fighting for a playoff spot, however, and Tiger star Miguel Cabrera was out of the line-up. I don't think I've ever seen him play in person. I thought about asking for my money back.

Game 3: August 31, 2013 Phillies at Cubs

Nothing beats a late August match-up in the heat between two teams who have either already traded their impending, the Cubs, or are about to, the Phillies. The Phils shipped two players off to contenders after the game. Okay, almost everything does, especially when the Phillies two most promising young players, Cody Asche and Domonic Brown, were out of the line-up with injuries. Still, it was Wrigley Field! It was baseball! It was Ryne Sandberg's return to Chicago! Of course it was gluten free.

I was told I needed to arrive early to get my Anthony Rizzo bobblehead, which would surely turn up on ebay for oodles of cash. I didn't make it in with the first crowd, but apparently with a game like this, there was still a Rizzo for me.

Wrigley is a nice place to watch a game. I decided to try the legendary bleachers there. They were fun, not rowdy, although one guy did spill beer on me while going for a ball thrown by the Cubs left fielder.

He offered to buy me a beer, but Wrigley, like most ballparks, has overpriced swill, not the New Holland Oatmeal Stout I got with my deep dish pizza after the game.

Wrigley is primitive. Do you want to know the speed of that last pitch? How many errors have been made? Maybe see a replay of that home run? Not here you won't. My MLB At Bat app could show me those things, but everyone else was out of luck.

Wrigley is what it is. You get a good view of the game. You get old time charm. You don't get much else. I must admit I liked Wrigley more the last time I went, 15 years ago, before modern amenities were part of the experience.