Reconsider Your Options

"Should I Stay or Should I Go?"
The Clash

The Pirates have already sold more tickets this year than they did all of last year. Glad I got mine. Yesterday's 12:35 afternoon game against the last place Florida Marlins saw the second highest 12:35 attendance in PNC Park history. Glad I went. I almost skipped it. I had a meeting at 11:30, which included lunch and ended up lasting until 2 o'clock. I had emailed my second ticket to Andy and he went separately. I checked the game online -- 5th inning, Marlins lead 2-0. Just as I saw this, they scored again, making it 4-0.

Remember, we're talking about the Pittsburgh Pirates, losers of 20 consecutive baseball seasons, the most by any North American professional sports team, ever. 

So... game half over, Pirates trailing by 4, I would have to jump on the bus and get downtown ... might as well just skip this one, right? With season tickets, baby, you can exchange unused tickets for future games -- even after the fact. So I have nothing to lose by skipping this one.

But this is the new PNC experience. As I keep saying, it's become about the pennant race not the pierogie race. Your 2013 Buccos are a different breed. So I started thinking ... what if they come back? It's a reasonable idea. The Pirates bullpen should hold the opponent at 4. If they can get Fernandez out of the game, scoring a few more runs doesn't seem like a monumental task. Maybe I would have something to lose if I skipped this game. Would I regret not having gone if they come back and tie and win in walk-off fashion?

I had to reconsider my options. I texted Andy. OMW get me beer if last call.

By the time I arrived in the 7th, the Pirates had halved the lead, 4-2. Fernandez got the hook, and here comes Chad Qualls out of the bullpen! Yes! Qualls faced 6 Pirate hitters this series, over 2 days, and all 6 of them reached base! The rest of the game unfolded just as I had imagined it could, with a Bucco victory. Not that I predicted it would. But that it could. That's the difference. That's the new experience at PNC Park. 

If you want access to playoff tickets, I suggest you get season tickets, baby.

Smart Food

In conjunction with the Pirates food and beverage / gate policy I've decided to bring my own snacks tonight. Usually I don't buy a lot of food at the park. I love getting the crab fries, but they cost 10 bucks, and you can't get a "small." I love Primanti's, but I'd rather save that for a night out drinking in the South Side rather than outside at the park on a steamy August evening. And for something like a hot dog or burger, it just pains me to pay ballpark prices for mediocre (at best) food. A lot of times I grab a slice of pizza on the way home, after crossing the Clemente bridge into downtown. (Two fifty for a big slice! Great deal, but I have to wait till after the game)

After suffering through a free hot dog last week, I figured why not just grill my own Hebrew National all beef frank before the game tonight? So I had a grilled hot dog with steamed veggies (broccoli and carrots from my garden), and I brought peanuts, cajun sesame sticks, and red grapes with me.