Dolphin Stadium (#22)

Pirates vs. Marlins
Marlins Win 9-7

Dolphin Stadium, formerly known under many different monikers, is a great place to watch a ball game.  It's too bad not many people did.  If it weren't for a few thousand screaming kids there for "Day Camp Day," the actual attendance would have been well under 10,000.  By far these were the best seats we have had, and probably will ever have. They gave us a great new perspective on watching baseball. We sat as close to the field as a fan can get without being on it. This meant we had to pay close attention for a screaming foul ball; none came.  Worth a mention, is that I was not able to buy my usual souvenir on this portion of the quest.  It appears that the souvenir stands and pro shop must close as soon as the game is done.  It's hard to make that extra revenue if you aren't open to the fans.

The game started off hot with Marlin's pitcher Scott Olsen striking out the first five batters he faced. He finished the game with a respectable 10 strikeouts and the win.  The Marlins took advantage of many Pirate miscues to jump out to a big lead.  They almost gave that lead away in the 8th as Dan Uggla lost a ball in the Sun and kept an inning alive.  The Marlins staved off a sweep by the Pirates.  Hats off to the few thousand kids coming for Day Camp Day.  They cheered, chanted and watched the game closely!  That was great to see.

Tropicana Field (#21)

White Sox vs. Devil Rays
Devil Rays Lose 6-1


Good seats for a boring game.  We were sitting directly behind home plate about 20 rows.  What helped the game pass was sitting next to a delightful 84 year old season ticket holder.  She has held season tickets every year the Rays have been in existence.  She goes to about 70 games a year, which is about 70 more than the rest of the Tampa Bay area.  Of the 11,000+ in attendance, about half were rooting for Chicago.  This gives credence to the notion that most Floridians aren't from Florida.  In fact our season ticket holding neighbor, said it's like that for most games.  People come to see the opponent and not the Rays.  The Trop is your typical sterile dome environment.  It has decent sight lines and a very nice video screen.  It's too bad no one goes to see it.

The reason the game was boring is that the White Sox just hit the ball at will.  Despite 11 strikeouts, they got on base and scored in the traditional station-to-station way.  While it's good solid fundamentals, this game lacked excitement of any variety.  That probably has something to do with the lackluster crowd.  Rays' fans should be embarrassed.  Your team won't get better until you get your butts in the seats.  To help boost attendance the Rays are not collecting one dime for parking all season long.  It doesn't appear that is incentive enough.  Of course, that's less revenue to improve the team as well.