This Year's Vacation Will Be in Phoenix

In recent years we have visited a city with a major league baseball team.  We find a hotel in the downtown area and either walk or take public transportation to the stadium.  The cities include:

·         Houston

·         Denver

·         Atlanta

·         Baltimore

·         San Francisco

·         Los Angeles – here I had to rent a car, but I hated driving in Southern California

During the day we visit museums and other tourist attractions.

This year we are going to Phoenix to see the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.  Maybe we'll eventually see every major league ballpark.

I am Glad I Didn't Go To Today's Met Game as They Lost to the Toronto Blue Jays 12-1 in the Rain

Since I am now retired I really wanted to go to several weekday afternoon games this season.  It is always easy to get good seats on the day of the game.  Since the weather forecast called for rain, I decided not to go.  At about 11 AM a light, but steady rain started.  I turned the TV on and saw that the game was started at 1 PM in the rain.  It seems that they wanted to play the game in since it would be very difficult to make it up.  In the third inning, there was a delay as the groundskeepers put many bags of "Diamond Dry" on the infield.  After that Met pitcher, Zach Wheeler fell apart.  At the end of 5 innings when the game became official the Mets were losing 6-0.  The umpires should have called the game at that point.  The final score was 12-1.

Game recap

The Media Coverage of the Royal Wedding is Excessive

The Royal Wedding on Saturday, May 19th is the number one story on the news these days.  Even local TV stations are sending reporters to cover the big event.  I can understand the British being thrilled about this, but why must the media brainwash the American public about the importance of these nuptials?  It must be a ploy to increase TV ratings.  My response has to be to ignore all the TV reports.  I guess I can watch something else.

Jay Bushinsky, Journalist and Teacher, Passes Away at 85

On October 23, 2011 I wrote a journal entry about Jay Bushinsky who was my teacher at the Rego Park Jewish Center in the early 1960s.  The Jerusalem Post reports that he passed away at age 85.  That article offers a very detailed biography.  I remember listening to him on 1010 WINS radio with reports from Israel.

Yankees 7 A's 6 in 11 Innings

The only time I root against the Yankees is during Subway Series games against the Mets.  I was obviously rooting for the Bronx Bombers against the Oakland A's.  Gary Sanchez and Aaron Hicks hit solo homers in the second inning giving the Yankees the early lead.  The A's scored 5 runs in the third inning including a 3-run homer by Khris Davis.  The Yankees scored 4 runs in the 5th inning featured by a 2-run home run by Aaron Judge.  After the 5th inning, there was no scoring as the relief pitchers were superb.

The A's thought they had taken the lead in the as Matt Olson scored on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Lucroy.  Olson was then ruled out after the Yankees challenged the call.  In the 11th inning, the Yankees won on a single by Neil Walker that scored Gary Sanchez.

Game Recap

I found out by checking Facebook that SABR member Kevin Larkin was at the game.  He fact-checks many articles that are submitted for the Games Project.

Skyscraper Museum near Battery Park

My friend Roy told me about the Skyscraper Museum in lower Manhattan.  It emphasized tall buildings in NYC but also showed famous structures in other cities worldwide.  The current exhibition considered Manhattan in the 1990s before the tragic events of 9/11.  There was a short film showing how the Twin Towers were built in the early 1970s.  There was also a display about the new World Trade Center.

It was a very small museum that only took about 1 hour to view.  It was reasonably priced.

Random Comments of the Day

It looks like the Mets are having injury problems again.  Todd Frazier is going on the 10-day disabled list with a hamstring pull.  It seems to be a minor injury, but you never know.  Relief pitcher Anthony Swarzak was just placed on the 60-day disabled, so his original injury is more serious.  Athletes get big salaries and then they can't play since they are injured.

The media is making a big deal about the royal wedding next weekend.  Does the media report or create the news?  I just don't have to pay attention to it.  It is so depressing to watch the TV news since most of the stories cover crime, accidents, or natural disasters.

I think I will catch up on my reading today.