Marshmallowmilkshake

It means you're a Foreigner as far as he was concerned. Yeah, he looked at me funny.

I had a glorious baseball road trip last weekend with games in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Cleveland. Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been a goal for me since I enjoyed a stadium tour while it was under construction, but just never had the opportunity to get there. It is spectacular. I arrived around 1 p.m. on Saturday, staying at the Marriott Inner Harbor, which is a short block from the ballpark. The Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum is a very short walk away so I visited there, got my Baseball Attractions Pass Port stamped and explored the exhibits. It's not a big museum, but the volunteers are pleasant and passionate, and there is enough there to enjoy an hour of your time. Popped my head into the Orioles Team Store then took the short walk to the Inner Harbor to explore and grab a bite before heading back to get ready for the game. I had a lobster roll. This was probably a mistake. The park is absolutely beautiful. I entered through the right field area at Eutaw Street. I love that the team preserved - or recreated, I'm not sure -- some of the lettering from the sign on Memorial Stadium with a nice display outside the park. Gates on Saturdays open two hours before game time to allow more time to take part in the festivities. Eutaw Street, the space between the seats and the warehouse, was abuzz with activity. The first floor of the warehouse is shops and restaurants. The authentics shop had some actually affordable things, which was really neat. I learned that caps were 40 percent off throughout the stadium, which is a huge deal! I bought an Armed Services Day cap and a City Connect batting practice cap! Working around to the other side I head live music. There was a band playing in the statue area. A pretty good one, too! The statues are Cal Ripken, Earl Weaver, Jim Palmer, Eddie Murray, Brooks and Frank Robinson. Walking around, the stadium concourses are really wide so I never felt crammed in. The usual stores and concession stands mixed in with some things I assume are local favorites. Lots of crab on things. I did get a crab cake sandwich, which was crazy expensive but tasted really good. The guy at the counter asked if I wanted Old Bay on it and I wasn't sure what that was. One really cool thing: If you buy the souvenir cup you get free refills. The best part about that is that the team has self-serve soda refill stations throughout the concourse. It was a really hot day, so it was nice to keep filling that up to stay hydrated. The Orioles do a really nice job celebrating the team's history and I enjoyed taking time to read the displays and snap photos. I was disappointed there were no programs or yearbooks, but the team does give away free scorecards at the fan assistance booths. Those booths are plentiful, and every staff member I encountered was pleasant and helpful. Worked my way to the seats and here is where I started to see the stadium showing its age. I sat on the first base side in one of the sections behind the dugout. The seats were cushioned, but they clearly needed some updating. There was a fair amount of green duct tape. The scoreboard and its graphics seemed small and dated. The sound system was a little difficult to hear. Those aren't deal breakers, because I've been to stadiums where the music is cranked to 11 and that is overpowering after a while. It was a little hard to find the ball and strike count, but once I found it I was OK. But so many cool details, including oriole weather vanes in each side of the board. Lots of thought went into details! The Rockies are in fact awful and the Orioles crushed them 18-0, taking a one-hitter into the ninth inning. Our new friend Cedric Mullins made an amazing catch and hit his 100th career homer. I got up the next morning and made the short drive to Fort McHenry, which is a national shrine. I arrived to the center of the fort in time to hear a ranger give a presentation about what transpired there, then asked all the guests to form two lines to hold the large, 15-star flag as it was raised to the top of the pole. This was really very moving. Walking back to the stadium in time for the afternoon game. This time I had a waffle for lunch, which was really good, and had more time to look at all the plaques on Eutaw Street where home runs landed, and the plaque on the side of the warehouse marking Ken Griffey Jr.'s blast during the home run derby. I sat along the third base side for this game, and the view was just as beautiful. The Orioles beat the Rockies again, but by a smaller margin. Got goosebumps during the anthem realizing that the lyrics were written just a few miles away. The next night in Cleveland I was sitting in front of a dad and sons who also were on a baseball trip. They are from Baltimore heading the other direction. They mentioned that Oriole Park is getting some upgrades in the next couple of years including a new scoreboard and sound system, which was nice to hear. Overall, this is a wonderful ballpark and I'm thrilled I finally got there.

I don't think McNeill was bad. it's just that the other guys are better. Soto is not a tremendous fielder so he needs someone in center with a ton of range.

Is Stearns saying he's done? We have some time before the deadline ends!

Herman Tommy Davis!

I saw both games in Baltimore this week and he made some great catches and hit his 100th home run. Keeps McNeil at second base or DH so it will be interesting to see where the kid Mets all end up playing - unless one of them goes in a deal for a starter tonight. I think they made excellent deadline deals.

I saw him pitch in Pittsburgh this year. His first relief appearance after Peterson gave up five runs. He seemed to be doing well, until he gave up a three-run homer.

I was at the Rockies-Orioles game tonight. Cedric Mullins, frequently mentioned as a potential Mets target, had a great diving catch and then a three-run homer. Then he got pulled from the game. I was hoping it was because he was traded to the Mets. But it probably had to do with the Orioles winning 15-0. Rockies are brutal. Game ended 18-0 with two hits.

This can be for all the non-Mets activity. The Diamondbacks must have decided to sell, because Josh Naylor is headed to the mariners, per MLB.com.

Well, I'd rather they'd go back in the box and get rid of the ghost runner and some other little silly things. But no, they'd rather focus on lining the maga pockets of racetrack owners with gimmicky things like this instead of keeping baseball baseball. Put it together and whatya got? Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo... (I know, it's actually boogity, boogity, boogity) I was thinking the Field of Dreams game, the Rickwood Stadium game, the Williamsport, Pennsylvania game, the international games, and things along those lines. No love for the ghost runner from me.

I've been to two races at Michigan International Raceway. My employer at the time was the title sponsor, so we had an indoor suite. That is the only way to attend one of those. But it was possibly the most fan-friendly event ever. We got to walk on the track and sign the finish line - not sure of that is an MIS thing, or they all do that - wander around the pits, wander around the crew trucks and area. As the sponsors, we got to be part of the trophy presentation on the infield. There was an outdoor viewing area on the roof of the suite. That was the loudest thing I've ever experienced. I like it when MLD does out-of-the-box things like this.

The Braves caps with the flames are funny. Perfect for this location.

Sproat and McLean both had some of their best games of the season with Alvarez calling the games behind the dish.

Nice collection of players and managers. Reyes has quite the outfit.

Which abomination is worse? I would be horrified but not shocked if MLB tries using "swing offs" after ties in the minor leagues next year or not too far down the line after seeing what happened at the All-Star Game. And we know from history that MLB tries ideas in the minors first before brining them to the majors. The ABS challenge system has been used at some levels this year and was used Tuesday. I think it's coming soon. Newsday's David Lennon wants to nip the "swing off" talk this in the bud. But for all the unmatched entertainment value that homer-hitting contest supplied, it still feels like a bridge too far for the regular season. When the question was pitched Tuesday night to NL manager Dave Roberts, he seemed taken aback that somebody would even suggest the possibility of going to a “swing-off” tiebreaker during the 162 that count for real. “Oh, no,” Roberts said. “I think that it was great for this exhibition. But in the regular season, I don't mind how it plays out with the man on second base.” MLB is on a roll lately with remarkably successful innovations. The pitch clock didn't make the games rushed — just returned the pace to how it should be. The ghost-runner for extra innings doesn't alter the fundamentals of the game — merely helps create action quicker, for a more expedient resolution, like any other sport's overtime. But check out what Logan Webb told him: “I have a group text with other players around baseball,” the Giants' Logan Webb told reporters in the postgame NL clubhouse, “and they said we should never play an extra-inning game again. We should always end games just like that. It should be just straight Home Run Derby.” And even Pete: Not a shocker that Alonso was firmly on board with the idea, but maybe not until the 13th inning — once the ghost-runner at second had failed to decide the game by then. That would make the “swing-off” concept a very rare occurrence. On Tuesday, it took four years and the AL rallying from a 6-0 deficit, the biggest comeback in All-Star Game history to tie or win the game (per Elias), for the “swing-off” to finally happen.

Pete hit his homer off an All-Star not a BP pitcher grooving it in. He deserves the MVP.

Schwarber delivers!

Boone is leaving Raleigh and Judge on the bench?

A swing off?

Rats.

Nice play by Olson!

Hell. Now Diaz is coming in!

Roberts goes with Suarez instead of Diaz.

Nice CMU shoutout! My daughter went there.

=Gwreck post_id=198308 time=1752634148 user_id=56] Does Pete get the MVP award?