Live from Pittsburgh

by Not Bruce Froemming on Sep 8, 2007 12:10 PM CDT

I arrived here yesterday afternoon for the three-game series. It's not my first baseball visit to Pittsburgh -- I was here for the 2005 two-gamer in which the Cubs won twice (and Jose Mesa blew two saves) in about a 15-hour span. But the 'Burgh always is a great place to visit.

Some thoughts on the game, and other things:

-- The Cubs didn't play well last night, but they also didn't have any luck. I guess I should have suspected the worst after the Pirates' lead-off double, which traveled about 100 feet. Hill probably should have allowed only three runs last night, take away the bleeders and the error.

Conversely, although Gorzelanny pitched very well, the Cubs hit some shots off him, but they were "atom" balls -- right at him. And at a few others. It also looked like Soto's foul in the eighth was a grand slam off the bat.

-- PNC Park fails to disappoint. We had seats right behind the plate, about 25 rows up, for $27. The dollar value is outstanding. So is the view. Never would you think the Pittsburgh skyline could look so pretty. Plus the ballpark itself is a gem. Not a bad seat. But it looks like the concessions have taken a hit since I was last here. (What, no more pierogis?)

-- There is a collection of four-five bars across the street (including a branch of Hi-Tops), but the thing I found bizarre is that, minutes after the game, none of them appeared to be all that crowded. And what crowds there were were mostly Cubs fans. (Guess the 'Burghers had to get home to see the high school football results on TV.)

-- Speaking of Cubs fans, there are a lot of them here. The crowd was about 24,500, and I'd say a good 35 percent were in Cubbie Blue. Probably 50-60 percent of my flight (which was full) were Cubs fans, too. Pittsburgh usually doesn't have the Cubs-fan army that places like Cincinnati and Milwaukee have, but that's not the case this weekend.

-- Primanti Brothers. Darned good sandwich. Go to the one in the Strip District, it's open 24 hours a day (and, conveniently, it's about three blocks from our hotel).

-- Tonight is Roberto Clemente figurine night, so they're expecting a very large crowd. The weather, however, might not cooperate. Right now it's overcast and drizzling off and on. Supposedly it'll be OK by game time. It's not stopping the Pitt football game going on next door at Heinz Field, which we can see from our hotel. Last time I checked, Pitt was beating Grambling 21-0 with five minutes left in the first quarter. Don't think we'll be making it there today ...

Anyway, onward, and Go Cubs.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Thanks for the post.

It must have been the bad play, but you could barely hear any Cubs fans on TV. Guess there really wasn't much to cheer about.

If the weather holds off I'd expect close to a sellout crowd tonight, and maybe even half Cubs fans. Here's the weather forecast:

This Afternoon: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Southwest wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tonight: Scattered showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm. Chance of precipitation is 40%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Sep 8, 2007 12:04 PM CDT reply actions

Less cub fans last night

The lower deck looked to be maybe 30% Cub fans. The Pirate fans did a good job keeping the noise level going, compared to a place like Colorado where they just glare and gripe at the Cub fans.

Also, the Pirates did some smart moves with their promotions:

Friday night was College Night - half price to college students. Lots of young coeds tailgating (which might explain why the bars were empty after the game, they were going back to campus)
Today is Roberto Clemente Figurine Night, by far their most lavish promo of the year, designed to draw out the locals. As a huge Clemente fan thanks to Jack Brickhouse (Clemente is my 2nd all-time favorite player behind Jenkins) this is great, the figurine will go on my desk at work.

But in the hotel elevator just now, I ran into a family of four in Cubs gear. I figured they were from Chicago... no, they'd just driven six hours from Canada, and were hoping the drizzle would stop. So I think tonight will be an even split of Cubs and Bucs fans.

by Invalid User on Sep 8, 2007 12:15 PM CDT up reply actions

The Clemente figurine alone...

... ought to draw a crowd.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on Sep 8, 2007 12:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Thanks for the color.

Any chance you can photograph and post a picture of the Clemente figurine? Maybe I'll look on eBay in the AM and see if anyone is trying to sell one. Hopefully the Cubs will give all of you a lot to cheer about again tomorrow. Big day...gotta get back on track to taking series!

Prince Fielder...he is neither.

by LAcarl519 on Sep 8, 2007 11:29 PM CDT reply actions

photo link from pirates web site

http://pittsburgh.pirates.mlb.com/pit/images/promotions/y2007/100x200_rc_figurine.jpg

by Invalid User on Sep 9, 2007 2:04 PM CDT reply actions

This is now my favorite road destination

While I like going to watch the Cubs in LA because it's LA and there's a lot of other things to do, for a simple two-game trip, Pittsburgh is the best road destination I've visited.

I have to strongly encourage anybody who doesn't have season tickets at Wrigley to consider making the trip to Pittsburgh next year instead of buying overpriced tickets from StubHub or the Cubs' resale service. PNC is a tremendous ballpark with comfortable seats, great sight lines, beautiful views, and little things like an informative out-of-town scoreboard. And at $50 for two outfield boxes and parking three blocks away, it is a tremendous bargain.

There was a festive crowd at the Westin restaurant/bar last night, including many players (Z, Dempster, Ward, etc). But the most interesting sight to me was Ron Santo talking with a group of what appeared to be just random fans in the corner of the bar. It looked from my vantage point that he picked up the check for about a dozen of them, which just blew me away. Just watching him from across the room really enjoying life, realizing everything he's gone through, was truly inspirational.

by Invalid User on Sep 9, 2007 2:22 PM CDT reply actions