As of 10:30 am, once again (as you can see in the last photo in the sequence), there was absolutely no line for wristbands. This is far different from the past two years, and likely means that far fewer wristbands will be handed out. For those of you who have one or are planning on getting one before 10 pm tonight, that gives you a better shot at tickets tomorrow. Also tomorrow, I will post the winning wristband number and begin a thread where all of you can post your ticket successes, failures and nightmares -- so don't go posting a dozen diaries on this subject, let's try to consolidate everything in one place.
The construction project continues -- as you can see, the brick walls are nearly done on the Waveland side, and there was quite a bit of activity today; there were cranes around, though they moved out before I could take photos of them.
I also, based on this Phillies blog entry a couple of days ago (which I found thanks to this Hardball Times article), played around with Google Earth and did some admittedly unscientific measurements of Wrigley Field based on that.
Turns out the measurements at the ballpark are pretty darn accurate. I got 353.18 feet to LF; 398.29 to dead CF (which is NOT the deepest part of the part - that measured 401.95 feet); 351.16 feet to the RF corner and 367.37 feet to the left-center power alley, 368.63 feet to the right-center power alley. All of these are within variances that could be explained by me not quite using my mouse properly.
What do come up as very different numbers are several famous home run distances. The HR that Sammy Sosa smacked onto Kenmore Avenue on June 24, 2003, that at the time was said to be 540 feet, measured 510.54 feet. Glenallen Hill's famous rooftop HR (you know, this is one date that stumps me), estimated at over 500 feet, showed up as 471.68 feet.
And the so-called longest HR ever at Wrigley Field, the one Dave Kingman hit as a member of the Mets on April 14, 1976, that landed in front of the fourth house on the east side of Kenmore Avenue, said to be 600 feet, wasn't that -- though close, it was 574.09 feet.
Go have fun with Google Earth yourself!
Top: workman topping off the brick wall on Waveland; wider view of Waveland wall; peek at wall through plastic sheeting; behind CF
Middle: looking east down Waveland; more Waveland-side walls; back fence behind LF bleachers; the "knothole"
Bottom: beginnings of another section of wall on Sheffield; another view of RF side looking north on Sheffield; closer view of Sheffield wall work; the entrance to the wristband distribution point at 10:30 am (note the ad for Premium Ticket Services right under the wristband sign) -- no line whatsoever
Photos by Al