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Pirates Ballgame

Carey and I went to the Pittsburgh Pirates ballgame last night. The Buccos won 5-3, despite Lloyd McClendon and José Mesa's best efforts to produce a different outcome. Carey and I were seated a bit further back than the last time we went, but on a very similar line. Last year I had only my Nikon CoolPix 995 - this year I took my Digital Rebel XT and the 75-300 lens. It worked well, but I really needed to be closer to the action as I as at the Seawolves game.

Pirates Ballgame

Some random notes, then:

  • The crowd was a sell-out - something I wasn't expecting - and the stadium was doing really well. If Jack Wilson hadn't made a stellar leaping grab at short to end an inning, a wave would have easily made its sixth trip around the stadium.
  • A large man who smelled like old socks sat beside me. As he was taking his seat, I looked over only to find a good eight to nine inches of ass crack four inches from my face. I nudged Carey and she had a look of horror on her face. Later, the crack moved to a row of empty seats right in front of us, much to the delight and horror of the guys sitting to Carey's left. The song chosen by fans in the eighth inning? Dean Martin singing "When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie... That's Amore." How you can have that much crack sticking out and not notice is beyond me.
  • What the hell is up with the whole "starting pitchers can't go more than five or six innings" thing? Aside from a bad throw from Eldred at first, starter Dave Williams was pitching a shutout. He had a no-hitter until the fifth or sixth inning. Then, blammo, he's taken out and the Pirates put in their feeble middle-relief (before putting in their feeble 1-6 closer). Let them play pitch! A soon as pitchers hit 100 pitches, they get yanked. It's silly.
  • I have still yet to figure out how to get on 279 North leaving PNC Park. Carey and I got on 279 South and then turned around just south of the Stadium near Duquesne University.
  • We got free towels. I'm afraid to wash them, as they may not make it out alive, but they're pretty nice and totally unexpected. Good stuff.
  • Is that play that Jack Wilson and José Castillo made last week incredible or what? You can see it here (maybe - stupid goddamn WMP) from the July 22 archive.

So there you have it. And one more picture, I suppose:

PNC Park Jul 23

I tried to create a panorama, but PhotoStitch currently chokes on the images and fails horribly to align them properly.

4 Responses to "Pirates Ballgame"

  1. Ah, good old Jose Mesa. We sure don't miss him here in Seattle, I can tell you that.

  2. Which 75-300 lens do you have? I occasionally borrow a friend's 75-300 (non-IS model), and I find that when I buy I'm going to want the IS model.

    When you say you wish you were closer, do you mean that literally, or do you mean you wish you had a greater-than-300mm zoom?

  3. Closer as in closer. I have the 75-300 IS/USM Canon lens. Not the best, but it's sufficient.

  4. I gotta get out to a Pirate game this year. I try to make it to at least 1 game per year. I will be picking this lens up for my Rebel XT in a couple weeks.