6/26/2009 - Progressive Field - MLB Ballpark #9

2009 Game #7 - Cincinnati Reds at Cleveland Indians
Final Score: Indians 9, Reds 2
Hot Dog - 3/5

The Ohio Cup now stands at 2-2.

The Ohioan drama continued last night at Progressive Field, where Rich got up-close and personal with one of the stupidest Major League mascots to date.

“Slider” is a… an… um… thing.  Culturally insensitive as it might be, a guy dressed up in a uniform with a giant Chief Wahoo head would be an awesome mascot for the Indians.  We also had our first opportunity to see a team we had already seen, which in this case was actually both of them.  We saw the Indians in Pittsburgh on Thursday, and the Reds were with us in Toronto.

We arrived at Progessive Field a little before 6:00, with the game starting at 7:05, and the gates still weren’t open.  This was a bit odd, we thought, but then we got over it as they let us in.  We were also just out here last summer, and went on a tour of the field then, so we didn’t feel the need to wander all over the place this time.

Luckily, there weren’t too many people there, so we moved to not-obstructed view seats.  As the game progressed at Progressive, it became obvious that the Reds were pretty stinky.  The Indians aren’t very good either, but at least in this game, they were better than the Reds.  Also during the game, we found the Indians’ Drummer.

Anyone who has seen an Indians home game knows what I mean (and you can even hear it when the game is televised).  “Boom Boom Boom Boom”  I don’t know who thought to bring a giant drum in in the first place, but good for them.  Seems a bit unnecessary, but I hope he’s having fun with it.  The in-game presentation was usually quiet, though they ran either promotional bits or stupid trivia contests between just about every inning.  The people next to our new seats got upgraded to seats behind homeplate, which made me a little sad since we weren’t invited too.  Oh well.  No hot dog launchers here, but there was a hot dog race.

Ketchup had an early lead, but then he got taken out by Slider in a flying tackle.

Ouch.  Onion ended up winning the race.  Yay?

In the 8th inning, they played “Hang On Sloopy,” to which the fans were doing a strange native dance… turns out they were spelling out “O-H-I-O.”

After the game, we got our freebie.  No hats or T-shirts this time, but instead fireworks!  That’s good… one less thing to try and smoosh into the car.

Oh, and in other bizarre news from Cleveland, the regular hot dogs are GIGANTIC.  (See the photo on the hot dog page)  A surprise since they weren’t any more expensive than the average thus far.  Also, when Shin-Soo Choo came up to bat, the fans shouted:

“CHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” 

and [there was a display] on the scoreboard in the outfield wall [featuring characters] from Super Mario 3.  Yes, that’s a Boo and a Thwomp.  No, I don’t get it either.  Fun, though!

Now the real adventure begins.  Well, at least the super on-the-go part.  There’s a day game (3:30 local time) in Chicago, (about 6 hours from Cleveland), then a day game tomorrow (2:05 local) in Milwaukee (and 2.5 hours from Chicago).   So it’s up early today to drive to Chicago, then game, then drive to Milwaukee after the game.  Chicago vs. Chicago… I guess I’ll root for… Chicago?  I would root for the Cubs, since I like them better than the White Sox, but since we’ll be on Sox turf, I’ll cheer for them so I don’t get beat up.  Onward!

-Karyn