In case you're unaware, next year's baseball schedule has been released. This means primarily one thing to a few of you. How can I take a road trip with my family to see all the stadiums in one season?
I have a 64 day plan to allow you to take your time driving, see the sights in each city and enjoy a game at every ballpark. I'm a Bay Area native however I'm starting this trip in Southern California.
If you are planning a 30 Stadiums in 30 Days... you'll need a boat load of cash and a lot of plane flights. This way you'll have twice the time and it'll take less than half the cash (way less). Enjoy this as an easy way to plan your trip if you want to start from the West Coast. This is also still while
April 8 LA Dodgers
2 Hour Drive
April 9 San Diego Padres
2 Hour Drive
April 10 LA Angels
7 Hour Drive
April 12 Oakland Athletics
30 Minute Drive
April 13 SF Giants
14 Hour Drive
April 17 Seattle Mariners
24 Hour Drive (Recommending 12 Hours over 2 days)
April 20 Colorado Rockies (Yes, intentionally done for anyone looking to enjoy their new laws)
14 Hour Drive
April 22 Arizona Diamondbacks
16 Hour Drive
April 27 Texas Rangers
4 Hour Drive
April 30 Houston Astros
12 Hour Drive
May 2 KC Royals
4 Hour Drive
May 3 STL Cardinals
10 Hour Drive
May 5 Minnesota Twins
5.5 Hour Drive
May 7 Milwaukee Brewers
2 Hour Drive
May 10 Chicago Cubs
5 Hour Drive
May 11 Cincinnati Reds
4 Hour Drive
May 12 Cleveland Indians
3 Hour Drive
May 14 Detroit Tigers
4.5 Hour Drive
May 18 Chicago White Sox
7.5 Hour Drive
May 20 Pittsburgh Pirates
6 Hour Drive
May 22 Toronto Blue Jays
9.5 Hour Drive
May 24 Boston Red Sox
4 Hour Drive
May 26 New York Yankees
May 27 New York Mets
2 Hour Drive
May 29 Philadelphia Phillies
2 Hour Drive
May 31 Baltimore Orioles
June 2 Washington Nationals
11 Hour Drive
June 6 Atlanta Braves
7 Hour Drive
June 9 Tampa Bay Rays
4.5 Hour Drive
June 11 Miami Marlins
Good Luck to all! I'll have an East Coast starting trip coming up soon AND a West Coast Summer trip for anyone with young kids who are looking to be out of school to go on this trip.
Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Monday, September 8, 2014
Playoff Baseball is Among Us
Once again the Bay Area has two teams in the MLB Playoff talks. Both Giants and A's have had the league's best record this season and have since fluttered to hanging on to second place in the division and (somehow) leading the Wild Card race.
The Oakland A's have an array of thoughts going on, from the Front Office to the players on the field.
Are there regrets of trading away Cespedes? That was cleared up with the Adam Dunn trade. Oops. But it's not as though he scored all 5+ runs average per game the first three months of the season, the team was rocking and rolling. Did he play that large a roll in pitching more carefully to those around him? Very Possible. Did the clubhouse lose a Cuban flair that gave the team great vibes? Very possible.
Still, trading for two pitchers who were trending in the right direction for a big bat when your staff has done well this year is strange. Even more strange due to AJ Griffin, Sean Doolittle and Jarrod Parker coming back from the DL next year which would make the pitching staff even stronger than the beginning of the year.
Player thoughts?
Reliability. Confidence. Consistency.
The A's have lost all three of these, individually and as a team.
As a Giants fan I was punished earlier in the year seeing them put the bat on the ball time and time again. It looked like batting practice. The A's haven't looked like that in a long time.
Thoughts? Pressure. Of course all professional athletes all have to be able to perform under pressure but being known as the team to beat and then losing your Homerun Derby Champion sure doesn't look easy. The A's just have to find themselves again, reunite as a team. This road trip will be their make or break for the season.
Winning the series in Chicago is the start.
The San Francisco Giants haven't looked like a playoff team since the calendar turned to June.
Still hanging around from their stunning start to retain the Wild Card lead it may be in their best interest to be second in the Wild Card. Why? They've played their best baseball on the road. AT&T Park has haunted the team for months somehow.
Their defense is shaky in the middle of the infield. Brandon Crawford. Ex-Dyson Vacuum to all balls within 20 feet has broken down and had more errors this year than any before.
The bullpen has seen little improvement in the past years. Tim Lincecum, Yusmeiro Petit and Javier Lopez are the most consistent pitchers out of the pen at the moment, and unfortunately we use most of the bullpen too quickly. We also don't allow pitchers to pitch to more than one player. That could be the biggest pet peeve of all Giants fans when it doesn't work out.
This month will tell the tale of the Giants. With 6 games against the arch rival Dodgers it will define the West.
Which team will show up this year? Past even years have been good for the Giants. It's about time for a little 2010/2012 magic for the Orange and Black.
Hopefully I get to write to you in 4 weeks about the Playoff Matchups.
The Oakland A's have an array of thoughts going on, from the Front Office to the players on the field.
Are there regrets of trading away Cespedes? That was cleared up with the Adam Dunn trade. Oops. But it's not as though he scored all 5+ runs average per game the first three months of the season, the team was rocking and rolling. Did he play that large a roll in pitching more carefully to those around him? Very Possible. Did the clubhouse lose a Cuban flair that gave the team great vibes? Very possible.
Still, trading for two pitchers who were trending in the right direction for a big bat when your staff has done well this year is strange. Even more strange due to AJ Griffin, Sean Doolittle and Jarrod Parker coming back from the DL next year which would make the pitching staff even stronger than the beginning of the year.
Player thoughts?
Reliability. Confidence. Consistency.
The A's have lost all three of these, individually and as a team.
As a Giants fan I was punished earlier in the year seeing them put the bat on the ball time and time again. It looked like batting practice. The A's haven't looked like that in a long time.
Thoughts? Pressure. Of course all professional athletes all have to be able to perform under pressure but being known as the team to beat and then losing your Homerun Derby Champion sure doesn't look easy. The A's just have to find themselves again, reunite as a team. This road trip will be their make or break for the season.
Winning the series in Chicago is the start.
The San Francisco Giants haven't looked like a playoff team since the calendar turned to June.
Still hanging around from their stunning start to retain the Wild Card lead it may be in their best interest to be second in the Wild Card. Why? They've played their best baseball on the road. AT&T Park has haunted the team for months somehow.
Their defense is shaky in the middle of the infield. Brandon Crawford. Ex-Dyson Vacuum to all balls within 20 feet has broken down and had more errors this year than any before.
The bullpen has seen little improvement in the past years. Tim Lincecum, Yusmeiro Petit and Javier Lopez are the most consistent pitchers out of the pen at the moment, and unfortunately we use most of the bullpen too quickly. We also don't allow pitchers to pitch to more than one player. That could be the biggest pet peeve of all Giants fans when it doesn't work out.
This month will tell the tale of the Giants. With 6 games against the arch rival Dodgers it will define the West.
Which team will show up this year? Past even years have been good for the Giants. It's about time for a little 2010/2012 magic for the Orange and Black.
Hopefully I get to write to you in 4 weeks about the Playoff Matchups.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
2015-2016 PGA TOUR Scheduling
It's got to change...
Chances are you, like many of us, have yet to get used to this broken year schedule, It's new. And Anything new has it's problems to work out. I'm about to state my ideal scenario of a new golf schedule that is best for fans watching live and on television and being better for players traveling and coordinating a schedule and enjoying winter holidays however they like without having to think about what money they could make.
Each year the Ryder Cup/President's Cup event has one week off before the start of the golf season. That already is the first problem. For whom? The Players. The courses that host the events. The Sponsors. Only slightly is it a problem for TV ratings (the players typically want more time off after such a long season which leads to less people who watch the event.
End of the season- Ryder Cup/President's Cup
10/1-4 Off
10/9-11 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
Reasoning- It's only 4 players on one quaint remote golf course with minimal patrons. It is only a 3 day event and even though it's possible that all four players could be in the Ryder Cup or President's Cup, but such a relaxed event could work out in the favor of everyone.
10/15-18 Tournament of Champions
Reasoning- Not only is there still good weather in Hawaii but this event should be the first event of each PGA TOUR season. It's traditionally a celebration for those winners of the past season. As less than 30 players total would have played within the last month it's likely that most winners would enjoy their invitation here, much more like years of Tiger and Ernie dueling it out rather than slightly smaller names in golf like Jonathan Byrd and Robert Garrigus (two "Fall Series" winners that year).
10/22-25 3 Tour Challenge
Reasoning- Why not? Weather? Great. Course? Great. Players? There's an array of players to choose to invite that haven't played since the Fed Ex Cup, even a few Ryder Cuppers that may want to play. Again, the tour needs a buffer for it's players and this is just that.
10/29-11/1 CIMB Classic - Malaysia
Reasoning- This is the start of the 3 Event "Australasia" Swing over 4 weeks allowing players time to travel, enjoy sights and not be overworked to allow them to play in America.
11/5-8 WGC HSBC Champions - China
11/12-15 Off
11/19-22 ISPS - Australia
11/26-29 Off
12/3-6 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge
12/10-13 Classic at Mayakoba
Reasoning- Moving this down a few weeks to entice a few more players in the Challenge at Sherwood to take the short flight from LA to Mexico and create a better field isn't a bad thing. The weather is still ideal for December as well.
12/18-20 Franklin Templeton Shootout
12/24-27 Off
12/31-1/3 Sony Open
Reasoning- Well all the players seem to enjoy starting the year in Hawaii, this allows the tour to continue that tradition. Luaus and hula skirts will have a similar kick off that Kapalua has for the PGA TOUR Champions.
1/7-10 Humana Challenge
Reasoning- This event is easy to get to from Hawaii and the weather is still in great only moving the event one week up.
1/14-17 Farmers Open
1/21-24 WGC Match Play
Reasoning- This is traditionally held a little later in the season however with the 2015 Match Play being at Harding Park, this would be a great time for the PGA TOUR to repeat this site due to it's ability to get sports fans in during the NFL's AFC/NFC Championship.
1/28-31 AT&T Pro-Am
Reasoning- This should be one of the biggest televised events for being early in the season along with patrons at the event. As a week off for the NFL before the Superbowl, and being 2 hours away from the previous event, and one hour from the Superbowl's site the crowd should be at it's highest with all the best players in the world wanting to see the excitement. There may even be a consideration to move it back to the week of the Superbowl. The snag there would be that the NFL likely has a stronghold on many of the hotels and having any sporting event in the area the week of the Superbowl is suicide.
2/4-7 Riviera
2/11-14 Fry's Open
Reasoning- For the year 2016 especially, this event and its site is the perfect bookend to the Superbowl. Again, staying close to the Bay Area hoping to attract more sports fans should boost the patron levels and player stars that each previous year has seen now that it's not right after a long strenuous season.
2/18-21 Waste Management
Reasoning- This is the round out of the West Coast Swing and the end of my alternate universe/perfect world schedule change. They FINALLY don't have to compete the week of the Superbowl. Time to see what kind of crowds they can bring in with a little warmer weather and a bigger Sunday for them in attendance.
So what do you think? How do you like it? Share this to try and get a little attention from the powers that be to move things around. Because seeing the big stars only play the East Coast unless it's a major on the West Coast doesn't bode well for the future of golf, and since there's a bunch of money and year round golf on the West Coast I think the Tour should do a better job of having big names at each event.
Chances are you, like many of us, have yet to get used to this broken year schedule, It's new. And Anything new has it's problems to work out. I'm about to state my ideal scenario of a new golf schedule that is best for fans watching live and on television and being better for players traveling and coordinating a schedule and enjoying winter holidays however they like without having to think about what money they could make.
Each year the Ryder Cup/President's Cup event has one week off before the start of the golf season. That already is the first problem. For whom? The Players. The courses that host the events. The Sponsors. Only slightly is it a problem for TV ratings (the players typically want more time off after such a long season which leads to less people who watch the event.
End of the season- Ryder Cup/President's Cup
10/1-4 Off
10/9-11 PGA Grand Slam of Golf
Reasoning- It's only 4 players on one quaint remote golf course with minimal patrons. It is only a 3 day event and even though it's possible that all four players could be in the Ryder Cup or President's Cup, but such a relaxed event could work out in the favor of everyone.
10/15-18 Tournament of Champions
Reasoning- Not only is there still good weather in Hawaii but this event should be the first event of each PGA TOUR season. It's traditionally a celebration for those winners of the past season. As less than 30 players total would have played within the last month it's likely that most winners would enjoy their invitation here, much more like years of Tiger and Ernie dueling it out rather than slightly smaller names in golf like Jonathan Byrd and Robert Garrigus (two "Fall Series" winners that year).
10/22-25 3 Tour Challenge
Reasoning- Why not? Weather? Great. Course? Great. Players? There's an array of players to choose to invite that haven't played since the Fed Ex Cup, even a few Ryder Cuppers that may want to play. Again, the tour needs a buffer for it's players and this is just that.
10/29-11/1 CIMB Classic - Malaysia
Reasoning- This is the start of the 3 Event "Australasia" Swing over 4 weeks allowing players time to travel, enjoy sights and not be overworked to allow them to play in America.
11/5-8 WGC HSBC Champions - China
11/12-15 Off
11/19-22 ISPS - Australia
11/26-29 Off
12/3-6 Northwestern Mutual World Challenge
12/10-13 Classic at Mayakoba
Reasoning- Moving this down a few weeks to entice a few more players in the Challenge at Sherwood to take the short flight from LA to Mexico and create a better field isn't a bad thing. The weather is still ideal for December as well.
12/18-20 Franklin Templeton Shootout
12/24-27 Off
12/31-1/3 Sony Open
Reasoning- Well all the players seem to enjoy starting the year in Hawaii, this allows the tour to continue that tradition. Luaus and hula skirts will have a similar kick off that Kapalua has for the PGA TOUR Champions.
1/7-10 Humana Challenge
Reasoning- This event is easy to get to from Hawaii and the weather is still in great only moving the event one week up.
1/14-17 Farmers Open
1/21-24 WGC Match Play
Reasoning- This is traditionally held a little later in the season however with the 2015 Match Play being at Harding Park, this would be a great time for the PGA TOUR to repeat this site due to it's ability to get sports fans in during the NFL's AFC/NFC Championship.
1/28-31 AT&T Pro-Am
Reasoning- This should be one of the biggest televised events for being early in the season along with patrons at the event. As a week off for the NFL before the Superbowl, and being 2 hours away from the previous event, and one hour from the Superbowl's site the crowd should be at it's highest with all the best players in the world wanting to see the excitement. There may even be a consideration to move it back to the week of the Superbowl. The snag there would be that the NFL likely has a stronghold on many of the hotels and having any sporting event in the area the week of the Superbowl is suicide.
2/4-7 Riviera
2/11-14 Fry's Open
Reasoning- For the year 2016 especially, this event and its site is the perfect bookend to the Superbowl. Again, staying close to the Bay Area hoping to attract more sports fans should boost the patron levels and player stars that each previous year has seen now that it's not right after a long strenuous season.
2/18-21 Waste Management
Reasoning- This is the round out of the West Coast Swing and the end of my alternate universe/perfect world schedule change. They FINALLY don't have to compete the week of the Superbowl. Time to see what kind of crowds they can bring in with a little warmer weather and a bigger Sunday for them in attendance.
So what do you think? How do you like it? Share this to try and get a little attention from the powers that be to move things around. Because seeing the big stars only play the East Coast unless it's a major on the West Coast doesn't bode well for the future of golf, and since there's a bunch of money and year round golf on the West Coast I think the Tour should do a better job of having big names at each event.
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