The Beat Goes On

We’re still riding the streak. Four games and the home team continues to win. Tonight the Cleveland Indians scored 6 runs in the first inning on 5 hits and went on to a 12-0 yawner at Progressive Field. But a win, no matter how lopsided, is still a win. You don’t mess with a streak. Pittsburgh is next. No one has offered us free tickets yet.

Progressive Field is a so-so ball field. It looks like a skeleton from the outside. Progressive was named Jacobs Field until about 2 months ago. If it isn’t much to look at, it does have a very fan-friendly atmosphere. They have more promotions for a major league team than any I’ve seen. Every Saturday game is a giveaway. Tonight was a fleece blanket giveaway, featuring the likeness of centerfielder Grady Sizemore. Grady also had two home runs and a double for 5 RBI at the game.

To top that off, the Indians have a fireworks display every Friday night during the season. Even though we saw a Saturday night game we got to see the fireworks because they had a rain-out 8 nights earlier and were making up for it.

Beyond that, they have fan appreciation staff scattered around the park. We were greeted by a nice young girl who helped us with directions and then set up us with a photo that is supposed to be posted on the Indians’ website.

In the 6th inning they had one of those derby races you usually see on the screens at ballparks, but this one featured 3 people dressed up like hot dogs. Their names were Mayo, Catsup and Mustard and they ran all the way around the field, staging a photo finish at the end.

When we were walking down a hallway toward our seats there were 3 old geezers (I can call them that since I’m one) playing musical instruments and singing. The song went something like this: “Ain’t no beer in heaven. We drink it all here. When I’m gone to heaven, my friends will drink the beer.”

The song “Sloopy” also apparently was written in Ohio and everyone in the stands sang it in the 8th inning.

The Reds have a weird mascot named Slider. I don’t know how he got his name. He’s dressed in a large pink bird costume with a yellow beak and a white T-shirt. You can also buy tiny hamburgers at the snack stand called Sliders. We didn’t try one after a Reds fan we were talking with told us they were worse than White Castle burgers.

On the Road: The last couple of days have been music interludes. Went to the Motown Museum in Detroit, a disappointment, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, which has a big wow factor for anyone who’s lived in the last 40-50 years. We also took a ferry to a small island, South Bass Island in Lake Erie, and it’s small town, Put-In-Bay, Ohio. The latter was definitely quiet. Home to the third tallest monument in the U.S. commemorating a naval battle during the War of 1812.