Thirty27 finally got some well-deserved recognition on July 4th as the St. Louis Cardinals were nice enough to take Josh and Su onto the field for batting practice (right). While this was a great moment of the trip, it was also just a little forshadowing of what would occur in NY in a few days.

Following the game in St. Louis, the Thirty27 team headed to Cincinnati, where Josh was interviewed for local television. Luckily, Josh has good interviewee skills, so he actually sounds good during these things. He knows what to say, where to look, and how to relax. This is surprising, since Josh is often nervous or sketchy in a normal situation. (smiley face)

****

Sunday in Baltimore I met up with Josh and the non-stop Thirty27 relay race. John Treadwell, one of the original trip members, also joined. John had planned on doing the entire trip with Josh, but the pull of teaching summer school was just too great. There's really nothing like spending your vacation time at work.

The three of us hit a crazy game in Baltimore, a game that featured five home runs, 21 runs, 29 hits, four wild pitches, and my new favorite player, Josh Hamilton. I decided to treat Camden Yards like some sort of buffet table. First I put down a huge salad with grilled chicken I picked up before the game, followed by a Boog's BBQ pork platter with beans and slaw, and an entire 8lb. bag of peanuts throughout the game. Doesn't sound like much I guess, but in the Baltimore heat that day, it was enough to make me feel like passing out.

****

John had seen enough of me and Josh that day, so after letting us crash on his couches that night, Josh and I headed off to Pittsburgh the next morning without him. If anyone hasn't heard yet, PNC Park is awesome. It has an amazing setting, just accross the river from downtown Pittsburgh, allowing for amazing city views from any seat. The yellow Roberto Clemente Bridge is closed to vehicle traffic, which allows fans to walk to the stadium on gamedays. The capacity is small, and I don't think it's possible to find a bad seat in the place.

As far as the game went, the poor Astros had to get some innings out of Runelvys Hernandez because the team had played a long extra inning game the day before. Hernandez struggled and was left hanging until he allowed 10ER in 4 innings. Nate McLouth hit a ball out of the stadium and Josh nearly got ejected for leaping over rows of seats in order to get the first pitch on film.

****

A nearly all night drive got us to Poughkeepsie, NY, where we picked up the newest member of the trip, Eric Bjorkman. Eric brings his sarcastic brand of humor and extraordinary good looks to the trip. The three of us made the "short" drive to Boston, arriving in mid-afternoon. Fenway is one of the few stadiums that really has a neighborhood/city feel immediately outside the park. We tried to find a cheap Damon or Arroyo jersey, ate some lunch, and hung out with "Spaceman" Bill Lee (LSD's a hell of a drug). We found an old high school buddy, Chris Sucato, to give our extra ticket to.

The game was excellent. The Sox trailed by three in the 8th until Twins manager, Ron Gardenhire, made some questionable pitching changes and non-bunt moves, ultimately leading to Manny tying it up with a three-run blast over the monster. Youkilis and Moss tacked on the go-ahead run before Papelbon came on to provide those closer theatrics that I am really starting to love.

****

After the game, we drove down to Mohegan Sun Casino, where Bjorkman won our hotel cost back. Tomorrow is our first of three straight doubleheaders on the last three days of the trip....

****

(This blog entry was back dated to reflect the days of the actual events)

posted by Sven (http://www.60ft6in.com, http://metsthing.blogspot.com)