Baseball Vacation 2006

Cardinals vs Dodgers: July 16, 2006

      We enjoyed the drive to St. Louis. We took our time and spent the night in Muskogee OK on the way. We also stopped to see: my parents in McKinney TX; the house where I had lived as a small kid in Tulsa OK; my grandparents houses in Fort Gibson OK and Joplin MO as well as where my father grew up; and a mining museum in Joplin MO where my grandfather had worked as a miner. We talked and listened to some great music like Nicole Nordeman, Cindy Morgan, and Nat King Cole. Mitchell liked the Nat King Cole songs quite a bit - which was a surprise.
      The first game of the trip was in St. Louis at the new Busch Stadium. We parked across the street in a parking garage and headed to the game. I was reminded that my parents spent their honeymoon in St. Louis. Since the Cardinals are rivals to our beloved Astros, we of course rooted against the Cards. But I really admire Albet Pujols, even though he ruined my evening in Game 5 of the NLCS in 2005. It was very hot at the game, but being from Houston we endured it well. We also got to enjoy one of the large frozen strawberry lemonades at Busch - it really hit the spot! The Cardinals won, but it was an excellent game and a good start to our trip.

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Busch Stadium July 16, 2007
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That pesky David Eckstein makes contact again.
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Albert warms up the infield.
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Jeff Kent signles against Anthony Reyes in the 3rd inning.
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Jeff Kent following through.
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Brad Penny finishing a pitch.
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Brad Penny shows why you must be flexible to be a baseball pitcher.
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Jeff Kents swings under the ball and misses in the 5th inning.
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David Eckstein fouls off a bunt attempt in the 6th inning.
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It was 3 up and 3 down for Joe Beimel in the 6th.
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We always like seeing former Rice University baseball stars. Here Jose Cruz Jr. gets ready for a pitch.
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Albert Pujols awaits a pitch from Odalis Perez.
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Albert Pujols singles in the 7th inning off of Odalis Perez.
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Albert following through on his 7h inning single.
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Albert had 4 hits on the night, and raised his average to .328.
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Juan Encarnacion singles in the 7th inning.
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Albert Pujols scores a run in the 7th inning.
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So Taguchi flies out in the 7th. He does sign a really neat autograph though.
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Albert Pujols awaits his 8th inning at bat.
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Mitchell is not happy that the Cardinals won, but enjoyed the first game of the trip.
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Taken before the game in the new Busch stadium. Yep, thats me with the blackberry as I can never get away from the office. But notice how much smaller my gut looks now compared to the end of the trip. Yep, 13 games = 13++ hot dogs plus lots of ballpark ice cream.
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I thought this was kind of a neat shot, though I needed the sun at my back and/or a bit diffused.
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