Baseball Vacation 2006

Braves vs Mets: July 30, 2006

      The drive from Anderson SC to Turner Field was only a couple of hours so we were able to attend batting practice. Mitchell got another autograph from Andruw Jones just before game time using the usual technique.
      Our seats were on the 2nd row behind the first base dugout and we were treated to an excellent view of the two left handed pitchers, Chuck James and Tom Glavine. It was only fitting that we get to see Glavine, the 3rd winningest active pitcher behind Clemens and Maddux (and also a future 300 game winner) pitch in the last game of our trip. Glavine got rocked though, and the Braves won 10-6. There were 35 hits in the game, making us feel like we were back at one of the American League ballparks!
      Mitchell and I had both been to Turner Field once before, right after it was built and called Olympic Stadium. Mitchell was only 10 months old, but we had an extra ticket and took him to see the USA team demolish The Netherlands (either 17-0 or 17-1) during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
      After the game we drove to Jackson MS to spend the night. I had the laptop on battery, a hard drive plugged into my car outlet via an adapter, so I could pull and start another memory card backup operation and be back on my way. Since we got to Jackson at 1am or so, I was happy to already have everything backed up. Of course being a stickler for backups, I was already making DVDs every few days to send files back home.
1
Jose Reyes lunches after a pitch in the first inning.
2
Carlos Delgago watches his home run in the 2nd inning.
3
Delgado's homer was a 2 run shot to give the Mets and early lead.
4
David Wright walked in the first inning and scored on Xavier Nady's double to make it 3-0.
5
Chuck James was the Braves starter.
6
Here Wright scores the 3rd run.
7
Smoltz made an appearance in the dugout so I could take his picture.
8
James struggled and was lifted in the 2nd inning. He was charged with 7 runs. Not his best outing but he was going against a great hitting team in a hitter's park.
9
Tom Glavine was another nice surprise.
10
Glavine was 3rd among active pitchers in wins, trailing only Clemens and Maddux.
11
The future 300 game winner in the early part of his delivery.
12
It is not surprising that Glavine has excellent pitching mechanics.
13
Andruw Jones drew a base on balls in the first inning. He autographed a MLB ball for Mitchell before the game. It was the 2nd ball Mitchell had autographed by Jones on the trip.
14
Francoeur misses this one.
15
Another miss by Francoeur.
16
Francoeur popped up to the catcher to end the inning.
17
Glavine singles to right field.
18
Glavine gets baserunning advice from Sandy Alomar.
19
Reyes is already dirty.
20
Carlos Beltran in the 2nd inning.
21
The sun comes out while Beltran is up.
22
A foul ball.
23
Another foul.
24
Bases are loaded for Beltran.
25
Beltran unloads.
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