Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Ballpark Review - Jacobs Field


Stadium: Jacobs Field – Cleveland, OH
Team: Cleveland Indians – American League
Built: 1994

Stadium Rank: 4.5 out of 5. The Jake itself was pretty sweet with a few unique features. First, most of the luxury boxes were jammed on the LF side, making for a large number of really good seats in RF. Second, the tall LF wall extends past CF. It’s almost a mini-green monster. And third, the pavilion in LF was great. We stood there for the entire game, leaning up against the railing with LF right below us. It’s a great view. And unlike Cinci, the city’s skyline is visible beyond CF. Cleveland’s skyline is pretty weaksauce, but it was still pretty cool. The only real negative was the concourses. They were tunnel style, so you were unable to see the game while walking around the park.

Atmosphere: 5 out of 5. It was a boisterous crown, instigated by that one guy in CF banging his drums all game. The LF pavilion was a great place to converse, drink, and watch the game all at the same time. It spills outside the park where bands play and people mingle pre game. In talking with people, you could tell the Jake was a popular destination for baseball fans. We met people from Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Cinci, and Indy who regularly visit the Jake. I guess a good team + a good ballpark = good times!

Bonus/Subtractions:

  • Popp’s review of the hot dogs: “Tasted like the bun expired sometime in 2005 and the hot dog had been rotating on that stupid hot dog machine for 5 days....terrible!” Minus .5
  • Drew Carey is a liar. And his show sucked. Cleveland didn’t necessarily rock. Minus .5 But…
  • …the bar (1 block from park) called “Winking Lizard” did. Great wings and a beer list over 100 long. Add 1.
  • The food/beer selection at the park was very unimpressive. Minus .5
  • One guy in our group got a batting practice HR ball….Hanner got his fresh 20 oz beer spilled in the process. Add .5

Stadium: 4.5. Atmosphere: 5. Miscellaneous Garbage: Push.

Overall: 9.5 out of 10. Probably my favorite ballpark not named PNC.

9 comments:

woziszeus said...

New Topic:
This might be absolutely crazy, and I might catch hell for it, but the Brewers should make a trade offer for Mr. Barry Bonds.

Lets have some fun with this. Lets assume the Giants want in return: A veteran who can play THIS year and take over for Bonds to be competitive, & 2 triple A prospects (1 pitcher & 1 outfielder).

The Brewers can offer the Glue, Villanueva, & one other player that isn't Tony Gwynn. I'm opening that player up for discussion right now.

I know people will be shocked to see Villanueva mentioned, but if the Brewers are serious about THIS year, can you imagine the stability that Bonds would bring to the middle of the lineup? We do have depth in starting pitching...

I'm mainly just "talking" here, but in baseball I think every now and again you need to take a shot to win the WS in the current year (see Marlins).

Who am I kidding? LOL. There is almost no chance we could land Bonds...I just think its interesting to think about.

Anonymous said...

As much as that might make sense in a fantasy world where only on-field performance counts...that would never happen. I honestly think that San Francisco is the only place that has the stomach to deal with Bonds, and that's only because they've dealt with it in the past. Can you imagine the PR nightmare that Mr. Bonds would create for any team that trades for him? Not to mention a possible Grand Jury subpoena, possible suspension, public flogging, etc. that might come any time...

Fair or not, Bonds is radioactive and nobody else is going to touch him.

Anonymous said...

WTF??

Anonymous said...

See, even the Spanish or Portugese (?) guy agrees. For Bonds it is SF or bust....choke on it SanFran.

It'd be cool to see pitchers have todecide to pitch to either Fielder or Bonds though? There are some pitchers that may actually soil themselves.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone clicked on those links? My guess is that it has to be porn.

Anonymous said...

My minimal bilingual ability says those are "personolized shirts". That doesn't sound like an exciting porn site to me.....but I am still scared to click on them.

Anonymous said...

I clicked on them and they are for personalized tshirts. Looks like rodrigo is advertising on blogs.

-Not so anonymous Jake

Anonymous said...

I'm sure the check to the Chuckie Hacks headquarters is in the mail...

Anonymous said...

Baxter - You know I don't speak Spanish!