Trip to Pittsburgh 1

Ash, who used to write here but still comments on Red Reporter, and I met up in Pittsburgh to watch the Reds take on the Pirates over the weekend. This is part one of the trip.

It was Freddy Sanchez Batting Champion Bobble Head Night on Saturday, complete with mole. I don't have any bobbleheads, and this one, which commemorates something, is a good place to start.
I got all of this loot from the Pirates treasure chest. If you look closely at the scorecard, you will see some scribbles on the ball near the center of the card. Those scribbles are courtesy of Mr. Todd Coffey and Mr. Stormy Weathers, who signed quite a few autographs. So did Harang, but he had a mob around him. (Does that mean people have heard of him?)

Rain prevented batting practice, but we still got to see some of the guys warm up, mostly pitchers. There were a lot of Reds fans at the game, much more than I am used to seeing when I go to Reds games on the East Coast. A lot of people came out for bobblehead night on Saturday, but the crowd on Sunday, which was a gorgeous day, was dead - 18,000+.

It was quite exciting to see so much offense on Saturday night. (And again on Sunday.) That, coupled with Belisle's gem (no hits through the first five innings!) made it the perfect victory. And no bullpen!

Kirk Saarloos throws long toss next to the scoreboard. A photo of Kyle Lohse follows that one, then Eddie Guardado - playing catch!

Stay tuned for part 2, which will include the sunnier of the two games...