Back in First
You can’t ask for much more than back-to-back sweeps in Houston and St. Louis. The Reds won in a lot of hostile environments. The smallest crowd the Reds saw on the nine-game road trip was 37,000. Rich Aurilia said after Wednesday’s win, "It was like playing in a playoff atmosphere."
Hopefully we’ll see some good crowds at home.
As some of you know (and as Marty has pointed out numerous times), St. Louis is my hometown. It’s always nice to see family and friends when we go there, and it was particularly sweet to rain on their (baseball) parade.
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| That’s my sister-in-law, Lynn Stewart, holding my two-month-old niece, Margaret. I don’t think the Bad Boy Blog scared the baby, but it may have put her to sleep. Lynn helped me post the Houston photos. | High school friends Steve Haack and Ted Busch stopped by the booth, as well as my mom, Marilyn, and dad, Layton. My parents are now converted Reds fans. | Marty’s a big hit in any town. A local TV station followed him around Wednesday for a story they’re running this weekend. |
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| Actor and Cardinal fan John Goodman stopped by the booth. He became a Reds on Radio fan in the 1970s when he was performing at La Comedia theater in Springboro, Ohio. Early in the week, he listened to our broadcast on 700WLW during his drive from Virginia to St. Louis after filming for Bruce Almighty 2. |
Longtime Busch Stadium organist Ernie Hayes. When I hear him play, it takes me back to my childhood. He’s the answer to the St. Louis trivia question: Who’s the only guy to play for the Cardinals and the St. Louis Blues hockey team? | Me with my fraternity "little brother" Scott Sutter. Despite his choice of beverage on this particular night, he’s in the wine business. |
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| Tuesday night, the Reds spoiling the party and sending some Cardinal fans home early. | The view from our radio booth during batting practice. Not only is it a great view, but it’s also air-conditioned. | Up 38 steps, you’ll find the press box for the writers (which is not air-conditioned). |
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| This is the view from the second row of the press box. (It’s a little more of a bird’s-eye view than our vantage point.) | But on a positive note, the writers have plenty of refreshments. Media Relations Director Rob Butcher ate nine of these brownies in one game back in April. | The game’s just underway. This "Sea of Red" is something Reds CEO Bob Castellini told us is his dream for Great American Ball Park, night in and night out. |
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| Chris Welsh and George Grande occupy the booth to our left. | Chris Welsh swiped my camera and got a shot of Marty and me during a commercial break. | That’s the Cardinals’ longtime mascot, Fredbird the Redbird. (Gapper has much better legs.) |
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| Once again, I weasel my way close to the field for easy access. This is moments after Griffey’s game-winning home run in the ninth inning of Monday’s game. | I interview Rich Aurilia after the Reds’ 7-4 win on Wednesday. Aurilia matched his career highs with four hits and five RBIs. |
The Bad Boy Blog 
You’re from St. Louis and you have two friends named Busch and Sutter. I guess Dierdorf couldn’t make it.
I lived in St. Louis for 10 years. Great town. Let us know where you grew up, high school, etc. I always thought Cincinnati and St. Louis are a lot alike. Except for one’s more German and the other’s more Italian. A perfect day for me would be Amaghetti’s for lunch and Skyline for dinner. Oh, and a Reds sweep of the Cards.
Did Bucky Dent draw a cross inside the wishbone C on his hat? I just saw George Grande interview him during the 4th inning and it looked like a small cross.
Comrads, our plot has been foiled by the Great Americans “Bad Boy” Steve Stewart and “The Hall of Famer” Marty B. Apparently, the “Bad Boy” has been secretley posing as a color commentary man but really is a covert C.I.A. agent. CODE RED, CODE RED…just kidding, Go Reds!
First time to the blog and I must say I love it. I like being able to look behind the scenes through the eyes of the Bad Boy! Great job Steve. This is so great for us fans! Here’s a “Go Reds” from New Castle, IN. You and Marty should come here and witness the World’s Largest and Finest High-School Gymnasium which seats 9700 people and was voted #1 in America to see a high-School basketball game by USA Today. Home of the 2006 Class 3a New Castle Trojans. High-School of Kent Benson and Steve Alford. Thanks for the time, and come see us. (See pics of the fieldhouse by googling New Castle Chrysler HIgh School.)
I meant the 2006 Indiana Class 3A State Champions, New Castle Trojans, Steve. Sorry for the omission.
Friday’s game was a heartbreaker. We should have had that one. The Cubs did not win that game, we lost it.
(echoing the above statements)
Friday was either the most frustrating loss of the season or #2 behind Lopez Throwaway Night in Detroit.
Yeah, I’d love to see a sea of red in Cincy! Come on, people, wear your red!!! 😉
~Daedalus
Church of Baseball
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