Ellen and I have been following the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team on TV for a few years now (me more than her), and last year we attended our first game. We had a great time, so this year, when Ellen’s boss offered some tickets from a package she bought, we grabbed two games. Last night was the first of them, Phillies against the LA Dodgers. As you approach the park from the north side, this is what you see.

Inside it was time for dinner, and I’d researched vegetarian options for Ellen, who doesn’t eat meat. “Planet Hoagie” was the best choice, and we each got one, though mine had chicken in it. Ashburn Alley is the food and retail area behind the outfield, and we took our dinner up on the roof patio where we had a pretty good view of batting practice on the field while we ate. The weather was great, hot but not stifling, and sunny, with a steady breeze.

Our seats were on the third tier on the third base side. Due to the height, quite a bit further from the field than last year, but you could see everything clearly, and the giant screen replayed the close plays. Just to the right of it you can see a little of the Philly skyline.

Here’s our view of the field with the Dodgers up. I wish I could report we saw a great game, but in fact it was pretty awful for Phillies fans. The team played poorly, making a number of errors and still not hitting well.

Roy Oswalt pitched pretty well, but did allow some runs, and also made a huge error. Trying to pick off a runner at first, he made a quick pivot and fired the ball…but Howard, the first baseman was nowhere near the bag or the throw. In fact he almost hit the runner. Now we know why they’re called “dodgers!”

The Philly Phanatic was entertaining, as always. I’m not a fan of team mascots, or people dressed in silly costumes generally, but this guy (or guys?) really are good. Here he’s clowning with some kids doing a quick music number.

We had fun, enjoyed the park, the atmosphere and the food, but not the game so much. The schedule for baseball sure is relentless. As I type this, the teams are about to go at it again. No other sport has players competing almost every day for six months straight, at least in this country, and you can see how it wears out the players. But, no excuses, they need to do better or they’ll soon be out of their current first place in the division. The Phillies lost this one 6 to 2. Our other game is in September, hope they’re playing better then!