Been busy with no time to post until now, but I had to talk about last Thursday night, when I finally visited the friendly confines of New Busch Stadium.



It was kind of odd to park in my accustomed garage and step across the old pedestrian bridge that lead to the old stadium, but now forces you to go down a staircase to get to the new place. It was also a strange feeling to have your printed ticket scanned as opposed to the good old days of receiving the stub. Tempus fugit and all that.

The ground floor was packed with stores and food kiosks, all inside the stadium proper. It reminded me of visits to the Atlanta Underground. After poking around a bit Darling Daughter led the way to our seats...up several ramps that reminded me of the good old days in the previous stadium. There just seemed to be a LOT more of them.

At long last...seating!



The first thing you notice about the new place is that you can actually feel cool breezes in it, unlike the old one (which as Casey Stengel said at the 1966 All-Star Game "held the heat well"). It's got a very nice retro feel to it but at the same time the scoreboards, etc. are relatively state of the art. What really impressed me, though, was the area behind the seating. Also open air, very spacious, almost patio-like. Plenty of food kiosks (dinner for two was about $25, but I expected that), and it was generally very easy to get around. Also--hallelujah--NO SMOKING. This is actually going to be an issue at the All-Star game next week; while the Cards permit people to leave the stadium to smoke just outside the confines, due to the increased security (the game itself and Obama's visit) are putting the kibosh on that. I almost wish I could go just to see the nicotine fits. :)

I did not have high expectations for the game itself. The Giants put Zito on the mound, and I'd heard he was pitching better this year. The Cards put Wellemeyer up, and he's been anything but dominating of late. Much to my surprise and delight, though, Wellemeyer was a stud through and through, going eight innings and allowing only one run (a homer). The Cards got to Zito early and often, making the Giants pay for intentionally walking Pujols twice. Final score was 8-2, and while there were no Cards homers I went home very satisfied and content.

I gotta get back there sometime soon. :)