King Felix Day

Sometimes the best road trips are the spur of the moment. I spend weeks and sometimes months planning these road trips, but it is nice to, once-in-a-while, fly by the seat of my pants and do something spontaneous. This trip definitely fit into that mantra and it was just the elixir I needed. 

Last Monday, I was having a rough day. It was kind of a culmination of a number of different things that were all negative that just made Monday a real downer. I won't go into those specifics here, but I really wanted to get away for the weekend and do something fun. I thought about going camping, but my parents have my car, so there was no way to get into the wilderness. I thought about a long bike ride, but I'm nursing a back injury, so that was out of the question. Well, what about a Baseball Road Trip? It was an easy decision. 

I looked at the Mariners schedule and saw that they had a home game against the Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday. I had enough rail points left to cash in on a one way fare, while my parents cashed in some of theirs for the return trip. A free trip up to Seattle? Another easy decision. 

As the weekend drew nearer, I saw that the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner for the Mariners, Felix Hernandez, was slated to pitch, so now I really was applauding my decision. This was working out perfectly for a spur of the moment thing, and my excitement only built. I decided to name this trip "King Felix Day" as a result. 

So, for the third time this season, I boarded the super early train and made my way north. I got to Safeco with no problems and got settled in like always. 

King Felix did not disappoint. He pitched eight innings of shut out ball, striking out nine while only giving up four hits and walking one. His counter for the Brewers, however, Wily Peralta, was almost as good going 8 full innings. However, a run-scoring wild pitch and a homer by Justin Smoak gave King Felix all the cushion he needed as the Mariners beat the Brewers 2-0. 

Before I go any further, though, who came up with this matchup of the Brewers-Mariners? That is the most random of teams to play. The radio guys were saying that the last time the two teams played in Seattle in a non-exhibition game was in 1997 when the Brewers were part of the AL. Interleague play makes me scratch my head sometimes. 

Here's an interesting fact: I have been to more Mariners games this year than Ems games. Should I try and support my local team a little more? Thoughts?

Usually I begrudge going on road trips by myself, but I think I may have found a solution to my loneliness during the games. Listening to the play-by-play on my little portable radio kind of gave me some companionship during the game. When I head down to Albuquerque in a few weeks, I will definitely take advantage of that. 

After the game, which was decidingly quick due to the pitching, I just decided to walk around downtown Seattle just for the heck of it. I didn't really have a destination and I just wanted to continue being spontaneous and adventurous. I walked down to the waterfront, up to Pikes Place, through the Financial District and around Pioneer Square. It was good exercise, great people watching and, combined with the lovely weather, excellent for the soul. 

Speaking of, the next road trip is in two weeks down to New Mexico and the city of Albuquerque. I'll go into more details in a few weeks, so keep an eye out. 

I'm glad I was a little spontaneous and did this trip. It's good to spice things up and be a little adventurous. 

Always take on a 3-0 pitch ;)