When my boss approached me a few months ago and said “Zach, you have to go to Cleveland,” I cursed the day I was hatched.  After a pause she followed with “anytime in April,” and there was much rejoicing.  If the Red Sox aren’t in town, Cleveland is right up there with Central Jersey and Wyoming as the least desirable destinations in the lower 48.  When they are, there are few places I’d rather be.

Jacobs Field, I mean, Progressive Field is a good place to watch a baseball game.  It has great proximity to downtown and restaurants, easy in/out, and nice site lines.   My seat in section 117 had a particularly nice view directly down the first base line after the sun went behind the neighboring arena.  Beer and food selection was F- poor, but that might have been due to the “dollar dog” promotion.  No trace of a sandwich or burger was found.  As I munched on six cheap weanies, I kept saying to myself “I’d be pissed if I paid $4.50 for this lame excuse for a pork product.”  But for a dollar, it was delicious.  Finding a beer other than Miller Lite was a challenge, though I had to remind myself of the close proximity to Milwaukee.  I’m all for cheap domestic beers when its 95 and sunny, but I was freezin’ my ass off and a nice thick Guiness would have been a welcome warmer.  How hard is it to include some specialty beer stands every few hundred yards?  It would make a lot of people happy.

The other new stadiums I’ve visited (Camden, Pac Bell, Safeco) are superior in every way, but Progressive is more than adequate.  Cleveland’s relative crappiness is an unintended benefit, because it was a cheap trip from New York with flight and hotel under $500 combined.  Oh, and the Red Sox won.

The big rematch of last Friday’s nailbiter in Fenway is upon us.  Wang-Buchholz, Round 2.  I’ll be at Yankee Stadium with three longtime pals.  I’m a lucky guy.