Art Lande - The Baseball Trip

Game 11

The stadium was dead quiet during much of this game. The kind of quiet usually heard in funeral parlors, hospitals or libraries. Shhh - baseball is being played.

Game 10

Art ponders the importance of brewskis, brats, soft-serve, drink holders, scoreboards, breathing and some dramatic moments on the field.

Game 9

Wrigley Field, the classic home of the Chicago Cubs. Hope Springs eternal for the Cubbies, but what's Dusty Baker have in mind to hold back the big bopper Reds batters? Will Wood's 96 mph heaters keep them in check, or will it be a slam fest in Chicago?

Game 8

A hot, summer afternoon in Cincinnati has the hobbling Marlins playing the big hitting, sometimes exciting to watch Reds in a new stadium. A pickle ensues, involving no less than five Reds in a game of some spectacular plays, but mostly meandering ups and downs, leaving Art feeling unimpressed.

Game 7

The appreciative and loyal Pittsburg fans apprarently make beer out of iron, create a treasure map to a pennant and have trained, poisonous frogs inhabiting center field. Will the pennant contending Dodgers earn the right to be called Dodger Blue, or the spunky, sand lot Pirates take control of this contest?