Ranger fans, despite living in Chicago, I feel your pain.
It's not a long stretch to say much of the team's success, and hopes of returning to the playoffs, will come as long as Marian Gaborik stays healthy this season.
Instead, it's a bumpy start for the black-and-Blueshirts in 2010-11.
Gaborik will miss up to three weeks with a shoulder injury suffered in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday.
When New York signed Gaborik for five years and $37.5 million in July 2009, the risk was understood.
Though he left as the Minnesota Wild's all-time scoring leader, Gaborik had never played a full 82-game season while with them from 2000-09, suiting up for fewer than 66 contests four times.
Reason? He's 28, but Gaborik has a surgically repaired hip that limited him to 17 games in 2008-09, and a groin that's hovering closer to age 78.
How big a loss is this for New York? Despite failing to make the postseason by the slimmest of margins last spring, Gaborik accounted for 42 of the team's 219 goals and 44 of 370 assists.
“It’s tough, obviously, but it just means that the other 22 guys are going to have to step up, pick up the slack, and make sure we just find some ways to get some wins," forward Brandon Dubinsky told the Rangers' official website.
Gaborik's injury wasn't the only bad news for the Rangers on Friday. Captain Chris Drury - making his season debut after a finger injury - broke the same digit in a different place, and will miss six weeks.
Sorry. Not a big loss to me. I was hoping they could put him on the same island with Wade Redden.
This, however, is a bigger loss: The Rangers also said Vinny Prospal will have knee surgery Tuesday, and be out indefinitely. He was tied with Dubinsky for second with 20 goals, and alone in second with 38 assists.
There may be some bad blood Saturday night on the West Side, and it will have nothing to do with gang activity.
That's where Buffalo and Chicago will meet for the second and final time this season - and a less than a week after the Blackhawks' Niklas Hjalmarsson laid out the Sabres' Jason Pominville with a hit that resulted in a suspension.
Pominville was checked from behind early in the first period of the Blackhawks' 4-3 win Monday, resulting in the usual extra-curricular activities and protestations well after the fact.
Pominville was Buffalo's third-leading goal-scorer with 24 last year, but was he the victim of a dirty hit? Depends.
It seems if your reputation is tarnished then every check is scrutinized. As far as I can tell, Hjalmarsson has never had a headhunter's mentality.
If anything, he's contrite.
"It was too hard of a hit, I guess," Hjalmarsson told the Chicago Tribune on Wednesday. "Maybe I should have considered him being in a vulnerable position and not hit him as hard. That's what (the NHL) said.
"If I could turn back time I probably would have acted differently. The bottom line is you have to have respect for the guys you play and maybe I hit him a little bit too hard."
Ryan Miller, though, didn't hide his anger toward Hjalmarsson or the NHL.
"You can't have a hit like that, it's dangerous," the Sabres' Vezina Trophy winner told The Associated Press. "I'm glad he admitted he didn't mean to do it. But you've got to change the culture some time, and I hope the league wakes up and sets a precedent for the year."
Miller said "something's got to be done" and encouraged reporters to quote him because he felt it's the only way to "hold the league accountable."
True, the NHL has put a well-placed spotlight on concussions in the wake of Boston's Marc Savard being waylaid by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke last season, resulting in an immediate rules change involving lateral, back-pressure or blind-side hits to head.
Never mind that players are still allowed to drop the gloves for looking at each other the wrong way, but that's a story for another day.
Hjalmarsson received a five-minute major for boarding, a game misconduct - he played fewer than four minutes - and two-game suspension that ended with the Blackhawks' 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Chicago should have Buffalo native Patrick Kane back in the lineup after missing Friday's game with an illness. Kane scored his first goal of the new season in Monday's win over the Sabres.
Also on Friday, Buffalo lost its fourth straight, 2-1 to the Montreal Canadiens. Each of the Sabres' last three losses have been one-goal decisions.
Buffalo has won four of its last six visits to the Windy City.
The pick? Chicago outmuscles Buffalo for much of the night and extend the Sabres' misery.
At 6-foot-7, Boyle usually isn't sent out on the ice to score. On Friday night and with two stars lost to injury, though, the Rangers needed his touch.
With high-scoring Marian Gaborik and captain Chris Drury forced to leave early, Boyle got plenty of ice time and scored twice to force overtime, but the Rangers fell 4-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Phil Kessel's power-play goal.
Coming into the contest, Boyle had 12 goals in 109 career games, never scoring more than four in a season.
THE BAD ...
Steve Mason, Columbus
Mason had allowed five goals to the high-powered San Jose Sharks in his first two starts of 2010-11. It took little more than two periods to match that in Columbus' 5-2 loss to Chicago on Friday.
When Scott Arniel took the job to become the Jackets' head coach, I have to think part of the reason is because of Mason - the 2009 Calder Trophy winner as the league's top rookie, but hasn't really done much since and probably should be bumped to backup status.
Now, I'm wondering if he's rethinking that decision to leave Manitoba of the AHL for his first NHL gig. That's what he seemed to indicate to the Winnipeg Free Press earlier this week.
"I miss my wife and my daughter and the simple familiarity of having everything in place in Winnipeg," said Arniel. "I also miss (Moose GM Craig Heisinger) Zinger. Both our relationship as friends and how easy we worked together and how we had the same beliefs and ideas about hockey."
... AND THE QUOTABLE
"Watches? We threw those out a long time ago," - Phoenix forward Petr Prucha said about the Coyotes' opening the season with two games against the Boston Bruins in the Czech Republic.
Tax Day each and every April 15, complete with news organizations rushing to interview late-night filers ...
Sun rising in the East ...
Sky being blue ...
And Pascal Leclaire and Johan Franzen being helped off the ice with injuries.
Leclaire, the starting goaltender for Ottawa, exited just 2:06 into the Senators' 3-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
When alerted, Illinois-based Senators fan Christopher Altruda texted back if Leclaire was suffering from a bruised vagina. Yes, he's a classy boy, I know.
But I get Altruda's frustration. Since February 2006, the one-time eighth overall pick by the Columbus Blue Jackets has missed 139 games, seemingly with no body part unscathed.
Last season, a fractured cheekbone followed by a concussion kept him out for 25 games. Ankle woes in 2008-09 resulted in 51 games being missed. Couple of games with a thumb. Sit out seven with the cryptic "head injury." Knee woes cost Leclaire more than half a season a couple years back.
I mean, seriously, Pascal - SOMEONE IS TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING!
Go open a poutine shop or boulangerie in Repentigny. Anything. Just. Hang. It. Up.
(Besides, Altruda wants more Brian Elliott, and I'm kinda inclined to agree.)
Franzen left midway through the first period of the Detroit Red Wings' 4-1 loss on Thursday to the Dallas Stars with what the team initially called an undisclosed injury.
After the game, it was called a head injury, but coach Mike Babcock wouldn't use the "C"(oncussion) word.
"It's not too bad," Franzen told The Associated Press. "I feel OK right now."
Check your watches: If it's October, "Mule" is laid up.
In 2007, Franzen missed 10 games with a sprained knee. The following October, No. 93 was down for five games with sprained MCL. Last year, Franzen outdid himself, missing 55 contests after tearing an ACL.
With three goals in his first three games, a bounce-back season seemed possible. Even if Franzen didn't bruise his brain Thursday, it would make sense for the Red Wings to sit him out for a while and make sure all is good.
And now - Two minutes
THE GOOD ...
The Minnesota Wild.
OK, so the Minnesota Twins can't win a playoff game anywhere.
But Wild fans know this: If the Edmonton Oilers are in town, it's almost a sure-fire two points.
Minnesota won its 14th straight at the Xcel Energy Center over its Northwest Division rival, 4-2 on Thursday. Mikko Koivu scored twice for the Wild, who tallied all their goals with the man advantage.
After losing twice to the Hurricanes in Finland to open 2010-11, Minnesota clearly wanted to have a better showing in front of their home fans.
"You always have to be desperate to get wins," Koivu said. "I think we were tonight and it worked for us."
THE BAD ...
Mike Modano and the Red Wings
Way to come up big in that return to Big D!
Despite outshooting the Stars 26-15, the Red Wings didn't score until 8:25 remained.
Modano received a standing ovation during a first-period break in the action from Dallas fans, but the former face of the franchise and a link to their Stanley Cup win a decade ago and the old Minnesota North Stars didn't record a shot, and was even in 15:14 of ice time.
"There was just a world of emotions and memories," said Modano. "A lot of special things have gone on here. I was involved in the game from the ground floor, and helping to promote the game of hockey here in Texas. It was fun to play here."
Not so much over his last three games. The 40-year-old future Hall of Famer has averaged 13:06 of ice time, has one shot and no points.
I'm thinking one-and-done in Motown, and the end could come soon for the highest-scoring U.S.-born player of all time.
... AND THE QUOTABLE
"I wanted to cry. I had to stop watching (the video) a couple of times. A lot of emotion. Everything started here. They showed my first goal and all the big goals. It's still hard to think about. They're always going to be in my heart. That's something I'll always remember." - Tampa Bay forward Simon Gagne after seeing a video tribute during the Lightning's 3-2 win over Philadelphia in his first game against the Flyers.
"I think the possibility to win is something that you're always chasing after when you're older. If there wasn't a chance to win, I probably would have retired." - Livonia, Mich. native Mike Modano after joining Detroit in August.
Looks weird, right?
For 20 years, all Mike Modano has ever worn for the most part was green, black and white. The only number he ever knew was 9.
So, when Dallas parted ways with the face of their franchise, and Modano signed with Derotit in the off-season, the thought of him wearing the Winged Wheel brought other images to mind ...
Johnny Unitas with a lightning bolt instead of a hoofprint ...
Joe Namath in Rams blue and gold instead of Jets green and white ...
Willie Mays swapping a San Francisco Giants uniform for the Mets and a brief return to New York ...
The old, broken-down athlete returning to the city where he starred and served for so many years.
So, what better way to get reacquainted with his old team than trying to spoil the Stars' home opener Thursday night, just months after an emotional farewell.
"It’s going to be fun," Modano, 40, told the Montreal Gazette. "It's going to be a mix of emotions I’m sure. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to it and seeing a lot of familiar people."
As for the reception he'll get in Big D?
“You never know,” said Modano, the highest-scoring U.S.-born player in NHL history with 1,360 points. “It’ll probably be a little mixed. It’s obviously a little salt in the wound that I’m in Detroit, one of our (nemeses) for a while when we were in Dallas. I think for the most part it’ll be positive."
Modano had five shots on goal and scored in his Detroit debut, a 4-0 win over Anaheim on Oct. 8. In two games after that, he's totaled a single shot and no points.
Maybe the image of a re-energized Modano was a little premature.
Dallas opens its home schedule after impressive wins over New Jersey and the New York Islanders, and looking for a sixth straight win at the AAC over the Red Wings.
Having severed ties with Modano and Marty Turco - now with Chicago - the Stars have turned the page as they ultimately seek their first playoff berth since 2008.
“We’re a confident team, but we realize we have to be a team that can close games out too,” Brenden Morrow, the team's early leader with three goals, told the Stars' offical website. “As a whole, we feel like we are catching on, we are grasping our system. We are pretty confident with our start so far.”
Regardless, Toronto is one of the pleasant surprises early this season behind solid goaltending from Jean-Sebastien Giguere (2-0-0, 1.51 goals-against average, .935 save percentage), and two goals each from Phil Kessel, Clarke MacArthur and Tim Brent.
But Giguere has never won in the Steel City, going 0-3-1 with a 3.24 GAA and .893 save percentage. That could mean the season debut of “The Monster” – a/k/a Jonas Gustavsson.
The 6-foot-3 Swede had a decent rookie season, going 16-15-9 with a 2.87 GAA and .902 save percentage for a team that finished last in the Northeast Division. He’s yet to play in Pittsburgh, and lost his only start at home to the Penguins.
Last season, Kessel was one of 11 players tied for the team lead in goals scored againt the Pens with one. Besides Kessel, the only others remaining are Tyler Bozak, Carl Gunnarsson, Colton Orr and Luke Schenn.
Toronto, which starts a two-game road trip with this contest, was 12-21-8 away from home last season, but closed that slate with a 3-1-1 mark.
The last time the Penguins dropped three in a row in Pittsburgh? Dec. 20, 2008 to Jan. 3, 2009 – a five-game stretch that started with a loss to Toronto.
A third straight setback is probably not how they envisioned christening their new $321 million arena.
Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have long been considered the second coming of Lemieux and Jagr. Though they have combined for one goal and one assist so far in 2010-11, Sid and Geno could be in line for a breakout performance.
Crosby scored in all four games against Toronto last season, totaling six goals and an assist. Malkin has five goals and 13 assists in an eight-game points streak versus the Maple Leafs, and has points in 14 of 15 career games versus them.
Pittsburgh is off a 1-2-0 start after winning 3-1 at New Jersey on Monday. Crosby and Malkin getting off to slow starts is not the only reason for the Penguins’ woes.
The loss of Jordan Staal, out indefinitely with a foot injury, has been a big blow, and not choosing to bring back Bill Guerin appears to be a short-sighted decision. Staal and Guerin were tied for third on the team last season with 21 goals each.
So where is the scoring coming from? Try the blueline. Paul Martin – the club’s top free-agent pickup – leads the team with three assists and four points. Alex Goligoski has two goals so far after managing a career-high eight in 69 games last season.
Marc-Andre Fleury rode the bench against the Devils in favor of Brent Johnston, but should be back in goal despite some pretty mediocre numbers against the Leafs (4-4-1, 2.97 GAA, .899 save percentage).
The pick? I’d like to see Toronto move to 3-0-0, but Crosby and Malkin are due to break out sooner or later. I’m guessing Wednesday will be the night.
If you showed up late Monday, you missed a 42-year-old franchise record being broken. The forwards beat Anaheim goaltender Jonas Hiller a mere six seconds apart in the Blues’ 5-1 win over the struggling Ducks.
The old record of 7 seconds apart was set by Don McKenney and Frank St. Marseille on Jan. 24, 1968, against the Minnesota North Stars during both clubs’ inaugural seasons.
“To be rewarded that early, it really helps you to stick to your game plan and I thought we did a good job throughout the game to do that,” St. Louis defenseman Barret Jackman told The Associated Press.
A lesser rookie may have folded up after giving up two goals on the first two shifts in his first start of the season for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Crawford, if nothing else, proved pretty unflappable after that
With Marty Turco getting the night off, Crawford allowed Drew Stafford’s goal 14 seconds into the game before Derek Roy found the back of the net at 2:43.
After that, Crawford didn’t allow anything in until early in the third period, and survived a short-handed situation in the closing minutes to lift Chicago to a 4-3 win, its first of 2010-11.
“A little panic sets into your head, but you have to try and brush that away,” Crawford said. “I just kept battling and stuck with it.”
At 38 and now in his 17th NHL season, perhaps the all-time wins leader (602) is starting to show his age.
With a 3-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Monday, the four-time Vezina Trophy winner has allowed 11 goals in his first three games, going 0-2-1 – New Jersey’s worst start since 2001-02.
“It’s not the way we wanted to start,” said the Devils’ Patrik Elias. “We know what we’re doing wrong. We have to play 60 minutes, put it all together and get some consistency. We have to get back to doing what we do best.”
In his first season on Lawn Guyland, Wisniewski has already written a new chapter in the hatred – um, rivalry - between the Islanders and the New York Rangers.
Wisniewski was caught on tape Monday making an obscene gesture toward Rangers agitator Sean Avery in the Isles’ 6-4 win.
An AP report called it a hand gesture, however Wisniewski mimicked a blowjob at Avery after the two were jawing during a stoppage in the opening period. Wisniewski said he didn’t remember doing so, but video of the incident was on YouTube before the game was over.
A suspension is almost assuredly coming. No pun intended.
"It's pretty obvious what the guy was doing, but I'm sure nothing will happen to him because nothing ever happens. It's interesting, he'd get a warning for something like that. Can you imagine if I did that? They sent me to rehab the last time I did something. It's crazy.” – New York Rangers forward Sean Avery after New York Islanders defenseman James Wisniewski mimicked a blowjob motion at him Monday.
Fans in the Canadian capital can live with Friday night’s 2-1 loss to Buffalo in the season opener – first-night jitters, whatever you want to call it.
A rout at the hands of their most-hated rival on Saturday has to be considered inexcusable.
Forget for a moment that Toronto has had three straight last-place finishes and hasn’t been to the playoffs since Paul Martin - not this one! – was prime minister.
Ottawa didn’t get on the board until there were less than 13 minutes to play in Saturday’s 5-1 drubbing by the Maple Leafs. Perhaps the most glaring issue was the shot differential – 38-18 after being outshot 36-26 by the Sabres.
"A tough start is a tough start," general manager Bryan Murray told the Senators’ official website. "It's tough to catch up and you do have to win a lot of games. We have been a streaky team (in the past) and we certainly talked to a couple of players and the coach (Sunday) about that.”
And it’s not going to get any easier Monday when Ottawa faces Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Images of Pascal Leclaire doing a jig and crashing into the wall like this guy in the dressing room between periods are coming to mind.
An Original Six team hasn’t won a championship in generations. Fans are disgusted by last-place finishes and no playoff games.
Changes at the top combined with some savvy personnel moves result in the team ultimately winning the Stanley Cup again, ending a decades-long drought.
It’s worked for the Chicago Blackhawks. It may be working for the Maple Leafs.
Much like the combination of Stan Bowman and John McDonough have done in the Windy City, Brian Burke appears to be doing the same in Toronto.
The Maple Leafs have scored eight goals in weekend wins over Montreal and Ottawa to move atop the Northeast Division – rarefied air considering they’ve finished at the bottom of the division each of the last three years.
What I like about the Leafs so far is they don’t have one true superstar. Three players are tied for the team lead with two goals each, and seven players have multiple points.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere is looking more like the goalie that helped Anaheim win the Cup in 2007. Since then, his win total had decreased from 35 to 19 to 10 last season with the Ducks and Leafs.
“If you get decent goaltending, then often you solve a lot of problems,” coach Ron Wilson told Yahoo! Sports.
Toronto hasn’t won the Stanley Cup since 1967, the longest current title-less streak by any NHL team. Odds are, the Cup will not be paraded there this spring, but it may not be much longer after that.
The Anaheim Ducks may be the worst team in the league.
I thought the Minnesota Wild would be the worst team of 2010-11, but Anaheim is staking an early claim to that title.
It’s one thing to be blanked on opening night by a Detroit team that seems to have all the pieces back together to make a championship run. It’s another also give up four goals to a Nashville club that has a whole lotta ‘meh.’
“It’s tough having to play from behind all the time, but it is only Game Two right now,” Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf told The Associated Press after Saturday’s loss to the Predators. “We’re a learning team right now, and we have to take things out of tonight and go forward with it.”
Getting some bodies in front of Jonas Hiller might help. The Swiss netminder has faced a league-high 92 shots so far – 15 more than Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen heading into play Sunday.
The loss of future Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer to retirement has been a big blow, and Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu are another year older and closer to hanging it up.
For the first time since 1961, the Blackhawks finally raised a Stanley Cup banner, ending a party that began with a Patrick Kane's overtime goal in Game 6 over Philadelphia in June, and continued for much of the summer.
There was the requisite raising of the banner to the rafters - names from the last championship team decades ago taking part in the ceremony.
Now, the introduction of the team that will defend the title? That was much different.
Thanks to the salary cap, no more Big Buff.
No more grit from Eager.
Or timely goals from Ladd and Versteeg.
Or more big stops from Niemi.
Maybe it was all the energy expended during the celebration as Chicago fell 4-3 to the rival Detroit Red Wings and dropped to 0-1-1.
Next up, in Kane's hometown of Buffalo on Monday, then Wednesday night back at the United Center against the Nashville Predators, who are expected to start 6-foot-6 rookie netminder Anders Lindback in place of the injured Pekka Rinne.
One other thing from Saturday night ...
The New York Rangers didn't want to rely solely on Marian Gaborik for scoring heading into 2010-11.
It's only one game, but Derek Stepan has stepped up.
The 20-year-old Wisconsin product became only the fourth player in NHL history to debut with a hat trick in a 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.
"I was just kind of getting my feet wet in my first NHL game. And it was a fun process," Stepan told The Associated Press. "I guess for me, it's just one of those things where you kind of go, 'I guess I got lucky.'"
Gee. Ya think?
Stepan - who was in the lineup due to injuries to Chris Drury and Vinny Prospal - joins Alex Smart (Montreal, 1943), Real Cloutier (Quebec, 1979) and Fabian Brunnstrom (Dallas, 2008).
Stepan also became the second Ranger to score three times in a season opener, joining Ron Murphy (1955).
To say the Atlanta Thrashers are snakebit would be an understatement.
One playoff appearance in 10 years. General apathy towards that club in the Peachtree City - two seasons ago, the Thrashers were 29th with 14,626 per game. Last season, they rose to 28th, but packed in an average of 13,607 at Philips Arena.
Marian Hossa? Gone. Ilya Kovalchuk? Ditto. Kari Lehtonen? Well, the few fans in Blueland need to be thankful for something.
After a winless preseason, you can imagine the pall that was cast some 2 1/2 minutes into Friday's regular-season opener when during a stoppage, new starting netminder Ondrej Pavelec appeared to point toward one of the benches before keeling over backwards.
Now, there is some positive news. Pavelec, 23, is in stable condition in an area hospital. He even asked the score, a 4-2 Atlanta win over Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
“You’re thinking about his family and everything. It’s awful,” backup Chris Mason told The Associated Press. “Honestly, it was really tough. When I first went in there, I could barely concentrate. I couldn’t even think about playing a game.”
Needless to say, Pavelec will miss Saturday's game versus the Tampa Bay Lightning.
It wasn’t that long ago when NHL teams had another position: Enforcer.
If you ever saw ‘Slap Shot,’ then you know the kind of players I mean. The Ogie Oglethropes and Tim ‘Dr. Hook’ McCrackens of the world. The ones who were itching to drop the gloves first, and shoot later.
That’s why when I heard while driving home from work today that Bob Probert collapsed on a boat in Canada and died one month after turning 45, I had to sigh a little.
Sure, he was a brawler first and foremost, but Probert was a lot more than that. He actually possessed skills.
He played from 1985-2002, first with Detroit and then Chicago – about as bitter two rivals can be. Probert’s best year came when he was an All-Star with the Red Wings in 1987-88, scoring 29 goals – 15 on the the power play and five game-winners – to go with 33 assists in 74 games.
Oh, yes, he also was a minor short of 400 minutes in the penalty box.
In fact, Probert reached double digits in goals six times over his career. But, he will be remembered more for being fifth all-time with 3,300 penalty minutes. That’s 55 games worth of punishment.
Maybe the years of cocaine use caught up with him. He was arrested at the US-Canada border in 1989 and ended up doing federal time. Five years later, he was involved in a motorcycle crash, and traces of cocaine were found in his system. That ended his career with the Red Wings, but started a new chapter with the Blackhawks.
In February, Probert was cheered on at the United Center as he dropped the ceremonial first puck on “Bob Probert Heritage Night.” Then, he didn’t look well – like someone who has lived a hard life.
After 27 seasons, the Twins will leave the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome this fall.
Like when the New York Mets escaped antiquated Shea Stadium last year, I don’t think too many will be shedding tears.
I won’t.
On Monday night, I made my last trip to see the Twins in the ‘Dome, a 4-1 win over the hated White Sox in what turned out to be the last game for Jim Thome and Jose Contreras in a Chicago uniform.
But the game itself meant little to me.
The stadium at 5th and Chicago wasn’t a warm place – the age of retro ballparks was still about a decade off. With a turf that made baseballs bounce like Superballs and a right-field ‘fence’ better suited for wrapping sandwiches, it seemed more like something from a video game, bastardization for the purists.
My first trip to the ‘Dome was in the spring of 1986 when I helped move the contents of a dental office from Brooklyn, N.Y. to St. Paul - the start of a decade-long on-again, off-again love affair with the Cities.
Sitting in the upper deck of the outfield, I watched a stout fire hydrant of a center fielder somehow catch balls he had no business getting. I also remember the three drunk college kids from NoDak sitting behind us calling out repeatedly for ‘Fong’ – former Twins second baseman Rob Wilfong, then with the California Angels.
In 1987, following nine weeks of summer courses at Queens College to ***ahem*** make up for lost time (let’s go with that, OK?) I took a vacation by driving to take in a four-game set with Seattle.
Aug. 14 – Bert Blyleven scatters six hits over eight innings, Kent Hrbek and Tim Laudner homer in a 6-2 win.
Aug. 15 – Twins score eight in the first off Lee Guetterman and Mike Brown, take an 11-0 lead after two en route to a 14-4 rout.
Aug. 16 – Gary Gaetti has two hits and two RBIs for the third straight game to back Frank Viola’s five-hit effort over eight innings of a 5-1 win.
Aug. 17 – Gaetti adds two more hits, Minnesota scores three in the first off Mark Langston, and cruises to a 4-2 triumph.
I will say this for the ‘Dome: It’s loud, and after years of battering my ears with thrash, speed, cheese and just plain ol’ bad metal, loud is not necessarily bad.
But that’s about the only positive thing it had going on.
Now, that’s not to say it was the worst baseball stadium I have ever been in. As bad as Shea was, that wasn’t it either. That honor now, and for all times, will belong to ‘Stade Olympique’ en Montreal.
Monolith comes to mind. And that blue tarp covering the hole in the roof only added to the fishbowl effect.
The ‘Dome had its own peculiarities, though. When I first saw it from Interstate 94, the first image that went through my mind was fast food.
Wendy’s used to have a burger called the Big Classic, but instead of being served in a wrapper, it came in a Styrofoam-like box. Looked a helluva lot like the ballpark to me.
Outdoor aesthetics aside, there was the baggie in right field.
Outfield walls should be just that – a wall. Bricks. Mortar. Plywood, at least. This looked like Mr. Fantastic was put in place and told to do his thing.
And the havoc that baggie used to create. Was it a homer? No? WTF? Also, God help a rookie outfielder track down fly balls against that ceiling, worse if those hankies were being waved.
No feature was more reviled, though, than that turf.
Watching that series against the Mariners, I had a bird’s-eye view of bats swung like pinball flippers, and the ball – not sure if this is possible from a physics standpoint – actually appear to gain speed off that infield hop on the Astroturf, sometimes getting past outfielders to turn a single into a triple.
Prior to paying my last respects, I saw my last game in the ‘Dome in July 2006. Johan Santana against CC Sabathia, then the staff ace in Cleveland and now with the Mets and Yankees, respectively.
Sabathia pitched a 13-hitter – yep, went the distance – struck out seven and didn’t walk a batter. Santana, who also fanned seven and failed to issue a walk, but gave up five hits over seven in the 6-2 win.
Now, it’s all about the countdown and Target Field, starry nights and grass-stained uniforms.
Not to mention those early April home games at night when the temperature hovers around freezing.
Ranger fans, despite living in Chicago, I feel your pain.
Gaborik's injury wasn't the only bad news for the Rangers on Friday. Captain Chris Drury - making his season debut after a finger injury - broke the same digit in a different place, and will miss six weeks.
