NLDS Game 3: Phillies at Brewers

In the first playoff game at Milwaukee in 26 years, the Milwaukee Brewers lived to see another day after defeating the Philadelphia Phillies 4-1.

Obtaining Tickets
A friend of mine was able to purchase tickets to each playoff game through a contact of his at the Brewers. Since he had a prior engagement on Saturday, he sold his tickets to me for face value – including the parking pass.

Parking
In a rare event, Miller Park only allowed fans who had pre-purchased parking coupons into the Miller Park parking lots. Most cars were re-routed to off-site parking. However, since we already had a parking pass we were able to enter the lot. As I did last Saturday, I met some friends in the parking lot for a pre game tailgate.

The Game
In a rare play, Shane Victorino was called for interference in the top of the 9th inning, taking the Phillies second run off the scoreboard. The Brewers were leading 4-1 and the Phillies had the bases loaded with nobody out. Pedro Feliz hit a ground ball to 3B Bill Hall, who threw to second base to start a double play. However, Victorino did not slide into second base, but stood up and interfered with 2B Craig Counsell’s throw to first base. Although Counsell was able to complete the double play, second base umpire Jim Joyce called for interference. After discussing with the other umpires, Ryan Howard was told to return to third base, erasing the run he had scored.

Tailgating at Miller Park: Cubs at Brewers

With a possible Wild Card clinching game on hand in Milwaukee I decided to drive to Miller Park yesterday for the game between the Chicago Cubs and Milwaukee Brewers. Some friends of mine recently moved to Milwaukee and were tailgating before the game. I met them in the Miller Park parking lot for my first Milwaukee tailgate. Of course, they served brats. Tailgating at Miller Park has a similar feel to tailgating before an NFL game – it seems everyone in the parking lot is grilling and playing games.

Obtaining Tickets
One strategy for buying tickets outside the ballpark is to ask anyone passing by your tailgate if they have extras. Generally these fans are just looking to recoup their cost or will give the ticket away for free. Yesterday, I asked the first couple I saw if they had extra tickets. They did. I offered $10 for a single but ended up paying the face value price of $15 for a seat in Bernie’s Terrace (upper deck past the left field foul pole).

The Game
Since the Mets beat the Marlins earlier in the day, I knew the Brewers could not clinch with a win against the Cubs. However, the Cubs beat the Brewers 7-3. Ted Lilly took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Ryan Braun doubled to start the bottom of the 7th inning and the no-hitter was over. It was the second time this season I witnessed a no-hitter reach the 7th inning. The first occurred on April 12 at U.S. Cellular Field.

Post Game Dining
While Milwaukee is a great city to eat in before or after the game, another option while driving back to Chicago is to stop at The Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI. The Brat Stop opened in 1961 and is right off the I-94. Yesterday the beer garden was open. I had never been to the beer garden since I am normally driving to Milwaukee when the weather is too cold or it is too late after a night game. I was not missing much. Nobody was in the beer garden and it only served brats and hot dogs. I dined in the main restaurant and did not order a brat.

Standing Room Only at Miller Park: Cubs at Brewers

After traffic in Chicago’s northern suburbs and around Milwaukee’s airport, I finally parked at Miller Park at 6:45 pm – 20 minutes before the first pitch and 2 hours after I left the office. As I approached the Miller Park box office, no ticket scalpers were offering tickets for sale, but mainly asking if anyone had extras. The lines for Will Call were long, but I saw a tickets.com tickets kiosk. I slid my credit card into the machine and out came my ticket. I had not used a ticket kiosk before and this experience was quite painless. That was worth the extra $6.25 I thought. I entered the ballpark before the first pitch. It appeared my decision to buy a ticket ahead of time was the correct one, especially since the Brewers had cut off SRO sales by the time I had arrived.

I went straight to T.G.I. Friday’s and put my name down for a table. The host said it would be 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, I was nowhere close to the top of the list so I left and bought a chorizo from a concession stand.

I eventually sat close to Bernie’s Terrace in the upper level – the worst seats in the park and, yes, they are pretty bad. After the 7th inning, I thought that T.G.I. Friday’s should have emptied out a bit but I was mistaken when the host said it would now be at least a one hour wait.

I watched the remainder of the game from the first level standing room area. The SRO only sections of Miller Park are more like a bar with a baseball game in the background. The atmosphere was pretty intense - more like a playoff game than the regular season.

The entire game went back and forth as each team took the lead. Derrek Lee hit the game winning double in the top of the 9th inning and Wrigley North (as Cubs fans like to call Miller Park) was ecstatic. I raced to my car when the game ended as I did not want to sit in traffic after the 3rd largest crowd in Miller Park history. The largest crowd in Miller Park history was Sept. 6, 2003 when the Brewers packed in 46,218 fans (also against the Cubs).

SRO at Miller Park Tip: One problem with Standing Room Only (SRO) at Miller Park (which is not applicable at Wrigley Field or United Center) is that fans must enter the sections in the first and second level from the top. Meaning it is difficult to scan for empty seats when looking from the top down. Only the third level allows SRO ticket holders to enter the sections from the bottom of the section. Scanning for empty seats from the bottom up is much easier because you know exactly what seat to aim for when climbing up the steps. Plus, when entering from the top of the section, the rest of the people in standing room know you are looking for seats, which also makes “finding seats” more difficult.

Whether or not to buy ahead of time: Cubs at Brewers

Normally, I never buy tickets ahead of time, especially for a Milwaukee Brewers game. However, tonight I am attending the Cubs at Brewers game at Miller Park. This morning, I logged onto www.brewers.com to see what tickets were available. Some $60 singles and Standing Room Only (SRO) for $22 was all that was available. When I went to see how many SRO seats were available, my seat number was in the 1300’s. I thought, maybe I can buy a cheaper ticket from a scalper at the ballpark. If not, I could always buy a SRO from the box office.

This afternoon, after checking craigslist, TicketsNow and TicketCity, I realized that upper level seats were ranging between $50 and $75 and that CC Sabathia was pitching. I also knew I only had $65 in cash on me (minus $8 for parking). So I logged back onto the Brewers’ ticketing site. The $60 seats were sold out and my seat number for the SRO was now 2144 – meaning approximately 800 SRO tickets had sold since I logged on this morning. I bought the SRO seat for $28.25 ($22 face value + $6.25 in handling fees) – knowing that I would probably not beat $30 once I arrived at Miller Park.

With any SRO ticket, you can generally find an empty seat in the lower deck (especially if you are a single). Also, if necessary, Miller Park has a TGI Friday’s which gives you a good view of the game as long as you are eating dinner.

Three Ballparks in Three Days

Last night, we arrived at Miller Park about 90 minutes before the Milwaukee Brewers hosted the Atlanta Braves. Since we were early, there were not as many scalpers as usual. We also needed 5 tickets – normally a hard number to find. We did find one scalper who had more than five tickets ($45 face value). We decided those were too expensive and went to the ticket window.

The Brewers cheapest seat is $8 but that is in the Upper Deck in left field – passed the foul poll. Ultimate Dodger Fan Will wanted to sit behind home plate so we “sprung” for the $14 Upper Deck seats within the baselines.

Since we were in the stadium 60 minutes early, the Ultimate Sports Wife and I decided to hang out in TGI Friday’s in the ballpark (we had not brought our tailgating gear). My last trip to Milwaukee I discovered that the restaurant was the one area of the ballpark you could still buy alcoholic beverages after the 7th inning.

At some point between the last time I watched the Brewers (Thu, 5/1 at Wrigley Field) play, manager Ned Yost decided to bat his pitcher 9th rather than 8th. I guess he determined what other managers have known for decades – you bat your worst hitter last.

After the game we stopped at the Brat Stop in Kenosha, WI (about a 30 minute drive south of Milwaukee). The Brat Stop is a great stopping point for a late night snack after the ballgame. It also helps break up the drive. Even Hillary Clinton made an election stop back in February at the Brat Stop.

St. Louis Cardinals at Milwaukee Brewers

Having not been to Miller Park for 4 seasons, I drove up to Milwaukee last night. I entered the ballpark a little over an hour after I left work, so the decision to drive to Miller Park rather than Wrigley Field was the correct one – the Cubs game was in the 5th inning at the time.

As I entered the parking lot, I noticed that parking increased $2 (since 2004) to $8. Not too bad (especially when compared to Chicago). I knew the cheapest seat in the stadium was $8 for Upper Levels. Thus, I budgeted $5 to buy a ticket outside.

As I approached some scalpers, I noticed a woman approaching them at the same time – “She must have extra tickets,” I thought. I asked her for an extra ticket but she did not hear me. She told the scalpers, “I’ll sell you 15 tickets for $25.” I interrupted the transaction and asked her, “Can I get one of those before you sell them?” She handed me an upper deck ticket and I went on my way.

Ticket Buying Tip #1: When looking for extra tickets, try to find someone walking away from the stadium. They most likely picked up their tickets at Will Call and are looking for a scalper to make a quick transaction.

Ticket Buying Tip #2: Always complete your transaction before the scalper completes his. Once money changes hands you must buy from the scalper which means paying a little (or a lot) higher – in this case it was the difference between free or $5.

Once inside Miller Park, I needed to decide which sausage to buy for dinner and which team to root for. After walking by a few concession stands I found the “chorizo” – the sausage the Brewers added to their infamous sausage race during the 2006 season. The Brewers’ chorizo comes wrapped in a tortilla with salsa as the condiment. This is my new top sausage choice when attending Brewers’ games (btw, the Polish Sausage won the sausage race).

Given the choice to root against the Cardinals or Brewers, I found myself rooting for the Brewers even though the experts predict the Brewers will be the Cubs main competition this season. I could not bring myself to root for the Cardinals. An interesting note on this game was that the pitchers for both teams batted 8th rather than the usual 9th. Both Tony LaRussa and Ned Yost are using that strategy this season.

Miller Park Tip #1: While most stadiums stop beer sales around the 7th inning, Miller Park has a loop hole. If you find yourself still thirsty after the 7th inning head down to the left field bleachers and enter TGI Fridays. Since they are technically a restaurant within the ballpark they can sell beer until after the game ends - but you'll need to order food if you want to sit down.

The ride home took longer than I expected. With construction consuming the entire highway from the Wisconsin – Illinois border until the Wrigley Field exit, I would advise planning some extra time if you are planning a visit to Miller Park from Chicago this season.

Miller Park vs. Wrigley Field?

Under normal circumstances, I would never attend a Milwaukee Brewers game over a Chicago Cubs game based on my proximity to Wrigley Field. Miller Park is about 90 miles from my house whereas Wrigley field is about 90 steps. However, with the Cubs game starting at 6:05 pm today in order to accommodate ESPN, the Brewers game starting at 7:05 pm and my having to work until 6 pm about 30 miles north of Wrigley Field and 60 miles from Miller Park, I have chosen to drive to Milwaukee after work today. The irony is that I will get to Miller Park faster than driving to Wrigley Field – the 90 mile drive back being the difference on the way home.