October Baseball

If I'm not posting recipes in awhile it's because something is happening in my life to cause writer's block. This month, my writer's block was called October baseball.  Our team, the Seattle Mariners, made it to the MLB playoffs and kept winning.  They've made it to the playoffs before, exactly six times since their inaugural year of 1977, but this year they kept winning. This year they made it to game 7 of the ALCS (American League Championship Series) after winning the ALDS (American League Division Series) against Detroit.  Not only did we make it to game 7, they were ahead in the game through seven innings before they lost to the Toronto Blue Jays.  That's the closest they have ever gotten to the World Series...within 3 innings.  Agonizing, to say the least.  

Playoff games are not like regular season games at all.  They're much more intense and there is lot more strategy applied by the coaches like the way they use the pitchers, how they arrange the batting lineup, etc.  There is a lot to understand if you are a baseball fan and a lot to discuss and analyze about each game.  We recorded every game on TV and attended each of the six home games they played here in Seattle. After a  home game, we would come home, collaspe from mental exhaustion, get up the next day and re-watch the game all over again on our recording, discussing all the strategy and comparing the televised version to the in-person version.   It was all very consuming.  During the away- games, we would plan our whole day around the televised games, which we had to watch live, of course.  It basically dominated our lives for the two week duration of the playoffs. So, aside from just a writer's block, it was more like a "life block' because everything was centered around the next playoff game.   But we had so much fun at all the games with friends and family.  It's just a good thing that most of the people we know are baseball fans just like us. 

Do you like Bruce's beard? Having facial hair was bringing our Mariners their mojo.

Since we are season ticket holders (since 1986) we were invited to a season ticket holder's reception before the first Division Series game against the Detroit Tigers and the beginning of our postseason run.

They did a really nice job on the reception that included heavy hors d'oeuvres, an open bar, a photo booth and other photo opts. 

It was a great way to begin our postseason experience. Plus, we didn't have to wait in line to get into the stadium since we were already in the stadium. They let us stay at the reception as long as we wanted since it lasted until first pitch, but we were eager to get out into the stadium and walk around. In fact, we went early to each game so we could enjoy the postseason atmosphere, a very rare occurance in this town.  We are the only MLB team to have never made it to a World Series.  

One of our favorite postseason activities was to check out all the new food at the stadium and they had a lot of new food.  Unfortunately, the games were not timed very well to accommodate our eating schedule so it was hard to try all the new offerings.  And quite honestly, I was too nervous to really eat much during these games but we did enjoy the Bigfoot BBQ Platter during Game 3 of the ALCS that was a beautiful, sunny day in Seattle.  We ate out on the rooftop boardwalk on the third level.  

This meal filled us up for the whole game which is good because we would usually get there at 3:30pm for a 5:00pm game. This meal included a full rack of slow-cooked smoked pork ribs with huckleberry BBQ sauce, paired with apple-cabbage slaw, beer-braised baked beans, polish sausage, and buttery cornbread.  We were very impressed!  It was as good as what any barbecue restaurant would serve.  It was, however, enough for four people so we took some home because we had brought sandwiches in tupperware which we had started to do for the 5:00 games because we weren't usually hungry until the middle of the game.  So, on this day, the tupperware came in handy.  During another 5:00 game, I got one of the new Hook, Line and Sinker Sandwiches and it was also very good.

It was a crispy fried pollock filet with tangy cole slaw on a buttered brioche bun.  I am hoping they keep some of these new additions for regular season next year.  They usually do have lots of new offerings from the concessions each season but we get tired of them pretty quickly since we go to around 30 games each year.  We actually don't even eat that much at the games during the regular season except at the beginning to try out some of the new items.  Here is the Godzilla Dog we tried in April. 

It's a footlong Hempler's hot dog with beef chili, togarashi cheese sauce, wasabi relish, pickled peppers, spicy mayo, teriyaki sauce, furikake, minced onion, jalapeno and nori.  It had a little too much stuff on it for me but Bruce liked it.  I like simple hotdogs with just basic mustard but it was fun to try it out.  One of our favorites is the King's Court Smoked Turkey Leg named after our retired pitcher, Felix Hernandez (He was called "The King"). The meat is really tender and it's fun to eat. 

For the postseason, they also had a loaded baked potato called the Pacific Pitmaster Potato that was a smoked, salt-rubbed baked potato topped with Tillamook white cheddar, smoky apple BBQ brisket, Rainier beer-braised onions and jalapenos.  The one time we were going to try this one, they were sold out!  Bummer.  The other item I wanted to try was the Snake River Chile Bowl that was beef and bean chili served in a sourdough bread bowl, topped with Beecher's cheese and rosemary sour cream.  We just hope they offer some of these new items during regular season or maybe again during postseason next year.  Will it happen again?  Time will tell.  We LOVE seeing our Mariners play in postseason. 

 

It is so exciting and thrilling and just a huge adrenaline rush.  It was easy for us to attend the games because we would take the water taxi over from West Seattle.  It pulls up right at the Seattle waterfront and then it's an easy 15 minute walk to the stadium.

Since we went early, we would meander around Pioneer Square and check out various cafes and coffee shops to relax a bit before hitting the frenzy of the stadium.  It was just nice to sit and relax a bit before jumping into all the hoopla of a playoff game. 

And there are so many places to choose from in this part of town.  It was a little bit of calm before the storm.  Some of our favorites were Cherry Street Coffee House, Caffe Umbria, and a new authentic French cafe, Mirabelle By Orphee.

We are hopeful for next year that our team can do it again after going so far this season.  It's hard to put your life on hold for the weeks while it's going on but it is so worth it.  I've been going to Mariner games since I was 21 years old.  To be a true Mariner fan, you must have extrememly good patience and have extremely good loyality.  To be a true Mariner fan, you know the saying all too well, "there's always next year" and I've been saying that since 1977.  Will next year be the year?