A weekend at Turner Field, in case you missed it

Panorama taken by me

So, I know it's been covered ad nauseum by other users who have far better stories than I could ever tell, but in case you missed it, there was an integral series with our rival New YorK Mets this past weekend, and I just wanted to share some stories and quips of my own, and for the most part, there were interesting happenings at all of the games attended, worth some mentioning.

Thursday, it was the first game at Turner Field after a long road trip plus the All-Star break, so resuming baseball in Atlanta was high priority.  It was also the game in which Turner Field was to unveil the "new and improved" Coca-Cola bottle that would stand proudly out in the left-field skywalk.  Well, here it is.

It's made out of plexiglass in a greenish hue to mimic the old style of Coke bottles.  The "label" is a rotating LCD screen that is capable of generating whatever message the talking heads at Turner feel the need to have on display.  And, as the old one was, it shoots out fireworks during every home run, every home team win, and any other joyous occasions meriting the display of fireworks.

I'm not going to lie here - I'm not the biggest fan of it.  The old bottle was a sheer symbol of the unity between baseball and Coca-Cola.  New one, not so much.  It's just like "hey, Coke, yeah, drink it."  I understand why the change was made, but it doesn't make it any less fluff, and distracting.  Y'see, the old one, made from a collage of baseballs, bats, helmets, bases, catchers pads, etc, after twelve years, was really falling apart.  Balls were missing, pads were getting ripped off in inclimate weather, and bases were spontaneously dropping off the side of the bottle.  In short, like a needy girlfriend, it was high-maintenance.  The new bottle, is far from it.  Speaking with some of the park staff, the maintenance required to go into this one is a few hoses and squeegees, and making sure the electronics work, and the fireworks work.  This has the making of lasting for long beyond twelve years.

Oh yeah, there was a baseball game that day too.  Since one hot topic going into this series was "How would Jeff Francoeur be welcomed back to Atlanta?" I decided to take a few video clips to answer the questions for those who aren't in Atlanta and/or couldn't make the game.

How Jeff Francoeur is received during the lineup

And this is how Jeff Francoeur was received at his first at-bat.  Notice the boos beginning to creep in towards the end of the applause, and how quickly people begin cheering when he hits into the bang-bang LIDP.  The first two at-bats were met with applause, but despite going 0-2 at that point, he still drove in a run on the FC.  Therefore by the third at-bat, nothing but boos.

So in case you missed it, Friday's game was important for it was Greg Maddux Night, where his number was officially retired by the Atlanta Braves Hall of Fame.  Getting there early, I didn't have to look hard to see where the monumental achievement was going to hang.

On the field, a bevvy of living legends, the Maddux family, and the entire Braves roster, while 50,000 people give a standing ovation.  I had discussions with some people earlier about how this was probably going to be the biggest attended game of the season.  From the looks of things, it sure seemed like it was going to be.

And here is the man of the hour . . . looking as bored, awkward, and apathetic as ever.  Seriously - Greg Maddux in the 9th inning with bases loaded with only one out looks more cool and collected than he did during his celebration.  But that's why he's such an easy guy to like.  He's so modest and reserved, and completely devoid of any ego that it's virtually impossible to hate the guy.

I couldn't help but lol, every time they showed Maddog on the screen while guys like Sutton and Scheurholz were up at the podium trying to give nice words.  He was as uneasy, and looking around and fidgeting more than a 7-year old hopped up on Mountain Dew being forced to watch Doctor Zhivago.

In case you missed it, here's the tribute video package played at the park after the speaking part was done.  Skip to 0:17 to see it, if you're curious, I spliced it as such to get around the YouTube patrol who goes around scoping things to make sure that they're not violating copyrights of Major League Baseball.  Basically, I posted the tribute videos for Smoltz's 3000th K, and Chipper's 400th HR, and both were removed for such reasons.  I just want to share, I swear!

And the #31 is finally unveiled to rousing applause, while the new "and improved" Coke bottle fires away with fireworks.

The #31 tribute jersey in the turf right behind home plate.  I saw this also last night at the game against the Giants; I'm hoping that they'll at least keep this magnificent piece up there for the rest of the season.

Maddux and Son throwing out the ceremonial first pitches, to Eddie Perez and Chipper Jones respectfully.  Look at the form of Jr. there, he's got a full delivery going on.

As for the game, some things never change.  Can anyone guess the significance of this picture?

This shirt made me lol a little bit.  It's a bit of a stretch, but a C+ for effort at somehow turning a 7 into a 25, and simply just putting a piece of duct tape with "CHURCH" scrawled on it in sharpie is where the demerits take effect.

And there we have it.  50,704 is the season-high attendance thus far.  It beats Opening Day, and every single game versus the Yankees or Red Sox.  The guy in the attedance contest was a total chump too, ending up guessing 5,000 people.  Look, I know Turner Field gets a bad rap for apathetic fans, but even in their worst nights they still crack five figures!

This is where I sat during the game on Saturday.  I was on the Golden Moon Casino level, and apparently, these seats are normally $28 a pop during the season, but in honor of poor ticket sales Bobby Cox's 2000th Braves Victory, these seats are $6 a pop for the rest of the season.  The benefits of these seats during a day game are the shade, as well as the cleaner, nicer restrooms on the third-level.  But no beer men or concessions people walk around.

Maybe it's because it was NASCAR day at the Ted, or maybe it was the Mets.  Maybe it's because it was just a really, really gorgeous day in Atlanta that day, but miraculously, the previous night's attendance was one-upped, with a turnout of 51,020 fans at the park.  Impressive, but I hate to think that the allure of the All-American Rejects drew better fans than Greg Maddux...

Oh yeah, the Braves lost this game too.  Johan Santana finally got a win on the Braves, but probably shouldn't have, had the Braves came through on just one of the bases-loaded scenarios on the day, and Bobby Cox wasn't shuffling players left and right in key innings.  And Manny Acosta, he who gave up an RBI double to of all people, Jeff Francoeur.

Not sure if anyone would be remotely interested, but yeah, the All-American Rejects did have a post-game concert free to those in attendance that day.  My friends whom were with me wanted to stay, and sure, I enjoy some of their songs, so we stuck around.  I was pleased to see the way they avoided having the stage on the grass at all, by placing it right up on the infield at second base.  If anyone can recall the horrors from last season, there was a concert, where the stage was erected on center field, which left a big ugly indentation on the grass for the remainder of the season.  Both Mark Kotsay and Gregor Blanco had more than a few instances of dealing with slippery turf and loose sod.

Apparently, the only ones really allowed on the field were Braves employees and park staff, and a few random folks whom I wondered what they did to be allowed onto the field.  No, I wasn't interested in really seeing the band up close, because I don't like it when I have ringing ears for a week after a loud concert, but it would've been fun to run around on the infield dirt.

The creepy, old, groupie who managed to get the prime spot on the field, being right in front of frontman, Tyson Ritter.  She even managed to get the "privilege" of re-tying his shoelaces.  That minx, she was.

Honestly, seeing as how it was a free concert, I was expecting a five-song set at most, but I have to give credit to the Rejects - I lost count, but I think they did anywhere from 10-12 songs total before retiring.  Ritter looked a little strung out, more than usual, but he came out and put on a good show, overall.

I missed out on the Sunday ESPN game, but I was pleased to see later in the evening that the Braves put the nail in the coffin on the Mets with their big 7-1 victory.  A combination of great weather, great Braves baseball, and a myriad of events and happenings at Turner Field, leads me to easily conclude that it was a great weekend of baseball here in Atlanta.

I can't stress it enough to when I say that Atlanta has something special with Turner Field.  It's easily one of the cheapest parks in MLB compared to all the others ones I've been to thus far, and the park itself is one of the nicer ones, comparatively.  The cost of tickets is easily some of the easiest to deal with, and the large capacity almost guarantees desirable seats at any game.  I highly encourage people to come out and see the Braves in their home park for those who don't live here, and to those who do, come on out to the park; it's been a very mild summer, and it looks like something special could be on the horizon.