It is so nice to visit the wonderful state of California. My only visit to the Golden State was back in 2005, when I visited the City by the Bay, San Francisco. I highly recommend a visit there if you have never been there.
The Sounds arrived in town at approximately 9:40PM Pacific Time (Close to midnight via Nashville time) and after getting our bags, we bussed it to our hotel in Fresno. The Radisson Hotel here in town reminds me of the John Hammons-like Hotels where you have a whole open space inside the building and when you come out of the elevators, the rooms are against the wall and you can still see the lobby below via the balcony.
I had the chance to go around downtown Fresno today and I was real disappointed. Except for a walk-through outdoor mall, it didn’t offer a whole lot. On the East Side part of downtown, there were some nice restaurants, patios and more modern buildings,while the Central and Western part of downtown was older and more industrialized. Some blocks where I walked, it felt like a ghost town. I will say this: if you like Mexican Food, Fresno is the place since it has a lot of Mexican Restaurants here in town.
The great thing about where we stay, it is within walking distance of the ballpark. I had a chance to look upclose at Chukchansi Park, where we will play the Fresno Grizzlies (Giants’ AAA affiliate) for the next four days and it is a nice park. The pressbox is on top and the seats are modern and I hope to see more from the inside. The grass is well-manicured and I think the ballpark will help revitalize downtown Fresno in many ways.
Fresno is also the hometown of Hall-of-Fame Pitcher Tom Seaver, who went on to win 311 games, three Cy Young Awards and a World Series Ring in his illustrious career. Tom attended Fresno State College in town before transferring to USC and then on to his pro career.
Fresno also has a casino and a few museums, but I haven’t had a chance to visit the museums yet After Fresno, the Sounds head to Sacramento, the State Capitol, where we play four games with Oakland’s top farm club, the Sacramento River Cats. I will get to more about Sacramento later on.
Well, tonight, it is Game 1 of the four-game set between the Sounds and the Grizzlies. Lefthander Chuck Lofgren gets the nod for the Sounds against Grizzlies’ righthander, Joe Martinez. Grizzlies had some good prospects in the likes of Joe Borchard and Buster Posey. I know that Lofgren is glad to be back in California since he is from the Bay Area. He grew up North of Fresno, in San Mateo and that is just south of San Francisco. I know that a number of friends and family members of Chuck’s family will be in town and in Sacramento.
I will have the call tonight at 8:50PM Central Time over www.nashvillesounds.com. If any of you wonder why a late start, remember it is a two hour difference. Anyway, hope all of you have a great evening and the remainder of the week. Thank you as always for tuning in!
- Posted on May 20, 2010 at 5:13 pm
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