I've seen Corey Hart, Manny Parra and Zack Greinke pass through Nashville and even though it's a thrill to see guys from the parent club, you never like to see them have to come back to the minors to rehab. Having said that, Triple-A Nashville is the best option for guys like these since they need to try to get back to being 100 percent. Nyjer Morgan, the former Washington National has also spent time with the Sounds, but has since been called back up to the Brewers. One can certainly hope that these guys will be healthy again and can do what they can to help the Brewers, who have had an up and down season.
As of this writing, I am on the first leg of a two-city road trip, starting in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and then it's on to Round Rock, Texas, where the Sounds will begin that series this Friday against the Rangers' new Triple-A farm club, the Round Rock Express.
Going back to Oklahoma City, I had the chance to walk around downtown and the city has really grown. I can't believe how much the Bricktown part of downtown has developed. There are plenty of restaurants and not to mention a riverwalk as well. I had lived in San Antonio, Texas, for a decade and that city was always famous for its riverwalk. Even though Oklahoma City's Riverwalk is not as big, it is still nice to walk around. In addition to the many fine restaurants it has to offer, the walls on the riverwalk are covered with wonderful murals to give it a scenic charm. A lot of time and effort was put into the artists' work.
This week has also been a busy sports week for the city because not only are we in town to play the Oklahoma City RedHawks, but the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder was in town to host the Memphis Grizzlies for Games 1 and 2 of their post-season series. After losing the opener of the series, the Thunder came back to win Game 2 at the Oklahoma City Arena. The Arena is only a block from our hotel and needless to say, after the Thunder had won Game 2, it was pandemonium outside of our hotel with people cheering, car horns honking. Fortunately, the noise didn't last too long, but people were excited. There was even a giant screen outside the team's arena for those to see the game and who could not get tickets.
I was hoping to eat at Mickey Mantle's, right across the street from AT&T Bricktown Ballpark, but it was only open for dinner and since we have all night games, it would be virtually impossible for me to dine there. I did get to eat at Coach's, which is at the ballpark. It's a popular restaurant around Oklahoma. Their burgers and wings are out of this world and inside, there are plenty of Oklahoma Sports mementos, including a picture of three of the greatest baseball players in Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, all of whom have since sadly passed away. They will never been forgotten. There is an area in the restaurant where you can look out at the field and whenever one can, that person can eat and watch the ballgame at the same time. Speaking of Mantle, there is a statue of "The Mick" swinging a bat outside the ballpark and other monuments of Oklahoma's greatest players including the late Bobby Murcer, the Oklahoma City Native, who would be a great player with the Yankees, Giants and Cubs as well as a fine broadcaster with the Yankees. There's "Big Poison" and "Little Poison", Paul and Lloyd Waner, who were both hitters in their day. Across the street from the ballpark, there is a Pizzeria, a Movie Theatre and a bowling alley as well as other small restaurants. Earl's Rib Shack offers great BBQ Food, so I recommend going there if you are into barbecue. Two of the best italian restaurants, are also situated there in Zio's Italian Kitchen and the Spaghetti Warehouse. Both are in my old haunt in San Antonio and the Spaghetti Feast is something I highly recommend.
It was also great to see former Oklahoma City RedHawks Broadcaster and current radio broadcaster for the American Hockey League's Oklahoma City Barons, Jim Byers, who was an official scorer for one of the games. Jim and I go way back since we also both broadcast professional hockey in the Central Hockey League. Jim has been a fixture in Oklahoma for years and is a multi-talented and versatile announcer, who also has broadcast Horse Racing, one of the toughest sports to cover. Jim has done it all and I wish him well with the Barons.
Going through downtown Oklahoma City, I had a chance to check out Myriad Gardens except that there were plenty of construction workers who were re-doing the park, so I didn't get a chance to see a whole lot. Maybe next time. I got a nice glimpse of City Hall as I entered the Business District and saw the Courthouse and the Oklahoma Tower. The Santa Fe Plaza also featured a nice garden and statues in the area as well. I even got to visit the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Unfortunately, the top 2 floors were being renovated, so I visited the first two floors. They featured an exhibit from George Nelson, who was a great city planner and designer in his days during the first half of the century and featured many office furnishings from the 1950s, although they looked like furniture that was created in the 1970s. Nelson was before his time. I even saw many great paintings as well.
I even got to see the sign that pointed to the Oklahoma City National Memorial from the tragedy that took place on April 19, 1995 when scores were killing during the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building attack. I didn't get a chance to go to the Memorial and Museum, but I plan on doing so during my next visit. I can imagine how surreal things had to be for Oklahoma City during that fateful day 16 years ago.
As for the baseball, it has been a frustrating road trip. The Sounds have lost the first 3 games of the series, with two of the games being decided by one run. Nashville's usually reliable pitching has turned out otherwise. There have been way too many walks and the Sounds' clutch hitting has continued to be lacking. As of this writing, they are 9-16, but of course, one winning streak can cure all ills. I felt for Sounds' reliever Donovan Hand, who had just got called up from Class AA Huntsville yesterday. He was happy to see me and he came over to hug me. One of the most congenial players on the team. Well, in the 10th inning of last night's game, he got thrown into duty. He struck out the first batter he faced and the 2nd batter grounded out to 2nd. However, pinch batter Drew Locke abruptly ended things with a long home run over the left field wall to clinch the victory for the RedHawks, who are now 5-2 against the Sounds this season. I felt bad for Hand since he pitched real well for the Sounds last year. Of course, giving up a home run can happen to any professional pitcher, but except that Donovan just re-joined the Sounds and wanted to impress. Still, I'm not worried about Hand because he is one of many great relief pitchers that the Brewers have in their farm system as well as at the big league level. I know that Hand will rebound from this and I look to see Nashville rebound from their disappointing start. Well, we have one more game here in Oklahoma City tonight and then it's on to Round Rock, Texas, where the Sounds start their 4-game set against the Express at the Dell Diamond tomorrow night. It will be nice to be back in Texas, where I have lived for years, but I would anticipate that the weather will be hotter there than it is here and the weather here in Oklahoma City has been nice this week.
Tune in to nashvillesounds.com for tonight's broadcast at 6:50PM and throughout the entire series with Round Rock. I will try to get another blog update in regarding the series with Round Rock. Until then, so long and thank you for your continued support. Happy Reading!
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