Garden-Based?

  Sure, there is baseball and hockey going on. Plenty of the former and one final matchup on the ice. I will get to that. 

But first, I want to digress. My wife, daughter and I went inside the Garden. We even had lunch there and spent almost three hours on the grounds. 

This was a bucket list item for me. Plenty of others joined us at the Garden. Wearing New York Knicks merchandise. And it was picturesque. 

But thee wasn’t any basketball being played at this Garden. It was the Brooklyn Botanical Garden. 

According to the guide brochure, the Brooklyn Botanical Garden was founded in 1910 and “this vital urban sanctuary features more than 12,000 kinds of plants from around the world.” Pretty amazing. 

I have a somewhat disjointed understanding of Brooklyn. My family’s origin is from that borough. While primarily focused on Coney Island, I have explored some parts of Brooklyn, but not its entirety by a long shot. 

We took the Goethals Bridge to Staten Island and traversed the always-crowded Staten Island Expressway to cross the Verrazano Narrows Bridge; I harken back to a time when there was still a ferry crossing that part of New York Harbor and I can vividly recall watching the bridge rise from those cold and forbidding waters along the tortuous Belt Parkway. If you wondered, the name comes from three of four parkways which comprise the Belt System: the Shore Parkway, the Southern Parkway (not the Southern State Parkway which originates from the Cross island Parkway—the fourth parkway in the Belt System but signed differently) and the Laurelton Parkway. 

Our directions took us onto the usually murderously-trafficked Brooklyn-Queens Expressway. Except that the traffic seemed to be headed to the Belt Parkway and we only stayed on the BQE until the first exit for Fort Hamilton Parkway. 

The route to the Garden took us through southwestern Brooklyn and into the heart of the borough beginning on Fort Hamilton Parkway. I am unsure where I was driving, but I was in a very densely-populated section which could have been Sunset Park of Bensonhurst, because we encountered a lot of Hasidic school buses parked seemingly everywhere. 

En route, we passed Maimonides Medical Center. I had heard of it, but had no idea of its location. In researching this blog, I learned that the hospital was located in the Midwood and Madison Park sections of Brooklyn. 

Names of familiar streets popped up throughout the trip to the BBG and back home to Springfield: Ocean Parkway; Flatbush Avenue; Bedford Avenue; Prospect Avenue; Atlantic Avenue, to name a few. I saw the Brooklyn Museum building because we parked in their lot; the Brooklyn Academy of Music; The Barclays Center, home to the Nets and New York Liberty; Prospect Park and its zoo. Plus I recognized that the former Ebbets Field, the venerable home of the Brooklyn Dodgers until the team’s exodus to Southern California after the 1957 season wasn’t far away from where we were. 

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden is so large that it has three entrances—one on Flatbush Avenue, one on Eastern Parkway and another on Washington Avenue. There is a Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden complete with fish and lily ponds. The Garden has a Cherry Walk and a Cherry Esplanade, which must have been beautiful with the blossoms earlier in the Spring. 

Shakespeare has his own Garden and there is a Fragrance Garden and the Discovery Garden—the sole places you can actually touch the plants. Name a variety and the Garden has it: annuals; bluebells; trees; herbs and vegetables; fruit trees from seemingly everywhere in the world; lilacs; magnolias; maples; pine trees; perennials; peonies. Additionally, there is the Steinhardt Conservatory which houses a variety of exotic plants from different environments which is diverse and bountiful. Most magnificent was the Cranford Rose Garden, with the roses still at least 60% in full, beautiful bloom. 

Touring this facility required a lot of walking and a lot of time. Even with a stop for a sumptuous lunch in the restaurant near the conservatory, we spent almost three hours there and could have spent more. 

The trip back through Brooklyn to the Manhattan Bridge and then on Canal Street to the Holland Tunnel was arduous. Then again, what would one expect but near gridlock conditions on a Sunday afternoon?

It was good to be back in New Jersey. In plenty of time to see the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees tangle in the Bronx. Boston won the opener of the three game series on Friday night, handily spanking Ryan Weathers and the Bombers pitchers to the tune of 5-3. Then the skies opened up in the New York Metropolitan area and the nationally-televised Saturday night game was postponed. 

Cam Schlittler got the nod for NYY on Sunday. In 5.2 innings, the American League E.R.A. leader at 1.87 allowed four hits and one run in the top of the sixth inning while striking out five and walking one. Boston’s Ranger Suarez gave up six hits and a run in 6.1 innings, walking no one. 

New York slugger Cody Bellinger started the eighth inning rally with a solo shot way over the right field fence. Following Bellinger’s lead, Ahmed Rosario singled and moved to second, whereupon Trent Grisham’s single plated Rosario. Anthony Volpe kept the two out merry-go-round going by walking and he and Grisham scored on Jazz Chisholm’s blast to right field.  Final score: NYY 6, BOS 1.

A note on Chisholm. He wears injured slugger Giancarlo Stanton’s big pants when he comes to the plate. For this at bat, Chisholm used injured team captain/great hitter Aaron Judge’s bat. Obviously it is the bat which contains the home runs, not Judge’s prodigious talent. 

The Yankees extended the magic on Monday night in Cleveland, as they came from behind to overtake the Guardians 7-5 in extra innings. Paul Goldschmidt, perhaps a future Hall of Fame inductee, continued to slug, as he hit a three run home run and raised his batting average to .274. Still room for him to get better, as Goldschmidt left four on base.  Bellinger, Grisham and Ben Rice contributed to the offense with two hits each. NYY used 8 pitchers to get through this game.

On Tuesday, rookie Spencer Jones, playing in place of Judge hit a long drive for his first MLB home run and Chisholm continued his hot streak using others clothes and equipment by striking the game-winning home run on a night when ace Gerrit Cole struggled. 

NYY received more bad news on the heels of Judge’s rib cage injury which has sidelined him indefinitely. Primary catcher Austin Wells had been suffering from cervical headaches, enough to place him on the IL to undergo treatment. 

With all of the troubles the team has endured, they remain neck and neck with Tampa Bay for the AL East lead and have the most victories in the league, plus lead in many other categories. Imagine how good this team might be when all of the key injured players arrive healthy and ready to go.

As well as the Yankees have played, the area is agog over the New York Knicks. Having come home from Texas with a 2-0 lead over the San Antonio Spurs, expectations were high for a Madison Square Garden celebration this week with two wins over the Western Conference champions.  After all, this had become a team of destiny in the minds of its loyal fan base, starving for the first championship since 1973. NYK had won 13 straight games; why not finish the deed off quickly and win two more?

Celebrity row had the famous present for the raucous event. Derek Jeter and Eli Manning sat next to each other. New York sports royalty if there ever were two iconic players of recent vintage in their particular sport. The prices for resold tickets are astronomical. Madison Square Garden was the place to be—President Donald Trump was there, booed by the fans more intent on winning a championship than honoring a native New Yorker who became a politician. 

The problem with this gala going on at the Garden, not to be confused with the Travis Kelce-Taylor Swift All-Star nuptials scheduled for July 3 at MSG, is that the invitees were the Spurs. And they have one heck of a team. Full of talent and tremendous pride.

Don’t forget that both NYK wins on the road in the NBA Finals were of the comeback variety. It wasn’t as if they were blowing out SAS and larger-than-life Victor Wembanyama. 

Wemby and crew took it to NYK both physically and athletically in Game 3. The Spurs met the challenges of the Knicks and outlasted them to a score of 115-111. The Spurs ruined a feel good party in the process and made sure that there would be company on their return to Texas for some more basketball. 

Nobody was safe in this game—star NYK guard Jalen Brunson was continually mugged—and don’t New Yorkers know a good mugging. Wemby gave Brunson a forearm shiver that New York Giants Hall of Fame LB Lawrence Taylor would have been proud of. There was no call against Wemby. Even former Mayor Michael Bloomberg was run over at court side by Knicks sub Jose Alvarado; that’s not fair for an 84 year old NYC dignitary. 

Biased as I am, I agreed with New York head coach Mike Brown that the officiating was inconsistent at best and seemed to be heavily favoring the Spurs while overlooking some egregious fouls to NYK players. Conspiracy theories abounded that ABC/Disney wanted to generate ratings and more profits by skewing the officiating against the Knicks. 

Dare I say the game was “rigged,” to use one of President Trumps’s favorite phrases about elections? I felt like I was reviewing old film of the Bad Boys’ Detroit Pistons teams which unmercifully beat up on their opponents in winning two titles in 1989 and 1990. Which resulted in a crackdown on flagrant fouling. Evidently that retro style is back in vogue for a very good basketball team which could just win by playing the game right. 

Game 4 became the pivotal contest in this best-of-seven Finals. Of course, MSG was once more frenzied. With the fans more on edge with the heretofore invincible Knickerbockers anything but that. 

Things didn’t start out well at all for NYK. SAS threw haymakers at them and they kept landing. Seemingly everything the Spurs did wen their way. The Knicks couldn’t keep pace with them and were seriously outplayed. 

San Antonio led 76-49 at the half. Victor Webanyama looked nearly invincible. The lead actually swelled to 29 points at one point during the game. SAS made 11 of their first 16 three point shots. They rarely missed free throws while the Knicks missed a ton and shot poorly or were harassed by an unrelenting Spurs defense. 

Until the resilient Knicks, a team which came back from 22 points down in the fourth quarter in the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland, began to fight back. And the Spurs offense suddenly went ice cold. 

Led by Brunson with 36 hard-fought points, the Knicks stormed back into the game in the fourth quarter after cutting the SA lead to 15 at the end of the third quarter. Brown brilliantly inserted Jose Alvarado into the lineup and his speed and agility helped on both offense and defense. 

With 1:22 left to play, NYK took the lead on a shot by Brunson. With a miss on a breakaway by Josh Hart and a subsequent foul  by the gritty Villanova player, the Spurs regained the lead with 30 seconds to go. 

The Knicks defense and poor shot selection by SAS gave the Knicks one more chance. Brunson hoisted a three point shot which rimmed out. OG Anunoby charged down the lane and tipped the ball into the basket with 1.2 seconds left on perhaps the most iconic set in New York Knicks history other than a very gimpy Willis Reed’s two baskets to start Game 7 of the 1973 Finals. 

NYK held on and the already delirious Garden celebrated in a way loyalists had never seen, staying there for at least 15 minutes after the miracle took place. Taylor Swift showed up at court side, replacing Trump. Perhaps she is now the good luck charm. 

No team had ever done what the Knicks accomplished with this comeback. Certainly not in Finals annals. Only the LA Clippers overcame a 31 point margin versus Golden State in a 2019 playoff game. 

Now the series returns to San Antonio with NYK holding a commanding 3-1 lead. Only Cleveland has ever won after trailing by that deficit. 

This series, if you have not been watching, has been must see TV. The ratings reflect it. So does the level of play—poor officiating and all the histrionics involved. Game 5 is Saturday night. 

The NHL has had a really good Stanley Cup Finals. Lots of scoring and close contests have been the norm. All of the games have been decided by one goal. 

The Vegas Golden Knights made one bad decision to challenge a referee’s decision which resulted in the call remaining intact and Carolina rallying to score a power play goal and win Game 2. VGK would have been on the precipice of sweeping the four games entering Tuesday night’s Game 4. A ricochet off the goalie’s skate and into the net in overtime also helped. 

More crazy bounces, including a full rink bank shot into an open net concluded a 5-3 Carolina win. The Hurricanes look like the better team and have the ability to win it all if they continue to execute their smothering defense. Timely goal scoring and luck also helps. Back to Raleigh they go for Game 5.

So that you remain informed, the College Baseball World Series begins in Omaha. Oklahoma upset #2 Georgia Tech to secure a trip to Nebraska. The Sooners are joined by first timer West Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and upstart Troy from the Sun Belt Conference, which comes in with a 38-30 record; one of those victories is over Rutgers while the Trojans have held their own against top flight competition in the regular season. 

Troy previously eliminated a very good Florida and Miami teams in the regionals before knocking out Arkansas-Little Rock in the Super Regionals.  Five SEC teams, one each from the ACC and Big !2 and Troy are in the CWS. The Sun Belt must grow good dreams. 

I know that the World Cup begins this week. Just like the French Open in tennis, I can’t seem to get into the greatest sports spectacle in the world besides the Olympics. Maybe it’s the outrageous prices FIFA has extorted and the New Jersey transportation nightmare which will occur. But the pitches will look spectacular, the grass so smooth and luxurious. 

And the fact that the United States Men’s Soccer team does not appear to be very good isn’t helpful to getting me in front of a TV set with the Yankees and Knicks playing so well. Can you fault me? This isn’t like Olympic hockey. 

We are one week plus away from the start of Summer. The heat has come back to New Jersey. My tomato plants are thriving, multiple yellow blossoms on them all and the peppers and spices are doing fine. Daily watering is a must, along with the bi-monthly application of Miracle-Go into the pots which consist of mulch dirt from the township. 

My attention will be riveted to the Yankees and Knicks. After all, with recent my visits to Brooklyn, across the river from the epicenter of basketball where I passed heading downstairs to Penn Station, the finely manicured field at Yankee Stadium which I saw in person last week and my daily attention to watering my plants, I think that, for the most part, I have become Garden-Based?

A Tale Of Two Stadiums

  Another year. Another trip to Camden Yards. Almost like a yearly right of passage for MLB baseball. Perhaps more so than going to Yankee Stadium to see my New York Yankees play. 

By my unofficial count this is either the 15th or 16th time Fan X and I have traveled down the Garden State Parkway and Interstate 95 to Exit 53 in Baltimore. More times than not, including bathroom stops, it takes us approximately 3 hours to reach our destination. 

We’ve encountered traffic most times, in each state, sometimes due to volume, other times due to construction or an accident. Which is why we have learned to leave early so that the stress level is reduced. 

When we walk a good distance to get there, after finding parking and moving past the Baltimore Ravens’ home field, M&T Bank Stadium and noticing the ongoing improvements each year, we reach the multi-leveled, red brick, old B&O Warehouse on Eutaw Street. That is where Orioles fans congregate to enter the ballpark. It is unique to baseball and somehow, the crowd moves fast enough through the metal detectors and screening the mobile tickets to actually enter the stadium.

Outside of three Yankee Stadiums, Camden Yards is the stadium I have been to the most. As a result, I have an intimacy with it—at least on the field level concourse. I have been inside the Home Plate Club one time and enjoyed chewing down a crab cake while waiting out a rain delay—the only one we have encountered in Baltimore. And that Home Plate Club has been usurped by the Truist Club, a brand new addition to the ballpark directly behind home plate for the partial and full season ticket holders who fork over some serious cash to mingle with others so situated. 

Until this trip, I had never been upstairs in Camden Yards. Fan X was fixated on having a Pat La Freida hamburger, so we took the trek to find the stand. Where Fan X was the only person in line. He did say it was good; I settled for an adequate meal of chicken fingers and fries. 

Understand that I do not go to a stadium for the food. At Yankee Stadium, which has so many choices—all not too cheap—I bring in my own food. This is by choice. 

We used to have Boog’s BBQ as part of the ticket package, obtained from a stand behind the outfield gates which emitted plenty of smoke. Named after famed Orioles first baseman John “Boog” Powell, the cuisine was smoked meats. They were so so. Evidently, the shop has relocated to Camden Street, a long throw away from the stadium. I don’t miss it. 

I go to the ballpark because I love the game. I get so into the game itself—reading the umpire’s strike zone; the statistics on the scoreboard; the nature of the plays unfolding before me. 

That doesn’t mean that I don’t notice the changes in the park—in the advertising, the scoreboard; and the prices at the concession stands. To buy a crab cake and fries package from the first booth inside the right field concourse at Camden Yards will cost well over $30. That took away any culinary adventurousness I might have had that Saturday. 

Fan X and I learned the hard way that the best place to sit for a 4:05 start is on the left field side. If there’s more than 20 minutes of sun to deal with, that’s a lot. And Baltimore has a strong sun. Sitting in the sun and sweating for three hours after that three hour drive down isn’t enjoyable and makes the return trip home somewhat uncomfortable if you are not properly hydrated. 

I have seen Yankees fans there. I have seen Mets fans there. I have seen many busloads of Phillies fans take the trip from Eastern PA to stuff the upper deck in left field. (There is no upper deck in right field, an open area extending down the right field line where the grandstand ends and a limited bleacher area extends from right center field to center field).

Yes, this is a ball field where major leaguers come to play. A very well-manicured one. I watched the grounds crew painstakingly get the infield ready for play, and slowly remark the baselines from first and third base to home plate. It is a craft and an important one. I appreciated their attention to detail. 

Oh, yes, there was a game this past Saturday between American League East foes. The Toronto Blue Jays were visiting the Orioles in a four game series. (Of note—I have seen the two teams that use birds as their symbol play at Camden Yards—Toronto and St. Louis; those games are for bird watchers, I guess) Toronto won the Thursday and Friday night games by one run to reach the .500 mark. 

Both teams relied on star college pitchers to take the mound. Trey Yesavage, who played at East Carolina and somehow semis the Yankees bats started for the Blue Jays, while Baltimore countered with Bryce Young, who pitched at Louisiana-Lafayette. 

Early on, the teams matched zeros for the first two innings. The Orioles broke through first, scoring a run in the bottom of the third inning. Toronto put up two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a one run lead.

The Blue Jays tacked on two more runs in the top of the eighth inning then added one more in the top of the ninth to take what appeared to be a commanding four run lead. Or so we assumed.

Jeff Hoffman, another East Carolina product, came in to close out the game for Toronto and preserve a win for Yesavage. The ten year MLB veteran had pitched for Colorado, Cincinnati and Philadelphia before landing with Toronto in 2025. 

Hoffman had not been pitching well this season, although in his two previous outings before Saturday against Miami and Thursday night in Baltimore, he pitched well. In a third of an inning, Hoffman faced seven batters, surrendering three hits, two walks, and he was ultimately charged with five earned runs when ex-New York Met Pete Alonso, who had meekly grounded into a bases-loaded double play to thwart a rally, singled through a drawn-in Jays infield to end the game and send the merry patrons home happy with a 6-5 O’s win. 

It was an unlikely ending to an interesting game. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. went 4 for 5 to lead the Blue Jays attack. He committed an error at first base when he whiffed on a pick off throw from Yesavage and was charged with his sixth error of the season. Guerrero took no responsibility for his miscue, for after two more pitches, the bat boy brought him a replacement glove. That’s what super stars do when they make a mistake—blame the glove. 

While Yesavage lowered his already sterling E.R.A. with his performance, he did not pitch that well. Although the Orioles only reached Yesaage for only two hits in five innings and he struck out four batters, his command of the strike zone was wanting—Yesavage issued 7 walks. For that matter, Toronto walked a total of 11 Orioles. They somehow deserved to lose—even if Baltimore seemed very flat for eight innings. 

Of their 11 hits, 4 were doubles. Baltimore had two extra base hits—a double and triple. No home runs were hit. The Blue Jays four game winning streak ended and on Sunday, Baltimore also won. Baltimore has moved ahead of the Jays in the standings by going 7-3 in the last ten games while the Jays have lost their last four games. 

The drive back was easy. It stayed light in New Jersey until we were between Exits 2 and 3 on the New Jersey Turnpike. The game was exciting with the come-from-behind rally. It whetted my appetite for more baseball. 

That quickly took place on Thursday. With my daughter in town on break from film production, we decided to go see our beloved New York Yankees. Getting half-price tickets from a promotion, we settled on a Thursday matinee game with the visiting Cleveland Guardians. 

As beautiful and spacious Camden Yards feels, with its green stands giving a more old-time flavor, the new Yankee Stadium was built to be a cathedral—elegant and opulent. It bespeaks money and power—a symbol of the New York Yankees, the 27-time World Champions and the aura of Manhattan, even if it is located in the South Bronx. 

Surprisingly, Yankee Stadium is the fifth largest MLB stadium by capacity, behind Dodger Stadium, Chase Field in Phoenix, T-Mobile Park in Seattle and just a smidgen smaller than Coors Field, the home of the Colorado Rockies. (Camden Yards is three notches down from Yankee Stadium) Because the ballpark is so immense, it makes the seating area look larger than it really is. 

Yankee Stadium is replete with modern technology all around the stadium. The concourses are wide and spacious. New Yorkers (and some visitors rooting for Guardians) were a well-behaved lot. At least at this game. Boston is coming to town for a weekend series and proper behavior will go out the window. 

Going to Yankee Stadium isn’t as easy as going to Baltimore. I am loathe to drive to a Yankees game because the New Jersey Turnpike, George Washington Bridge and the portion to the Major Deegan Expressway South (Major William Francis Deegan was a Cooper Union graduate with a degree in architecture; a major in the Army Corps of Engineers; organizer of the American Legion;  President of the Bronx Chamber of Commerce; Tenement House Commissioner; and chairman of the Mayor’s Committee on Receptions to Distinguished Guests. Deegan Rock is located at the junction of East 138th Street, the Deegan Expressway, and the Grand Concourse). Then getting to the stadium and being shunted to parking can be very unsettling. The drive back in rush hour traffic is even more unbearable. 

Thus, the grimy NJ Transit cars packed from Millburn to Penn Station in New York City becomes our go-to way of getting across the Hudson River. We walk a block to Herald Square where the D train is accessible; that takes up to East 161st Street and River Avenue, where Yankee Stadium resides.

When one emerges from the subway, it is into a carnival-like atmosphere. Vendors are hawking everything related to the Yankees, food and drink, and since the New York Knicks are rolling in the NBA Finals after concluding their 12th straight win in a gutsy performance on the road in San Antonio, Knicks hats and t-shirts were available in the Bronx and outside of Madison Square Garden. (In a breathtaking last minute of play, NYK eked out a one point win over the Spurs on Friday night to take a 2-0 lead back to MSG)

Lines snaked around the outer perimeter of the building, guiding the patrons to the metal detectors and entry into the colossus I believe this version of Yankee Stadium is. Inside the wide, open atrium, fans make their way to their seats. It is much nicer than the old ballpark in that regard.

We sat in the sun for at least three innings before moving back two rows to soothing shade) and watched the NYY grounds crew smooth the infield dirt in crossing patterns. A very unique arrangement. 

Our Wawa hoagies hit the spot. We drank a ton of water supplemented by Gatorade on the ride into the city. And it helped. Along with SPF 55 sunblock—they only allow creams and lotions into the ballpark, not sprays. 

The Yankees had lost two straight to Cleveland, the AL Central leaders. The big guns—first Cam Schlittler and then Gerrit Cole, failed to stop the Cleveland attack. 

Moreover, the NYY bats were mostly silent, as the team now sorts through how they will make it to the playoffs after learning that Team Captain and reigning AL M.V.P. Aaron Judge is lost indefinitely after suffering a stress fracture to his rib cage. 

So it was up to Carlos Rodon, who is working his way back to form after having off season elbow surgery, to stop the bleeding. This was a game the Yankees needed to win before arch rival Boston arrived for the weekend. 

Rodon pitched well enough over six innings. He held the Cleveland bats to a single and a double over six innings. Those were the only hits the Guardians could muster. Rodon issued three walks and struck out seven on a beautiful day in the Bronx. 

It took a single by third baseman Ryan Mc Mahon in the eighth inning with two outs to score Jazz Chisholm, Jr. with the winning run. Strong performances by Brent Hedrick, Fernando Cruz and closer David Bednar, who garnered his 13 th save, allowed for the Yankees to emerge victorious. 

With the repeated strains of Frank Sinatra’s singing “New York, New York,” we departed the Bronx happy—for the moment. Catching the second D train we could board and then an express train back to Millburn, we concluded our journey in under eight hours. 

I will be back in the Bronx when Cincinnati comes in. It will be Father’s Day. I hope that the yankees pitching keeps them going while Judge mends. I was impressed with the hitting of centerfielder Trent Grisham, who seems to be starting a small tear, and DH/1B Ben Rice, whose would balls sizzled off this bat; I still can’t get over that this powerful hitter played at Dartmouth—not a bastion of baseball talent. 

Before I go, I want to report that Denison University, the top-ranked DIII baseball team, won the DIII Championship with a thrilling comeback victory in the final game of the three game series after losing a heartbreaker to Endicott College of Massachusetts in the second game. And kudos to Redlands, which denied Trine another title in DIII women’s softball. Texas won the DI softball crown, defeating Texas Tech.

I will be watching the Knicks-Spurs and Golden Knights-Hurricanes as they progress through their respective finals. So far, they are absolutely full of excitement. 

I have given you a tale of two stadiums. Certainly it was the best of times for many Orioles, Yankees, Denison, Redlands, Texas, Vegas, Carolina and Knicks fans. For the others, including Yankees fans, it was the worst of times when their respective teams lost.