Going Down to Cincinnati, Ohio . . .

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Hey Leatherheads, still at the hotel in Florence, Kentucky, a touching suburb a short ride across the river from Cincinnati. Post title comes from the song "Cincinnati, OH" by the Morris/Sussex County, New Jersey-based band Annoying Customer. So here's the review of Great American Ballpark.

The stadium scores major points because, like PNC Park and the new Nationals Stadium, it's on the banks of a river (the Ohio), with a beautiful panoramic view of the river as it passes by. I'd also like to stress that this is a corporate-sponsored stadium. I really wish more teams tried to work in at least a decent sounding name to their corporate-sponsored parks, for example, when the San Francisco Giants approached Ralph Lauren about sponsoring "The Polo Grounds." I completely understand why it's good to have a corporate sponsor (it basically pays for a superstar every year), but it would be nice if the names weren't quite as contrived as U.S. Cellular Field.

Great American is another open-space walk-around stadium. They shoot off something or other (cannons?) when homeruns are hit (Brandon Phillips hit one), which is pretty sweet. Edinson Volquez managed to pitch through quite a bit of trouble and it was a pretty exciting game (though that should not necessarily be included in the review).

As far as grabbing a bite before or after the game, we went to some restaurant/bar called "In Betweens," not a great place, but the waitress was nice enough. They also charged for water. We were hoping to just grab a slice, but no such luck. Also, no street meat outside, but there were quite a few people selling $1 bottles of Ice Mountain Water ("pure as the driven snow") and $3 bags of peanuts.

Similar to the rest of the stadiums we've been to, no one ushered you along if you stopped somewhere to take in a bit of the game. I feel like this freedom to wander around the parks at your leisure is so amazing, and yet it is present everywhere we go. It really drives home how crappy Shea is, and especially how crappy the people who run it treat us fans.

All in all, Great American Ball Park was simply a good experience. I feel, unfortunately, like I'm becoming desensitized to how great these new parks are (this year was also the first time I've seen games at the new Nationals and Phillies arenas) and I'm going to want to electrocute myself when I get back to New Jersey. I should have realized I'd feel this way because it's how my roommate, Shaun, felt when he came back from a vacation in Michigan a month ago.

It probably hurt the experience that we didn't get to see Adam Dunn or Joey Votto (though he did pinch hit). Newport on the Levee was a decent enough place to go out, kind of reminded me and Andrew of Downtown Silver Spring, Maryland, for those of you who've been there. $1 Miller Lites is always nice. We ate at Montgomery Inn, a very nice place with good ribs, but post-date your check for your next paycheck.

Great American Ball Park Grades:

Biggest Advantages: Walking around, Friendly service,
Biggest Drawbacks: Nothing special in comparison to the other stadiums we've been to
Overall Grade: B/B+

Up Next: Busch Stadium in Saint Louis, Missouri