Royalty Tours USA

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Royalty w/o 6/17 in review

Opening Night at Richmond County Ballpark
Monday after work I took the Staten Island Ferry from Lower Manhattan to Richmond County Ballpark at St. George, the home of the Staten Island Yankees. They're the single A affiliate of the New York Yankees in the NY-Penn League which is a very low level league. A lot of players who just got drafted go to play in this league and/or similar ones across the country.

It was Opening night as the Baby Yankees were hosting their interborough rivals, the Brooklyn Cyclones who are the Mets' single A farm team.

Before I went over to the ballpark, I stopped off at Subway in the Ferry Terminal. I had my pre game meal there. When I finished I met up with my pal Vincent Ascanio who got me a $10 ticket for the game. We then we went inside to see the game. We were joined by a few familiar faces as Michael Abrams and Rich Wolber were also in attendance.

As for the game we saw, the Staten Island Yankees took advantage of a throwing error by Cyclones' third baseman Anthony Chavez which allowed two runs to score. They managed to make them stand up as they held off the Cyclones, 2-1. James Roche of the Cyclones hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to slice the lead in half. It should be noted that we saw L.J. Mazzilli, son of former Met & Yankee Lee Mazzilli play his first professional game. He was drafted by the Mets out of UCONN. He also got his first professional hit, a single to left center field in the 4th inning.

Tuesday night after work I went up to the Bronx in hopes of seeing the Yankees play the Los Angeles Dodgers for the first time in the Bronx since the 1981 World Series. In addition, it marked the return of Don Mattingly to the Bronx. The former Yankee player is now the manager of the Dodgers. Unfortunately mother nature dampened those plans as she decided to rain at the wrong time. I wound up meeting up with Vincent Ascanio again. We went to Burger King to have dinner. While we were eating we found out the game was called off.

After we ate, we headed home. I wound up watching the sixth game of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat on TV.

Wednesday I was working so I couldn't make it to the make up game that afternoon between the Yankees and the Dodgers. The Yankees beat them, 6-4. However after work I did go back up to the Bronx for the regularly scheduled game. Before I went into Yankee Stadium, I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant and I picked up sandwiches for the King & I. He had roast beef and I had corned beef.

Me & Megabus Matt at Yankee Stadium
When I finally went into the Stadium, I went up to my seat in section 420B row 7 where I was greeted by the King, Vincent Ascanio and a special guest. I'm referring to Matthew Weil aka Megabus Matt who was back in town after taking some exhausting bus rides down south to Atlanta, Tampa & Miami. It was great to see him again as he continued his 25 games in 25 days tour on Megabus. A few days later he finished his journey and he had some spare change left from his $700 budget. Thanks to modern technology, he was able to keep a running account of his expenses. I was happy to see that he achieved his goal. I told him I hope to see him again in August when the King & I go out to the West Coast.

As for the game we saw, the Dodgers came out hitting. They got straight singles of Yankee starter Phil Hughes. They wound up scoring two runs. They added some more as the game went on. Yasiel Puig, the sensational rookie hit a solo home run in the seventh inning to close out the scoring as the Dodgers beat the Yankees, 6-0. Former Met Chris Capuano threw six shutout innings to pick up the victory.

Thursday night after work I returned to Yankee Stadium as the Yankees opened up a four game weekend series with their division rival, the Tampa Bay Rays. Before I went inside, I stopped off at the New Sunflower Chinese restaurant for my pre game meal. I had fried scallops and fries.

As for the game we saw, the Rays smacked around Yankee starter Andy Pettitte. They wound up getting five runs off of him in his six and two thirds innings of work. Evan Longoria was the difference as he hit a sacrifice fly and two home runs. Yunel Escobar also went deep for the Rays as they went on to beat the Yankees, 8-3. on the bright side for the Yankees, rookie Zoilo Amonte who pinch hit for Vernon Wells got his first major league hit. He hit the third base bag with the ball and it caromed into left field.

Friday night after work I went back for game two of the series between the Yankees and the Rays.

As for the game we saw, Zoilo Amonte picked up where he left off Thursday night. He got three more hits which included his first major league home run in the sixth inning. He also came out for a curtain call per the fan's request. Joe Girardi told him to go ahead out of the dugout. The Yankees went on to beat the Rays, 6-2.

After the game, our pal Bryan Gilligan drove the King & I to Donovan's Pub where we had a post game meal. I wound up having roast turkey since they were out of pork chops.

Saturday morning I got up early and I did my laundry before I went back to Yankee Stadium for game three of the four game series between the Yankees and the Rays. We were joined by Bryan Gilligan, Vincent Ascanio, Rich Wolber and Pat Gorman this time.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees built a 3-1 lead with their ace CC Sabathia on the mound. Then in the sixth inning, CC got hit around. The Rays took the lead, 5-3 thanks to rookie Wil Myers who hit his first major league home run, a grand slam no less. The Yankees responded in the bottom of the seventh inning as they got a bases loaded walk to David Adams to cut the lead to 5-4. Then Vernon Wells pinch hit and hit a three run double to give the Yankees the lead for good as they went on to beat the Rays, 7-5. In the process, CC Sabathia picked up his 199th career win despite allowing five runs in seven innings of work.

After we left the Bronx, Bryan Gilligan drove the King, Vincent Ascanio and I to MCU Park in Coney Island, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones. They were hosting the Aberdeen Ironbirds, the Baltimore Orioles farm club.

We were joined by David Sack, Al Linderman, Michael Abrams & William Frank Guthrie.

As for the game we saw, the Ironbirds got eight shutout innings of three hit ball from their starter Sebastian Vader. He left the game winning, 4-0. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the bullpen imploded and they cost him a victory as the Cyclones rallied to tie the game at four. The game went extra innings but the Ironbirds wound up getting a game winning single from their third baseman Kristopher Richards in the tenth inning to beat the Cyclones, 5-4.

After the game, Bryan wanted to go back to Donovan's Pub for another post game meal. So the King & I decided to join him. This time I ordered chicken parm and spaghetti. It was delicious.

Sunday the King and I back to Yankee Stadium to see the finale of the four game series between the Yankees and the Rays. In addition, it was their 67th annual Oldtimer's Day as they welcomed back Yankee legends from years past.

The King and I got there close to game time so we missed the pre game festivities.

We had our pals Larry Peim and Al Linderman there with us.

As for the game we saw, Ivan Nova made a rare start and he pitched well for the Yankees. He allowed three runs over six and two thirds innings. The Yankee offense only managed to score one run as the Rays beat the Yankees, 3-1. James Loney hit a two run single in the seventh inning that broke a 1-1 tie to give the Rays the victory. As a result, they split the four game series.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, June 23, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 6/24

Here's the game plan:

Monday June 24th Aberdeen Ironbirds at Staten Island Yankees 7PM

Tuesday June 25th Rangers at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday June 26th Rangers at Yankees 7:05PM

Thursday June 27th Hudson Valley Renegades at Staten Island Yankees 7PM

Friday June 28th Nationals at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday June 29th Nationals at Mets 1:10PM

                              Hudson Valley Renegades at Brooklyn Cyclones 6PM

Sunday June 30th Nationals at Mets 1:10PM

                            Yankees at Orioles 8:05PM

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 6/17 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty sees Foreigner perform a post game concert at Citi Field!

Foreigner at Citi Field
The one and only time I saw the Rock group Foreigner in concert was back in 1987 at Madison Square Garden. Back then, Lou Gramm was their lead singer.

A few months ago, the Mets announced their post game concert series line up. I usually don't like who they have performing. This time was different. I noticed that on June 14th after the Mets were playing the Cubs that the rock group Foreigner was going to do a post game concert which was designed to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. When I found out, I was all excited. Even though, Lou Gramm is no longer with the band I still wanted to see them play live.

Foreigner Live at Citi Field
They have a new lead singer named Kelly Hansen who has taken over. He was active through out their performance as he went off the stage and he walked along both sides of the stands to get up close to those who were sitting in the first few rows on the field level. It was really cool to see him make the rounds.

As for the music set they played, they started off their hour show with Double Vision and they ended it with Hot Blooded. In between, they played many of their hits which included Head Games, Cold As Ice, I'm Waiting For A Girl Like You, It Feels Like the First Time, Urgent, Juke Box Hero and I Want To Know What Love Is which they did & they had the crowd do a sing along with. It was really neat.


I'm really glad I stayed for the performance. I thoroughly enjoyed reminiscing about the good old days. It should be noted that Foreigner first started playing back in 1976.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty w/o 6/10 in review

Monday night after work I came home and I made myself dinner and I relaxed since there were no games in the area that I could get to.

Tuesday night after work I went to Taste of Dolly's on my way to Citi Field to see the Mets open a three game series with the St. Louis Cardinals who were making their only appearance this season. Upon arrival, I saw my pal Sam Citron when I entered the Jackie Robinson Rotunda. As always it was a pleasure to see him again. It was a Citi Tuesday so I went out to the booth behind the Apple in center field. By doing so, I got a free $10 gift card by showing my Citi Mastercard before I headed upstairs to the Royal court which was in session in section 516 on this night. I was joined by David Sack, Frank Anichiarico, Al Linderman, Alan Gimpel & Domish who told me he's been to 140 hockey games this season. That's impressive considering the NHL locked out for a big chunk of the season. He loves his hockey. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got off to a fast start as Omar Quintanilla hit a solo home run and Marlon Byrd added a sacrifice fly off of Cardinals' rookie pitcher Michael Wacha in the first inning to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead. The Cardinals sliced the Met lead in half as they scored a run in the fourth inning on a double play grounder by first baseman Matt Adams to make it a 2-1. They broke the game open in the fifth inning when Daniel Murphy of the Mets made an error at first base to start the inning. The Cardinals took advantage by getting timely hits which included a three run homer by Allen Craig that highlighted a five run inning to give the Cardinals a 6-2 lead off Mets' starter Jeremy Hefner. The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the seventh inning and one more in the ninth to beat the Mets, 9-2. As a result, Michael Wacha picked up his first major league win.

Wednesday night after work I returned to Citi Field after I stopped off at Subway to have my pre game meal. I was planning to have some Carvel Ice Cream too but the machine wasn't working due to the heat they said.

When I got to Citi Field I saw Sam again. It should be noted this night was another milestone for me. It was my 4,000th Major League game I've seen in person. It turned out to be a festive occasion when I got upstairs. This time we wound up sitting in section 514 which is right behind home plate. We had many regulars on hand and a special guest too. As for the regulars, they were Manny Morales, Rich Wolber, Frank Anichiarico, Phil Butleman, Martin Caamano, Vincent Ascanio, Bryan Gilligan, Steve Tepperman and of course the King. In addition, we had musical entertainment in section 513 as the Hooligan's were present & accounted for.

Me & Megabus Matt at Citi Field
More importantly, we did have a visitor. I'm referring to Matthew Weil aka Megabus Matt who was in the midst of a 25 day 25 ballpark journey. The amazing thing about it was that he was doing it all for $700. He was riding Megabus all over the country. He said he got $1.00 rides to all his destinations. He's originally from Philadelphia but he now lives in Berkeley, California. He told me he likes to do budget traveling. He told me he went from Los Angeles to New Zealand for $399.00 in the past. He knows how to get great deals. When I told him about all the different places the King & I have been, he was dazed and amazed. He said and I quote "that's crazy." Some of the things he's done had me wondering the same thing about him. Everybody looks at things differently. Let's face reality, in order to enjoy life properly, you have to be crazy and daring. If not, you're wasting your precious time. Matt told me that he was heading down South for the weekend. He was going to Atlanta, Tampa & Miami. It sounded like a grueling ride. I told him I could relate from my early days of traveling with the King on Greyhound buses to different parts of the country. He said he was returning to NYC to see the Yankees play the Dodgers. I told him we'll see you again there.

As for the game we saw, it looked like a preview of home run derby. We saw four home runs in the game. Most games we're lucky if we see one or two. The Mets managed to hit three of them. Lucas Duda hit the first one in the fourth inning, David Wright hit one in the sixth inning and Marlon Byrd added one in the seventh inning to back the great pitching of starter Dillon Gee who went six and two thirds innings allowing just one run which was a home run by Allen Craig of the Cardinals in the sixth. The Mets defeated the Redbirds, 5-1 despite striking out ten times against Cardinal starter Shelby Miller in six innings.

Thursday night after work I came home and I made dinner then I braved the elements as I did my laundry in the rain. I thought the rain stopped. I got ready and when I was going to walk out of the house I heard the rain coming down. I was caught off guard but I improvised and I got the job done.

Friday night after work I went back to Taste of Dolly's for pizza on my way to Citi Field to see the Mets open a three game series over Father's Day weekend with the Chicago Cubs.

On this night, we wound up sitting in section 515. Amongst us were David Sack and his friend Andrew, Alan Gimpel, Martin Caamano and Michael Carson. In addition, we had a surprise visit by our pal Manny Bonilla. It was really nice to see him again. He's been busy with school. As for the game we saw, the Cubs raced out to a 5-0 lead after two innings off Met starter Shaun Marcum which set the tone for the game as the Mets lost, 6-3.

After the game, the Mets had a special concert starring Foreigner. When I heard about it a few months ago, I was all excited. I love their music. Stay tuned for a special post that I'm going to do about their appearance.
Saturday afternoon the King & I went back to Citi Field for game two of the three game set with the Cubs.
This time we sat in section 516. We were joined by Manny Morales, Marc Beck, Michael Abrams, Phil Butleman, David Sack, William Frank Guthrie, Vincent Ascanio, Frank Anichiarico, Bryan Gilligan and Rich Wolber.

In addition, we also had Pat Gorman who just returned from his trip to the Midwest. He went on his annual baseball road trip. This time he took a shortened version. He only made stops in Milwaukee and Chicago. He got to see the Brewers at Miller Park, Cubs play at Wrigley Field and the White Sox at the "Cell" if you will. It was great to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Mets fell to the Cubs again, 5-2. The Mets couldn't overcome all the walks their pitching staff issued. In addition, Cubs' starter Scott Feldman held them to just two hits over the first seven innings. The Cubs put the game away in the top of the eighth inning. They tried to make a comeback but it fell short.

After the game, Bryan drove the King & I and Rich Wolber to Allentown, Pennsylvania. We went to Coca Cola Park again to see the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. They were playing the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Yankees Triple A affiliate.

As for the game we saw, it was over early as the RailRiders built a 4-0 lead after two innings. They added some runs late to beat the IronPigs, 7-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 10,100.

Sunday was Father's Day. We returned to Citi Field to see the finale of the Mets and the Cubs.
This time we were joined in section 516 by Phil Butleman, David Sack, Pat Gorman, Alan Gimpel, Al Linderman and Michael Carson.

As for the game we saw, the Cubs scored a run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead. They extended their to 3-0 in the top of the fifth inning thanks to a comedy of errors by the Mets which allowed two unearned runs to score. It appeared that the Mets were on the verge of getting swept. Suddenly in the bottom of the ninth inning, they awoke from the dead. Marlon Byrd led off with a solo home run to make it 3-1. Lucas Duda followed with a walk and John Buck got a single. Omar Quintanilla proceeded to bunt them over to second and third base with just one out. Kirk Nieuwenhuis came up and ended the game in dramatic fashion as he hit a game winning three run homer to right field to give the Mets an improbable come from behind win as they beat the Cubs, 4-3.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

2013-2014 ECHL Schedule

To all my readers and followers,

The 2013-2014 ECHL schedule has been released:

Please see the link below for all the details:

http://www.echl.com/echl-releases-2013-14-schedule-p184620

If you need any assistance don't hesitate to ask or consult me that's why this blog is here.

If I can make a difference in your life I will, all I ask for is a fair opportunity to do so.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, June 17, 2013

Royalty is hitting the road again before the MLB All-Star Break at Citi Field!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Avis for the weekend.

I'll be driving to out to Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Baltimore & Aberdeen, Maryland to see some major league & minor league baseball over the weekend before the All-Star Break before returning to NYC late Sunday night.

Friday, July 12th Royals at Indians 7:05PM

Saturday July 13th Mets at Pirates 7:15PM

Sunday, July 14th Blue Jays at Orioles 1:35PM

                           Williamsport Crosscutters at Aberdeen Ironbirds 5:35PM

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join me.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Royalty is heading out to the Midwest over Fourth of July weekend to see some baseball!

Here's the game plan:

I'm renting a car from Dollar Rent a Car by LaGuardia airport for Fourth of July weekend.

The King and I will be leaving from Citi Field after the Mets/Diamondbacks game on July 4th at 1:10PM, then we'll be driving to out to Milwaukee, Chicago & Cincinnati, Ohio to see some major league baseball over the holiday weekend before returning to NYC very late Sunday night/Monday morning.

Friday, July 5th Mets at Brewers 7:10PM Central Time

Saturday July 6th Pirates at Cubs 3:05PM Central Time

Sunday, July 7th Mariners at Reds 1:10PM Eastern Time

If you're interested in going on this exclusive getaway royalty style just let me know so I can arrange to have you join me.

It's going to be a blast so why not come for a "royal" ride.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman





Sunday, June 16, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 6/17

Here's the game plan:

Monday June 17th Brooklyn Cyclones at Staten Island Yankees 7PM Opening Night

Tuesday June 18th Dodgers at Yankees 7:05PM

Wednesday June 19th Dodgers at Yankees 7:05PM

Thursday June 20th Rays at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday June 21st Rays at Yankees 7:05PM

Saturday June 22nd Rays at Yankees 1:05PM

                               Aberdeen Ironbirds at Brooklyn Cyclones 6:30PM

Sunday June 23rd Rays at Yankees 2:05PM Oldtimer's Day

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 6/10 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, June 13, 2013

Royalty sees the Mets play the Marlins at Citi Field and goes to Lehigh Valley in between!

Saturday I finally got to go to a baseball game after having three nights in a row off without one thanks to the schedule makers and mother nature.

The King had rented a car for a week so he drove us to Citi Field where we went to see the Mets host the Marlins in an abbreviated two series that was shortened by the rain. Upon arrival, we entered through the Rotunda entrance where we were greeted by our pal, Sam Citron. After we exchanged pleasantries with him we went inside and up to section 516 where we met up with David Sack who was there with his friend Andrew. We also had Phil Butleman, Rich Wolber, Frank Anichiarico and Michael Carson who were present & accounted for. In addition, Bryan Gilligan along with Ralph & Vincent Ascanio were there as usual.

As for the game we saw, the Mets and the Marlins showcased their young pitchers. For the Marlins, they started Jose Fernandez who made his major league debut against the Mets back on April 7th when the Marlins made their first visit to Citi Field. He went five innings that day and he didn't get a decision. We also saw him pitch again on May 4th in Philadelphia where he threw seven shutout innings en route to his first major league win. This time he was matched up with Matt Harvey, the Mets' rising star who came into the game with a 5-0 record.

The Mets managed to score a run off of Jose Fernandez in the bottom of the second inning to take a 1-0 lead thanks to a run scoring double by center fielder Juan Lagares. The Marlins got the equalizer in the top of the fourth inning when center fielder Chris Coghlan hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game at one. Little did we know that this game wasn't going to have an end in sight. As a result, we didn't get to see this game decided. We were planning to go to a second game that night since the King rented a car and he wasn't going to leave it parked on the street. With that being said, we decided that at 5PM it was time to leave. We saw eleven innings. We hated to leave but we had to make a decision. We were originally planning to go to Scranton, Pennsylvania to see a minor league game but as the game went on the King decided to go to Allentown, Pennsylvania instead because their game started a half hour earlier and it was closer than Scranton. He wound up driving Frank Anichiarico, Vincent Ascanio and I there while Bryan Gilligan went on his own. With that being said, we went to Coca Cola Park, which is the home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies' Triple A affiliate. They were playing the Charlotte Knights, the Chicago White Sox farm club. We arrived late as we walked in the ballpark at 7:05PM with the game in the top of the second inning. Upon arrival we were greeted by a fellow road warrior named Brad. He drove a few hours to join us because he wanted to meet the King. He had read and heard so much about him. It should be noted that the Met game we were at was still going on. It finally ended in the 20th inning with the Marlins finally got the winning run thanks to shortstop Aveiny Hechavarria who hit a single to left centerfield that drove in the winning run to give the Marlins a 2-1 victory after they played a six hour twenty five minute marathon. The Mets were horrible. They wound up leaving 22 runners on base. In addition, they were 0 for 19 with runners in scoring position. With that being said, we didn't really miss anything except for the fact the game went 20 innings.

Brad with the The King & I at Coca Cola Park
As for the game we saw in Lehigh Valley, the IronPigs were up 2-1 when we walked inside. Shortly thereafter the Knights tied it up on a bases loaded walk. In the bottom of the second inning, the IronPigs put up a five spot to take a 7-2 lead. The Knights responded with a pair in the top of the third inning to make it a 7-4 game. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Michael Martinez who has seen some time with the Phillies hit a solo homer to left centerfield to extend the lead to 8-4. The Knights got a run back but they couldn't overcome the IronPigs on this night as they fell to them by a score of 8-5.

The real highlight of the night was being able to catch up with Brad who has traveled to different parts of the World as well as the United States. We all felt bad leaving the Met game early especially since it went as long as it did but at least we got a nice consolation prize instead thanks to Brad.

Sunday the King and I went back to Citi Field for game two of the series with the Marlins. This time we were joined by Phil Butleman, David Sack who stayed for the whole game on Saturday, Alan Gimpel, Al Linderman, Frank Anichiarico and Rich Wolber.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got off to a fast start as they build a 4-1 lead after three innings against Marlins' rookie starter Tom Koehler who got his first major league hit with the bat. He also wound up pitching seven innings despite the shaky start. The Marlins chipped away scoring a few runs in the sixth inning to get within a run at 4-3. In the eighth inning, they got a lead off home run from Derek Dietrich which tied the game at four. The Mets failed to score in their half of the eighth inning. Neither team could score in the ninth either. With that being said, we had extra innings for the second day in a row. This time they didn't prolong the agony, the Marlins wound up taking advantage of a costly error by Mets' second baseman Daniel Murphy which opened the flood gates as the Marlins scored four runs, two were courtesy of a home run by Miguel Olivo as they went on to beat the Mets again, 8-4 in ten innings.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Royalty w/o 6/3 in review

Monday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a three game series with the Cleveland Indians at Yankee Stadium. Before I went inside, I walked a few blocks to 900 Gerard Avenue which is where the New Sunflower Chinese restaurant is located. I had my pre game meal there which consisted of fried scallops and fries. It was made to order so it came out steaming hot. I did enjoy it. After I ate, I walked over to the Stadium and I went upstairs to my seat in section 420B. When I got there, I was joined by David Sack and his friend Andrew who likes the Yankees. It was nice to see them again.

As for the game we saw, the Bleacher Creatures out in right field did their usual roll call for the Yankees when they were in the field to start the game. They also did a special version when the Yankees batted since this game marked the return of former Yankee and one of their favorite players, Nick Swisher who signed with Indians in the off season as a free agent. They acknowledged Swisher who was playing first base. Swisher responded by giving them his signature salute. It was a nice touch by the fans. It should be noted that when he took his first at bat that he got a nice ovation as well. He also drove in the game's first run in the top of the third inning on a fielder's choice off of Yankee starter Andy Pettitte who was making his 500th career start. Mark Teixeira gave the Yankees' a 4-1 lead as he hit a fly ball that barely landed on the porch in right field for a grand slam that cleared the bases off of Indians' starter Justin Masterson. The Indians rallied to tie the game at four in the top of the fifth inning as Mike Aviles hit a sacrifice fly to Robinson Cano who was out in the outfield back pedaling so he couldn't throw out Drew Stubbs who led off the inning with a double to make it 4-2. After Andy Pettitte got the second out of the inning, he walked Nick Swisher and Mark Reynolds. Carlos Santana followed with a two run ground rule double which tied the game at four. As a result, Andy Pettitte was pulled from the game. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Yankees regained the lead, 6-4 as Brett Gardner got a clutch two out single to center field. In the seventh inning, former Indian Travis Hafner hit a solo home run to extend the Yankee lead to 7-4. Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth inning and he allowed a lead off single to Michael Bourn but he then retired the next three batters including Nick Swisher who ended the game with a fly out to left. By doing so, Mariano notched his 20th save of the season and his 628th of his career in front of an announced crowd of 40,007.

Tuesday night after work I returned to the Bronx for game two of the series between the Yankees and the Indians. This time I stopped off at the Court Deli Restaurant and I bought myself a corned beef sandwich which I ate at my seat in section 420B row 7. Shortly after I sat down to eat, my pal and avid reader of my blog, Greg Venuto came by to say hello. He said he was sitting out in section 306 row 2 with his cousin. We got to speak briefly. As always, it was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got six shutout innings from their starter David Phelps who got run support from his teammates who made their four run third inning stand up enabling him to pick up the win. Ichiro Suzuki drove in the first run on a single to left and a few batters later Mark Teixeira put one on the porch again in right field for a three run homer to make it 4-0 off of former Met Scott Kazmir who started the game for the Indians. The Indians made it close in the top of the seventh inning when Drew Stubbs hit a three run homer off of reliever Joba Chamberlain to cut the lead to 4-3. The Yankees held on as David Robertson pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Mariano Rivera threw a 1,2,3 ninth to seal the deal. It was his 21st save of the season and the 629th of his career.

Wednesday night after work I met my parents for dinner at Romano's Famous Pizza and Gyro in Astoria. I got a pleasant surprise because they wound up bringing my niece Taylor and my nephew Jeremy with them. It was great to see them all again. As for dinner, we had all some pizza along with gyro and chicken souvlaki. It was all delicious. After we said our goodbyes, I went home to relax for the rest of the night.

Thursday night after work I went home and I made myself dinner then I watched game one of the NBA Finals on TV as the San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat thanks to an amazing shot in the closing seconds by Tony Parker.

Friday night after work I wound up going home thanks to mother nature which caused the game between the Mets and the Marlins to get postponed at Citi Field. I wound up staying home with the King and we watched the baseball games that were played on TV that night.

Stay tuned for a special post that will recap the way we spent our weekend.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 6/10

Here's the game plan:

Tuesday June 11th Cardinals at Mets 7:10PM

Wednesday June 12th Cardinals at Mets 7:10PM

Friday June 14th Cubs at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday June 15th Cubs at Mets 1:10PM

                              Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Lehigh Valley IronPigs 6:35PM

Sunday June 16th Cubs at Mets 1:10PM Happy Father's Day

Check back to see how it turned out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 6/3 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Friday, June 7, 2013

Royalty sees the Yankees play the Red Sox and also goes to Philadelphia to see more baseball over the weekend!

Friday night after work I went up to the Bronx to see the Yankees open up a three game weekend series with their division rival, the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. Before I went inside, I stopped off at Burger King for a light dinner with my pal Vincent Ascanio who I met there.

The beardless King
After we ate, we went to the Stadium and we met up with our pal William Frank Guthrie who was also there along with our other buddy Pat Gorman. Shortly thereafter, I did a double take. The beardless King was present & accounted for. Wow, what a difference a day makes. He was sitting with our friend Bryan Gilligan at the time.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees got back a few players who were out due to injuries. I'm referring to Mark Teixeira who was making his season debut at first base and former Red Sox Kevin Youkilis who also returned to the line up. After getting swept by the Mets in the Subway Series, the Yankees were hoping to get back on the beam. They had their ace, CC Sabathia on the mound. CC answered the call as he pitched seven and a third innings allowing just one run and he struck out ten. The Yankees got a few run scoring singles in the second inning off Red Sox' starter Jon Lester to take a 2-0 lead. They added another run in the fifth inning as Kevin Youkilis got a clutch two out single to make it 3-0. The Red Sox broke up the shutout in the seventh as Mike Napoli doubled in a run to make it 3-1. The Yankees answered back as Brett Gardner drove in a run to make it 4-1. Mariano Rivera came on in the ninth inning and he closed it out to earn his 19th save of the season and his 628th of his career.

After the game, Bryan drove the King and I to Donovan's Pub in Woodside, Queens so we could have our post game meal together. I contacted the King's brother Charlie and he joined us for the festivities as did our pal Frank Anichiarico. It was so funny because Charlie didn't recognize him at first. Once things settled down, we sat and enjoyed our food and drinks.

Charlie Casiano  & The beardless King
Saturday during the day I was able to clean up the house and then I went out and I did my laundry as well. When I got done, I made dinner for myself. After I ate, I went up to Yankee Stadium for game two of the series between the Yankees and the Red Sox. It was a rare Saturday night game in the Bronx because Fox was doing the game.


When I got up to my seat in section 420B, I saw William Frank Guthrie who was there again. I was pleasantly surprised. I barely made the first pitch due to the horrible service that the MTA provides us on the weekends here in NYC.

As for the game we saw, the Red Sox got even. In the third inning, they got a grand slam from Mike Napoli which capped off a five run outburst which set the tone against starter Phil Hughes. The Yankees broke the shutout in the fourth inning as they got a run courtesy of a sacrifice fly from catcher Chris Stewart to make it 5-1. In the eighth inning, left fielder Daniel Nava hit a three run homer off reliever Adam Warren to make it an 8-1 game. In the ninth inning, the Red Sox tacked on three more including one on a home run from Stephen Drew as they cruised to an 11-1 victory.

Sunday morning the King and I played softball. Our pal Bryan Gilligan met us at the field along with our pal Frank Anichiarico. Bryan then drove us all to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia where the Phillies were hosting the Milwaukee Brewers. Our friend Frankie Centola mailed us four tickets for the game. We wound up meeting up with his brother Nicky who was also there. It was nice to see him again.

As for the game we saw, the Phillies jumped on the Brewers in the first inning after they had two outs. Jimmy Rollins doubled, Ryan Howard walked and red hot Domonic Brown hit a three run homer to right field to give the Phillies a 3-0 lead. John Mayberry Jr. followed with a single, catcher Erik Kratz doubled him in to make it 4-0. Third baseman Freddy Galvis then tripled to make it 5-0. Pitcher Cliff Lee flew out to finally end the inning. The Phillies added two more runs in the second inning as Cliff Lee cruised along until the eighth inning when he gave up four hits that were sandwiched by a double play ball. He was taken out after throwing seven and two thirds. He dominated the Brewers as he struck out eleven of them. The Phillies' bullpen managed to hold off a late Brewer surge as the Phillies won the game, 7-5.

After the game, Bryan drove us back to Yankee Stadium for the rubber match between the Yankees and the Red Sox. We got back with time to spare for the scheduled 8:05PM start. Unfortunately due to the threat of rain in the area, the start of the game was delayed. They finally decided to start the game 45 minutes late at 8:50PM. They over reacted because it didn't rain while they covered the field.

As for the game we saw, it was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when the Red Sox scored the game's first run. Mike Napoli hit into a fielder's choIce that plated the run against Yankees' starter Hiroki Kuroda. In the top of the fifth inning, third baseman Jose Iglesias hit a solo home run to left field to make it 2-0. In the top of the sixth, David Ortiz hit a blast to right centerfield to extend the lead to 3-0. A few batters later, the sky opened up. As a result, the tarp was put back on the field. Since it was almost 11PM at that point I decided to leave so I could get home since I had to go to work in the morning. The King decided to hang around since he had nothing better to do. They wound up resuming the game 37 minutes later. They finished the top of the sixth inning in a matter of minutes he said. Shortly thereafter, the rain returned. With that being said, they decided to call off the game. Since it was official, the Red Sox got a 3-0 rain shortened victory.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Royalty w/o 5/27 in review (Subway Series Edition)

Gio Gonzalez pitching on Memorial Day
On Monday 5/27 Memorial Day was observed. The King & I stayed home during the day. We wound up watching the Nationals play the Baltimore Orioles that afternoon in our Nation's Capitol on TV. Gio Gonzalez was pitching so I was all excited. Unfortunately he didn't pitch that well. He got roughed up. He gave up four runs in five and two thirds innings. The Nationals lost the game, 6-2.

After the game, I made dinner before we went out to Citi Field for the first installment of this year's Subway Series between the Mets and the Yankees. Each team was hosting a two game series this time around due to the realignment that took effect this season. With that being said, the Mets were home Monday & Tuesday and the Yankees were home Wednesday & Thursday.

In game one at Citi Field, we were joined by our pals Phil Butleman, Alan Gimpel, Manny Morales, Marc Beck & Michael Abrams who has seen 927 consecutive Yankee home games in section 516. In addition, we had musical entertainment thanks to the Hooligan's who were present & accounted in section 513.

Furthermore, it should noted due to the outrageous pricing structure that the Mets implement, they weren't able to sell the game out. They announced a crowd of 32,911. They were a handful of empty sections scattered throughout the ballpark. As a result, they got what they deserved. We'll wait & see what happens next year. The bottom line is you can only push the envelope so far before people decide enough is enough. Apparently, the Subway Series has lot its luster.

As for the game we saw, the Yankees scored first in top of the sixth inning to take a 1-0 lead off starting pitcher Jonathon Niese who like his counterpart, Phil Hughes pitched well. The Mets tied the game at one as third baseman David Wright hit a lead off homer in the seventh inning off Hughes. The Mets got the eventual game winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning off of reliever David Robertson as second baseman Daniel Murphy delivered a clutch two out hit which enabled the Mets to win, 2-1.

Tuesday night after work I went to Checkers for my pre game meal. I wound up meeting up with the King there. After we ate, we got on the 7 train and we went back to Citi Field for game two. Upon arrival, we were greeted by our pal, Sam Citron. He told us, I hope they play tonight. The weather was horrible which wound up delaying the start of the game by 91 minutes. As a result, we decided to hang out in the Caesar's Club for a while as we waited out the rain delay. Once they said the game was going to start, we headed up to section 516.

We had company as David Sack was there with his friend Andrew. We also had Martin Caamano, Michael Carson, Mike Klein who came because his softball game was cancelled & Michael Abrams who came back for more.

Before the game started, the Mets did a video tribute to Yankee closer Mariano Rivera who's retiring at the end of the season. He then proceeded to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to former Met closer John Franco. It was a nice touch by the Mets to do that.

Mariano Rivera throws out ceremonial first pitch
As for the game we saw, we had a great pitching match up that lived up to the hype for a change as the Mets had Matt Harvey starting against Hiroki Kuroda for the Yankees. The game was scoreless again until the top of the sixth when the Yankees got a clutch two out run scoring single by Lyle Overbay to take a 1-0 lead. The Mets couldn't score against Kuroda who shut them out for seven innings. David Robertson threw a scoreless eighth inning. As for the Mets, Matt Harvey continued to impress as he went eight strong innings. He allowed the lone run and he struck out ten Yankees. In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Mets faced Mariano Rivera who came in looking to close it out. The Mets got a lead off double from Daniel Murphy to get the inning started. David Wright followed with a single to left center that tied the game at one. He went to second base on a throwing error so he was in scoring position representing the winning run. Lucas Duda came up next and he delivered the game winning hit as the Mets beat the Yankees again, 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 31,877 which was slightly smaller than the night before. It should be noted that not only did Mariano blow the save, he also didn't record an out for the first time in his career.

Wednesday night after work I went up to the Bronx as the Subway Series continued at Yankee Stadium. Before I went inside, I stopped off at Foodtown which is a supermarket in the neighborhood. I decided to get a ham & swiss cheese sandwich to take into the ballpark with me for dinner.

When I got up to our seats in section 420B I was greeted by our pal Phil Butleman who was present & accounted for. I sat down and I ate it. When I was done, I got ready for game three of the series. It should be noted that the 7 Line Army, a group of 300 Met fans were in the building as part of their Bronx invasion. They were all dressed in orange t-shirts out by the left field foul pole on the terrace level. They were very vocal from start to finish. They had a blast. For a sample, here's a video they did on You Tube. It includes a tribute to the King. Click on the link and see it for yourself.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kCsglxQ4t4g&feature=youtu.be&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkCsglxQ4t4g%26feature%3Dyoutu.be

As for the game we saw, this time the Mets picked up where they left off the night before at Citi Field. They batted around as they knocked out Yankee starter David Phelps who recorded just one out. He got belted as the Mets built a 5-0 lead before the Yankees took their first at bat against Mets' starter Jeremy Hefner. The Mets added another run in the third inning thanks to a solo homer by Marlon Byrd which made it a 6-0. The Mets tacked on two more runs in the fourth inning as Lucas Duda doubled in a pair to make it 8-0. The Yankees broke the shutout in the bottom of the fourth when Brennan Boesch hit a solo homer to make it 8-1. The Yankees chipped away as they scored a few more in the sixth inning to make it 8-3. The Mets made it 9-3 in the top of the ninth. The Yankees came back with a run in the bottom of the ninth inning but they came up short for the third straight night, 9-4 in front of an announced crowd of 43,681 which also was short of a sellout. The Yankees unlike the Mets charge the same price regardless of the opposition but since most of their seats are so pricey, it's hard for them to sellout most of their games.


Thursday night after work I returned to the Bronx for the fourth and final game of this year's Subway Series. This time I went to Burger King for my pre game meal. After I ate, I walked over to the Stadium. I went up to my seat in section 420B where I was greeted by our pals Steve Tepperman & Manny Morales who were also there. Since the Mets won the first three games, the question was would they be able to win again and sweep the series. Read on and you'll find out the details.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got on the scoreboard first as Marlon Byrd hit a two run home run after Yankee starter Vidal Nuno issued a lead off walk to Lucas Duda start the second inning. In the bottom of the third inning, the Yankees broke the shutout as Robinson Cano hit a solo homer off Met starter Dillon Gee to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Gee went on to retire the next fifteen Yankee batters in a row. With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning, Mets manger Terry Collins surprisingly took Gee out of the game with the Mets ahead, 3-1. Gee was in total control. He threw only 88 pitches and he stuck out twelve Yankees before he departed. Apparently he didn't want to take any chances. The Met bullpen combo of Scott Rice and Bobby Parnell shut the Yankees down the rest of the way as the Mets did indeed sweep the Yankees. By doing so, the King was forced to back up his bold statement. He said and I quote "if the Mets sweep the Yankees, I'll shave off my beard."

Stay tuned for the rest of the week in review as I recap the weekend and the King's temporary new look.

Thank you for reading and following along.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Monday, June 3, 2013

Royalty schedule w/o 6/3

Here's the game plan:

Monday June 3rd Indians at Yankees 7:05PM

Tuesday June 4th Indians at Yankees 7:05PM

Friday June 7th Marlins at Mets 7:10PM

Saturday June 8th Marlins at Mets 1:10PM

                             Buffalo Bisons at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 7:05PM

Sunday June 9th Marlins at Mets 1:10PM

Check back to see how it played out.

Hope all my readers and followers have a great week.

As always, if you need assistance don't hesitate to ask.

Stay tuned for my w/o 5/27 in review.

If you like to tweet you can follow me on Twitter too. @royaltytoursusa

Furthermore, we can hook up on Facebook and/or Four Square as well.

With all the ways to communicate these days, we should always be in touch.

Remember team work makes the dream work.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Royalty recognizes personal milestones home and away over Memorial Day weekend!

Saturday during the day I got to clean up around the house before I went out to Citi Field to see the completion of the game that was suspended Friday night against the Atlanta Braves with the score tied at five after eight innings. That was followed by the regularly scheduled game on John Franco Bobblehead Doll night.

I wound up meeting my Cousin Andy and my pal Rich Wolber by the Apple outside the ballpark at 5:45PM. I had tickets for them. Once we exchanged pleasantries, we went in through my buddy, Sam Citron. I introduced him to my Cousin. As always, it was a pleasure to see him.

We then went upstairs to section 516 as the royal court was already in session. We had a nice gathering which included Manny Morales, Frank Anichiarico, Pat Gorman, David Sack & Martin Caamano.

As for the completion of the suspended game, Bobby Parnell threw the first pitch of the top of the ninth inning at 6:10PM. He wiggled out his way of trouble by getting a double play to get it to the bottom of the ninth still tied. The Mets failed to score so on to extra innings they went. In the tenth inning, Brandon Lyon came on to pitch for the Mets. He wound up giving up the winning runs as second baseman Dan Uggla delivered what proved to be the game winning hit, a single. B.J. Upton added a sacrifice bunt that turned into a fielder's choice as Brandon Lyon couldn't make a play on the ball which allowed another run to score to make it a 7-5 game in favor of the Braves. The Mets failed to score in the bottom of the tenth inning as the Braves emerged victorious. The game ended at 6:52PM which was almost 24 hours after it started on Friday night.

The regularly scheduled game was suppose to start at 7:15PM but it wound up being pushed back to 7:28PM because of the suspended game.

As for that game we saw, the Braves' starter Mike Minor did it all. He shutout the Mets for seven and a third innings. He struck out twelve and he hit also hit his first major league home run to get the Braves on the scoreboard in a scoreless game in the fifth inning. His two run homer was part of a five run fifth inning that did in Mets starter Dillon Gee and the Mets. The Braves cruised to a 6-0 win as they took the first two games of the series.

Scott Bultman at Chase Field 
It should be noted while we were watching our games at Citi Field, fellow ballpark chaser and avid reader of my blog, Scott Bultman was in the midst of achieving a personal milestone of his own. He was at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks which was the last ballpark he needed to see all the current ones. He now has 37 total ballparks overall. We met him at Yankee Stadium the first week of April that gave him number 29. On this night, he accomplished his mission. He wasn't alone either. Our pal & fellow ballpark chaser, Steve Fekete aka the Padre Punk was there too to see his Padres play. He also got to celebrate the occasion with Scott. The Padres won the game, 10-4. With that being said, Steve got a lot more than he bargained for.

Me at Coca Cola Park for 8K
Sunday morning the King and I took the subway to Yankee Stadium where we met up with David Sack and Vincent Ascanio. We were all there to meet up with our pal Bryan Gilligan who was meeting us there to drive us all to Allentown, Pennsylvania. We went back to Coca Cola Park to see the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, the Philadelphia Phillies Triple A affiliate host the Norfolk Tides, the Baltimore Orioles farm club that afternoon. It was a historic day for me personally because that game was the 8,000th live sporting event I've seen in my lifetime. As for the game we saw, the IronPigs held off the Tides, 5-4.

After the game, Bryan drove us back to Citi Field for another historic occasion as we saw the Mets wrap up their weekend series with the Braves on Sunday night baseball.

King & his father
This day was the 50th anniversary of the King's first baseball game he saw at Old Yankee Stadium with his father on May 26, 1963. The Yankees played a traditional doubleheader that day on Memorial Day against the Washington Senators. The Yankees won the first game, 7-1 as Elston Howard and Mickey Mantle hit home runs and Jim Bouton threw a complete game. In the second game, the Senators beat the Yankees, 7-6 despite a home run by Roger Maris.


On this night, the King reunited with his father who came out with his brother Charlie Casiano to acknowledge this special day. We also had some more company as we were joined by Frank Anichiarico, Bryan Gilligan, Ralph & Vincent Ascanio, Al Linderman, Phil Butleman, David Sack & Michael Carson in the royal court in section 516. In addition, shortly after the game started we had a surprise appearance from our pal Andrew Van Cleve who drove over from Harrison, NJ where he saw the Red Bulls play the Columbus Crew in a 2-2 draw. It turned out to be a memorable and joyous evening at the ballpark for all of us.

As for the game we saw, the Mets got a great outing from their starter Shaun Marcum who threw seven strong innings striking out twelve. He did leave the game losing 2-1 thanks to Dan Uggla who hit a two run homer off him in the seventh inning. The Mets rallied to score three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to get a much needed come from behind victory. John Buck delivered a run scoring single to tie the game and Ike Davis hit a two run single to win it as the Mets went on to beat the Braves, 4-2 to salvage a game in the series.

Thank you for reading and following.

Yours truly,

Gary Herman