Chris Carpenter has become one of the best pitchers in baseball. He will do everything in his power tonight to help the Cardinals lessen the gap between them and the Cincinnati Reds.
Let me tell you what, it is a good time to be a Cincinnati sports fan (from the top of the food chain to the bottom). The Bengals just played in the only preseason game that really ever garners any national media attention, the Hall of Fame Game in Canton. And so what if the Bengals put on a fairly weak performance, at least Terrell Owens made 2 catches. Look for many more this season. Mark my words, last night was no indication by any means of what Bengal’s fans will see this year come September, other than the catches by TO. And of course the exciting play of standout rookie, Jordan Shipley. I do find it funny though that the team had to fly back to Cincy. It was a good 28 minute flight.
Also this weekend, the Reds went into Chicago and got out the brooms, You better believe that the Reds went on the road and swept the hated Cubs. As a Cincinnati fan, it is always nice to beat Chicago. And boy did the Reds play well. Now they head into a crucial 3 game set with the team they are fighting with for NL Central supremacy. And the beautiful thing for the Reds, they are now up 2 games heading into this big time series. With another series victory, they could expand the lead to 4 or 5 games. And say somehow the Redlegs lose 2 out of 3, they would still be a game up, which would not be so bad in all honesty. I mean seriously back in April, if somebody had told you that the Reds would be heading into an August showdown with the boys out of St. Louis with the 3rd best record in the National League, and a 2 game lead in the Central, how would you have reacted?
The biggest winners this weekend though, other than the fans getting to enjoy some excitement for once in August and September, is the scalpers (ticket scalpers). For those of you who are unaware, at any major sporting event you ever go to, there will be people walking the streets and areas by the arena selling tickets to the event. These are people who bought the tickets at actual face value from the real ticket office, and then look to resell them at a higher price to make a profit. Well can you ever remember seeing so many ticker scalpers around Great American Ballpark, but happy ticket scalpers at that? When the team wins. More people want to go to the stadium. When more people want to attend ball games, tickets become a hotter commodity. When tickets become a hotter commodity, they become harder to obtain.
So as the Reds head into this crucial 3 game set with the Cardinals, you better believe you will be paying more for a ticket if you do not have a season pass, or have bought tickets in advance. And a piece of advice, buy tickets a good deal in advance when possible from here on out. All of the ticket scalpers are doing everything in their power to buy up as many of the remaining tickets as possible so they can continue to resell and turn profits.So yes, it is great having a winning team in Cincinnati. But fans will have to be willing to pay more as the stadium fills and scalping becomes the only method to obtain tickets close to game time. There will be no last-minute decisions to head to the ballpark from here on out, unless you are willing to pay $20 for a standing room ticket that is valued at $5.
But in all honesty, does it really matter to you that you have to spend more on tickets when you are getting to watch a winning product?
Lets hope the boys can continue on their current hot streak. The Reds have not lost a series since before the All Star Break. Now would not be the time to start.
Stay tuned for the next edition of TheSportsKraze.
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