I have been a very bad blogger. It’s been almost two weeks since my last post! In my defense, work has been insane. My boss left the organization and it was right at the time our annual budget was due. It’s definitely been a learning experience, but insane.

To relax and get my mind off budgets, Bill and I went to Pittsburgh to catch 2 out of the 3 Cubs – Pirates games. I am happy to report that the Cubs won both games we attended!

I love going to Pittsburgh. The city is nice and clean, has a great skyline, and the ballpark is great. We stayed at the Hilton which is within walking distance of PNC Park. It’s at the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. There’s a beautiful park and river walk steps from the Hilton. The only bad thing is that we never seem to have time to explore the city except for the area around the ballpark. There’s the Church Brew Pub that I’d like to try out on our next visit.

A lot of Cub fans attend the series so you don’t feel like the visiting team and the Pittsburgh fans have always been friendly (and it’s quite obvious that we’re Cub fans – tees, jerseys, necklaces, hats…).

I was able to get 4 autographs on this trip – NOMAR! ARAMIS! Jose Macias! Dusty (I got his last year so not as exciting – kidding)! Dusty seems to make it a point to respond to every comment, even if it’s just an “okay” or “thanks.” I thought that was cool. And Nomar has a guardian angel pin on his left wristband. I saw Aramis in street clothes and even Bill admitted he looked good.

We like to get to the park early and catch batting practice. Corey took a lot of BP on Sunday and Hairston spent a lot of time working out at second base. We saw Wood and Zambrano working out with Larry Rothschild. Very interesting to see Rothschild make suggestions about Wood’s stance and hear them talk about what felt good, what didn’t.

The only disappointment was the absence of Todd Walker. Hairston played well (but don’t get comfortable there, buddy) but it wasn’t the same without Todd. I hope that he’s doing well and that he’ll be able to play for the Nationals series in May.

I watched Monday night’s Cincinnati game and was disappointed that one got away. It’s going to happen but they should have won. I was happy to see they split the series. Prior looked good. Wood’s not quite there but I think another couple of starts and he’ll be the Wood we’re waiting for.

Cubs and Cards are ready to start after a rain delay. Go Cubs!!