Travel Blog

Yesterday, after an interview in Aventura, I continued on to Miami. The Marlins were playing an afternoon game and I told myself: If the roof is open, I’ll cheer them on. It was a warm but not hot day with low humidity and only the slightest chance of rain.

From the SW 7^th Street exit ramp I could already see that the roof was closed. I continued on and stopped for lunch at Viva Mexico on SW 12^th Avenue. My tacos were considerably cheaper than they would have been at the game, and I got to eat them outside.

When Marlins Park was being built in Little Havana, I had great hopes. I liked that it was going up in the city, even though it would mean a longer drive from my home in Fort Lauderdale. The first game I attended, making my way through the homey streets, I was reminded of going as a child to Connie Mack Stadium in North Philadelphia. I didn’t realize then that this new stadium would mean the end of outdoor baseball (at the professional level) in Miami.

 The last few years, I knew to go to games early in the season if I wanted to sit outside. (The quick switch to air-conditioning, I heard, was at the behest of the players – those floundering millionaires – not the fans.) So far this year, the roof has been open for one game only. You could perhaps understand the strict shut-in policy if the team were winning in their climate-controlled confines, but they are – after yesterday’s victory – an abysmal 2-7 at home. (Maybe some fresh air would do them good.) You wonder why Loria spent the money to construct a retractable roof when he could have simply built a domed stadium.

 Then you remember that it wasn’t his money that he spent.